I've been in Madrid almost 6 years and have decided that it's time to go to back to England , to find work and get my feet on the ground again .
My time here in Madrid has been wonderful and i've had the honour of meeting many good friends from all over the world , including the host of this website .
The people of Madrid are great , sometimes in your face , but they are direct and I like that . The food needless to say is wonderful and the wine is excellent . I´m pleased to say we have access to good Spanish wine in England .
But with unemployment at 20% it's amost impossible to find a job ( Apart from teachng English ) . So I had to make the decision to leave .
After 6 years I´ve accumulated a lot of things . Not big furniture ( A bed but the owner of my apartment will be agreeing a price to buy it ) .. The main things are DVDs (100s) Books (100s) , Cds(100s ) , clothes a whole double wardrobe full , and ornaments ( maybe 2 shopping bags ) .Various kitchen appliances and pots and pans .
I called a very reputable company in England called Pickfords .. they have a worldwide network and their allies here in Madrid are a company called Allied Bolliger . They´re based in Sierra de la Guadarrama .
A guy came to my apartment and was very professional . Miguel looked around , I told him what had to be moved and the next day I had an estimate via e-mail .
I chose the cheap option which is to have my things transported with other people´s . It's called the " shared option " . Cheap is a relative word ! This move has cost me approximately €900 and the insurance will be an extra € 200 ... this is the cheap option !
The service is door to door so that is , in some respects peace of mind . Once they take everything away I´ll be living out of a suitcase for a week .
Flights are cheap .
Sad to be leaving Madrid and my friends but " cosas de la Vida " Steve

very nice story, I can see the sadness, 6 years in Madrid is enough to call you a Madrileño! I am sure you will be running thru a lot of memories, I do it too on each place on earth I have put at least 4 yrs of my life.They will remain nostalgia and good times to come back to.
When I left Madrid in 1974, I though would never see it again, did for the 1982 WC, then 1990, then 1995, then 2003,and now its every year since; its a bug you wont get away from it. You will talk about it for the rest of your life,and come back to it with fondness. Have you read Tim Parfitt "A Load Of Bull" book? it was discussed here, and I bought it, contacted Tim thru his London publisher,exchange emails, he was to every place I went while there ! Memories that will last a lifetime.

Yes the situation there is not good, I have relatives, some run out of unemployment and move in with other family in Madrid. Situations and life changes but it can only get better. Best of luck,and hope we can meet again Madrid,Paris or London.Cheers

Thank you for sharing your story Steve. I can tell how difficult this is for you. My heart is breaking reading this.

HOSTIAS!!Steve, me estas poniendo el corazón en un puño....SUERTE!

Consider this a new chapter in your life. You are not closing your heart to Madrid, just relocating. You put your mind to moving to Madrid and look how rich you are with experiences, memories, friends and language! You have succeeded, my friend, with that chapter in your life and now it's time for a new one. Who knows what your future holds, but always remain optimistic that everything will work out for you and you will come back to Madrid. This is not "adios", just "hasta luego".

Stay strong, STeve, and know that I'm thinking of you here in California and you always have an open invitation to come out west@!

I'm losing one of my best buddies and it makes me terribly sad, even moreso now that there's a set departure date. You'll be missed, Steve, to say the least.

Below is the earliest photo I have of Mister Steve Robinson, taken in June 2006. I now don't recall if this was our first meeting but it may well have been. It was one of the many "Party with MadridMan" gatherings, this one at "Restaurante La Puebla". Steve's on the right, stately as always, looking all "Roger Moore" and, of course, 5 years younger too.



We had another, earlier Party with MadridMan, scheduled for March 2006, but got canceled. It was in that message board thread where Mister Steve Robinson made his first posting on 24 February 2006:



Steve and I hit it off immediately and that June 2006 day was the (possibly?) first of dozens of meetings over the next 5 years. Together, we've visited El Escorial, Valle de los Caídos, Aranjuez, and Chinchón. He has been to the MadridMan home in Madrid several times and also went with me to attend a "MadridMan Family Thanksgiving" in Switzerland one year as well.

More than the trips outside of Madrid, I did most of my "Madrid discovery" with Steve. We would walk and walk, before and after our long lunches of new and exotic Spanish foods (exotic at the time to us), unveiling an otherwise unknown Madrid. We constantly exchanged points-of-view of the city, the people, and the culture. He truly loves Madrid as much as I do - despite having his pocket picked twice.

We went to bullfights and then to the local bullfight bar for Rabo de toro, chopitos, and Rueda white wine where the barman knew us by sight, always shook our hands over the crowded bar and asked if we wanted "the usual". There, like in so many Madrid bars over the years, we stood the only non-Spaniards, and Steve and I felt truly special to be among them, truly blessed.

Steve and I also attended SO MANY flamenco performances, concerts (flamenco and otherwise), and ate so much good Spanish food and drank even more good Spanish wine. And, like any photographer, the person in most of my "people photos" is Steve - and I have dozens upon dozens of them - since I, the photographer, am rarely in my own photos.

I know Steve really found himself in Madrid and for that I only played a small role. He told me stories of things he'd done, people he'd met, and places he'd seen. I met several of his friends whom are now my friends.

Whenever message board members would come to Madrid and want to meet me I always asked Steve to go too because his presence makes things more interesting.

As for his devoted, incredibly useful participation on our humble ALL SPAIN Message Board, well, there has been no other. We can never begin to thank him. On more than one occasion, people thought HE was this "MadridMan" guy instead of me, presumably because he posted more than I did! His insight and experience has helped an untold number of travelers.

Time to "put down the pen" as I'm getting rather misty-eyed, but I could no doubt write for hours about my good friend Steve Robinson.

You won't be forgotten, buddy, and you will be missed dearly.

Your friend, always, MadridMan

Steve,

I hope that leaving Madrid dosen't mean you won't be available to post here on MM's board. As the Man himself has said, you've been extraordinarily helpful and gracious to so many of us.

All the best mate.

MM, way to make a girl get teary eyed!!!! I too feel the same about our mate Steve!!!
I consider you a Spanish treasure and will dearly miss our annual rendevous!

What a wonderful tribute to a great friend! Steve has touched the lives of many people. No matter where he lives, I'm sure he will continue to brighten the lives of others.

Steve: You are clearly loved! Stay in touch and hopefully we will meet again.

Steve, happily on the Plaza de Santa Ana in 2008: