# Pozuelo or the central Madrid?



## Saley (Sep 17, 2014)

There is a possibility that my husband's work is moving to Pozuelo and I will spend quite a lot of time in Spain. Our children are at uni in England.
Advice please. What is Pozuelo like? Should we live there or aim for something central and my husband commute (Not too bad,I gather)
I want authentic life, not too touristy, but would like to play tennis and will probably teach English. 
I have had a look at idealista. Any other good property web sites or good relocation agent, possibly.
What areas in central Madrid would be good for the Pozuelo commute?
Budget unclear at the moment.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Saley said:


> There is a possibility that my husband's work is moving to Pozuelo and I will spend quite a lot of time in Spain. Our children are at uni in England.
> Advice please. What is Pozuelo like? Should we live there or aim for something central and my husband commute (Not too bad,I gather)
> I want authentic life, not too touristy, but would like to play tennis and will probably teach English.
> I have had a look at idealista. Any other good property web sites or good relocation agent, possibly.
> ...


Pozuelo is an affluent area and well populated by the (very) conservative party, the PP, including ex prime minister José María Aznar and wife Ana Botella Mayor of Madrid and the Minister of Justice,Gallardon I believe. 
I used to have a class in an office block at the end of the main avenue in Pozuelo at around 17:30 and there was a large presence of nannies (many uniformed) with their (also) uniformed young charges.
It's quite a residencial area with some green spaces, lots of schools and with good public transport and roads into Madrid.
I'm sure that there will be a variety of housing available, but it is an expensive area in general. More expensive than central Madrid? Well, again it would depend on the area.
In Madrid you could look at Moncloa which is on the right (as in correct) side of the city for Pozuelo. You could also think about Aravaca which is again a very affluent area outside of the city, kind of between Madrid and Pozuelo, but it depends on what kind of things you are looking for


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

This thread has a lot of info in it
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...8458-family-exploring-option-move-madrid.html


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Saley said:


> There is a possibility that my husband's work is moving to Pozuelo and I will spend quite a lot of time in Spain. Our children are at uni in England.
> Advice please. What is Pozuelo like? Should we live there or aim for something central and my husband commute (Not too bad,I gather)
> I want authentic life, not too touristy, but would like to play tennis and will probably teach English.
> I have had a look at idealista. Any other good property web sites or good relocation agent, possibly.
> ...


Pozuelo is a bit like Surrey or Putney. Posh, leafy and a bit conservative, where people prefer to live in large houses and commute in rather than live in a flat in the centre. 

There are parts of Pozuelo called La Finca and Prado de Somosaguas that are incredibly expensive, where many of the Real Madrid footballers live, but other parts aren't that pricey nowadays. Avenida Europa is where the bars and restaurants are apparently, and not far from there are a couple of Cercanias train stations, which can get you into the centre of Madrid in less than half an hour (Cercanías Madrid)

The risk of living in Pozuelo is that it might turn out to be a "gilded cage" in that it's not so easy to meet people, although I'm sure you can find houses on urbanisations with tennis courts, etc. On the other hand, there's a reason it's expensive: it's very pleasant there. Madrid has long hot summers and Pozuelo is where you'll find houses with nice gardens with swimming pools. Also if you want to teach English privately then you'll probably get paid more in Pozuelo, provided you can find the business.

If you want to live more centrally then one factor is where your husband's work is, and whether it is near a Cercanias station. Is so then it's a good idea to look for somewhere along lines C7 or C10 : Renfe - Plano de Cercanías Madrid. Along the C10 you can find pretty much anything from upmarket central flats next to the Retiro to chalets up in the mountains. There are also fast buses that can take you to Moncloa as well. There's a huge choice.

Fotocasa is another popular website for property.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

We rented a house in Pozuelo for a month when we came on our first house-hunting trip. As mentioned above, it's an affluent town with lots of property choices, many facilities and within very easy reach of Madrid city by car or many forms of public transport. If your husband lived in Pozuelo he'd have more time to enjoy life without a commute, which, although not excessive, is always best avoided!


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## Saley (Sep 17, 2014)

Thank you very much for the rapid responses. Really helpful to get me googling.
I see the C7 Cercanias stations go through Piramides which seems pretty central. What is it like round there, within a walk?
Or Delicias?
Or Mendez?

Pozuelo. Good comparison...Surrey/Barnes! 
Any local areas we should look at with 'atmosphere'. (My husband working near El barrio C.P.) we are not in La Finca bracket, but a garden/ pool very attractive!

Obviously we will come and look at some stage!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Saley said:


> Thank you very much for the rapid responses. Really helpful to get me googling.
> I see the C7 Cercanias stations go through Piramides which seems pretty central. What is it like round there, within a walk?
> Or Delicias?
> Or Mendez?
> ...


I taught at the University 5 mins away from the station Piramides and I have to say I found it quite a boring area, not a lot of shops or green areas by the station, some big wide roads with traffic, and others fairly quiet, and near the uni it was more run down. I'm not sure there are houses in that area either.
One good thing about that area is that it's near Madrid Rio. This is an area that was until recently taken up by a heavy traffic road, but at enormous expense the road was taken underground and the land that was recovered was made into a very nice walk area (with bike lanes, trees, play areas, even a beach in the summer!) which runs along the river.
You'd have to see it for yourselves and check the housing market, but it wouldn't be my choice.

What's el barrio C.P. ?


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## Saley (Sep 17, 2014)

El Barrial-C.C. Pozuelo is the train station in Pozuelo, near his work.
Thanks for info about Piramides area. Doesn't sound a runner!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Saley said:


> El Barrial-C.C. Pozuelo is the train station in Pozuelo, near his work.
> Thanks for info about Piramides area. Doesn't sound a runner!


Ahhh. CC = centro comercial. There's a Corté Inglés hipermarket there.
Wait and see what others say about Piramides - they might know something I don't!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

The area north west of Piramides is called Imperial and is pretty dull. It is dominated by the Atlético Madrid stadium that is due to be knocked down in a year or so, and have luxury flats built there instead (they never learn). For that reason I'd avoid it as it will no doubt cause chaos in the area, as well as pollution (always a problem in central Madrid due to lack of rain mainly).

The area south east of Piramides is called Acacias and has quite nice urbanizations with swimming pools, etc. Mainly families live there, and the river redevelopment now makes it quite a nice area. Near Delicias is an area called Metales that has had upmarket urbanizations built there, and you also have the Tierno Galván park nearby. Mendez Alvaro also has new urbanizations but no character. I've lived in and around the Acacias/Delicias area for nearly 8 years now so I know it well if you need any more info.

Personally if I were about to spend say 2 years in Madrid with say between €1000/month and €1500/month rental budget, I'd head for either Salamanca or Chamberi near Recoletos station, or Moncloa. That's where you'll be right in the thick of everything, with lots going on and you'll really get to know Madrid and have fun. You'll really feel like you are in the capital of Spain and when you leave you'll feel like you've really got to know the place. OK so you'll end up in a flat and it might not be as spacious as living in a house in Pozuelo, but those areas are right in the centre and upmarket, and there are few capital cities left where you can live well in such central areas for those kind of prices. That's just my personal choice though.


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## laurapmaestro (Jun 23, 2015)

Hi there, 
My husband and I now live in London with our son. I grew up in Pozuelo and was incredibly happy there. Also, you now have some of the best international schools in the area: The British Council School, the American School and the Aquinas school, all in Pozuelo. If you decide this is the area for you we do have a house in Pozuelo we are looking to rent. This is the link to it housetorentinpozuelo.com, if you have any other questions, even not house related I would be very happy to help. As I say, I now live in London but spent all my life in Pozuelo.

Best regards, 

Laura


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