![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/A4Z2NZIJTFA7JKRXVF4Q5XDQSA.jpg\")
The El Retiro Park is a major attraction in Madrid. Photograph: Dora Dalton\/Getty <\/p>\n\u201cI have been living in Madrid for five years now, but time has flown,\u201d says Lauren McNicholl, a Ballymena native who is possibly the only Irish woman tailor in Spain. <\/p>\n
She works with Jose Alonso Romero, one of the country\u2019s most acclaimed master tailors, whose company is known for its Teba jacket originally designed for King Alfonso XIII in the 1930s. <\/p>\n
\u201cSpaniards dress casually because of the climate,\u201d she says, adding that Spanish tailoring style combines English structure with softer Italian construction. She came initially to study full time from Savile Row in London and now tailors three-piece suits, trousers and sports jackets, details of which she often posts on Instagram.<\/p>\n
She lives in an apartment in Prosperidad, locally known as \u201cLa Prospe\u201d. It was previously a small farming community outside the capital city, but is now an urban hotspot and thriving residential neighbourhood. <\/p>\n
Ms McNicholl shares it with Spaniards from other parts of the country and likes it as it enables her to immerse herself more fully in wider Spanish culture. She walks to work, which is located in the upmarket neighbourhood of Salamanca. \u201cIt takes half an hour and allows me to take in the city\u201d, which is in keeping with Madrid people\u2019s love of being outside no matter what the weather.<\/p>\n
People are sociable and welcoming. \u201cIf you make an effort to speak the language, they will encourage you to keep going and they love to chat and talk so it is very similar to Irish culture,\u201d she says. \u201cBefore meeting for lunch, for example, they like to have an aperitivo, a small drink and snack. Even if friends have other plans, they\u2019ll stop to have a quick catch up on a terrace and then head on. It is really relaxed\u201d.<\/p>\n
Weekends tend to be family-oriented. \u201cOn Sundays you always see families going out together for a meal and to walk in places like the Retiro Park to meet friends \u2013 and it\u2019s very much the more the merrier.\u201d <\/p>\n
The El Retiro Park is a major attraction in Madrid. Photograph: Dora Dalton\/Getty <\/p>\n
The hub of Madrid people\u2019s outdoor life, El Retiro is one of the biggest parks right in the city centre and has lovely walks and buildings that date back to the 16th century.<\/p>\n
On Sundays, Ms McNicholl occasionally heads to the El Rastro market in the La Latina neighbourhood. \u201cI love discovering new places and will often choose a random metro station and wander through the neighbourhood to find gems off the beaten track\u201d. <\/p>\n
For shopping, she heads to the Goya neighbourhood and she likes El Corte Ingl\u00e9s, the big department store.<\/p>\n
\nCost of living is less expensive than home, so the prices of renting and eating out are cheaper<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Her favourite places to eat include Casa Julio, known for its croquettes. \u201cA small bar with home-made traditional food and with a fantastic ambience, so it is a lovely environment. You can try the tapas and then move on somewhere else. The Spanish are proud of their food and their specialities, and Madrid celebrates its traditions while also incorporating modern influences, so it is a great mix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madrid is a city that feels local to Ms McNicholl, where people have grown up and remain. \u201cThere are lots of museums and exhibitions and there is so much to do here especially in the summer when there are so many festivals and open-air cinemas in the Plaza Espa\u00f1a. Cost of living is less expensive than home, so the prices of renting and eating out are cheaper; so there is a good work\/life balance,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
\u201cPublic transport is terrific and a lot cheaper \u2013 you can take a train from Madrid and be in Valencia, Barcelona or Alicante in less than two hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms McNicholl loves showing visitors from home her life there, the different culture, food and other aspects of the city. \u201cI do miss friends and family back home, but with regular flights it is easy to visit home, being only two hours away. Here my work is really coming into its own and customers will now come back and ask for something special, for suggestions and for advice on certain fabrics.\u201d <\/p>\n
Are there any downsides to living in Madrid? <\/p>\n
\u201cSpanish timing,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen the Spanish arrange to meet, it is always later than discussed. I once arrived on time to a friend\u2019s house for dinner and no one, including the host, was there. Nobody could understand why I showed up at the agreed time \u2013 that was an introduction into another aspect of the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI have been living in Madrid for five years now, but time has flown,\u201d says Lauren McNicholl, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[2000,299,21523,104,21522,596],"class_list":{"0":"post-37501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-irish-abroad","11":"tag-spain","12":"tag-wild-geese","13":"tag-work"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114374274141793303","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}