Reasons to study in Madrid

I have already spoken in depth about many topics related to the city of Madrid. I've talked about all manner of things: leisure activities and nightlife, the cultural offerings that we can find, the city's food culture that suits all budgets, alternative plans...

I have shared many of my experiences, but now it's honesty hour... what every student really wants to know about the city they are going to live and study in is: what are the advantages that this city has that make it stand out from others?

This is a question that students who live in Spain (students with a relocation grant within Spain or those who move from their region of origin) could ask just as much as students who come from foreign countries with an Erasmus grant. In both cases, they will move for different reasons, basically because their circumstances are quite different.

In any case, what I am going to do in this post is talk about all of the circumstances, which, from my point of view, are great advantages when it comes to studying in Madrid, be it for your whole life or just a period of time. Like all posts of this type, it will be subjective and will depend on the individual, but, at the end of the day, what is good always ends up being good for almost everyone.

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The climate

It might not seem like it - it may be that there are people (like me) who say that they hate the heat and that good weather doesn't really influence them too much in their decision making - but, this is one of the main things that you end up missing when you're not in Madrid (or in Spain, in general).

The only reasons for which you could really criticise Madrid's climate is, one, the lack of beaches that allow us to breath fresh air and bring a bit of moisture to the atmosphere, and, two, the fact that it's a city with really high levels of pollution. In reality, this is somewhat normal in a large city with millions of people living there, and being situated right in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula, the sea is more than 400 kilometres away, which means that there is nothing that can clean this air that we unfortunately have to breathe.

But, leaving this unfortunate factor to one side, I think that the climate in Madrid is suitable for almost all tastes.

In autumn and winter, Madrid is usually quite a cold place. It's rare that there are several consecutive days where the temperature falls below zero, which means that, although you can really feel the cold, it's somewhat bearable. Besides, rain showers are usually few and far between in Madrid, although, like in all places, there always ends up being some days where the weather makes life a little more difficult. In terms of snow, it is usually unheard-of in Madrid, but if it does begin to fall, prepare yourself for a collapse in public transport throughout the capital and some upset citizens all thanks to the simple fact that a couple of snowflakes have fallen.

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But, the somewhat erratic and cold weather ends with the arrival of spring and summer. Although it's true that, as the famous Spanish saying states "Hasta el 40 de mayo no te quites el sayo" (which means "until summer arrives, expect it to be cold one day"), this time of year only brings benefits.

First, when spring arrives, so does the changing of the clocks, which gives us one more hour of sunlight a day, which, in Spain, means that until 8pm or 9pm the sun will not set. Every year, this gives us more much excitement to do things outdoors and go out and make plans. Of course, this flips on its head in Autumn, but even still, although this extra hour of daylight ends up being lost, the Spanish sun still sets later than it does in the rest of the neighbouring countries on the European continent.

In spring, the temperatures are pleasant at approximately 20 degrees, although there will already be days where the heat brings them up to almost 30 degrees. It's without a doubt the time of the year with the best weather, because the temperatures in summer are somewhat extreme and aren't to everyone's liking.

Mind you, just as much in spring as in summer, it also usually rains. In Spring, rainfall is usually between April and May, and, in summer, there are usually some electric storms during the month of August.

So, this is the weather in Madrid: varied, comfortable, bright and to the liking of most people.

The university

Evidently, my experience has been shaped at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, but there are other universities that make this city the perfect destination for any student, as, wherever you go, there is going to be a university that can adapt to your study plan and pretty much anything else you want to get out of the experience. There is also a wide variety of Masters programmes that you can enrol onto within each faculty.

I have studied at the Universidad Complutense, specifically in the History department, and, at least in my faculty, it is considered to be one of the 50 best universities in Europe in which History can be studied.

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In general, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid offers programmes of study in Humanities and Social Sciences at a very high level, and it has the Moncloa Campus, which is agreat benefit when it comes to the overall student experience at the university. For studies related to Engineering, the best option would be to study at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

But, in any case, you only have to take a look around to decide which university is best suited to you and your needs, because, although sometimes there is only one university that offers the study programmes that interest you, other times you have a broad selection of universities where you can study the same degree.

So, there is also the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, and Universidad Carlos III, which are a little bit further out from the centre of Madrid. There is also the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, which, despite being even further away from the city centre, can be a good option for both undergraduate and postgraduate study.

The people

Without a shadow of a doubt, anyone who doesn't come from the city (whether that means another city in Spain or from another country), you are going to feel completely integrated in Madrid. Here, the people can be criticised for many things, that's certain, but, with regards to hospitality, we are the best people in the world that you could find.

We like what's ours, yes, like everyone, but generally the people here really like the cultural exchange, and it's that, if something, Madrid is characterised for, due to this great cultural diversity that you can find out and about at any time of day.

If you come from any other place in Spain, you are going to feel at home as much at the university as with any friend that you make from living with others. The homesickness will last for as long as it takes for you to integrate into a friendship group and start to get to know them well, which I don't think will be much longer than two weeks.

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With regards to any student coming from a foreign country, be it through Erasmus or any other exchange programme, I would just say to them don't be embarrassed about talking to any of your Spanish classmates, be it to ask for help, advice or notes/recommendations. Any of these things will be welcome; in fact, I think that it would be rare that a Spanish student wouldn't have given some time to help a student who has come from abroad to study in Madrid.

And, of course, don't let your language level ever be an impediment because the people in Madrid will do everything possible to try and understand anyone who doesn't speak Spanish fluently - this may mean using gestures, using (or, at least trying to) English words, shouting (a very Spanish thing to do)... Nobody will judge anyone for not knowing how to speak Spanish perfect, as we are the first in a long line of people who cannot speak any other language than our own.

The party scene

This is the most typical and most universal thing about Spanish culture. In fact, the first thing that the people learning our language learn to say is "beach" and "party".

But anyway, in Madrid, I will never tire of repeating this, there is one of the best nightlife/partying scenes that you can find in the whole of Spain, and not only in Spain, but in Europe in general.

This is one of things that I have already talked about at length in another of my posts about nightlife in the city of Madrid, but, in short, I can say that nights spent in Madrid are the most special and unique that I have had in my life.

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Whatever time it is and wherever you are in the city, I am sure that you are going to find a party in one place or another. And if you don't find one, you will, at some point, go up to a street vendor who can offer you cold cans of beer for a euro and start your own party where you are.

It's a city that never sleeps with an extremely varied party scene. Irrespective of your personal tastes, you are absolutely going to find your place and style of party here in Madrid.

The food

As much for the prices as for the quality, Madrid, in culinary terms, is one of the best cities that you could live in as a student.

It's true that if you come from another part of Europe where the cost of living is cheaper, Madrid will seem like an expensive city to you. But, it's something that you have to look at with a bit of perspective because, if we take into account how much it costs to shop in cities in Central Europe or in France, for example, you will feel lucky for having been able to live here in Madrid.

But, besides, it's not only the price, the quality also plays an important factor. I have personally been to lots of supermarkets outside of Madrid (and Spain, for that matter), where the quality of those products had dropped much more than you would have hoped.

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Besides, if you come from another country, you will able to enjoy one of the products that everyone will be most envious of: olive oil. Spain, being the main producer of this oil, has its stake in a large majority of the best olive oils in the world, and those that aren't the best are still of a high quality and are priced reasonably enough that any student could buy it without any problems. In fact, here, it's basically considered to be a necessity.

Then, on the other hand, are the extraordinary restaurants with both Spanish food and foreign cuisine, which you can find all over the city of Madrid, and are something that are worth trying from time to time.

The culture

I always say it, but Madrid is one of the cities with the best cultural offerings that you can find.

Firstly, some of the most important museums in the country can be found here, from art museums like the Museo Nacional del Prado, to natural history museums, like the Museo Geológico Minero, and loads more that are home to really important collections just as much on a national level as an international level.

But, there are not just museums in the city. In terms of events, Madrid is one of the cities in Spain that has a large number of events of all type taking place throughout the year. From theatre galas to musicals of all type that are advertised on all the huge buildings in Gran Vía; huge film premiers, exclusive concerts, and, finally, a large number of festivals that Madrid keeps acquiring to become an even more culturally complete city.

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And all of this is just some of the things that I have experienced personally as a student in Madrid. They are just some small aspects that make living in this amazing city worth it. All the others things can only be discovered through one's personal experiences here.

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