Six Months After: Ba Vs. Madrid

[WindyCityJames]

Great post...I just left BsAs last week and I am in Chicago until my move to Madrid this fall. I haven't been there since I was a teenager. I have quite a homesick feeling being in Chicago and missing my friends and my life in BsAs. I am glad to have ATM/s that aren't out of money and I am also glad not to wait 30 minutes in line when I go to the grocery store but I feel like in visitor here in Chicago. I hope I don't unfairly compare everything in Madrid with BsAs. i don't want to be one of the people that say things like...When I was in BsAs we did it this way...

 

[gordita75]

hope you have a job there!

i have lived in both places- and given it was a lot easier getting teaching jobs in spain/getting an apt/bank account all while illegal there than it is here (even easier in granada than in madrid),.but my english teaching friends there say its a bit tougher now since spain has gone down the shitter. however, if you really want teaching jobs and are willing to be even a bit proactive, eg not relying on craigslist where few locals go, you will get decent private classes in either place...

i would never be able to quantify which is better- both cities are amazing, but if you dont have a job there, at least i hope you have some substantial savings...

 

[starlucia]

hope you have a job there!

i have lived in both places- and given it was a lot easier getting teaching jobs in spain/getting an apt/bank account all while illegal there than it is here (even easier in granada than in madrid),.but my english teaching friends there say its a bit tougher now since spain has gone down the shitter. however, if you really want teaching jobs and are willing to be even a bit proactive, eg not relying on craigslist where few locals go, you will get decent private classes in either place...

i would never be able to quantify which is better- both cities are amazing, but if you dont have a job there, at least i hope you have some substantial savings...

On the contrary -- due to the crisis, there's more work than ever. Most Spaniards never took foreign languages seriously, but now that fluency in English is an imprescindible requirement for finding a job, millions of them are desperate to learn it ASAP. I've had to start turning away requests for classes and freelance work because my schedule is so full (and I'm not willing to take classes on weekends or at super-early hours.) It helps that I'm an actual teacher (with an M.A. in TESOL), but most people don't even care about that; I have friends with zero experience earning 20-25 per hour (for no other reason than that they are native speakers.)

 

[gordita75]

weird., i will have to tell my friend she is doing a piss poor job looking for work then and immediately reconsider my choice of almost mid life crisis destinations.

are people still getting teaching on segundamano?

how much is an average rent these days- shared piso in la latina/chueca/bilbao

 

[starlucia]

Hmm, never heard of Segundamano being used for teaching jobs (just for buying/selling items.) There are a couple of websites devoted to nothing but private lessons, and a Facebook group for English teachers giving away classes, but 90% of my students have come from word-of-mouth recommendations. During the summer (if you can tolerate children), a lot of people work as English camp counselors or arrange live-in situations (free housing and food in exchange for daily conversation or childcare in English.)

A furnished room in a good area is around 300-350... I was paying 250 + gastos in a 3-bedroom in a killer location (2 blocks from Iglesia.) Now I'm paying 275 for a furnished room on Lopez de Hoyos, but it's worth it to only have 1 roommate instead of the usual 2-4. Even living by yourself is not that expensive - one friend is paying 450 for a studio in La Latina, and another is paying 600 for a really nice 1-bedroom in the heart of Malasana.

P.S. Ha, as if on cue, as I was typing this, I received an e-mail from my friend/student who works at Iberia. They fired the inexperienced teacher who was giving in-company classes, and he wanted to know if I'd be interested or have any friends who might be (since the academy apparently has no one to take the class): "Me pongo en contacto con ustedes para informarles que no les puedo confirmar por el momento el sustituto definitivo de su profesor (name) y lamentablemente no disponemos de un profesor sustituto que pueda impartir su clase de hoy, por lo que debemos cancelar dicha clase." Trust me when I say that there is more demand than supply here right now

 

[Rantas]

Interesting.
I found Buenos Aires boring compared to Madrid.
Shopping centres and department stores in Madrid close at 10 pm uninterrupted seven nights a week.
The only shops that close for siesta are the small traditional ones.
Most clubs close at 6 am and there are afters aplenty.
The metro of BA closes much earlier than in Madrid .
BA is very nocturnal as well.
Problem is unlike Madrid you can't just walk, get lost and walk into a nightclub at 3 am as quite alot of the barrios are quite dangerous.
Do agree Argentines are friendlier imo.

 

[Rich One]

good to revive all this data from 2013... Rental and food bills needs updating....

 

[perry]

Interesting.
I found Buenos Aires boring compared to Madrid.
Shopping centres and department stores in Madrid close at 10 pm uninterrupted seven nights a week.
The only shops that close for siesta are the small traditional ones.
Most clubs close at 6 am and there are afters aplenty.
The metro of BA closes much earlier than in Madrid .
BA is very nocturnal as well.
Problem is unlike Madrid you can't just walk, get lost and walk into a nightclub at 3 am as quite alot of the barrios are quite dangerous.
Do agree Argentines are friendlier imo.

Many people say that Madrid is better than Barcelona to live . Do you agree?

 

[jazmín]

The people
I would say on the whole this is one reason I will be leaving BA.
The people I have met just seem to laugh at foreigners. Most times I've asked a porteño out for drinks or to a party they have said yes then didn't turn up.
The casual rasism here is disgraceful not to mention the sexism too.

I brought a home made curry into work one day and got remarks like 'que asco', while the locals were slopping down their over cooked milanesa and pasta.

Obviously not everyone is like this here but enough to warrant leaving.

Really sorry that you had this experience. Hope at some point you can return to visit and meet some nicer people.

 

[London2Baires]

good to revive all this data from 2013... Rental and food bills needs updating....

Ya, I read "the typical 22 peso capuchino" and started checking post dates lol