Where to live/what to pay?

[Moira]

Hi!  I am interested in moving to Madrid in January.  Where are the best/most fun/late-twenty-somethingish places to live in Madrid?  And what price range should I expect for both my own place vs. living with a roommate?  Thanks!  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_nod.gif\"] [addsig]

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[Tracy]

Jeremy??? YoooHooo...This is a Jer-Question, if ever there was one.



 [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif\"] [addsig]

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[jer]

Hola Moira, good to see you planning a move to Madrid [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif\"]



Your question is a good one and one with many answers. There are many areas of Madrid that can give you the 20s croud atmosphere and if what you want is a mega party zone, you may want to live in the Plaza de Santa Ana/Huertas area but sleeping  can be very hard at times.



The geat thing about Madrid is that the areas that compose the ciity center are very walkable. You may want to scope out the areas of Cheuca, Alonso Mart´´inez, Bilbao & Malasaña and Tribunal as well. So many cool places to live, so little time, decisions decisions [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif\"]



You really can not make a decision on where to live without having been here for a bit and "tasted" the differnet areas.



As for prices of rooms to rent vs your own place, housing prices have shot sky high lately here in Madrid and it is hard ot find a decent place at an affordable rate  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_cry.gif\"]



Rooms in shared flats range from 275 to 450 Euros/month (closer to the high end since the 275€ ones are few and far between and if they are abundant then they are probably holes in the wall. You can not get a studio or 1 bedroom for less than 550-600 €/month here anymore. A friend of mine just got a small 1 bedroom for 575€ and he got lucky.



Don\'t want to discourage ya but things are getting tough round here.



Stock market here is crap lately and those who used to invest there are now investing in real estate and prices are going way up.



Besides, Madrid is a kick ass place to live [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif\"]



Saludos,

jer... [addsig]

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[Moira]

Thanks Jer.  Yeah, I relate to the stock market woes vs. fast rising real estate.  If it makes you feel any better, the same thing is happening half way around the globe here in California.  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif\"]  

[addsig]

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[Tracy]

What would we do without you Jer?? (I\'ll have to take that ponderance to my zen buddhist meditations councelor) OK, joking. But seriously, THANKS. [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_love.gif\"] [addsig]

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[Brenda]

Hello,

Can you please help me to confirm what really is the price of a  one bedroom apartment/flat in Madrid? I am moving there in January, and I keep reading different estimates. I\'ve been to websites like pisos.com and segundamano.com and unless I\'m completely misreading the ads there, it looked like there were flats being advertised for 300 or 400 euros a month in Madrid. Is that wrong? I very much need to find a decent flat in Madrid but I\'m worried of being hoodwinked by some landlord or realtor because I\'m an immigrant. Thanks!  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif\"] [addsig]

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[florecita]

Hi Brenda,



I am also moving to Madrid this January. Did you read my ad about finding a roomate? Actually a girl from Belgium replyed to me, and we have been knowing each other by e-mail. We are going to meet once we arrive to Madrid, and if we are compatible, we are going to look for a place together. Are you interested? If you are, e-mail me at [!-- BBcode auto-mailto start --][a href=\"mailto:karla1975@aol.com\"]karla1975@aol.com[/a][!-- BBCode auto-mailto end --]  We can get to know each other better and see if we are compatible to be roomates.   [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif\"]  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif\"]  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif\"] [addsig]

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[jer]

Hi Brenda,



[!-- BBCode Quote Start --][TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%][TR][TD][font class=\"pn-sub\"]Quote:[/font][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][FONT class=\"pn-sub\"][BLOCKQUOTE] "Can you please help me to confirm what really is the price of a one bedroom apartment/flat in Madrid? "[/BLOCKQUOTE][/FONT][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][/TD][/TR][/TABLE][!-- BBCode Quote End --]



Giving you exact numbers would be impossible since it depends on the area.



Many of the flats you see for 300 or 400 Euros/month are tricks in Segundamano to get you to call their 906... phone number and spend time in their recordings system at 90 cents per minute  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif\"] Many real estate agencies also put in a cheap rental to get customers then it ends up being the old bait & switch!!!



I would say that you could find a one bedroom here in Madrid for 500 Euros/month but it will be pretty far from the city center. Your average one bedroom in the center or closeby will run about 600-700 Euros/month (with the exception of great deals). A friend just found a 2 bedroom for 600/monthis a decent are of Madrid (although about 45 minutes from Sol by Metro).



Segundamano used to be good for flat hunting before they changed their system but it is still good for looking for shared apartments.



Saludos,

jer...

_____________________________________________________________

· webweaver [!-- BBCode auto-link start --][a href=\"http://www.multimadrid.com\" target=\"_blank\"]www.multimadrid.com[/a][!-- BBCode auto-link end --] and all around spain nut!



· rent a cell phone from me for your trip to spain, more info at [!-- BBCode auto-link start --][a href=\"http://www.onspanishtime.com\" target=\"_blank\"]www.onspanishtime.com[/a][!-- BBCode auto-link end --][addsig]

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[androog]

Hi Moira. My name is Andrew and I just read your posting on the site about how you\'re moving to Madrid in January. I\'m also from California and am looking for someone to join me in finding a place to live in Madrid as well.  I\'m just there to learn the language and to develop my photography portfolio and to travel really. Let me know if you want to talk.



cheers,

andrew[addsig]

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[Candela]

Hey all!  From everyone I know in Madrid, expat and gatos alike, prices are crazy.  However, they are still nothing compared to big US cities..and like Jer said you can always get lucky.  I just scored a great one bedroom for a price that would make you all very jealous so I won\'t say what it is!  It came through an enchufe.  If you aren\'t familiar with that term, check out your Spanish/English dictionary and you will see it is an electrical plug.  It is also a connection as in "who you know."  If you really want to find a great place in Madrid, it will take time--either searching through the classifieds or building a relationship with an enchufe.  Hopefully you are going with enough money to tide you over for a bit.  



You may need to stay in a hostal which is nothing like the hostels european backpackers know and love--these are more like cheap hotels.  While there, scour the Segundomano as well as In Madrid and Broadsheet (if it is still local.)  You can find a cheap place to start out in but it might be a dump.  That is okay if it buys you time to really luck onto that elusive great place.  As you search for the great cheap place, be prepared to go see some major dives.  One place I went to seemed okay, new tile, new washing machine, even the bathroom--though small-seemed nice.  Then I noticed there was no shower nor tub.  When I asked the landlord, he pointed to the ceiling in the tiny bathroom and there was a spigot coming out from the ceiling.  Basically the whole bathroom turned into a shower with water spraying all over the toilet, the sink, the mirror.  Yuck.  



I did find a dirt cheap place initially but it really sucked.  My bedroom was actually a corner of the living room cordoned off by a moldy piece of furniture.  The kitchen had only a table top burner for cooking and the water heater only provided about two minutes of hot water.  I had to take showers by wetting down.  Turning off water.  Lathering up. Turning on water.  Rinsing off fast before water turned frigid. Getting out quick.  Even worse (for a shy southerner like myself) the bathroom was down a skinny little hall that snaked past my roommates\' bedroom. They didn\'t have a door, just a flimsy curtain and they seemed to always be having really really loud sex whenever I needed to pee.  I got to know the folks at the bar downstairs very well because I had to use their restroom so often.  



After a few months of cheap yet icky living, I knew enough folks and had enough of a feel for the town that I ended up finding an amazing one bedroom in the heart of town--high on the fifth floor of an ancient building, complete with a big outdoor balcony.  There was actually an opera singer living nearby and she always practiced during the day. In between classes I\'d sit on my balcony listening and thinking, oh my god am I really here.  Those moments more than made up for a few months of oversexed roommates, two minute showers, and no way to cook!



I guess after all this rambling, my advice is be prepared to start out somewhere you wouldn\'t want your parents visiting.  Don\'t be disheartened by it.  Use the time away from your piso feo (because you WILL want to stay away) to meet as many folks as you can, always asking about pisos and roommates and looking for that enchufe that will plug you into the piso of your dreams.



Bueno suerte![addsig]

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[Dustinianb]

Hey Guys, this question would probably be best answered by Jer or Tracy, but if anyone knows please respond.  From all my experiences in renting apts in the US, I have been required to sign either a 6 month of year long lease for an apt.  however, it seems that from some of the stories i have read on this board (Candelas, for example) you were able to move in and out of apts at your leisure.  Is that true, or are the leases generally set up like in the US with a 6 month of year contract.  I think it would be great if you could move in a out easily.  it would defineately give you more freedom for exploring the city and contry.  Anyway, any info on this would be great, either respond here or email me at [!-- BBcode auto-mailto start --][a href=\"mailto:Dustinianb@yahoo.com.\"]Dustinianb@yahoo.com.[/a][!-- BBCode auto-mailto end --]  thanks for the help and keep up the great site, the info it provides is invaluable.  



Adiosito,



Dustin  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_psychotic.gif\"] [addsig]

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[bluboy]

Hi,



That´s great advice from both you and Candela.  I just arrived in Madrid and am located near Chueca in a hostal.  I´m finding it way more difficult than I thought to find affordable housing.  Plus, it is so cold here that I may just head down to Sevilla.



I´m hoping you can give me some advice.  I just finished a contract job in Washington, D.C. and will be here in Spain until March 31.  I was hoping to find a cheap place to live and then branch out and look for work.  Though, it seems that there is some sort of govt. crackdown on the language schools.   I have a masters degree in special education-my specialty is Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling.  I have worked primarily for corporate univerisities as an academic and career counselor.  I was hoping to just hang out in Spain, enjoy and work a bit.  It´s only my first week, so I´m not going to get discouraged.  Many people I´ve met have suggested I try Alicante, Cadiz and Sevilla.  I´m open to anything, my goal is to just hang out in Spain, visit Portugal, go to Las Fallas and not pay more than is necessary for housing.  



Also, can you recommend places where I can go to see bulletin board listings for roommates?  I just printed out all this info from segundomano, I´m glad I haven´t made any calls yet.



Thanks,

Blu[addsig]

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