I am so happy to have found this site. I've been asked by my employer to relocate to Madrid. I'm currently living in Los Angeles and have never even been to Europe. I'm Mexican-American so I have the Spanish Language skills down. This sounds like any exciting opportunity but I want to know a little bit more about Madrid before I make any decisions. I will be visiting Madrid in October/November to make sure I like the atmosphere but I want some info. on where I might find a place to live. Does anyone know anything about the labor laws? How many hours is the work week? How much vacation time? I want to make sure I don't get less than what is required. I know it's a lot of questions but I'm very excited about this but I want to make sure I make the right decision. I'd appreciate any help.

[ 08-04-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

This is the situation I had (a transfer) and is the easiest way to get to Spain. Hell, I´m ditching them now cause I went and got another job here - all I wanted was the residency je je je later suckas

You will want to work out a salary. What do you do? The workweek is 40 hours, and you will have a contract. Vacation time is approximately 1 month per year depending on how long you have worked.
www.idealista.com has apartment listings, and www.segundamano.es also. If you come let me know, I can help you a bit. As for where to live there´s lots of information on this board and surely Madridman will put his inevitable ´I just did a search and found ...´ post after mine.

Asterault is right on the work week and vacation time. Spaniards get 1 month per year paid and it is up to the employer whether or not to give you the many "Puentes" (long weekends) that come up throughout the year.

Now, check with your boss because since you are going to work for an American company you may have to play by their rules (ie. 2 weeks or less vacation per year). They may not be willing to offer you the best of both worlds, a U.S. salary and the Spanish time off so make sure you get the details before taking any positions althougg it sounds great from what you have told us so far.

Suerte,
jer...

Thanks for the information!

I'm definetly going to discuss all the details with my employer before I go. I still have a bit to go since I haven't even accepted the position yet, let alone applied for the visa.
Asterault...I will definetly bug you if I end up in Madrid. It will still be about 6 months before I go.

You should have fun with your Spanish here as it's a bit different than the Mexican dialect. When I go to New York and speak my Catalan-influenced Castellano they give me the wierdest looks!

(Yes, it's easier just to speak Spanish in New York)

Well, one of my worries is that I won't be able to work effectively since technically my Spanish is "different."

Ricky,

You shouldn't have any more of a problem than someone from Louisiana has, doing business in Chicago, or LA. The accents, and some aspects may be somewhat different, but that shouldn't be too much of a hindrance. I wouldn't let it bother you.

Wolf

I have observed that the spanish sopken in different countries gets much more similar when both speakers try to avoid slang expressions.

I knew a mexican guy in a Master here in Spain, and he didn't have much problems with language at school, he had more when asking for food, drinks, ...

Of course we all believed his accent was most funny, but it only caused some amused smiles.

Ricky,

Listen to Ignacio on this. Spaniards will not look down their noses at you because your Spanish is a bit different.

Wolf

My Spanish has become more like Mexican Spanish than ever before because that is the population I generally speak with. I had very few problems communicating in Spain...like I'd slip into using camion instead of autobus, or say carro instead of coche. I agree completely with Ignacio, though, in terms of slang. If you routinely say things like chequear and te watcho, folks will be confused. Our madrileña tour guide was adorable...by the end of our tour she actually said "lo voy a chequear" and we just about died laughing! She was very curious about Mexicanisms (hey, half our tour group was from Tucson, the other from El Paso!!)and treated any miscues with a nice blend of good humor and intellectual curiousity.

You'll be just fine!