Alexandra Berenguer-Testa

Author Natalia Diaz living a life most extraordinary

Natalia Diaz constantly discovers different parts of Spain

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ABS-CBN Lifestyle

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755687104292Early Madrid days by the Palace, 2012.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"/>Early Madrid days by the palace. Image courtesy of Natalia Diaz</div>Back when my lime-green iPod Nano was the height of tech, when jeans were so skinny they cut off circulation, and Rihanna’s &#x27;Umbrella&#x27; was on loop in every mall speaker, I packed up my bags and left Manila to move to Madrid.My friends thought I was mad. I was 32, with a good job managing a bookshop I loved, plus a promising trajectory as a newspaper columnist, which regularly sent me on press trips around the world. Moving to a new country at the height of the global financial crisis meant it would be much harder for me to find another job. But because I was tigas ulo, I had already made up my mind. It was precisely because I was too comfortable in the Manila comfort zone that I had hit a &#x27;now or never&#x27; situation. I knew that if I ever wanted to taste true independence and live life on my own terms, waiting any longer to move halfway across the world would be too late.My inner compass pointed to the Spanish capital. I chose Madrid because I didn’t know anyone, so it was the perfect carte blanche to embark on a new life. Despite not knowing anyone in this city, it felt familiar. I took to my newly chosen home almost immediately, as Madrid became the beautiful backdrop for the independent life I had long imagined and desired. I was relieved not to be rotting in traffic jams all day, and instead could zip across the city on the efficient metro system. Each day offered a new experience, whether it was meeting an interesting new person, learning a new Spanish word, or tasting something I’d never tried before. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755687337446jamón jamón! Madrid market, 2012.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"/>Jamón, jamón! Perusing the Madrid market. Image courtesy of Natalia DiazThat was the easy part.</div>Transporting myself to another country was a vastly humbling experience, as it also meant confronting parts of myself which I’d never had to before. I quickly realized how spoiled I was back in Manila, not having to worry about my next meals or ironing my own clothes. Even having a bathroom all to myself was a great privilege. In Madrid, I started out living in a windowless, subterranean room with nothing but a bunk bed. I lived out of my suitcase in an apartment with three Italian students who barely spoke English. We shared a common kitchen, which a classmate compared to the jaundice-colored room in Trainspotting where Renton and his crew shot up heroin. Without a job, I was constantly worried about overspending. I was always conscious of a clock ticking in my head as my visa was running out and was still unemployed. And during the first freezing winter month, spending Christmas away from family for the first time in my life, I was homesick AF. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755687617041Peacocking in Huertas, Madrid, 2017.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"/>Peacocking in Huerta, Madrid. Image courtesy of Natalia Diaz</div>But to echo the old proverb, fire is the test of gold. Nothing of value is without trial, and every challenge was a hammer on the armor. Eventually, I landed a job, earning my first euros in Spain as an English teacher for a Ministry in the Spanish government. A few months later, I made enough to move out of the Trainspotting den. I attended intercambios – language exchanges in bars where I could practice Spanish with locals as they practiced their English. I traveled around the country, and started freelancing for a local newspaper, which set the ball rolling toward penning for Lonely Planet, and a speechwriting role at a UN agency. Little over a decade later, I secured Spanish citizenship. Yet my most important triumph of all, was that I made a solid network of good friends who made Madrid a true home.     <div>A different kind of diaspora </div>About two decades have passed since my decision to move.In an eyeblink, the world changed. Technology hit warp speed to the AI reality we are now living in. Geopolitical tremors across the world have shifted governments to the right. Back in my old country, the ghosts of strongmen past have stirred again in the shadows of forgotten revolutions. In this post-pandemic era, I’m witnessing a new diaspora in Spain – an inarguably privileged subset of digital nomads, non-lucrative visa holders, and the Golden Visa elite. It’s a cohort enjoying fast-tracked access to residency and geo-mobility, and lighter tax burdens.    To be honest, this new development made me apprehensive. A friend put it this way: it’s like patiently reading the Game of Thrones books for years and being a quiet devotee, when suddenly the show airs on TV and everyone’s an outspoken fan. The long seasons of labor felt muted by the roar of its sudden popularity.Social media was an agent of that noise. Appearing on my algorithm were Instagram reels declaring &#x27;Barrio Salamanca* is the new Makati!,&#x27; broadcasted to tens of thousands of followers. Long-held, best-kept local secrets, such as this three-generation-old Valencian restaurant beloved by the Spanish Royal Family for its discretion, was now completely exposed – in a seven-part Instagram post on a Pinay socialite’s account, spilling every secret, down to the private rooms behind the kitchen reserved for Prime Ministers and longtime regulars. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755688149800CYMERA_20250819_121554.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"/>Templo de Debod, Madrid. Image courtesy of Natalia Diaz</div>Certainly, there are no hard and fast rules on how to be a good immigrant, but there are still some easy steps to follow to not be kupal. But who am I to gatekeep? Privilege of a similar kind was what afforded me to move time zones, once upon a time. So as a neighborly gesture, I’ve summed up a few calls to action, a friendly guide for the new migrant set, culled from real life experience after two decades of living in Madrid:Do learn the language. There are about 4,000 to 6,000 Tagalog words that are directly borrowed or adapted from Spanish, giving Pinoys a significant head start when picking up the language. Don’t live in a bubble. Madrid is a diverse cosmopolitan city, sticking to the same people would be like eating only lumpia when there’s an entire buffet of international cuisine to explore.   Walk more, drive less. Driving a car in the city center is quite impractical because of limited parking spaces and low-emission zone regulations. Like many European cities, Madrid is a pedestrian and commuter-friendly city. Another practical (and eco-friendly) way to navigate the capital is taking an electric bike – there are hundreds of electric bike charging and docking stations across the city’s 21 districts. Do your own research. If you can Google, there’s really no need to ask your kakilala in Madrid to point you to the nearest Starbucks. And while you’re at it, maybe ditch Starbucks. Forever.  <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1755688270879Not AI! Projections on a rainy evening at the Palacio Real, 2023.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"/>Not AI! Projections on a rainy evening at the Palacio Real. Image courtesy of Natalia Diaz</div>In sum, moving is about challenging yourself, shedding old ways with new habits to better yourself each day. Entitlement without effort has no place in the new world.And finally, the ultimate advice for every Pinoy starting life in a new country: believe it or not, there will come a day when you can eat ulam without rice. I’m still waiting for that day.__*Barrio Salamanca is Madrid’s upscale neighborhood with some of the highest property values in Spain.ABOUT THE AUTHORNatalia Diaz is an editor at a global sustainability NGO and a writer with a focus on culture, travel, and food. She has co-authored the Lonely Planet Spain and Lonely Planet Madrid guidebooks and is a contributor to Forbes Travel Guide. In Madrid, she co-founded Chefugee, a project that fosters the integration of refugee cooks through culinary events, and heads an international club of adventurous diners exploring the city’s diverse restaurant scene.

Before Golden Visas and passports via lineage, writer Natalia Diaz--who shares tips on how to properly integrate in the Spanish capital--packed up and left Manila for Madrid two decades ago with nothing but nerves of steel and the dream of an independent life

Before Golden Visas and passports via lineage, writer Natalia Diaz--who shares tips on how to properly integrate in the Spanish capital--packed up and left Manila for Madrid two decades ago with nothing but nerves of steel and the dream of an independent life

A moving story: how a thirtysomething Filipina made the bold move from Manila to Madrid 18 years ago

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A moving story: how a thirtysomething Filipina made the bold move from Manila to Madrid 18 years ago

ABS-CBN Lifestyle,

Natalia Diaz

Published Aug 20, 2025 11:43 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 20, 2025 11:53 PM PHT

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