# Good areas to live in Getafe



## stuwoolf (Mar 11, 2018)

While my wife and I await UK visa outcomes we are looking at other options.

One of the options is living in Getafe. Looking at this area as my wifes biological fathers family are from this area. Dont have the luxury of seeking advice from them (long story) so we wondered if anyone here can help.

The advice we need is what are the nicer areas to live in Getafe? Also, which areas should be avoided?

Grateful for all guidance.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Unusual question, if you don't mind me saying so.

Getafe is not a renowned cultural hot bed or expat paradise (although I do know an English guy that lives in Getafe), so I doubt honestly that you will get many replies about specific areas insdie Getafe.

Getafe itself is not that big, and is really quite similar to any other outlying town around a European capital city, so I'm not sure if there really are better / worse areas, and if there are, the judgement is probably subjective.

I guess the main consideration here is, if you feel that Getafe is right for you, go and take a look around and see where "feels" right.


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## stuwoolf (Mar 11, 2018)

Overandout said:


> Unusual question, if you don't mind me saying so.
> 
> Getafe is not a renowned cultural hot bed or expat paradise (although I do know an English guy that lives in Getafe), so I doubt honestly that you will get many replies about specific areas insdie Getafe.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your reply.

Fair point, didn’t realise it was about 10 miles south of Madrid. We thought it was much closer.

What about Madrid itself? There will be good areas and not so good areas just like any other city in the world. Any advice and guidance?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Madrid itself is as varied as any other major European capital, and that makes things relatively easy to follow:

The "old" town centre is very central geographically speaking, fashionable, aesthetically pleasing, excruciatingly expensive, noisy, overrun with tourists and impossible to park.

Anywhere else inside the inner ringroad (M30) is less likely to be pretty, but could still be quite a cool place to be, but you certainly pay for the location. Being near exclusive shopping areas or major parks / attractions make things more expensive of course.

Newer residential areas on or around the ring road are popular (the Spanish like "new" things, second hand stuff, even apartments, are sometime seen as second rate), but be aware that these areas can sometimes be almost totally devoid of public services and amenities.

Between the inner and outer ringroads (M30 and M40) - the suburbs, basically, is where the majority of residential areas for "normal" people are . I know, nobody is normal, but I mean families of working - middle class, with two cars and 2.4 children and two working adults. Property in these areas is much more accessible (even cheap by UK standards) and because of generally excellent public transport, you can still be in the centre of Madrid in 15 - 20 minutes. Be prepared to scout these areas though as quality of buidings / planning and levels of amenities can vary widely.

Outside the outer ring road (M40) is not really considered Madrid (very little of Mardid Town Hall encatchment area is outside the M40) so you are looking at outlying towns like Getafe, Leganés, Pozuelo, Majadahonda, Alcobendas, Vallecas etc. These are individual places and need to be looked at individually.


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## stuwoolf (Mar 11, 2018)

Overandout said:


> Madrid itself is as varied as any other major European capital, and that makes things relatively easy to follow:
> 
> The "old" town centre is very central geographically speaking, fashionable, aesthetically pleasing, excruciatingly expensive, noisy, overrun with tourists and impossible to park.
> 
> ...


This is excellent! Thank you for sharing. It gives us a good start and something to think about.

What we have to do now is work out how I get my US wife an EEA permit based on my UK citizenship. Have read loads on this and we are still in the dark. Is this application made when we arrive in Spain or is it done before she departs USA?

A simple flow chart would do. 

We do know that a US Citizen does not need a visa to visit Spain as a tourist. We presume therefore that after we arrive in Spain on her tourist footing, we register at the local consulate for a EEA permit. Then we have to think about how to register for working (NEI or NIE number?)

Thanks again for your informative post.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Glad to have been of some help.

But I'm afraid that I can't help on the visa front. I suggest that you look around existing threads on here, or start another one if you have particular circumstances.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Getafe has seemed ok the few times I've passed through it, but it might be a bit boring for an expat. The areas between Getafe and central Madrid (Villaverde and Usera) can be a bit rough around the edges. Not in a threatening way, but they aren't the wealthiest areas. As Getafe is on the cercanias train line, you can get to it quite easily from many parts of Madrid. Assuming you want to go there regularly, there are also inter-urban buses, which I imagine leave from Legazpi and/or Merndez Alvaro stations.


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## booksurfer (Apr 21, 2018)

stuwoolf said:


> What we have to do now is work out how I get my US wife an EEA permit based on my UK citizenship.


It would be much easier to get her UK Citizenship in the UK first and then move to Spain than do it there in my opinion. Unless you speak very good Spanish and love bureaucracy!


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