# Best area to live in Madrid



## mariodfa

_I will soon be transferred for work from Houston to Madrid, my office location is around the area of Estadio Bernabeu and Plaza Castilla a few blocks off Paseo de La Castellana... so I am looking for suggestion/recommendations on good and safe neighborhoods, I'd rather trade distance for a larger space flat that I know it's hard to find in the city or at a very high price (I'm looking to rent). I'm already familiar with the public transportation system in Madrid so I don't intend to drive to the office eveyday.

Me estaran transfiriendo por trabajo de Houston a Madrid y mi futura oficina esta cerca del Bernabeu sobre la Calle Orense... me gustaria escuchar sugerencias/recomendaciones sobre buenos barrios donde pueda buscar un piso/apto. de alquiler, prefiero tener un espacio amplio a cercano al centro puesto que tienen precios mas altos. Conozco el transporte publico de Madrid y es excelente asi que no pienso ir de coche todos los dias al trabajo.

I'd greatly appreciate any comments /Agradezco de antemano cualquier comentario o sugerencia._


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## Stravinsky

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure someone will be along to help soon.

Please bear in mind the language of the forum is English, therefore posts in Spanish are not generally allowed

Many thanks


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## mariodfa

Stravinsky said:


> Welcome to the forum, I'm sure someone will be along to help soon.
> 
> Please bear in mind the language of the forum is English, therefore posts in Spanish are not generally allowed
> 
> Many thanks




_No problem....just let me know how I can edit the text from the original post and I'll do so._


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## Pesky Wesky

I live near Madrid, but I haven't lived in Madrid for more than 15 years so can't really help you. Also, it depends so much on what you want, how much you can spend etc that I I think there are too many variables there. Personally, I wouldn't want to live anywhere near a football stadium, but the area around the Bernabeu is a mix of residential and offices. Bilbao, (area of Madrid, not city!) Plaza Olavide is a good area, but there are many others.
There are a couple of other forum members who know Madrid and may be able to help you and I would also get in touch with *scharlak *by pm. He's a very helpful friendly person who has just moved out of Madrid


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## mariodfa

Pesky Wesky said:


> I live near Madrid, but I haven't lived in Madrid for more than 15 years so can't really help you. Also, it depends so much on what you want, how much you can spend etc that I I think there are too many variables there. Personally, I wouldn't want to live anywhere near a football stadium, but the area around the Bernabeu is a mix of residential and offices. Bilbao, (area of Madrid, not city!) Plaza Olavide is a good area, but there are many others.
> There are a couple of other forum members who know Madrid and may be able to help you and I would also get in touch with *scharlak *by pm. He's a very helpful friendly person who has just moved out of Madrid


_I definitively do not want to move too close to the stadium, that was just a reference for the area where my office is. Distance-wise anywhere on the outsides of Madrid not more than 30min. ride between home-office. I'm looking for a 2-3 bedroom for my family (wife and daughter), either a chalet/piso/atico/duplex, my budget is around 1200e/month. I will contact *scharlak *. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Regards,_


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## jojo

mariodfa said:


> _I definitively do not want to move too close to the stadium, that was just a reference for the area where my office is. Distance-wise anywhere on the outsides of Madrid not more than 30min. ride between home-office. I'm looking for a 2-3 bedroom for my family (wife and daughter), either a chalet/piso/atico/duplex, my budget is around 1200e/month. I will contact *scharlak *. Any other suggestions are appreciated.
> 
> Regards,_


I cant add or help I'm afraid, other than to suggest you come over and have a look, maybe take on a short term rental first in case the area isnt for you - and yes, contact Scharlack, heres his link Expat Forum For Expats, For Moving Overseas And For Jobs Abroad - View Profile: scharlack - he's lovely!!!!!

Jo xxxx


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## nigele2

Stravinsky said:


> Welcome to the forum, I'm sure someone will be along to help soon.
> 
> Please bear in mind the language of the forum is English, therefore posts in Spanish are not generally allowed
> 
> Many thanks


 wouldn't want people learning spanish would we


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## nigele2

mariodfa said:


> _I will soon be transferred for work from Houston to Madrid, my office location is around the area of Estadio Bernabeu and Plaza Castilla a few blocks off Paseo de La Castellana... so I am looking for suggestion/recommendations on good and safe neighborhoods, I'd rather trade distance for a larger space flat that I know it's hard to find in the city or at a very high price (I'm looking to rent). I'm already familiar with the public transportation system in Madrid so I don't intend to drive to the office eveyday.
> 
> Me estaran transfiriendo por trabajo de Houston a Madrid y mi futura oficina esta cerca del Bernabeu sobre la Calle Orense... me gustaria escuchar sugerencias/recomendaciones sobre buenos barrios donde pueda buscar un piso/apto. de alquiler, prefiero tener un espacio amplio a cercano al centro puesto que tienen precios mas altos. Conozco el transporte publico de Madrid y es excelente asi que no pienso ir de coche todos los dias al trabajo.
> 
> I'd greatly appreciate any comments /Agradezco de antemano cualquier comentario o sugerencia._


Many areas of Madrid are changing these days. I have family living in Orcasitas which was run down and is now considered disireable. Best a temp rent if I were you and you can certainly sort something in a month.

Great city for a while, hope you enjoy it.


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## Pesky Wesky

mariodfa said:


> _I definitively do not want to move too close to the stadium, that was just a reference for the area where my office is. Distance-wise anywhere on the outsides of Madrid not more than 30min. ride between home-office. I'm looking for a 2-3 bedroom for my family (wife and daughter), either a chalet/piso/atico/duplex, my budget is around 1200e/month. I will contact *scharlak *. Any other suggestions are appreciated._
> 
> _Regards,_


 You might want to look at Alcobendas (mentioned in Penelope Cruz's acceptance speech at the oscars) or San Sebastian de los Reyes both of which are towns to the north of Madrid and I think they have trains now or metro ligero or smth. They don't look very attractive to me, but I think they'd be right distance wise...


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## jockm

*Scoping out Madrid*

We were also casing Madrid at one point and we used idealista and enalquiler - and would then use google earth to get an idea of the barrio. You can also google "best places to live in Madrid" or similar and you will get a variety of info about the different barrios. But nothing beats being in the city and having a good look around to determine if the "vibe" of the barrio is what you are looking for.


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## scharlack

Hello and welcome,

It really depends on how long you can bear with your commute.

I would say Sanchinarro (and sorroundings) would be a good area to live given you are going to work at the Castellana. It's between 2 beltways (M30 and M40) and would get you right in to the Castellana fairly easy. Googlemap it for more info. 

As you want something off the city I would recommend Las Rozas (Northwest of Madrid). From the Las Rozas train station you can get off at the Nuevos Ministerios station and walk to your office. Aternatively, you can get off at the Chamartin station and take a short metro ride (3 stops) to the Bernabeu station (there would be no walking on that one!). I would stick to the second option. 

Las Rozas has a lot of company offices and services (schools, restaurants, etc) are great over there. Besides that you will have a beautiful view of the mountains. Optionally, there are nice small towns around Las Rozas which are worth looking if you want a very quiet place.

It should take you around 45 minutes (I know you said 30 minutes was your limit but you can't move much in 30 minutes around the Madrid business centre) from Las Rozas to the Bernabeu station on a train followed by metro ride. A car ride would be a horrible idea into the Castellana as the A6 (Carretera de La Coruna) motorway is always jammed on peak hours (that used to be my route to work!).

Pozuelo is also a good option but I reckon it's a rather expensive zone.

Enjoy Madrid!

Cheers


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## Pesky Wesky

scharlack said:


> Hello and welcome,
> 
> It really depends on how long you can bear with your commute.
> 
> I would say Sanchinarro (and sorroundings) would be a good area to live given you are going to work at the Castellana. It's between 2 beltways (M30 and M40) and would get you right in to the Castellana fairly easy. Googlemap it for more info.
> 
> As you want something off the city I would recommend Las Rozas (Northwest of Madrid). From the Las Rozas train station you can get off at the Nuevos Ministerios station and walk to your office. Aternatively, you can get off at the Chamartin station and take a short metro ride (3 stops) to the Bernabeu station (there would be no walking on that one!). I would stick to the second option.
> 
> Las Rozas has a lot of company offices and services (schools, restaurants, etc) are great over there. Besides that you will have a beautiful view of the mountains. Optionally, there are nice small towns around Las Rozas which are worth looking if you want a very quiet place.
> 
> It should take you around 45 minutes (I know you said 30 minutes was your limit but you can't move much in 30 minutes around the Madrid business centre) from Las Rozas to the Bernabeu station on a train followed by metro ride. A car ride would be a horrible idea into the Castellana as the A6 (Carretera de La Coruna) motorway is always jammed on peak hours (that used to be my route to work!).
> 
> Pozuelo is also a good option but I reckon it's a rather expensive zone.
> 
> Enjoy Madrid!
> 
> Cheers


Las Rozas is a good option, but only as scharlack says if you go by public transport or at non rush hour times as there's a jam into Madrid every morning around there or closer to Madrid at La Florida. I work in that area, but live further out. 
Sanchinarro is a new area in the direction of Alcobendas and San Seb. that I mentioned earlier but closer to Madrid. Those areas probably have a lot of good points going for them but just seem so much uglier than A6 motorway area.


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## mariodfa

SteveHall said:


> OOOOPS. Where did the end of my post go to?
> 
> When you say "best" it's all of course relative if you want Moncloa or Salamanca you could easily be paying 10,000 dollars per month. As I said Ciudad Lineal is out of the centre and "with air" but it is easy to get in with bus, metro etc.
> 
> Depending how long you were staying I'd think to rent "anywhere" for a week or two to have a good look around.
> 
> I'm still jealous ...... although not sure I could cope with a Madrid winter (or summer, come to think of it!) Nice in April, May, September and October though!


_
Steve... by best I mean safe neighborhood for my family, close to shopping, not so much upscale and hopefully, as someone posted, in an area with a nice "vibe", close enough to take the metro or bus to go to work. I plan to rent long term, I'm being transferred for work.

Regards,_


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## mcginlay

Hi not been on for a while

I work 200m away from the bernabau and dont worry about living too close your budget would get you a 1 bed apt lol!!

If you dont mind metro etc pozuelo (if you find a place near a metro stop) is only 30 mins - good schools, lots of space bars etc

if you want the centre try some of the suburbs to the north before you hit la moraleja

i wouldnt go to the south of madrid particularly - idealista.com is a great website with a good map that clearly shows the neighbouhoods from the bernabeau outwards


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## toast

hello , with your budget for a 2-3 bedroom I should discharge the centre of madrid.
but on the outskirts of madrid there should be plenty options, you have PAU( new development areas like Las tablas or sanchinarro), just 5 km north of madrid and with tube access....traffic is absurd in madrid, so depending on if you are planning to use car or public transport I would choose one area or another....also you have vilages at 20-30 km form madrid which could be a good option if you wish to be outside of madrid in the country....there are many options but depending on what you need...<snip>


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## mariodfa

_Thank you toast for the info... I'm expecting a trip to madrid sometime around June/July so I will go scout the areas mentioned in this thread.

I'll use public transportation to go to work, and I would not mind a 30min. ride in the metro or bus. I will definitively keep in touch with as the time closes by._





toast said:


> hello , with your budget for a 2-3 bedroom I should discharge the centre of madrid.
> but on the outskirts of madrid there should be plenty options, you have PAU( new development areas like Las tablas or sanchinarro), just 5 km north of madrid and with tube access....traffic is absurd in madrid, so depending on if you are planning to use car or public transport I would choose one area or another....also you have vilages at 20-30 km form madrid which could be a good option if you wish to be outside of madrid in the country....there are many options <snip>


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