Welcome to your new life in Madrid

Two years ago, I arrived at a completely new city. I didn't know anything about it.

I came from a small town where everyone knew each other, but I went to Madrid and I discovered a whole new world.

My name is Arancha and I was born in Zaragoza. I moved when I was very young to a small town called Tudela. In 2014 I finished high school at 19 years old, and I decided to begin a new life in a new city, for from where I grew up. This is how my adventure in Madrid begins.

I immediately fell in love with the city. Initially, my faculty was in the South campus. It was a small campus with two different schools: Topography and Telecommunications. It's a pretty welcoming campus where it's really easy to meet new people and make friends. The rest of the programs are taught at the campus located in the Ciudad Universitaria (CIU), where there are several nice buildings surrounded by nice, well-kept gardens, providing us students with a nice place to study and relax at the same time.

The architecture of the houses in Madrid is pretty impressive. If you are passionate about architecture, I recommend you get lost in the streets in the centre of Madrid.

Every part of Madrid attracts and envelops you in its own way. First there's the Retiro park, a large park, centrally located, in which you can play any type of sport (even rowing on the lake), read a book, walk your dog or even feed the squirrels and ducks. Another one of the places I fell in love with was the Temple of Debod, from which you can see the Royal Palace and the Casa de Campo park (which provides a spectacular view of Madrid). Especially the sunsets there are incredible and magnificent. The Royal Palace impresses, with its grandiose structure and the large gardens behind it alongside the Almudena cathedral.

Madrid is also a very sport-friendly city, seeing as you can find parks in which to practice sports throughout it. There are several areas to go and run or skate, such as the Madrid Rio, where there are several basketball courts and football fields. The city is also dotted with a plethora of street workout parks, allowing you to exercise outdoors.

Shopping is also easily done in Madrid. I personally prefer going to the centre (Callao, Sol, Gran via and Fuencarral), this despite there also being some very good shopping centres in the suburbs.

And, speaking of parties, the reality is that Madrid has parties every night, and wherever you want. There are many good night clubs, such as Kapital or Fabrik, however in the Huertas or Argüelles there are also some very nice bars with fun music. People of all sorts dot the streets, some boasting rather extravagant looks and styles, and what's good about this is that no one pretends to be what they're not, and this is really the best for everyone.

There are also some nice little spots for when you have your moments of stress, for example Casa de Campo, a nice place to go walking among the trees or to escape the city without even leaving it. There's even some other very nice parks in Madrid, like the Parque de Oeste or El Lago.

Luckily you can find several nice towns near Madrid to go and visit when it's snowing, or you can even take a day trip to the nearby mountains to distance yourself a bit from civilization.

The worst aspect that I can think of is the weather, due to the fact that it's very cold in the Winter and I don't like the cold. Another inconvenience is the contamination. Sometimes it's even difficult to breathe, especially when I first arrived and I wasn't used to it yet, however luckily, or unluckily, you get used to it pretty quickly.

Despite the chilly December, Christmas in Madrid is magical. The city is full of lights that it brings you back to the illusions we all had when we were children during that period.

The food is energetic and voluminous, and especially full of flavour. The tripe, the Cocido Madrileño and some good lentils help you endure the cold with some strong flavours.

In conclusion, even though Madrid is very big, busy and noisy, I believe it's an amazing place to live, especially since you have everything within reach and an excellent transport system allowing you to easily travel wherever you want.

The best way to get to know the city is by using a real map, shutting off Google Maps and getting lost among the many streets, getting to know areas and falling more and more in love with Madrid every step you take.