just something else to consider if you plan on moving to Madrid, besides the other topics herein, is the absolutely hideous air quality throughout most of the city. i think most ex-pats, well most earthlings probably, come from places with far better air quality than madrid, and if you plan on staying for any significant amount of time, i think this is something you should think about when choosing a place to live. i have been in madrid for years now, and despite doing huge more-than-average amounts of exercise, i think my lung capacity has actually decreased significantly over the years, due to the dangerous pollution levels, which on many, many days of the year are up to 6 times the recommended amount. bear in mind that the madrid municipal government shamelessly manipulates the pollution data by only including average figures for all of the pollution meters in the city, including the ones way out in the boondocks and in the middle of humongous parks. oddly, some of the ones in the big traffic-filled plazas have been “out of order” for years and never repaired, and are simply not included in this randomly created “city-wide average.” if these park-located meters were not included, rest assured that madrid’s pollution levels would horrifically surpass the permitted amounts and the city would be forced to put out health hazard warnings almost daily for months on end, especially in the winter.
anyway, just a consideration to keep in mind, especially if you have any health issues like asthma, allergies or lung disease, or if you want to avoid having them in the future.
just my two cents on schools after living here for a looong time: the german, swiss or french schools are WAY better than the rich-brat-filled american school, and your kids will learn a third language to boot! they are extremely hard to get into, however…