Home, sweet home

To properly appreciate my apartment in Madrid, you need to know what my options were. For example, I loved my neighborhood the first time I walked through it, because there is so much green. Parks, and even trees or bushes can be extremely rare in parts of downtown, Some streets don´t seem to have left room for anything except a narrow car path, and you pretty much only get trees if there is regular irrigation. (Here is one of the first neighborhoods I looked at, for example.)

I managed to snag a small apartment with a terrace overlooking a very quiet street and a few trees. (That´s my place, on the second story behind the green awning.) The neighborhood feels suburban, filled with apartment buildings, but most of the businesses like restaurants and grocery stores are tucked into the ground floor space of each building. And the public transportation is better than what I had in Maryland - I can walk to two different metro lines, a few bus lines, and lots of shops within 10-15 minutes. 

Furnished apartments are really common in Spain, thank goodness. And I´d describe the style of mine as 1990´s elderly lady with a cat. I think the owner previously lived here, and she did not see a spare foot of wall space that she couldn´t fill with seating, shelving, or hooks. I am now the proud owner [renter] of seven bookshelves, and I own one book. Perhaps I will rotate it so that it can visit a different location each day of the week?

The kitchen looks small from American standards, but many small apartments here omit ovens, and have only counter-sized fridges. I have tons of storage space and cooking is very efficient - you just rotate in place to reach oven, sink, counter, and fridge.

More shelves in the bedroom. I´d estimate the apartment is about 350 square feet (32 m2). My place in Miami was about that size, and I shared it with a dog, a cat, and another human. So this feels quite spacious, if you discount the eleven chairs plus one sofa living with me. 

And the very best part is that I have air-conditioning. I have realized that when it is 38C (100F), which is often the case in summer. I am sad and think about returning to the US. When it is 28C (82F), I think, "Golly, gee whiz, I live in Madrid! How amazing!" Climate control literally makes me happy.

It turns out minimalists need stuff too.

I had one week from the time I rented the apartment until I moved in to procure household goods. Luckily, furnished apartments are really common here, so I only needed things like towels and kitchenware. When I've lived outside the US in the past, I stayed with other people, so this is the first time I've started from scratch, which had meant shopping and sleeping bags of stuff from all over town.

My go-to for household goods are thrift stores. Unfortunately, selling used goods is not really a thing in Spain, except for furniture and clothes. In a city of 6 million, there are perhaps a dozen thrift stores, and I visited most of them. With diligent searching, I managed to find many useful things. But as is the case for all moves, you eventually end up at IKEA.

Ikea turned out to be a 6-hour adventure, what with navigating public transport to the very edge of the city, purchasing lunch (the meatballs are ubiquitous, but now come in vegetarian as well), and briefly getting locked inside a metro station (but that is a story for another day).

As everyone knows, I don't like spending money and I don't really like shopping either. I decided everything I bought would be white and the plainest, frugal-est version I could find. I did realize that there should be a few exceptions, and I carefully considered where I would appreciate quality. It turns out I don't care about dishes or sheets or tea cups, but I like luxury when drinking coffee, helping my groceries around, and keeping warm. 

My new favorite things: a beautiful French press, a three -season down duvet, and a rugged, large-capacity shipping cart.

So, answers on a postcard (or in a comment): what would you splurge on if you were replacing all your household goods?

Things are looking up

I have lots of good news to report. Most importantly, I have an apartment! The key was that my agent contacted all possible landlords and asked them if I could pay a year in advance. But, I hear you say, I thought you said you couldn't prepay! I did say that, but I was wrong. I have said on this blog that I frequently don't know what is going on, and this is proof. In this case, I'm delighted to be incorrect. It still took some time, because many apartments were rented by the time we even contacted the landlord, and only if a few would even consider me. But the first place I was able to see I took immediately.

It has many good features: it's on the second floor so I only have to climb 1.5 flights of stairs, it's in a lovely neighborhood which is quite green and tree-filled by Madrid standards, and it has an air conditioner. It also has a bidet and a tv, which were two things I didn't think I'd ever possess. I have already made friends with the portero ( the combination front desk / superintendent / custodian that many apartments have here) because I couldn't figure out how to unlock the doors without an extensive tutorial from him.

I will move in at the end of this week, when my house sitting gig is done. Just one week after I arrived in Madrid, I met some lovely people who were friends of friends and they asked me to house/dogsit while they were on vacation. It's been almost like a vacation, because they have a beautiful apartment with a tiny pool, plus the most adorable dog ever.

Having a signed rental contract means we could proceed with scheduling the many appointments I need for my visa. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I will register my address with the police, which is what they do here instead of taking a census. There are several more steps after that, but I wouldn't want to reveal them to you all at once and spoil the suspense.

Celebrating a new home!

July in Madrid

I have no news on the apartment search. Two days ago, my agent snagged a viewing for a possible apartment. As I emerged from the Metro stop to walk to it, she called me and said the apartment had been rented by the very first person who saw it. That's the way it goes in the very hot market. But my agent has not given up hope, so neither will I.

GOOD
I've already met two people who want to be language partners. That means we'll meet up periodically and I will get to practice my Spanish for a while, then they'll get to practice their English. One of them is a very serious student. I can tell he's going to make me use my brain a lot in these sessions.

GOOD
Madrid is very Instagrammable. Lots of beautiful buildings, and luckily the photos don't convey the heat.

HMMM
I continue to have no idea what's going on most of the time. I have tried three times to pick up my ATM card from the bank, but they don't have it yet. They give me an explanation, but I didn't really know what was said. That's okay, I understand that they're telling me to come back, and I'll keep doing that.

GOOD
Two weeks ago, I stumbled across a Symphony concert in the park. I went back the following week for another one, but 30 seconds into its start it was shut down by the police. I'm not entirely clear why, but I think it was due to the expected high temperature of the day. It was sort of fun to watch all the senior citizens on their lawn chairs booing the police.

HMMM
I think next month will be even quieter than this month, with fewer meetups and activities and less chance for making friends. That's because even more people are leaving town to avoid the heat. Maybe by next year I'll be settled enough that I can do that too. Or maybe I´ll have an air conditioner, which would be almost as good.

The more modern part of the city (plus antique water tower), near where I´m currently staying.

Learning Patience, or How to Not Rent an Apartment

I´m trying to put down roots...

Even before I arrived, I was worried about finding an apartment. There are dire warnings on the internet from other expats, and alas, my experience seems similar. Ideally, I need to find an apartment within a month of arrival, because an address is needed to continue the steps of the visa. And it has to be a real address, not an Airbnb or one borrowed from a friend, because I have to present the lease as evidence.

Apartments in Madrid are in short supply. This is probably partially due to the Airbnb trend, but also because tenant protections are so strong here. Landlords need to be picky, since it is hard to remove tenants if they cause problems. It is so serious that if squatters move into your own home, which you might have only left empty for a few days, it can take up to a year to remove them. So I can only imagine how hard it is to get unpaying tenants out of a home.

And I am a special case in Spain, because I am not working. If you cannot show your work contract or payslips, landlords don't want you. Credit checks or bank statements, for some reason, aren't accepted. In the past, I had heard that expats would prepay six months or a year's worth of the lease to get around this problem. However, they just passed a law making prepayment of this kind illegal. Alas, I wish the government would not protect me so much. And how do retirees in Spain deal with this? A local told me that people just don't move after they are retired.

About one week in, I realized I could not find an apartment on my own. Agents would refuse to show me places once they knew I didn't have a job, and when I did see a place there were would be 30 other people viewing it at the same time. I have now hired someone who works with expats, which means she helps navigate the system along with speaking Spanish and English. Even she is finding it hard to locate a landlord who will consider me. I am really glad that I am working with a professional relocator as well as my paralegal, but I see how much patience and time I have to put into the process. I don't even know if we will succeed in the end. Surely there must be a plan B and a plan C, but I don't know enough about the system to know what that might be.

Nine days in Spain and counting

My AirBnb

Here's my experience in the past week. I borrowed the format from a blogger I read, since it helps convey the mix of emotions I feel all the time.

GOOD

Not having to add tax and tip. The price you see is the price you get! (Except a lawyer I met, but I didn't like him anyway.)

HMMM
The Spanish government continues to ask me for documents I could not possibly have and requires me to make appointments I'm not allowed to make.

GOOD
I have hired a paralegal (Using a lawyer or paralegal to assist with things like buying a car or getting health insurance is incredibly common in Spain, due to the amazing bureaucracy.) He had already helped me get the shipment of my belongings out of customs purgatory. He only speaks Spanish, but was oodles nicer and more helpful than the fancy pants English-speaking lawyer I tried first.

GOOD
I have a Spanish bank account and a Spanish phone number. The bank teller was especially lovely and took extra time to teach me how to download and use the bank app.

HMMM
It is really, really hot every day, and will be until September. Like, 38C/100F. Yes, it is dry heat, and no, there is not much air conditioning. They don't have AC at my house or many restaurants. When they do, many have to follow the new government rules of not going cooler than 27C/ 80F. This is part of an initiative to reduce energy use because of the war in Ukraine. In theory, I support this kind of policy, but it's rough going.

GOOD
I have already connected to friends of friends who have been welcoming and helpful with advice. I have started going to meetups, but I'm balancing it with downtime alone, since my brain is worn out from struggling in a new country and a new language.

HMMM
It is wearying to just never quite know what's going on. I'm shuffling along all right. But every day there are new things to learn. How to open doors. How to weigh the fruit in the grocery store. How to pay a bill. How to pronounce the letter G so I can spell my name. Rinse and repeat all day.

GOOD
That fruit that I now know how to weigh? It's all been super tasty.

And I'm off!

My flight to Madrid leaves this evening. I currently own 175 pounds of worldly goods, valued at $300 by the Spanish government and $3000 by me. (I mean, do you know how long it would take me to recreate a custom made wardrobe of vintage woolen clothing?) If the fates allow, I will arrive in Madrid in what is their Wednesday afternoon. The most urgent items are to get over jet lag, open a bank account, and buy a new electric toothbrush.

Yesterday, we celebrated the Fourth of July and my departure with a very American cookout. It was delightful and I felt loved.

The day before, I took a 30-mile/ 48km bike ride with N and R, my long time biking friends. We gorged ourselves on the wild raspberries and blackberries lining the trail and suffered through what one of them called 175% humidity. I will not have air-conditioning for my first month on Madrid, but that ride made me appreciate that dryness does make heat more bearable.

The rest of my belongings, which will arrive in either two days or two months, depending on Spanish customs authorities.

Honestly, I am not very excited right now. I am tired and know how much work and discombobulation are ahead of me. But I'm also older and wiser than when I lived outside the country twenty years ago, which means I have confidence that all of this will be worth it.