Deciding Where To Live; My Experience of Living Outside of Central Madrid

While the majority of the friends I made at CIEE were determined to live in the city center and commute to work, I knew very quickly that I did NOT want to wake up earlier and would prefer to live near my school!

My placement was in a large, southern sub-district of Madrid called Getafe, yes like the football team. I really enjoyed living in Getafe as it has everything that you need, and I lived right next to a gorgeous, peaceful park with a picturesque mini lake, surrounded by friendly ducks.

In Getafe, there is also a large shopping district called ‘Parque Sur,’ which I loved to wander through after work sometimes. Best of all, food, clothes, beauty services, and activities were cheaper than in areas such as Sol!

 Expenses

I rented a room in Getafe for 400 euros, with all bills and expenses included. This was below my budget and meant I could spend more on trips and food! However, there were actually many places in Getafe available for around 250-350 euros, though bills weren’t always included.

Getting To School

Going to work was deliciously fast, a 20-minute walk on average, or 15 minutes with my headphones in and the right song. This also meant that during my free periods, I could run back home to rest or get a snack before continuing the workday. My school finished at 2:15 pm, and I was always home by 2:40 pm, meaning I had more of the day to myself! This also meant that while my friends were up early on their respective buses or trains, I was still in bed (though I probably should have made more of an effort to go for runs or to the gym).

 Traveling To The City Centre

Getting into ‘Central’ (well, that’s what I called it… you can take the girl out of London, but you can’t take London out of the girl) took me just under an hour both ways. Although the fast ‘cercanias’ from Getafe Central to Sol was only 20/25 minutes, I didn’t live near Getafe Central and had to walk about 15 minutes to my local train station and hop on that train to get to the Central station. This was a hassle if I wanted to stay out late, as the cercanias only run until midnight, meaning I’d have to get a night bus back to Getafe (which came every 45 minutes to 1 hour from Atocha), crash by a friend, or see the night through until the first 5 am cercanias train ran the following morning. Thank God, I had close friends who lived nearby Sol/Plaza Mayor, so this was not too much of a problem for me! However, there were definitely days/weekends when I just chose to stay in Getafe – luckily, I made friends who lived locally, so I would still get out and about.

**Side note:** As a young woman, I always felt extremely safe on night buses in Madrid and did not experience any issues or feel concerned for my safety! Everyone I encountered was polite, respectful, and the night buses were typically very quiet.

Uhh……what about the students?

Yes, living near my school meant that I would often run into my students outside of work! However, I taught secondary-age students who were moderately unbothered and would simply say hello (or just completely ignore me, which was also fine by me) and be on their way. I personally was not too fussed about the possibility of seeing my students while shopping or during daily life. However, if this is something that would make you feel uncomfortable, then perhaps it may be worth considering alternative options. For me, having to deal with seeing one of my kids every now and then on the street was worth the extra time I got to stay in bed each morning!

 Gallivanting, Activities + Sites

While Getafe had everything that I needed, I appreciated being in central and accidentally coming across quirky restaurants and art galleries. There were a range of gorgeous coffee shops in Malasaña where people would chill, chit-chat, and read a book. There were also several funky vintage shops, but I only knew of these places by walking through the area! 

I particularly loved exploring the African art and shops in the lively neighborhood of Lavapiés, as well as the amazing Senegalese and Dominican food spots that were also there!

Overall Verdict?

Living further out, in the 'community of Madrid' meant that I got the best of both worlds: easy access to Central, and the peace, calm, and tranquillity of my local area. Getafe is very much a quintessentially Spanish area, with siesta hours being a very real thing, plenty of elderly people who loved to shop and chat, and friendly shopkeepers. If I had to redo my year in Spain, I would still choose to live out in Getafe again as it provided me with a unique, authentic experience of Spain, free from tourism and inflated prices. In this sense, I felt like I got a more 'real' experience of living in Spain as a local. However, I would have chosen to live right next to Getafe Central, so that it would take me 30 minutes maximum to get to Central instead of an hour! 😊

Hasta la próxima <3