New-ish to Madrid

dramallo · 2023-03-01T10:05:42+01:00

Explore the experiences of expats in South Madrid as a retired couple shares their journey, art, language challenges, and tips for English speakers.

dramallo New member

Member since 01 March 2023

dramalloNew member01 March 2023 08:05:42

While I was born in Madrid, I left many, many moons ago after finishing college to marry my lovely bride in the USA. I spent over 25 years in Minnesota working as a software engineer and business analyst at a med-tech multinational. A couple of years back, we chose to retire and relocate to the south of Madrid, in Spain.聽 We spend our time in a small art studio where I create colorful and surprising papier m芒ch茅 pieces while my wife paints, creates collages, jewelry or quilts, that is, when we are not cooking up a storm.

Because I have lived most of my adult time in the US and my wife does not speak Spanish, we feel a bit like expats even after two years. As much as I have become capable of doing simultaneous translations, conversations with a language intermediary are difficult and we often seek english speaking connections.