We are delighted to introduce a writer whose first novel is about life and love in Madrid, from the point of view of a young professional who moves to the city from the UK.
Kate Boyle is the author of Happy as a Partridge, her first novel published in April 2018.
Kate’s inspiration came from her own move from London to Madrid. Previously, she had moved from Essex (where she grew up) to university in Bristol, before starting her career in London.
She is now back in London, working for an arts PR agency and writing her second novel.
☀️ Could you explain why you chose Madrid? Which reasons motivated your decisions?
Although I think I’d always subconsciously harboured the desire to live abroad at some stage, I moved to Madrid on a bit of a whim. I had recently become unemployed and, similar to the protagonist in my novel, I randomly won a competition for a month of Spanish lessons which saved me from the tedium of job hunting for a few weeks. I’d been to Barcelona several times and wanted to try somewhere different, so having heard good things about Madrid from some friends I decided to give it a go. Initially I thought I’d do the Spanish lessons and then see if I could find some work for a month or two, but I fell head over heels in love with the city, the months came and went and I ended up staying for nearly three years!
☀️ Did you speak Spanish before arriving?
Before I left London I blithely told everyone that I knew enough Spanish to easily get by, but I realised on day one that this was most definitely not the case as I totally froze everytime someone spoke to me. I’d done a year of lessons at school and more recently four months of evening classes, but I would definitely have been classified as an unconfident beginner.
☀️ Once you had decided to relocate to Madrid, how did you start planning your move? Did you do some research? Where did you find info? Was it helpful?
Winning the competition and deciding to move to Madrid felt like a dream at first and I’m embarrassed to admit that I did very little research and planning before boarding the plane. I bought a couple of guide books and looked at some blogs such as Madrid Cool Blog, Madrid Confidential, My Little Madrid etc which all got me excited about the city and gave me a flavour of the Spanish way of life, but in terms of practical research I was pretty clueless.
☀️ Before travelling, what was your main concern? Could you arrange anything regarding housing, paperwork, job, etc beforehand?
As I said before, I wasn’t planning on staying more than a couple of months initially so I didn’t worry too much about things to be honest. I think my main concerns were finding some friends and properly getting to grips with the language, in order to make things like paperwork much easier.
☀️ Where did you first stay? How was your house-hunting process?
I booked myself into a hostel for three nights, ambitiously thinking that I would be able to find somewhere a bit more permanent in that short space of time. I looked at many flats through websites such as idealista and A Small World, but didn’t immediately find anywhere I could see myself living. I was very lucky when I met an English friend of a friend who offered me her room for two weeks while she went on holiday, which gave me more time to get myself sorted. After visiting some pretty grim places I found a lovely flat in Argüelles with a Spanish girl who became a great friend. I also spent time in Chamberi which was my favourite area to live in, as well as a brief stint next to El Retiro. The different barrios have such varied characters, if you are new to the city it would be very useful to have advice from a local on them all.
☀️ Being a EU national all formalities are mere routines but could you tell us about your experience with them?
Having always been overtly fond of efficiency in my life, let’s just say I found the Spanish bureaucracy a challenge! I traipsed around lots of banks before I found one that would let me open an account with just a passport and no other paperwork, and then had endless appointments for the empadronamiento and social security etc. I struggled with this as my language skills were limited at the time and I seemed to get different advice from everyone that I spoke to about what papers were needed for each stage – very frustrating at the time, but I felt very proud of myself when I finally got it all sorted!
☀️ How long did you stay in Madrid?
I stayed for nearly three years, but now I’m back in London I still visit at least two or three times a year – I miss the city hugely.
☀️ Now that your stay is over (for now!), what would you say it was the best and the worst? Is there anything you would like to have done differently?
For me the best things are the bright, Spanish light which put a spring in my step every day, the endless warmth and friendliness of the madrileños, the relaxed attitude to time and the unbeatable quality of life. The food is pretty fabulous too – I could go on and on!
In terms of negatives, I found the late meals hard to adjust to and the directness of Spaniards sometimes upset me at first, although I came to admire this in comparison to long-winded English waffling!
I didn’t look for help from any agencies in terms of settling down, but in hindsight had I known I was going to end up staying for so long I think it would have been very useful to have help getting to grips with the city and it’s quirks earlier on in my stay.
☀️ Your novel, Happy as a partridge, is based on your experience but would you say it’s autobiographical?
I definitely wouldn’t say it’s autobiographical, although of course it was inspired by my time in Madrid and it includes elements of my experiences there. The main events such as the Spanish lessons, the move, the entertaining classes with the mechanics etc are all things that happened to me, although I’ve used a lot of artistic license and imagination to hopefully make the book far more interesting and entertaining than a straightforward autobiography would have been!
☀️ You also write for an antiques magazine and have contributed to two architectural books, could you tell us something related to these subjects that called your attention in Madrid?
I have always worked in the art world in London and while I was in Madrid I visited many art galleries, museums and auctions. Obviously the Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen are all fantastic, but I particularly loved the more intimate Museo Sorolla which was close to where I lived in Chamberi – the beautiful garden and warm, sunny paintings drew me back again and again.
☀️ We know you’re working on a second novel, is there anything you could tell us about it?
It’s still early days with novel number two so I can’t tell you too much yet I’m afraid, but it’s set in a hostel in southern Spain which is run by an eccentric American expat, and where no day ever runs smoothly. I’m hoping to finish it in 2019 but I’ll keep you posted on it’s development.
We look forward to hearing more about this second novel! We’re sure it will be as entertaining and successful as Happy as a partridge. Thanks Kate for sharing with us your experience in Madrid.
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