The Linguist

@Linguist_CIOL FEBRUARY/MARCH The Linguist 25 SECTION HEADER OPINION & COMMENT I was viewing rooms when I could, around teaching English as an assistant at a secondary school and appointments for yet more paperwork. I soon discovered that a 'fully equipped kitchen' often doesn't include an oven, and that a bedroom window isn't standard but something you need to specify in your searches – both things I wanted. I was glad to be visiting in person, as I found more than once that the information provided was false. One of the places was listed as a student flat, inhabited by 18- to 25-year-olds with three bedrooms and the landlord living away from the property. I was greeted at the house by the 60-year-old landlord, who lived in one of the four bedrooms and was keeping tabs on the whereabouts of all the people living there! After ten viewings, I was fortunate to find a room in the city centre that was within my budget. I could move in within a few days and it came with some lovely flat mates (pictured). Paying my deposit and first month's rent presented its own issues, as I had not yet received my Spanish bank card, and this large, international payment was blocked by my UK bank. Despite this, two weeks after landing, I was relieved to unpack my bags in a room that is mine until I leave Madrid in the summer. Two months later, I was packing again – this time to spend Christmas in the UK. I was lucky that all I needed was a negative pre-departure lateral flow test and a PCR test booked for within two days of landing. With a Covid case among the language assistants at my school, I was worried I would test positive, but in the end I was able to fly. The tests set me back around £100, but I didn't need any further tests to return to Spain and there was no quarantine requirement. That said, over the festive period I was ready to drop all my plans if quarantines were reintroduced, and race to get back across the border before they came into force. Nothing quite says Christmas like obsessively reading the news! The trials of finding student accommodation in Madrid – and getting home for Christmas in Covid times GEMMA MCBAIN Third year interrupted Gemma McBain is in her third year of a German and Spanish BA at the University of Southampton. TL I have faced quite a few hurdles since arriving in Madrid, the first of which was finding somewhere to live. Before I left, I was warned of the risks of being scammed online. I decided to wait until I was in country, so I could view properties in person, meet my potential flat mates, and get more of a feel for the area I could be living in. I had an Airbnb booked in the outskirts of the city for my first week. I signed up to several popular apps and websites for finding rooms in shared flats, and soon realised why people had warned me about finding accommodation in Madrid. Each day I responded to 15-20 rooms, but hardly received any responses. I was very aware of the urgency of finding somewhere to live. I wouldn't begin to feel settled until I was in my own place, and Brexit means a lot more documentation is required to be able to stay legally in the country – all of which requires a permanent address.

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