Brigitte's Experience in Madrid, Spain

What attracts you to living in Madrid? Would you recommend it? What’s it like?

It can sometimes be a bit stressful as you can end up spending a lot of time on public transport to get around the city.

However, I think that the students and young people are really great and you can get to know people from all over the world as well as from other parts of Spain. There are also lots of places of all different styles to go out.

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What’s the student lifestyle like in Madrid?

As I mentioned before, people come to Madrid from all over Spain and the rest of the world, so there is always something to do, it’s quite dynamic.

How much does it cost to live in Madrid?

You can end up spending a lot of money in Madrid because it is such a big city, it’s not one of the cheaper cities in Spain. Depending on where you live, you can find different prices in different neighbourhoods. If you live in the centre it is obviously much more expensive than if you live in the neighbourhoods further out from the centre. I think that the most important thing when choosing somewhere to live is how well-connected the neighbourhood is to other areas of the city. If you can get the train to neighbouring areas that is usually much better than the metro as it’s quicker, and it can also take you to the most important places within the city.

What’s the country’s food like? What are your favourite dishes?

I think that Spain is a country with really good food. There are lots of typical dishes and each community can prepare them differently.

The most typical Spanish foods are Serrano ham (cured ham), Spanish omelette and paella. But depending on the region and where you go, you can try a variety of other dishes. For example, in Madrid the “cocido madrileño” (a chickpea-based stew), in Andalusia, the “ajoblanco” or “gazpacho” (cold soups), and in the Basque Country, tapas or a good steak.

What places do you recommend visiting in Madrid?

My favourite street in Madrid is “Recoletos”, but there is a huge range of beautiful places to visit.

The ones I like best are:

- Museums: the Caixa Forum, El Prado and El Arqueológico

In honesty, there isn’t anything that Madrid doesn’t have.

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