# new move new country new member



## richie rich (Aug 12, 2009)

HI all, I'm new in here so if I make a few protocol mistakes, please forgive me. I'm looking to relocate to Spain by March next year and will most likely be living in Madrid. I'd like to start building a network of friends/collegues before I get down there permanently so at least I have people who can fill me in on the cultural do's and don'ts as well as grabbing a coffee from time to time. I'm heading down in October so that might be a good time to catch up.
As for me, I'm a 42 year old Australian and looking to secure a position with Vaughan Systems as an english teacher, though my background is in HR.
I've been living in Denmark for 4 years so if there are any Danes on here that would like to catch up so they can laugh as I butcher my way through their language they are most welcome to get in touch.
That's it for now.
Cheers
Richie Rich


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

richie rich said:


> HI all, I'm new in here so if I make a few protocol mistakes, please forgive me. I'm looking to relocate to Spain by March next year and will most likely be living in Madrid. I'd like to start building a network of friends/collegues before I get down there permanently so at least I have people who can fill me in on the cultural do's and don'ts as well as grabbing a coffee from time to time. I'm heading down in October so that might be a good time to catch up.
> As for me, I'm a 42 year old Australian and looking to secure a position with Vaughan Systems as an english teacher, though my background is in HR.
> I've been living in Denmark for 4 years so if there are any Danes on here that would like to catch up so they can laugh as I butcher my way through their language they are most welcome to get in touch.
> That's it for now.
> ...


Hi Richie and welcome, always nice to see new members and potential new friends on here!

Sadly Madrid isnt my area - so no coffee and chats Im afraid! lol .... but Im sure you will get people replying to you who are closer to your chosen area of Spain.

Good to see that you are putting the time and effort into getting some research done in advance of coming over in October .... presumably October is a fact finding mission ? if so, then thats another important thing to do ... many people dont and I think they miss out and sussing out whether a particular place is right for them or not ..... best of luck and enjoy your trip over.

Sue :ranger:


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

There are one or two who are up in Madrid, Sharlack springs to mind????? All I know about Madrid is that its very cosmapolitan, very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter (actually if you've lived in Denmark then it probably isnt cold in the winter to you lol)! Anyway, nice to meet you Richie. We also have a chap who drops in occasionally who is at the moment in Sweden, but lives in Spain. He's very knowledgable about Denmark, Sweden etc, so he might enjoy helping you destroy the danish language!!!!!!!!!

Jo xxx


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## richie rich (Aug 12, 2009)

jojo said:


> There are one or two who are up in Madrid, Sharlack springs to mind????? All I know about Madrid is that its very cosmapolitan, very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter (actually if you've lived in Denmark then it probably isnt cold in the winter to you lol)! Anyway, nice to meet you Richie. We also have a chap who drops in occasionally who is at the moment in Sweden, but lives in Spain. He's very knowledgable about Denmark, Sweden etc, so he might enjoy helping you destroy the danish language!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


tusind tak jojo, I know from moving here ( DK) how lonely and exasperating a transition can be so thanks for that )


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## Trigger3 (Aug 10, 2009)

Hi Richie,

I am based in the UK at the moment but I was based in Madrid during 2005 and it was fantastic!

A great city with things going on 7 x 24 and in general people are very friendly and helpful.

I lived in the district of Arturo Soria about 15 mins from the centre of Madrid by Metro. Plenty of shops, cafes, restaurants, etc.

Very easy place to get around as the Metro covers both underground trains and buses and travel passes are very reasonable if you compare it against the prices on the London undetground. 

You definately need warm clothes in the winter due to the altitude, it does get frosty in Dec/Jan/Feb and I even remember it snowing on quite a few days.

Plenty going on around Plaza Mayor, Sol, Gran Via i.e. lots of bars of all nationalities.

If you like footbal it is normally quite easy to get tickets into the Bernabeu to see Real.

Hope that helps.

Rgds,

Gary


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## richie rich (Aug 12, 2009)

Trigger3 said:


> Hi Richie,
> 
> I am based in the UK at the moment but I was based in Madrid during 2005 and it was fantastic!
> 
> ...


thanks Gaz,...I hear a lot of different things ( good and bad) about Madrid so thanks for the heads up . A quick question,...are there many langauage schools where I can learn spainish??


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## richie rich (Aug 12, 2009)

Suenneil said:


> Hi Richie and welcome, always nice to see new members and potential new friends on here!
> 
> Sadly Madrid isnt my area - so no coffee and chats Im afraid! lol .... but Im sure you will get people replying to you who are closer to your chosen area of Spain.
> 
> ...


HI Sue, thanks for the welcome,...the October visit is 2 fold,...a one week excusion with Vaughan Systems to a place called Barco De Avila where my only task is to speak english  and the second week is a fact finding mission,...rental prices, neighbourhoods cost of living etc. and aslo to set up some job interviews.
thanks again and keep in touch 
cheers
Rich


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## Trigger3 (Aug 10, 2009)

Hi Richie,

I would assume yes there a plenty of places to learn Spanish.

I was luck in that I was on secondment to a large multi national company so they arranged all my language training.

The tutor was excellent and very patient, I basically had 2 hours a day x 3 days per week so it was fairly intensive but very helpful and it did get easier as the weeks went by.

We started right at the basics i.e. learn the alphabet, then numbers and then specific items - furniture, job positions e.g. fireman, policeman, doctor, etc, colours, food, getting directions and then stringing them together into basic sentences.

I need to do a refresher again but it was a good grounding in the basics for me.

I went to a small village in Extramadura in April 2008 close to the Portuguese border and although I still remembered my basic Spanish they spoke a totally different dialect there! I was stuffed!!! 

Also in Madrid you will get South American Spanish as well...!!!

But all good fun which is part of the joy of learning a new language.

Good luck,

Gary


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## scharlack (Nov 21, 2008)

richie rich said:


> HI all, I'm new in here so if I make a few protocol mistakes, please forgive me. I'm looking to relocate to Spain by March next year and will most likely be living in Madrid. I'd like to start building a network of friends/collegues before I get down there permanently so at least I have people who can fill me in on the cultural do's and don'ts as well as grabbing a coffee from time to time. I'm heading down in October so that might be a good time to catch up.
> As for me, I'm a 42 year old Australian and looking to secure a position with Vaughan Systems as an english teacher, though my background is in HR.
> I've been living in Denmark for 4 years so if there are any Danes on here that would like to catch up so they can laugh as I butcher my way through their language they are most welcome to get in touch.
> That's it for now.
> ...


Hey Rich, 

Welcome!

As mentioned per Gary, Madrid is well known for being a vibrant city. However it is close to the "sierras" hills which are quiter places and very nice, too.

Temperatures go very high on the summer and very low on the winter. 

Public transportation is great and the city is served with good museums, theatres and a great airport which is connected to the metro

Food is great here! The coffe, the wine, etc 

You are going to be very close to places such as Toledo, Segovia, Avila, El Escorial, Aranjuez, Cuenca, etc. All worth a visit!

Perhaps you are going to notice (at least I did) the Spaniards smile more than other Western European countries!

Private msg me if you need any info. Will be glad to assist!

Good luck with your journey!

Cheers

PS* I forgot to mention that my wife took a Spanish course at Enforex in Madrid and she liked it a lot. You may want to consider googling it and calling for some info (?).


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## richie rich (Aug 12, 2009)

Thanks Sharlack, am out and about tonight but wanted to send a quick note of thanks....will get back in touch tomorrow.
thanks again
Cheers
Rich


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## richie rich (Aug 12, 2009)

Hey Sharlack,
Apologies for the tardy response, a night on teh town did not do really good things for my typing skills.
As I mentioned, I'm heading down in October with teh second week of my trip being a fact finding mission.
I was wondering if you knew of any internet sites that have apartments for rent in the madrid area. I've hunted around on teh net and all I come up with are holiday apartments etc.
Also, from what I undertand the cost of living works out at about 1000 Euros a month( not including rent) Do you think this would be a reasonable aproximation?
And last but certainly not least......TAX. I'll most likely be working as an autonomo and earning around 3000 a month before tax. Do you know of any sites in english that provide Spanish tax details ( deductions claimable allowances etc) ?


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## scharlack (Nov 21, 2008)

richie rich said:


> Hey Sharlack,
> Apologies for the tardy response, a night on teh town did not do really good things for my typing skills.
> As I mentioned, I'm heading down in October with teh second week of my trip being a fact finding mission.
> I was wondering if you knew of any internet sites that have apartments for rent in the madrid area. I've hunted around on teh net and all I come up with are holiday apartments etc.
> ...


Hello Rich,

There is no tardy response... we are all here to help! 
The internet site I know is www dot fotocasa dot es. You will be aware of the rental prices around the different neighboords. Northern Madrid is more expensive whereas the South is cheaper (usually). You'll be fine on a 1000EUR/month for a rental budget. You can live in a nice apartment within the M-30 (madrid centre) or even a good house outside of the city with that money. 
Do you know where the company offices are located? That would be important when choosing your place to live.
I am sorry I don't know anything about autonomo tax.
Let me know whatever you need and I will try to help as much as I can!

Cheers


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