4th

place for Spaniard’s work-life balance in the OECD ranking




10th

in Monocle magazine’s quality of life ranking




20

green space m² per inhabitant




31

minutes average commute to work

There’s more to life than just work! What’s your pick: football, high culture or shopping? With its world-class quality of life, Madrid is a tolerant, smart, green and liveable international city.

International quality of life rankings rate Spain and Madrid as two of the best places for living. According to the OECD Spain is 4^th in its work-life balance ranking, comparing hours at work to personal life, ahead of countries such as the USA, Germany, UK, Sweden and Russia. This surely contributes to Monocle magazine’s quality of life ranking placing Madrid in 10^th position above Barcelona, Helsinki, Vancouver and Düsseldorf in terms of economic development. Expats also value Spain’s world-class quality of life listing it as their 1^st choice when talking about health or social life, and their 2^nd most preferred country to live in, according to an HSBC survey.

Cost of living in Madrid is far below other main capital cities in Europe such as Paris, London, Dublin or Frankfurt, not to mention expensive global cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Seoul. It rates a low 34^th in the cost-of-living ranking, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

For tourists and Madrileños alike, there’s never a dull moment in Madrid! Whether you’re a football fan, world-class art galleries or high street shopping precincts, the entertainment offer in the city is very affordable with tourists spending an average of €190 to €250 per day.

As one of the most exciting cultural destinations worldwide, Madrid is home to the icons of the Museo del Prado, Museo Reina Sofía and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Just 10 minutes walk from each other, together they see over 7 million visitors annually, including many from overseas (60% of Museo del Prado’s visitors).

Less than one hour from Madrid city (sources)

• More than 100 museums, permanent collections, art galleries and exhibition spaces.
• More than 600 buildings officially labelled as artistic heritage.
• Nearly 270 theatre, opera, ballet and stage spaces, including 25 auditoriums for music shows.
• Over 480 film screens.
• 550 libraries.
• Over 660 private theatre companies, 45 classic orchestras and 90 music schools.
• Over 15,000 theatrical performances and 24,000 music shows per year (source).

Beyond museums, Madrid’s dynamic art scene is populated by major exhibitions. ARCO is one of the most important contemporary art showcases worldwide with over 200 exhibitors. Art Madrid and Estampa are significant for modern art, whereas Feriarte and Almoneda display precious antiques. 22% of the galleries of art and collectibles in Spain are located in Madrid.

So many choices: what will you do? 

• 30,000 restaurants.
• Nearly 12,000 sports facilities within the region, 25 of which are golf fields. There are also several ski resorts not far from the city.
• 6 theme parks and leisure parks. Madrid Zoo, Faunia and Parque de Atracciones (an amusement park) are very popular.

And let’s not forget the shopping! The Globe Shopper Index rated Madrid as the 2^nd preferred shopping destination worldwide (it was rated  5^th for hotels and transport). Madrid’s retail tourists travel here from around the globe, traditionally from the USA and Europe, but in recent years it has also welcomed an increasing number of visitors from Northern Europe and Asia, especially India, China and Japan. Shoppers head for the city centre, in particular the high streets of Salamanca, as well as the outskirts of the city where there are four big outlet malls only 20 minutes drive from the centre.

The high proportion of foreigners in Madrid injects it with a lively international, culinary and cultural diversity. One in seven Madrid residents is a foreigner, totalling over 400,000 plus foreign residents with that number growing each year.

As a capital city, Madrid plays host to many embassies, consulates and also private associations  that provide support services to foreigners. They help to navigate bureaucratic procedures, as well as to soften the landing through social groups and cultural activities (exhibitions, films, live music, conferences) involving fellow compatriots and Spaniards.

Foreign Residents in Madrid

With its high tolerance towards immigrants, religions and lifestyle choice, Spain ranks 10^th worldwide for tolerance, according to the Social Progress Index. A Pew Research Center survey in 2013 showed that Spain had the most tolerant attitude towards homosexuality of all countries. A second survey by IPSOS in 16 countries stated that Spain was also the most inclusive society for transgender people.

Commuting in Madrid is simple due to excellent public transport, road links and the fact that Madrid is a walking city. According to TomTom’s traffic index, Madrid ranked 6^th in avoiding bottlenecks within 140 capital cities in the world. An average work commute in Madrid only takes 31 minutes (Urban Audit).

As a smart city Madrid residents benefit from intelligent services such as shared transport (cars, motorcycles and bikes), updated public transport information, an open data website, etc. The MiNT project, with IBM technology, allows the city council to efficiently manage parks, public spaces, cleaning services, garbage collection, waste treatment, street lights and traffic.

In recent years the city council has focussed on creating a green, healthy city for residents through: several ambitious pedestrianization plans, with more on the way; adapting to, and reducing the effects of, climate change through the Madrid+Natural plan which proposes multiple green solutions; and delivering over 20 green space per m² for each Madrid resident.