A Year in Madrid

My husband and I had been talking about moving overseas for a long time, so when we finally settled on Madrid, the student visa/TEFL program through ITA made a lot of sense for us. It certainly isn't cheap, but they made the process super easy and answered any and all questions along the way. Just keep in mind that the people who you speak with in the states are not the people who you will be talking to here. This confused me at first, but everyone was awesome so it really didn't matter. If I could give three pieces of advice, they would be:

1. Do the one-month certification course in Madrid. You make friends, get to know your instructors, and have time to settle into your life.
2. Save more money than you think you'll need and count on making less than you're told. In Spain, there are a lot of holidays. It's nice because you get days off, but as hourly jobs often go, you don't get paid for the days you don't work. Combine this with the general flakiness of students/academies/etc... means you often don't work your full hours each month.
3. Be flexible with your living situation. Landlords here don't love renting to ex-pat teachers, so it wasn't easy for us to find a place here. A lot of people wanted us to put down a ridiculous amount (8 months in one place) because of our student visa/part-time work status. If you're coming here on your own, it can also be difficult because there are so many people looking for rooms and places.

All in all, I'd highly recommend that anyone thinking about moving to Madrid should do it. We've traveled all around Europe, made amazing friends, and had a wonderful year getting to know this amazing city.