Tips from the accommodation assistants

De: Elyse Tishkoff
Enviado el: martes, 25 de septiembre de 2007 20:14
Para: LLANEZA VILLANUEVA, JOSE AURELIO

Hello auxiliares!

It's Elyse, Andrea, Samira, and Aliz again. Many of you are already in Madrid and the rest will be here soon. We wanted to send you a second edition of our tips to help you in your arrival in Madrid and search for housing. This is a long e-mail, but we hope you have time to read it!

Meet Up Sept. 29th
First and foremost we want to invite you to come meet us and each other on Saturday, September 29th at 12:00 noon at Templo de Debod (metro Plaza España or Ventura Rodríguez). It's an Egyptian Temple located in Parque del Oeste, a very short walk from Plaza España. This meeting is not an official part of the Auxiliares program and is not at all obligatory. We just want to facilitate auxiliares getting together and give you an opportunity to ask us questions in person.
Here is a picture of the Templo de Debod:

Let's meet in front of the entrance.

Orientation
Some of you seem to have misplaced the information on the Orientation. This IS obligatory and it is on Tuesday October 2nd at 10:00 am at
Ramiro de Maeztu, c/ Serrano 127,
metro: República Argentina. Check out this map:

Ver mapa más grande

Cell Phones
It is a good idea to get a cell phone the day you arrive to make the housing search easier. You can go to any store (the most popular are Movistar and Vodafone) and choose a phone (commonly Nokia, Siemens, or Samsung). You will most likely not want a contract becuase they are for a minimum of 12 months, often for 18 months. Most people have prepaid phones, when you run out of saldo you go to an estanco (smoke shop, they have a Tabacos sign that looks like this:

and ask for "20 Euros de saldo de Movistar" (for example), and give them your phone number. This can also be done in your company's stores or in many banks. The rates tend to be expensive here, a common plan is very expensive during the day (40-50 cents a minute) and "cheap" after 4 or 5 pm (10-15 cents a minute). The best way to call home is with pre-paid calling cards from a land line telephone (fijo) or on the internet with Skype and similar services.

Abono de Transportes
We recommend that you purchase the monthly tranportation pass starting in October. This covers all buses, metro, and trains in the zone of your pass and any lesser Zones. For example, if you buy a B2 pass, you can use any public tranport in Zones A, B1, and B2. You should buy the pass for the Zone that your school is located in. This can be found here.
Under the last category zonas, click on each Zone and scroll down the list to see if the city where your school is located is in that Zone. To get the abono you will need to have a foto tamaño carnet , which you can get here at any photo store. You obtain the Abono de Tranportes mainly at those same estancos where you can put credit on your phone. You can get it up to a week before the month changes, don't wait until the 1st! Once you have the Abono, you can buy a new monthly pass either at an estanco or in a machine in any metro station.

Getting Around
Remember to check out the maps and information at www.ctm-madrid.es. Madrid's metro system is very easy to navigate and we're confident you'll know it like the back of your hand after your first week.

Hostels
If you don't already have a place to stay when you arrive, we´ve heard of auxiliares staying in the following hostels: Cat's Hostel, Mad Hostel, Los Amigos Sol, Olé International Hostel and Residencia La Luna. All of these hostels still have rooms available in these next weeks and can be booked at www.hostelworld.com.

The Housing Search: 5 Steps to Glory

Step 1: Searching the Ads
The more places you look for ads, the better off you'll be. This includes looking at the many sites online, buying the classifieds newspaper SegundaMano (there are more places there than on segundamano.es) and checking bulletin boards at Universities and in public places.
While it's true that finding a place with a convenient commute to your school is important, don't limit yourself to specific neighborhoods in your search. The more open you are to living in different
neighborhoods, the quicker you'll find a place.

Check online at:

madrid.loquo.com - Under the category "vivienda" click on "compartir piso/ alq habitación"

www.segundamano.es - First click "Madrid", then in the box "Todas las categorías" select "Pisos".

www.idealista.com - On the first page select "alquilar", "habitación", and "Madrid". Then use the interactive map to zero in on the barrios you'd like to live in.

www.easypiso.com - Set up an account to see ads for rooms offered in shared apartments.

You might consider going to some of the big Universities to look for ads, espeically if you want to live with young people. You could go to the Universidad Compulense de Madrid at the Ciudad Universitaria metro stop on Line 6, and to the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid on Cercanias Lines C1, C7, and C10, getting off at "Cantoblanco-Universidad".

Step 2: Calling
It's best to call between 11am and 2pm, and between 5 and 8:30 pm. Expect most of the people you call to want you to see the place in the evening (sometime between 5 and 10pm). Here are some things you could ask on the phone (or in person):

Estoy llamando acerca del piso.     ¿Cuánto es el alquiler?
I'm calling about the apartment.     How much is the rent?

¿Los gastos están incluidos?     ¿Cuánto suelen ser los gastos?
Are the bills included?     How much do the bills tend to be?

¿Hay fianza?                 ¿Hay contrato?
Is there a deposit?     Is there a contract?

¿Está amueblado?     ¿La habitación tiene ventana exterior?
Is it furnished?     Does the room have an exterior window?

¿Está bien comunicado con . . .?     ¿Cuál es la dirección?
Is it easy to get to . . . ?                   What's the address?

¿Cuándo podría ver el piso?
When could I come see the place?

¿Cuando le viene bien que venga?
When would it be convenient for you that I come?

When talking about meeting they'll often use the verb "quedar" meaning to meet up. They might ask, "¿Quedamos mañana a las 8?"

Step 3: Visiting pisos
Make sure to give yourself time to arrive, especially if you're not familiar with the city and the metro system. It's good to always act interested even if you're not, later on you'll have no problem saying "no gracias". Expect to see many pisos and expect some of them to be not nice at all. In fact, those not nice pisos could be in the same price range as very nice pisos, so don't get discouraged. People are having very different kinds of experiences, some have found a place on their third try and others have seen nearly twenty and no luck yet. It's common to really like a place and have them tell you that they'll call you back next week, so you have to continue your search while hoping for that one room. It's a good idea to keep calling that place you like, reminding them that you're still interested.

Step 4: Keeping up your spirits (¡Ánimo!)
To be honest, this process can be frustrating and exhausting. All we can say is, you'll find a place, it just takes time, patience, and sometimes, a little suffering. But you'll come out stronger for it. : ) Find support with other auxiliares on the Yahoo Group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MadridAuxiliares/) and by e-mailing us four housing coordinators with your questions. Sometimes having too many expectations can make finding a place impossible. You might need to loosen up on one of your objectives (location, roomates, price, the place itself, etc.) to make it happen.

Step 5: Success, finding your room
Make sure you are clear on key issues like if there is a contract, if so, for how long, how much the deposit (fianza) is, etc. The most common deposit is one month's rent. Some places will ask for two months rent, but that would only be worth it if this was really your dream piso. If they ask for any more than that, just say no! It's good to talk to your new roomates about things like having visitors, cleaning duties, cooking (together or separate?), shopping (together or separate?) from the beginning to avoid misunderstandings. Enjoy moving in and starting to feel at home and relaxed in Madrid!

Meeting up with us
We are happy to meet up with people who need extra help, especially people who have never lived in Spain before and need some orientation. E-mail Elyse and Andrea to meet up on weekdays and Samira and Aliz to meet on weekends. Here are our e-mails once again. Good luck to everyone! ¡Bienvenidos!

Elyse - elysetish@-----.com

Andrea - nate2@----.edu

Samira - samiam83@-----.com

Aliz - agondocs@-----.com



(Images: FotoMadrid, 1de3.com)