I’m relocating to Madrid for work in early 2010.  My work permit has been filed and I’m trying to find the best neighborhood to live in.  My office is located in Centro about 5 minutes from the Sevilla subway stop.  I’m single and 28 and am trying to find the right area to look at.  I’ve been recomended Justica and Universidad which would be walking distance.  I took a look at Goya which seems nice but would require taking the subway and there seems to be a lot of families.  I’ve found in moving that being in places where there are mostly are families makes it difficult to meet people.  I work for an international company and am at least 10 years younger than anyone I work with.  I’ll be expected to entertain people as they come through Madrid and we just launched a big project.  Everyone from my company stays around Plaza de Santa Ana.  Ideally I’d like to get a 1 bedroom for EUR 800-1,000 per month.  I cover our business unit across Europe so I’m on the road about 50% of my time so I’d rather not waste a bunch of money on a place I’m never at.  If anyone has any advice I’d appreciate it.

Hello there,

If you dont want to take the metro then you are limiting yourself somewhat, but if you want to be in barrios con ambiente then your better off around the center.

Santa Ana which belongs to the “barrio de las letras” as you say is a very lively area. The whole of that zone is a great place to be if you are interested in entertaining.
On the other side of gran Via you have Chueca which is the gay area and full of great bars, restaurants and clubs.  Over a bit more you have Malasa?a which is famous for its continual juerga and is a very young area. Slighty further away you have La latina which is a bit more of a walk but another great area to go out. You should be able to find a decent one bedroom for the price range you suggest (if you look around) Try segundamano.es for a place to live. Try perhaps looking at the metro map and taking your search from there.

Good luck with the move

nathan

Hi,

You might die of boredom in Goya.

Since you?re 28 I would recommend Justicia (aka Chueca) or Universidad (aka Malasa?a). Unless you?re more of the posh type, in which case I would recommend avoiding Malasa?a.

However, if you?re going to be entertaining for your company, then you might consider La Latina. La Latina is an interesting neighborhood but it doesn?t have the bohemian/university angst of Malasa?a (I like it but it?s not for everyone) or all the fashionista attitude of Chueca (fun but it can get tiresome sometimes).

I?m 28 myself and live in Chueca. It?s a cool neighborhood and many of the residents are young professionals, but the neighborhood is very noisy. In fact, all of Centro is pretty noisy, but hey, that?s what earplugs are for.

Regarding the subway, Madrid?s metro system is really great, so I wouldn?t discount it just yet.

Good luck.