NOTICIAS SOBRE MADRID

Se incrementa un 64 % el número de adopciones de mascotas en el CIAAM

*El Centro Integral de Acogida de Animales de la Comunidad (CIAAM) cerró 2014 con cuatro años consecutivos de incremento de adopciones*. La política del Gobierno regional de promoción de la adopción frente a la compra y en FAVOR de la tenencia responsable ha propiciado que entre 2011 y 2014 las adopciones hayan crecido un 64%, pasando de 400 a 656. Al mismo tiempo, los ingresos de animales han caído un 38%, de 738 a 533. El Centro de Acogida es un servicio pionero que da cobertura a 78 municipios de menos de 5.000 habitantes ... más »

Representaciones de La Pasión de Cristo en la Semana Santa 2015

Son varios los municipios de la Comunidad de Madrid que celebran en esta Semana Santa 2015 la representación de *La Pasión de Cristo*, un evento que permite revivir los momentos más destacados de la muerte y resurrección de Jesucristo. Un espectáculo que se desarrolla en la calle, en el que participan los vecinos representando a los personajes bíblicos.  El sábado 28 de marzo se celebró la *Pasión Viviente de Colmenar Viejo*, con más de 250 vecinos participando en los 13 cuadros que representaron, DESDE la ora... más »

Actuaciones de la Policía Nacional en el Aeropuerto de Barajas en 2014

Agentes de la Policía Nacional del Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas han aprehendido casi una tonelada de cocaína en todo el año 2.014*. Además se ha arrestado a 364 personas en un total de 339 intervenciones, las cuales pretendían introducir este TIPO de sustancia u otras en España, tales como heroína o ketamina. La delegada del Gobierno en Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes, y el jefe Superior de Policía, Alfonso Fernández Díez, han presentado el balance de actuaciones de la Policía Nacional en el aerop... más »

En el balcón Nº 52

En el pasado mes de diciembre puse el último balcón curioso del año, pues bien, ya va siendo hora de estrenar balcones nuevos en este 2015, así que aquí va el balcón NÚMERO52, el primero del año. La foto pertenece a Belén, una amiga de este blog desde hace muchos años, tantos que ya ni me acuerdo... El caso es que hoy me ha enviado esta foto de un balcón sito en una calle cercana a la Gran Vía y la he subido casi en el acto, no me he podido resistir. El balcón tiene un ornamento de lo más extraño e inquietante; un trapajo marrón, con una orla en el centro, coronada con virutas de... más »

Información de los niveles de polén a través de e-mail y SMS

La Consejería de Sanidad refuerza el sistema de vigilancia e información diaria de los niveles de polen en la atmósfera, a través de la *Red Palinológica de la Comunidad de Madrid (Red Palinocam)*, de cara a la primavera y la llegada del polen que causa más alergias a los madrileños, tal como explicó hoy la viceconsejera de Ordenación Sanitaria e Infraestructuras, Paloma Martín. La *Red Palinocam*, que coordina la dirección general de Ordenación e Inspección, incluye el *envío de mensajes SMS* al teléfono móvil cuand... más »

Un 12,3% más de asientos para la temporada de verano en el Aeropuerto de Barajas

La oferta de las compañías aéreas para la temporada de verano 2015 supera los 36,5 millones de asientos en el Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, lo que supone un incremento de 12,3% respecto a los asientos reservados para la temporada de verano 2014. La temporada de verano 2015 se desarrollará durante 30 semanas, *desde el domingo 29 de marzo hasta el 24 de octubre*. Por lo que se refiere a vuelos comerciales, las peticiones de las aerolíneas superan los 211.000 movimientos, un 10,3% de incremento con respecto a la temporada de ... más »

La antigua Estación de Príncipe Pío albergará un teatro-espectáculo

El Consejo de Administración de Adif ha aprobado en su última reunión la adjudicación del concurso convocado para el arrendamiento del edificio histórico de cabecera de la Estación de Príncipe Pío de Madrid a una agrupación de tres empresas que propone un* uso de teatro-espectáculo, con restauración y academia de artistas*; concurso al que se presentaron tres ofertas. El contrato, por un periodo de cincuenta años, incluye el arrendamiento de 6.046 m2 del edificio cabecera y de 3.429 m2 en l... más »

Life in Spain

Spain is well known, among other things, for its excellent quality of life, the open-minded character of its people and the wealth of opportunities on offer, both in the fields of education and culture and in the worlds of sport and leisure.

Spain has a wide range of public and private hospitals and a buoyant housing MARKET. All of which, when combined with the assurance provided by a system of law enforcement that works, make Spain an ideal country in which to live and work.

It comes as no surprise that Spain has been ranked among the top world list of tourist destinations, not only in terms of visitor numbers but also in terms of revenues generated.

A brief description of these aspects follows in this chapter, along with description of other aspects of interest for foreigners relocating to Spain.

Education

Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 and English is the most widely studied foreign language at schools and institutes.

There are a total of 29,167 primary and secondary schools in Spain (of which 9,160 are privately-run), and a considerable number of bilingual schools of different nationalities. This allows for the integration of foreign students in Spain, as reflected by the fact that there are currently 90 foreign students enrolled for every 1,000 Spanish students.

For further information on bilingual schools, see

https://www.educacion.gob.es/centros/home.do 

and SEARCH for “Centro Docente Privado Extranjero en España”)

In addition, there are 50 public and 29 private universities, offering a broad range of disciplines. There has been a notable increase in the number of foreign students enrolled in official masters (16.49% according to data from the Ministry of Education). What is more, some of Europe’s leading business schools are based in Spain: IE Business School, IESE Business School and the ESADE Business School, to mention but a few.

Healthcare

 

Spanish healthcare and hospitals, both public and private, are of a very high standard, with many excellent medical centers. Spanish citizens are well served by the Spanish National Health Service. Every neighborhood has a healthcare center (outpatients clinic) where patients are assigned a doctor (family general practitioner), or a pediatrician in the case of children. Patients must make an appointment to see a doctor, and the family GP is in charge ofREFERRALS to specialist physicians.

Emergency healthcare services in Spain are excellent, and the leading specialists in the country enjoy a world-class reputation.

In addition, there are many private centers that offer all kinds of PRIVATE MEDICALservices to workers on assignment and to their families at a modest annual cost.

Spain has certain bilateral social security agreements with other countries that regulate the impact of periods in which social security contributions are paid in other states on the Spanish welfare system. Moreover, EU social security legislation is applicable to Spain, ensuring that workers assigned from one Member State to another (including Switzerland in this case) will not be affected by such assignment.

To find English-speaking doctors in Spain, see https://spain.cms.getusinfo.com/citizen-services/professional-services/medical-info.html

To find an English-language database of hospitals by province, seehttp://www.msc.es/en/ciudadanos/prestaciones/home.htm

For further information on the Spanish social security system, see www.seg-social.es

Generally speaking, Spain is one of the safest and most politically stable countries in Europe. The 2009 reported crime RATE was 45.1 offenses per 1,000 inhabitants, 23 points below the European Union average.

Spain stands out for being one of the politically stable countries and with good international RELATIONS.

Climate

 

Spain occupies an area of 504,782 square kilometres in the southwest of Europe. The territory covers the most part of the Iberian Peninsula, which SHARES with Portugal; it also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the North African cities Ceuta y Melilla and several islands and islets.

The average minimum annual temperatures range from 2ºC in January to 18ºC in August, while maximum temperatures range from 13ºC in January to 27ºC in July and August. In the Canary Islands, temperatures range from a minimum of 17ºC to a maximum of 25ºC.

With over 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, Spain is one of the warmest countries in Europe.

This agreeable climate makes Spain a highly attractive tourist destination, as well as an ideal location for buying a second home, particularly for retired people. Moreover, Spain’s FAVORABLE climes are highly rated by foreign investors, particularly when it comes to deciding on a location for their factories or other workplaces.

Housing

 

There is a wide range of rented ACCOMMODATION on offer in Spain, in addition to a large new and second-hand residential market for homebuyers.

For more information see the Ministry of Public Works website, you click in the following link.

To search housing, we recommend visiting the nextwebsites: 

www.idealista.es or www.fotocasa.es.

DRIVER's license

Driver licenses can be obtained from age 18 onwards, after passing the relevant theory and practical tests. Foreigners holding a license issued in an EU country do not need to sit an additional test.

In the case of licenses issued by non-EU countries, foreign DRIVERS need to check if there are any bilateral agreements which recognize their foreign license. If not, they need to obtain a Spanish driver’s license once they have become resident in Spain.

For further information, please go to www.dgt.es (website only available in Spanish)

Banks

Apart from the Spanish banks, many of which are ranked among the foremost banks in Europe (Banco SANTANDER and BBVA), major international institutions operate out of Spain (e.g. Deutsche Bank, Barclays Bank, UBS, etc.), as do large investment banks.

Language and religion

 

Castilian Spanish is the official language of the Spanish State. There are other Spanish languages that are also official in the respective Autonomous Communities, according to their Charters of Autonomy.

Catholicism is the main religion, but it is worth highlighting that Spain is a constitutionally secular State in which other religions peacefully coexist.

Leisure

 

Spain is the 4th most popular tourist destination in the world in number of tourists and the second in terms of EARNINGS per tourist. With almost 8,000 kilometers of coastline, it boasts a wide range of sporting facilities and a large variety of social events, all crowned by the diversity of its cultural heritage.

The Spanish coast obtained 603 Blue Flags in 2011, another year, the world’s highest number of this ecological distinction. The Blue Flag is an ecological distinction given to more than 3,648 beaches and seascapes in 46 countries of 5 continents.

Spain has a broad spectrum of leisure and entertainment ACTIVITIES to cater for all ages (zoos, safaris, natural routes, etc.). Numerous theme parks have opened in the past decades, such as Terra Mítica in Benidorm, Port Aventura in Tarragona, Isla Mágica in Seville and Warner Bros Park in Madrid and there is plenty of children’s entertainment on offer, mainly focused on introducing them to science and the environment.

 

Spain has a vast network of libraries and museums around the whole country. Stands out the National LIBRARY, with more than 20 million volumes, the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, to mention but a few.

Spain’s highly diverse cultural heritage has, in turn, produced its world-renowned cuisine.

For further information and recommended places of interest, visit the Tourist Spanish official website 

For further information, visit the extended version of our online GUIDE to Business:

Useful addresses

 

Prepared by:

______________________________________________________