Coming to Madrid

Coming to Madrid is one of the most pleasant experiences ever to have been recorded for this course especially for M2 students. Before arrival please practice the following thoroughly, "Dos cervezas y tapas, Por favor" It is a well known fact that Spain in one of the most popular Erasums destinations among all the European and this for very valid reasons I shall put forth. Firstly you can possibly take a flight from anywhere to Madrid being at the heart(literally) of Spain, ´Ryan air´included which makes it very cheap to come to Madrid. After landing however you will see that expenses escalate quite quickly owing to the expensive urban transportation. (of course in my case compared to Stuttgart and travel in Indian cities). Hence it is highly advisable to get the new Urban Metro Madrid and Bus transportation card as soon as possible to minimize the costs per month to a fixed minimum depending on which campus you travel to of course. Before that some of the things that need to be kept in mind are you need a residence permit first and foremost before you start on anything else. Since it takes a month to get this done it is advised to start the process as soon as humanly possible so that you may leave the country for study visits or vacations and come back to Spain without any issues after a month of submitting the request. In order to apply for the residence permit please follow the following directions laid out in great detail of course. Kindly make sure the process has not changed in which case I advise that the person who notices the change make the necessary changes.

VISA (Extended Residence Permit) Application:

After living in Madrid for a week, start the process to exchange your current 90 day visa to an Extended Residence Permit. The necessary steps are explained in Get a VISA.

Accommodation

In Madrid you will have to find housing for yourself. On average housing will run you 380 Euro and food will run you another 300 Euro.

The following webpages are very useful to get a room in Madrid.

EasyPiso [1]

Idealista [2]

Metro Card Application

Madrid has one of the best underground systems in the world. It’s very well organized and can get you almost everywhere in the city. Aside from the metro, Madrid train and city bus system is also extremely accessible! Almost all students in Madrid use the public transportation system on a daily basis. The cheapest and most convenient way is to get your monthly transportation pass which gives you full access to all Madrid public transportation. The first step is to order your transportation card. Once you have your card, you can top it up with a monthly credit called “Abono” (valid for 30 days).

The abono grants you access to all public transport in the city depending on the type of card you get. The price of your monthly abono depends on your age and the zone of Madrid where you will be traveling within. You will be required to choose between the abono “Jóven” (less than 26 years of age, only 20€, all zones included!) and the abono “Normal” (between 26 and 65 years of age). The Zones are: A, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, etc.. Zone A includes the city’s central areas.

The transportation card can be ordered online and shipped to an adress of choice in Madrid. If you do not have an address in Madrid yet, you can ship it to an organisation called citylifemadrid and pick it up at their office located at Calle Gran Vía 22, in the center of Madrid.

To get the transportation card in person is slightly trickier than the above as the method is not as straightforward, Spanish speakers are advised to be taken along. An appointment for the metro card has to be made here prior to your arrival at any one of the Metro offices near the university UCM (Universitaria) or UC3M (leganes).

Go to the office on the appointment date with the following documents:

1. Residence card
2. Passport Photo
3. Patience and a belly full of wine.

Enrolling at UCM & UC3M

..to be continued..

--130.206.40.27 10:39, 10 April 2015 (UTC) Pranay Valson