# ExPat Community in Madrid



## Steadyshooter (Oct 26, 2012)

Hi all, my company is relocating me and my wife to Madrid for the next two years or so. It is exciting to us both even though we have travelled a lot together. My question to all our new friends on this site is: are there any things that can't be bought in Madrid that are freely available in UK? Secondly is there a large and active Expat Community in Madrid?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

There's not so much a community as you might find on some of the Costas. There are obviously a lot of people from the UK here and there are a couple of "British things" shops or bars, but there's not any one area or place.
You could try contacting these groups.

About Us | American Women's Club

Newcomers club welcomes English-speaking expats to Madrid, Spain

There are couple of churches if that's your thing and there's a theatre group. 

The Madrid Players - English Language Theatre in Madrid

I don't think you'll have much difficulty getting what you want in the shops. When I first came I used to bring shampoo (could only get expensive brands) tampax, teabags, biscuits... Now I don't bring anything back with me except secondhand books. You may need to change to Spanish brands of things, and you won't get Bisto gravy granuals in most Madrid supermarkets for example, but you'll get by.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> There's not so much a community as you might find on some of the Costas. There are obviously a lot of people from the UK here and there are a couple of "British things" shops or bars, but there's not any one area or place.


Not one place for socializing, but if you live near or hang around the bars near La Moraleja you will hear more English being sopken than Spanish. All business English of course, this is also true for areas near Pozuelo / Somosaguas.



Pesky Wesky said:


> I don't think you'll have much difficulty getting what you want in the shops. When I first came I used to bring shampoo (could only get expensive brands) tampax, teabags, biscuits... Now I don't bring anything back with me except secondhand books. You may need to change to Spanish brands of things, and you won't get Bisto gravy granuals in most Madrid supermarkets for example, but you'll get by.


You're not looking hard enough Pesky !

I live in a failry modest "working class" area and even my local Carrefour has Bisto (both red and yellow tubs!). They also stock Marmite, Heinz baked beans, Walkers Shortbread, London Pride and PG Tips.....
The only thing I struggle to get are some British vegetables, swede and rhubarb being particularly tricky commodities to obtain. But my wife did find parsnips on sale in Hipercor the other day, which was nice.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Overandout said:


> Not one place for socializing, but if you live near or hang around the bars near La Moraleja you will hear more English being sopken than Spanish. All business English of course, this is also true for areas near Pozuelo / Somosaguas.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My local Carrefour which is about 20km away was recently upgraded to Carrefour Planet (!!) and they now have a Brit section, but it's less than a year old. Apart from that I can get Tetley teabags from Mercadona in the town, but I don't 'cos I don't like them. I have been tempted to get some Branston Pickle and that's about it. After all the time that I've been here it'd be a bit sad if I was still hankering after Brit stuff I think! So no, I don't search it out.
As I have often said on other threads things I really enjoy when I go back to the UK are fresh cream cakes (not usually imported), Real Ale which IMHO is better pulled in a pub and not from a tin, and a plate of fish n' chips which atm is not available in Madrid and quite rightly so


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## anles (Feb 11, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> My local Carrefour which is about 20km away was recently upgraded to Carrefour Planet (!!) and they now have a Brit section, but it's less than a year old. Apart from that I can get Tetley teabags from Mercadona in the town, but I don't 'cos I don't like them. I have been tempted to get some Branston Pickle and that's about it. After all the time that I've been here it'd be a bit sad if I was still hankering after Brit stuff I think! So no, I don't search it out.
> As I have often said on other threads things I really enjoy when I go back to the UK are fresh cream cakes (not usually imported), Real Ale which IMHO is better pulled in a pub and not from a tin, and a plate of fish n' chips which atm is not available in Madrid and quite rightly so


Well I have been here for even longer and there are still many things I miss (there would probably be more if I had spent longer there but I have missed out on much or have forgotten them). Last month I found out I could get Marmite at the Carrefour in Orense, which has made my life a lot happier. When my friends go back, I always ask them to bring sachets of custard powder and Bisto. I don't use them every week, but I love to cook a proper English dinner and all my Spanish friends love it when I make a fruit crumble and custard or a trifle. I would be very happy if there was somewhere close enough to visit occasionally for Fish and Chips, I don't think it would be very successful, but it certainly wouldn't be "wrong"  In fact, when I went to Madrid for a four day trip with one of my daughters the summer before last, the best meal we had was in an Irish Pub called James Joyce (I think) where I had Shepherd's Pie and she had Bangers and Chips. We only eat out on special occasions, but we do like to go to a Chinese or a Mexican restaurant the only "foreign" restaurants available in the two closest cities to us. Mind you, all my children love going to McDonald's which is also something we do a couple of times a year if we go to Lugo or Orense. 
What does surprise me though is your remark about fresh cream cakes. I don't think I have ever eaten them in the UK but here they are superb. In fact if I go to a friend's house and take a cake, I often make a Victoria sponge and buy the fresh cream from the cake shop to fill it.


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## webmarcos (Dec 25, 2012)

I'm surprised that someone praises the cakes in Spain - normally it's the one product that expats miss from Blighty.
One thing always puzzles me though when talking about Madrid. People who say they can't get fish and chips - fish is often one of the options for the second course in a Menu del Dia. I realise the chips element is often too small, but then you can always go to an Irish pub and eat their fish and chips.
Incidentally, a couple of publications that may help in joining expat groups in Madrid 
In-Madrid
English Warehouse


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

anles said:


> Well I have been here for even longer and there are still many things I miss (there would probably be more if I had spent longer there but I have missed out on much or have forgotten them). Last month I found out I could get Marmite at the Carrefour in Orense, which has made my life a lot happier. When my friends go back, I always ask them to bring sachets of custard powder and Bisto. I don't use them every week, but I love to cook a proper English dinner and all my Spanish friends love it when I make a fruit crumble and custard or a trifle. I would be very happy if there was somewhere close enough to visit occasionally for Fish and Chips, I don't think it would be very successful, but it certainly wouldn't be "wrong"  In fact, when I went to Madrid for a four day trip with one of my daughters the summer before last, the best meal we had was in an Irish Pub called James Joyce (I think) where I had Shepherd's Pie and she had Bangers and Chips. We only eat out on special occasions, but we do like to go to a Chinese or a Mexican restaurant the only "foreign" restaurants available in the two closest cities to us. Mind you, all my children love going to McDonald's which is also something we do a couple of times a year if we go to Lugo or Orense.
> What does surprise me though is your remark about fresh cream cakes. I don't think I have ever eaten them in the UK but here they are superb. In fact if I go to a friend's house and take a cake, I often make a Victoria sponge and buy the fresh cream from the cake shop to fill it.


OK, my personal existence would be sad if I was hankering after things in the UK while living here.
Like I say there are some things that I really enjoy when do visit, (and at the mo I'm going back every year, and last year several times due to family illnesses), but if I had them all the time when I was here they probably wouldn't be so delicious when I get the opportunity to have them in the UK, so that's fine by me.
I've only once seen fresh cream cakes here, in a foreign owned cake shop somewhere on the south coast. I now buy something similar (black forest gateaux) from a shop here, but the cream isn't exactly unadulterated fresh and it usually has sugar in it which I can't abide. Xabiachica did tell me about fresh cream in Mercadona which I bought once, but didn't like for some reason.
I regularly make crumble or brownies and put lashings of cream from a carton on them which I like better.
I never use custard. Custard powder, Bisto and all those powders that you mix up are like chemical compounds to me, not food. Just my opinion, I know most people wouldn't agree with me.
As for fish and chips, one of my favourite meals at home (here I mean) is fresh merluza (hake?) with rice and salad, but you can hardly compare that to going down the chippie and getting 2 lots of cod and one of chips to share. The grease level alone is uncomparable the UK winning hands down!!
There did used to be a fish and chip shop in Madrid, very near Sol, but it closed down. It was called Tony's I think. I never went so I don't know what the quality was like...


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

I'm in Valencia city and generally I cope well in getting the odd British thing I miss...

We have to have Fresh milk - which most places do at least - I like the skimmed Puleva fresh milk in the clear bottle and the pink lid! Fresh cream - can't get it anywhere - is the stuff in cake shops really fresh? I don't like using Creme Fraiche either... 
I've never really understood the Spanish preference for UHT milk - particularly as the Italians don't tend to use it much and all their bars use fresh milk for capuccinos. UHT is an acquired taste but I just can't take to it!

Carrefour is good for expat stuff - teabags (pricey but ok - Tetleys and PG as well as all the Twinings you can think of), curry sauces (Shere Khan ones - nice!), Italian Napolina tomatoes (Spanish tinned tomatoes are generally a bit ropey and watery - and i've tried lots)..., Robinsons squash, british bacon (I like Spanish streaky but its nearly always smoked), John West tuna (less fishy than Spanish - sounds silly but its true) - but I only stock up on British stuff once a month. 

I agree on the cakes too - I sometimes find them overly sweet, dry and synthetic tasting. I think its also to do with the flour here and the conditions in which the wheat is grown. British plain flour was ropey too... I miss being able to get Canadian Bread Flour from Waitrose for making bread and muffins.

I also find it baffling that so many things like bread lack any additives (so it goes off in a day), but buy any supermarket 'fresh' meat - e.g. minced beef/pork/turkey/chicken - and its loaded with extra stuff/rubbish - almost scary. 

Other than that - I love most Spanish food, and Spanish food markets too... I like the fruit and veg, fish and all that. I've been to as many dodgy tapas bars as I've been to good ones though.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

samthemainman said:


> I'm in Valencia city and generally I cope well in getting the odd British thing I miss...
> 
> We have to have Fresh milk - which most places do at least - I like the skimmed Puleva fresh milk in the clear bottle and the pink lid! Fresh cream - can't get it anywhere - is the stuff in cake shops really fresh? I don't like using Creme Fraiche either...
> I've never really understood the Spanish preference for UHT milk - particularly as the Italians don't tend to use it much and all their bars use fresh milk for capuccinos. UHT is an acquired taste but I just can't take to it!
> ...


No problem getting fresh milk here. Must be a problem south of Toledo 'cos I've never had a problem getting it and I normally go north from Madrid, not south.


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## webmarcos (Dec 25, 2012)

This place in central Madrid has a high rep for fish/cod( I think it's cooked in batter too). However there are always queues to get in - I never sampled their wares

Casa Labra - Restaurante - Taberna - Tapas en Madrid. Especialidad en Bacalao ::.


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