hello...my daughter(4.1/2) and i will be moving to madrid in september for a year stay....have a few questions...what is the name of the area with the postal code 28030...is this area far from the complutense..also, i would like my daughter to attend a preschool... any ideas on how to go about enrolling her... i have a list of preschools in that postal code but no email addresses ...is two weeks sufficient time to find and enroll her in a school or should i allow for more time...all advice welcome...thanks

Hey, rcae, for a second I thought you were me...living in Minneapolis, has a 4.5-year-old daughter, moving to Madrid...oh, darn, wait, I'm NOT moving to Madrid. Lucky you!

I hope the move goes smoothly!

hello taravb..thanks for the reply ....have you travelled to spain with your child...if so how was the plane ride...any tips on keeping a four year old entertained for the duration...luckily my daughter likes to sleep but when awake likes to be busy...any especially kid friendly places you can recommend once in madrid...i've been looking over this board and i am very impressed with the helpful and positive interaction between members...it's great that members meet a various times when in spain...i'm looking forward to our adventure in madrid and interacting with members in the days leading up to our departure...thanks again taravb for your reply...who would have guessed that my first reply would be from a fellow minnesotan

Hi, rcae--
I haven't taken my daughter to Spain yet...my husband and I went alone last year and she stayed with my parents in Florida. She's a pro on plane flights, as long as there's someone to read to her. She never sleeps though. We're trying a long train trip this summer, so it will be interesting to see how she does with that.

I have had other parents tell me that their kids were freaked out by the movies shown on overseas flights (though they are supposedly edited to be less scary or violent), so you may want to have a backup plan for that part of the flight (a book, a new game, coloring, whatever). My daughter also LOVES to play cards, and will beat us at Go Fish over and over again.

The problem with flying with her is that there's no time for the grownups to relax either--so you might want to schedule a really mellow first day in Spain.

I know many board members are familiar with parks and other places to take kids in Madrid (there was a recent thread about this, I think...you might do searches for "children" and "kids").

Good luck!
Tara in South Mpls.

the area with zip code 28030 is Moratalaz and is not close to the complutense. About preschools, i can't help you, as I don't have any experience.

hola taravb y felix

thanks to each of you for your helpful information...this site is great

rcae

rcae, with 4 and a half years-old it would perhaps be better for your daughter to attend to a primary school.

Here the children usually start to go to school at 3/4 years-old. Unfortunately, I don't know any schools in that state.

Best regards.

Fernando

fernando y felix....lo siento, mi español está limitado pero trato hacerlo ... ¿donde esta Moratalaz...esta lejo del centro de la ciudad?...¿como es el vecindario..es seguro o no?...¿Es posible llegar al centro rapidamente por metro?...Fernando, por favor ¿ cuando escribe ud. "el estado" -que significa esta palabra? ¿quiere ud. decir que Moratalaz no es una parte de la ciudad de Madrid y es afuerra la ciudad o- que un estado es un otra palabra que significa un vecindario o barrio...lo siento pero estoy confundo...gracias felix y fernando por la ayuda y el consejo.....Rachel

Never mind Rachel, your spanish is great!

I meant estate, not state You see, my english is not as good as your spanish.

Though Moratalaz is not a specially conflictive estate (you see, now I have learnt), it is not either considered a very good one. Perhaps Felix could add more on these.

Moratalaz is very near to the center of Madrid, well communicated by Metro and buses. I have made some research and I have found a school for children: http://www.munimadrid.es/SIM/0058/00058242.asp

You can also get more info on the Madrid's Council page: www.munimadrid.es Which is also in english.

There you may find the location of the "distrito", its services, its communications, etc.

Perhaps you would also find interesting a map of the Madrid's Metro: www.metromadrid.es

Regards.

Fernando

Moratalaz is a middle class-working class neighborhood in the south-east Madrid, not far from the city center (10-15 minutes from Sol). I have some friends living there, it's quite residential and well communicated. Metro stops there: Vinateros, Artilleros and Pavones and other bus lines.
However, it's quite far (Spanish standards) from the Universidad Complutense (Metro stop: Ciudad Universitaria), which is west Madrid.

Rachel,
Moratalaz is not a bad area. It wasn't considered a very desirable area, YEARS ago, but from all the growing and expanding Madrid has done over the years, it is actually a pretty good place to live, being that its right outside central madrid. (Moratalaz is a suburb, but one of the closer ones, being its right on the edge.)

Its far from the Complutense... the closest thing you'll be next to in Madrid is the area of the Retiro. How long it takes you to get there will also depend on how far into Moratalaz you live, the farther in, the farther away from the center... Transportation is very good, I wouldn't worry about that.

Good luck! You could always look into a Jardin Infantil for your daughter, its like a preschool/day care place, which depending on what you find out before going, it may be an opiton as its not the same as sending her to school.

Good luck!

thanks ever so much to fernando, castiza, and espe3....i feel as if i am getting a clearer picture through your descriptions of moratalaz...fernando, thanks for posting those websites...the map of the neighborhoods helped me to get a sense of where moratalaz was in relation to the complutense and the greater city...and to madrid man, thanks for a fantastic site..the members are so knowledgeable and friendly...i believe my daughter and i will have to arrive early so i can investigate the primaria's in my vacinity...hope one month is enough time...can't even begin to imagine what this adventure will entail as i have never been to spain or the surrounding countries.. hope to also visit france, italy, portugal, and maybe morroco...thankfully i now know where to find the answers to any travel and cultural related questions

Hi Rachel --

For what it´s worth. I have a handy metro program which includes a map as well as estimated calculations of time from one point to another.

Traveling to Ciudad Universitaria (where Complutense is) from Vinateros, Artilleros, or Pavones will take you approximately 22, 24, 25 minutes respectively. I always add on about 10 minutes, particularly during the "peak" metro times which are around 7-9am,1-2pm, 4-6pm, and 7-9pm.

Good luck!

rcae,
I read today an article in "El País", you can find interesting about Moratalaz:

http://www.elpais.es/articulo.html?d_dat...p;anchor=elpmad