Is Madrid the 'perfect' city?

I always used to say I would hate living in a city. I would give reasons such as "There´s too much traffic", "There are too many people", "There´s too much noise" etc. etc. But what I failed to realise is that amongst all these things of which there are too much or too many, there are lots of positives too.

Too many bars? Well, with the highest number of bars in any European capital that might be argued about Madrid but exactly how many are too many?

Too much sunshine? Well so far that´s not been a problem. (Ask me again in August)

Too many distractions from working? Definitely, but much better than work being a distraction from living.

Which has made me ask myself. Why do I love living in one of the biggest, the loudest and one of the busiest cities in Europe?

The strange thing about Madrid (and speaking to friends I know I´m not alone in this analysis) is that Madrid does not feel like a big bustling capital. Sure it has its traffic problems, its welfare problems, its pollution problems and many of the other issues you would expect in such a large built up area but it still manages to retain a 'town' feeling.

I have visited many cities around the world, in many different countries and one of the things that still strikes me is how much sky you can see in Madrid. Of course, this is in part due to the city´s hilltop position and sure, Madrid is relatively 'low rise' in comparison to most cities but it is still something that catches me by surprise most days. Perhaps having been raised in Scotland where we still call a two week dry spell Summer does have something to do with it but I don´t think I can tire of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that grace this city most days. But of course, to say I love Madrid for the weather really is selling the city short.

The main thing for me is that the city feels more like a collection of villages than one big city. Each barrio (neighbourhood) has its own unique feel. From the boutique lined street of the Salamanca district to the down and dirty chic of Lavapies there is always something to see and do.

You want high street shopping? Then get yourself to Gran Via. Bars and terraces? Then you could do a lot worse than La Latina or Malasaña. Museums? Take your pick but a walk down Paseo del Prado will certainly not disappoint. Or how about just somewhere to get away from it all? Well why not lose yourself (possibly literally) in Casa de Campo or one of the dozens of other parks. I´ve come to realise that this city really does have almost everything except a beach. I´ll discuss the "urban beach" at a later date.

So is this the perfect place to live? Well I would argue that the definition of perfect depends on your needs, wants and expectations at any given point in your life. The neighbourhood you grew up in may have been perfect when you were ten years old but is it where you want to be right now? There are many socio-economic reasons to consider before deciding where that right place is.

For an English teacher in Madrid I guess the 2 big questions are: "Is there work available?" and "How expensive is it?" But both of these are 'piece of string' questions.

Yes, there is work available. Both my wife and I are constantly turning offers of work down. Now, part of that is due to us choosing the hours we want to work, but we still both teach more than 30 hours each week which, believe me, is more than enough to provide a good standard of living.

"How expensive is Madrid?" Well, how expensive do you want it to be? It is a capital city. Things such as rent etc. are not cheap but there are ways to reduce your costs (future discussion). If you eat out every day and night then your costs are going to spiral. If you sit in all the tourist venues then even more so, but no-one moves to a city to be a tourist right?

But the big question for me whenever I look at a potential new place to live (and trust me, I lived in a few) is "How does it feel?".

This is a friendly city. I recognise and say "Hi" to as many people on the street I live on here, as the street I grew up on. Sure the old women of Madrid have elbows of steel and no-one thanks you for holding a door open but this isn´t due to bad manners - it´s just a different culture. In general the people are more open, warm and accepting to 2 pale faced, non-spanish speaking guiri´s than they really need be. We have had offers of help for various situations from neighbours, complete strangers and ex students alike. I cannot say enough good things about the people of Madrid.

So, have I found the perfect place to live? Well for me, at this moment. I think so.