The International Newcomers Club of Madrid is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious social organization. Our mission is to ease the transition for newcomers to Madrid. INC Madrid is an international, English-speaking organization that is celebrating 30 years of welcoming newcomers to Madrid.
The club has about 180-250 members from over 40 nationalities who either have just arrived or members who have lived here for 30 years or more. People join our club for a variety of reasons: to learn more about Madrid and Spanish culture, to make new friends, to practice their English, to get acclimated quickly and to join our vibrant expatriate community. INC Madrid is here to make Madrid feel smaller and more welcoming for you.
Please feel free to contact us at info@incmadrid.org
The INC Story: How we got started…
Susan, Phyllis and Ann tacked up a handwritten flyer at the international schools around Madrid, inviting women who “are or feel like newcomers” to help organize a Newcomers’ Club.
The black and white cartoon at the bottom of the A4 sheet of paper surely clinched the deal for the 22 women who showed up at the first organizational meeting. The image is as fresh and telling today as it was in January 1988. With or without children, you can identify with the disheveled woman laden like a pack mule upon her arrival in Madrid, Buenos Aires, London, Hong Kong or Timbuktu. It doesn’t matter the destination; women generally shoulder the burden of “settling” the family into their new home and life overseas.
To do that, we need help. We need each other.
Each of the 22 women who showed up at Susan’s home on January 22nd, 1988 for a cup of coffee and a chat about creating a newcomers’ club, left with a job to build the new club. Less than a month later, 45 women signed up at the first general meeting at Susan’s home on February 12th, 1988. The International Newcomers Club of Madrid was formed.
Susan first arrived in Madrid in October 1987 from Mexico City. Phyllis, another newcomer to Madrid at the time, had come from Venezuela where she had been involved in an international women’s club. Both Susan and Phyllis had small children and a desire “to meet people, share experiences and make friends.” Susan, Phyllis and Ann set out to build new avenues for international women in Madrid to meet one another.
One of the founders testimonial
As one of the founders of the INC I’ve seen a lot of people come and go over the past 30 years, including myself! We’ve departed and returned 4 times now – something about Madrid just keeps calling us back. Each time I arrive I reach out to the club to put me back in touch with old friends still here and to make new friends through the fun activities that are always on offer. I’ve learned so many things through the INC, like how to make authentic gazpacho from a Spanish cooking class to secrets of the Spanish masters like Velazquez and El Greco from an art appreciation seminar.
I’ve met an incredible number of interesting women of all ages and from all corners of the world that have enriched my life in so many ways. Just yesterday I was at an area coffee with women from Egypt, Belgium, Italy, England, Argentina, Spain and the US. What a joy! I love being part of an international community and the INC, with 30 years of experience behind it, is going strong and keeping me young!