Moving To Madrid in January!

[Candela]

Hey!  I noticed quite a few folks mentioning that they were moving to Madrid in or near January 2003--I am one of them...January 6th, just over a month away!!!



Would any of you soon to be Madrid expats be interested in hooking up once there?  Maybe starting a little regular meeting thing to explore the city as well as explore our expat issues.  I did live in Madrid before and the first four months or so after moving were really hard--struggling with the language, the culture, finding work, dealing with roommates, Telefonica nightmares, knowing few people, plain ole missing home, and wondering if I had crossed over into insanity when I made the move.  



Of course, now I am doing it all again and this time I think it would be great to get together with others going through the same thing.



Let me know if you are interested by posting here.



Candela[addsig]

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[Mel328]

I\'ll be heading out there in July, if the offer still stands. I already have some Spanish friends in Madrid, but when I was studying in Sevilla I found my friends in Galicia and Madrid didn\'t really understand a lot of what I was going through a times. If you want to get together over the summer, feel free to email me so we can get to know each other - [!-- BBcode auto-mailto start --][a href=\"mailto:fayscookie@aol.com\"]fayscookie@aol.com[/a][!-- BBCode auto-mailto end --]



Melinda[addsig]

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[Brenda]

Sure, that sounds like a great idea. I\'m moving to Madrid in January too. Keep me updated via email. [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_xmasrudolph.gif\"] [addsig]

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[florecita]

Hi Candela,



I already gave you my e-mail address before. It would be a great idea to keep in touch.  I know all you are talking about, deal with the language, culture, finding a job, etc., etc., I speak spanish really good, I was born in  Nicaragua and lived there until I was seventeen, so if you need help practicing your spanish I will be glad to help you.  I just know one person in Madrid, and he is my ex-boyfriend.  I pretty sure that soon we will have a lot of friends.  Here is my e-mail address again [!-- BBcode auto-mailto start --][a href=\"mailto:karla1975@aol.com\"]karla1975@aol.com[/a][!-- BBCode auto-mailto end --]  I am arriving on the 6th as well.  Hope we can get de marcha when we are there. Cheers, [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_love.gif\"]  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_nod.gif\"] [addsig]

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[Candela]

Hi Brenda, Melinda, and Karla!  This sounds great!  We\'ll definitely make the plans.  What are the dates that ya\'ll arrive.  I am in by the 6th.  Maybe we could arrange a get together near the end of the month to give us all a chance to settle in.  And Melinda...the offer will surely still be open by July.  Jer over at multimadrid.com is really excited about this idea too.  He\'s been in Spain for 7 years, so he\'ll be able to give us some great insights.  Also, the more the merrier, no?  Okay, excuse me a second, I just need to say...



[IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_laughing.gif\"] [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif\"]  29 MORE DAYS TO MADRID [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_psychotic.gif\"]  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif\"]    [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_nod.gif\"]  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif\"]  [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif\"]



We can stay in touch here or ya\'ll can contact me directly by email at [!-- BBcode auto-mailto start --][a href=\"mailto:candyleelaballe@yahoo.com.\"]candyleelaballe@yahoo.com.[/a][!-- BBCode auto-mailto end --]



Have a great Holiday and see you in Spain!

Candela[addsig]

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[Brenda]

Oh my goodness, it IS almost January isn\'t it? I\'m excited, but right now I\'m just a ball of stress because I need to get rid of all my STUFF. Mostly furniture. Wow, how much stuff can one person accumulate in just a few years of apartment living?



By the way, I will be arriving in Madrid sometime in late january. I\'m getting worried about health insurance once I\'m there, as my current plan (United Health Care) doesn\'t carry over. Has anyone else thought about health insurance?

Cheers,

Brenda[addsig]

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[byrdsong]

I\'m getting worried about health insurance once I\'m there, as my current plan (United Health Care) doesn\'t carry over. Has anyone else thought about health insurance?

Cheers,

Brenda[/quote]



Hi, my husband and I will also be heading to Spain next fall - probably Madrid.  And as a matter of fact, I was just looking over some Health Insurance Information from Global Medical International.  I posted a few questions to them, but by their web site it looks like one can get fairly extensive coverage for $50/month (with $250 deductible) if you are under age 30. (It is a bit more the older one is).  Their site is at  [!-- BBCode auto-link start --][a href=\"http://globalmedicalinternational.com\" target=\"_blank\"]http://globalmedicalinternational.com[/a][!-- BBCode auto-link end --]



I would also be intersted in other available insurance coverage.  Have you found any yet?

Robyn[addsig]

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[Brenda]

Hi Robyn,

Thank you for the link. Yes, the coverage does look reasonable and fairly priced. Unfortunately, they have that "pre-existing conditions excluded" clause, but I\'ve found that nearly all global insurance plans have that clause and there\'s no way around it. Or maybe there is a way around it that I have yet to learn, as I\'ve only been dealing with health insurance companies for a couple of years. Anyhoot, there are a few private insurance companies in Spain that I\'ve researched. Sanitas is the most popular, but unfortunately they only cover expats who have been living in Spain for at least 9 mos. I\'ve also contacted DKV Seguros, and have yet to hear from it. Both of these carriers have excellent websites in English. I will keep you updated on what else I find! [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_psychotic.gif\"] [addsig]

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[Candela]

Hi everyone!  Well I have been in Madrid for about three weeks now and all I can say is WOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWO!!!!  It is so AMAZING.  Why oh why did I wait so long to return?



Anyway, we are going to have that expat meetup thang.  I\'m planning it with Jer from [!-- BBCode auto-link start --][a href=\"http://www.multimadrid.com.\" target=\"_blank\"]www.multimadrid.com.[/a][!-- BBCode auto-link end --]  It is going to be a pretty freeform get together with no agenda other than meeting up and chatting.  It is definately open to non-expats as well.  More the merrier,no?  Anyway, I still hope it can be a great resource for us newbies who are learning all the ins and outs of living in Spain, you know the little things...buying the metro pass, flagging down butano guys, buying una verdura verde y largo y no puedo recordar el nombre in the market, getting a phone, everything.  



So, the first shindid is February 6th at Cafe Comercial (Metro Bilbao) at 8pm.  Hope to see you there.



Also, if anyone new is out there and would like to go to a fun party on Wednesday night, call me on movil 610 064 964.  It is an international party at Cafe Madrid and is actually a lot of fun.  The crowd is late twenties on up and the objective is for spanish and foreigners to mingle. I went last week and had a blast!  There is a link about it on [!-- BBCode auto-link start --][a href=\"http://www.multimadrid.com\" target=\"_blank\"]www.multimadrid.com[/a][!-- BBCode auto-link end --], under painting the town rojo, called International Party in typical Madrid Cafe.



I am still waiting for my ADSL hook up so I will post sporadically,but am looking to be very active once I have my internet.  In the meantime, Cheers.

Candela[addsig]

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