More pros: Good quality tap water. Better pay/salaries than elsewhere in Spain. Great fast train links to other parts. Lots of great historic places nearby to explore - eg segovia, Avila, Cuenca, Toledo. Tradition of free snack with a drink. Superb selection of national wines at oldest prices. Amazing variety of seafood.
More cons: A multitude of holidays/puentes make reliable earnings difficult for the freelancer. Accommodation costs higher than many parts of Spain. Air pollution. Big influx in September making it hard to find digs Sept/Oct. A lot of places close in August (but not as bad as it was). When it does rain it really buckets it down.

I love how unfiltered and real this advice was. Others are really trying to sell you out and when you get there, it's nothing as they said. So thank you very much.

Love this video! Really appreciated you sharing your honest learnings from your experience so far and acknowledging how it’s rooted in your perspective. I’m cornering teaching English in Madrid and this made me think I’d love it!!

Most interesting. Lived in Barcelona about 25 years ago (saying that makes me feel really old!). Most of your pros and cons align very much with what I experienced back in the day in Barcelona. Really enjoy your storytelling style by the way. You're naturally very entertaining. What do you do for a living? Was it hard for you to find work?

I’m starting a new job in Madrid next month, but I’m not moving there till fall because everyone is still working from home.
I did find the video very interesting and quite useful. Thanks!

It is true. Madrid is not on the coast. But, curiously enough, this seems to be an issue only there. Nobody says "I love Paris but, sadly, there is no beach", "Berlin would be better if there were a couple of white beaches beyond the ancient Wall", "The Roman Colosseum is wonderful but so far away from the beach... "
And the same happens with Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Moscow, Zurich...

I'm moving to Spain in a few months and this has been very helpful! Thank you so much. :D

uuhh thank you so much for this! i'm moving to madrid next week and am 0 prepared and was lowkey freaking out but your video really calmed me down and i'm back to being super excited about it :)

Very helpful info! As an inhabitant of Madrid I agree with you 😉

I love your so well-educated and well spoken manners you have......you adorable woman,

I just came to live in Madrid this year! My first year! Thanks for the video! ♥

Thank you! I will be working in Madrid for a year and if I like it enough I was considering staying long term, this video was very helpful

randomly came across your video absolutely loved it! I recently finished a Spanish series and I've been wanting to go to Madrid <3 my sister will be moving to Europe next month and I'm hoping to visit soon! also I happen to be vegan so it makes me so happy to hear that its a lot more vegan friendly! This is definitely a sign for me to go !!

It is really one of the best cities in the world. For me better than London and Paris. Madrid is cleaner, safer, has better subway, better weather (warmer, less rain, more sunshine hours), better sport. Ok you can find more things in Paris in London...i agree about that...but in Madrid you can find probably 98% of those things

Interested to move to Spain and this helped a lot!

Moving to Madrid this Fall and I can't wait!

I love your vlogs. They are informative!

This was very interesting and helpful! Thanks Orlagh!

I think I am more of a Barcelona person, however, I do want to visit and spend time in Madrid.  Great video, lots of great information and you are a good story teller, that great Brit humor.  Thanks!

Thanks for the video. I moved here a month ago. The comment about customer service made me laugh, I was stuck in Zara earlier for about 10 mins while the assistant and the customer had a good old leisurely catch up!