Experience in Madrid, Spain by Jessica

What is it like to live in Madrid? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Madrid is a great city to live in, the prices for food in the shops as well as in the restaurants is much cheaper than in Holland. Starting from March, the weather is good. There are a lot of different cultures in Madrid, which makes that you feel accepted after a very short period of time. Furthermore the Spanish people (the majority is from other parts of Spain) are very helpful. Be prepared to study Spanish, whilst their English is bad. Small villages around Madrid are also very interesting!

What is the student lifestyle like in Madrid?

Madrid is a great student environment, there are multiple parties every night, you receive great discounts with your Erasmus student pass for trips, parties and small holidays (Ibiza). With the enormous amount of students from cultures all over the world, no doubt there will be someone from your culture there.

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How much does it cost to live in Madrid?

This depends on what your student room/apartment costs, there are rooms with ample size from 280€, but it will share the house/kitchen with 5, 6 others. Doing shopping is about 60% cheaper than in Holland, as you have a 1, 5l bottle of Mahou (local beer) for 0, 90€ and a baguette for 0, 35€. Going out is quite cheap, students first have a bottellon, which is pre-drinking in the park with your self-brought booze, than paying 10€ entrance to a club and receiving 2 cocktails with it.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Madrid? Is there any advice you can give?

No, it is not difficult to find accommodation. Do watch out for houses in streets or plazas that are calm at during the day but booming at night, or vice verse, depending your preferences. It is possible to go an look at a room on Monday evening and to move in on Wednesday morning. Idealista.com is a good website where private owners sublet rooms. On this website you can mark in which 'barrio' you want to search, what your maximum price is and if there are any specialties. There are also rooms available with a family. Watch out with agencies, they will charge high fees.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

For me, Spanish food is the best, great sauces such as salsa brava and alioli, meat such as chorizo, Cordero(lamb), rabo de toro (bull tail), but also a tortilla de patata (potato omelet). It is normal to order tapas, small bites of food separately brought to you. Bread and butter that gets put on the table will be charged as soon as you have touched it.

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What places would you recommend visiting in Madrid?

Madrid is a lovely place to visit, with so much to offer. For example the Malasaña gay neighborhood in Madrid. Besides, Retiro park with its crystal palace and it's big ponds where you can rent a boat. Furthermore there is the Casa de Campo, which is a huge natural reserve in the heart of the city, where you can have a bite to eat at the Lago, rent a boat, go jogging, go mountain biking or go to the swimming pool on a hot day. You also can go to :

• The Royal palace
• Plaza del Sol
• Plaza Mayor
• Calle Fuencarral and Hortaleza for shopping
• The Cibeles Palace
• The Real Madrid football stadium
• The neighborhood of Salamanca for the luxury experience.

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Is it good to eat out in Madrid? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

I would recommend going to Lateral, which is a chain within Madrid. Furthermore Calle Hortaleza has a lot of restaurants and bars to offer, which leads you into Malasaña. From Mexican, to American diner, to take away Thai food, to tapas.

Is the nightlife good in Madrid? Where is good to go?

The nightlife in Madrid is very good. For every person from every gender, age, race and sexuality. There are discos, salsabars, gaybars, clubs, Irish pubs, tapasbars and bottellons. Joy Eslava is a big club.

What advice would you give future students heading to Madrid?

Enjoy, time flies and grab the opportunity to learn Spanish!