i am a 34 year old single mum who is planning on a month or two month stay in barcelona with my 16 year old son, when he finishes school in june.
although i have read most of the above posts i am still unsure of where might be best for us to reside! i speak enough castillian to get by and would like to take this opportunity to polish it up a lot! we are both into art, i am a tattooist, so this will influence our decision greatly. however, i know that my son will be in his element if he can get to and from the beach when he fancies, with or without me!
we’ll be doing this pretty much on a shoestring, and therefore i can no way afford a holiday apartment which charges per night, for example. i know barcelona isnt cheap but i’m sure that here, just like most places we have travelled, money can be saved AND a more real experience had, by sticking with the locals and avoiding stuff set up for tourists.
i am basically asking for any advice on which areas might be good for us and also if anyone knows of a cheap apartment that might be available for 1-2 months (i am about to trawl the websites mention on this site but it wouldnt mind renting direct from an individual).
thanks in advance for any help 😊
Hey there!
I hope your move to BCN goes well…...it’s a great city! I live in Viladecans, but places like Castelldefels, Gava etc outside the city tend to be cheaper than the centre. It takes 20 minutes in the train from Viladecans to Sants but it’s not that bad, depepnding on how much rent you want to spend a month. The areas round the baix llobregat are normal and residential and reasonably priced if you’re willing to travel…...and they’re close to nicer beaches as opposed to the BCN city beaches.
The Expatriator, nice list of where to live…. I think I will choose gracia also, but which of these neighborhoods inside gracia do you prefer? el camp d?en grassot i gr?cia nova, vila de gr?cia, la salut , vallcarca i els penitents, el coll
Guys, this is a very good forum, and I noticed people actually get detailed feedback.
I would be grateful if you could also answer my questions.
I got a surprising offer from my boss about a new position opening in Barcelona. And I have zero idea about real salaries and spending in BCN.
I am a technical writer with a 10 years experience and a good wage (circa 2X average) living in Gdansk, Poland (I am Polish).
My question is what wage should I expect to get, to live comfortably in Barcelona with a wife (who will not have a job at the beginning) and a 6 year old. By comfortably I do not mean excessive, I mean, a 2 bedroom flat close to the city or lively area, restaurants once/twice a week, or so. Internet, mobile phones, cable TV etc.
What the best areas to look for flat for us and what would be the average price (in Gracia, for example). I am 30-late-something, my wife is 30, and we like to go out and enjoy life.
What is the cost of a school, and does it have to be international? Is it easy, safe, to find somebody to look after a kid, if we want to go out one day during the weekend?
I know this is a lot, but although at the age of 26, I moved from Sydney Australia to Gdansk Poland, I was by myself, now I have a mortgage and a wife and a kid. So need to be more careful. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Julian
PS. One last point. I am living comfortably here in Poland, so do not want to move if I will struggle financially from day to day in BCN . But on the other hand, Gdansk is not Barcelona. So the salary should be high, but not excessive.
Hi,
I can get you in contact with my former roomate she is polish - shoot me a pm with your email and I will forward it to her!
other than that I would say Barcelona became expensive as hell (alcohol, tabacco haircuts and taxi are still cheap though LOL)
check out http://www.loquo.com and idealista.com for flat prices and you can find further information here: http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com (they have an extensive classified section with a huge amount of expat meeting groups for different countries)
First language is catalan here so your child will learn catalan if you send it to a public school/kindergarten!
Well, if I am going to move in Barcelona, I will surely skip Barcelonita, because of high crime, I would try to choose from the rest of the barrios. dentists in bolton
Hello all, I suppose I should have posted this here first
I?ve read many of the articles and forums about housing but I have a few specifric questions that I hoped I could get some help with.
I?m moving to Barcelona in September, going to be there for about a year for grad school. I went to school for a semester there and just had to go back. I lived in Eixample. My questions are:
1. How quickly can I expect to find a decent apartment in Barcelona?
2. I know a bit about the different barrios, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to a section that is popular amongst English-speaking students/ young persons.
I love Barcelona and I have already spent a vacation there. If I would move to Barcelona I would like to live in Eixample Derecha.
Loved the surrounding there and the beach is very close.
Barcelona is such a great city and I liked the people there. I was very impressed by the Sagrada Familia and all the other buildings built by Gaudi.
I came to Barcelona 2 weeks ago. Now I live in Eixample. It is a nice destrict to live,the best of the area is in my opinion the area around sagrda Familia. It not that loud, but with the metro or bus you can go so easliy in the citycentre and to the Rambla. I can recommend you. But I tell you it is so hrad to find a room that is nice and affordable. This you could not when you want to live near the port or the beach… I glad, that I got my room from barcelona-home. Did you guys found your rooms by yourself or also with the help of a company???
:( Diagonal Mar is not on the list. If you like big roads, free parking and all important shops near by then this area is pretty good. It?s not as lively as eixample and well… it?s very spaced out so you don?t have that neighborly feel of gracia. But it?s new, modern, well communicated to the east of BCN (meridiana, rondal litoral, connects to rondal dalt), subway is also not bad and many buses. Taxis fly down Garcia Faria every 5 minutes.
Vila olimpica is about a 20 minute walk (3km) west along Garcia Faria. Rent depends, can range from 1000? to quite pricey. Flats are usually larger in the 60m to 120m. I?ve been here since August and it?s very quiet, no issues at all, very safe. It?s just like Toronto sometimes. I stayed in eixample for 2 months and I just couldn?t handle the traffic (I drive to work.).
Diagonal Mar? I didn’t put that on the list because I don’t really consider it to be Barcelona. I mean, if you want that kind of lifestyle then stay in Toronto.
Just kidding! Well, sort of. I don’t want to be harsh on you and if you’re looking for skyscraper condos, car culture and shopping malls then there are much better countries to live in. I’m sorry if this is coming across offensive - feel free to disagree! Really! I’m just putting my (albeit harsh) opinion out there. 😊
No hard feelings, it?s a nice place to live! Love it. Love seeing the ocean. Our eixample flat was absolutely beautiful but for the life of me I just couldn?t get out to rondal dalt in the mornings or coming home in the evenings. Everyone has different needs and preferences, that?s what?s so great about this city!!! Most of the people are welcoming and friendly… Have a great day friend.
Just made this account so I could post in this awesome thread.
I’m a 20 year old Norwegian, thinking about moving to Barcelona (for a year) in august or september. My plan is to work as a bartender at some place (will take a bartending education this summer), and on my spare time I’ll be taking some Spanish classes in order to learn the language. Anyways, a lot of people have posted here but I’m still a bit confused…
Seeing as I’m young, and want to work as a bartender, I want to live in a die-hard clubbing area:P No kids, just me!
Ideally I want to find an apartment shared by lots of people (but with my own bedroom) (whats the English word for that anyways? “kollektiv” in Norwegian…) However if I can find a really cheap small studio-apartment I’d be up for that aswell. My absolute maximum rent would be 500 euros a month.
Firstly, what area would best fit me as all I’m gonne be doing is partying? Secondly, do you have any tips as to sites I could check out in order to find a shared apartment online?
Hey Zeph,
Lots of options for you. Since you want clubs, the mega club areas are really in Eixample (both left and right) and near Port Olympic. Eixample also has a lot of huge shared apartments with lots of young people. That said, it’s not my favourite area just because the streets are huge and therefore the noise is a problem. Not a lot of parks or really nice attractions to Eixample either (IMHO). Some of the areas of Eixample closer to Universitat or Urquinaona are ideal however, because they are close to the centre, plus close to the clubs, plus close to the metro. Alternatively you could look for a big flat in El Borne or Barceloneta or Poble Nou to get close to Port Olympic while having a great neighbourhood too. Barceloneta has a lot of petty crime though. I’m surprised it’s ranked so highly in our poll above.
El Raval may be a good option too, but I know a lot less about it and it’s been changing drastically in the last few years.
Don’t rent a small studio. Go for shared accommodations. You’ll have a great time.
Thanks a lot! I’m certaintly going to check it out. Going on a weeklong trip in may, I’ll definitely check out all those areas then. 😊
However… The last week I’ve been having second thoughts about moving to Barcelona… Not because of the city, but because I really want to learn Spanish next year, and I had no idea the Catalan language was that different from Spanish…
The thing is… I really don’t speak a lot of Spanish, and I figured I might learn more if i moved to Madrid. I really don’t know though, because my first choice would be Barcelona for sure… What do you think?
The Catalan is great, the Spanish is great. Most people speak Spanish in Barcelona, at least those you’d be hanging out with. Just make sure you focus on learning it as too many young expats get by without putting in the effort as it IS possible to get by on just English for the most part. Jump right into some intensive Spanish lessons for a month or so. You’ll meet lots of people too. I recommend International House in the Borne.
