Hi guys,

I’m planning to move to Spain in September, but still I can not make up my mind which city to choose (Barcelona or Madrid)..? I will mention here and my nationality, if matters..I’m a Bulgarian citizen and currently live in Dubai, but I’m planning to move to Spain.

The main questions I’m concerned about where to move, Barcelona or Madrid, are:

1. How international(cosmopolitan) it is..?

2. Learning Spanish for free and the possibility to start a job in the very beginning with English and later Spanish, of course…I mean is it a problem to find a job in Barcelona if I don’t speak Catalan…Is everywhere possible to use and work with Spanish language and not Catalan, for example..?

3. Standard of life, is one of those places cheaper?...What about the organisation and the possibilities to work and study, for example..?
Is somebody know where is better to go for one year(diploma) Graphic design study..?

4. Where do you feel more integrated in the society and less expat or immigrant..?

5. Which place is more cultural and with prospects for personal development..?

6. What about the transport system and the possibility to be flexible without a car..?

7. Where do you find it easier to start a job in the very beginning, if I have a fluent English and a little Spanish..?

8. Where is more safe to live..?

Lol!..I’m sure the questions might be much more, but from what I know before to come, those are the most important, I guess…
If you, guys, already Spain expats are familiar with the above mention topics, regarding Barcelona and Madrid, please let me know…Which one..!?

Thank you in advance..!

Future Spain expat..😊

I have done a lot of research into this question myself, so I can maybe answer some of your questions. I’ve been to neither city, but have watched numerous videos and read books about both! So.. I can be somewhat objective, at least!

1. Both are really international and cosmopolitan. Madrid probably a little more. Barcelona is cosmpopolitian, but is also more of a vacation spot. While many people visit Madrid, tourists seem to be more noticable in Barcelona. Maybe it’s because they’re all lounging on the beach 😛
2. Don’t know if there are free Spanish classes in either city (I know the Catalan government offers free Catalan classes, though!). Also, I think knowing Spanish would help a LOT in getting a job in either place. If you only know English you’d probably have to work somewhere that caters to English-speaking tourists (which there are a lot of in Spain, but mostly in the resort areas, like Costa del Sol) . It seems like you could easily work in Barcelona with just Spanish, but that knowing Catalan would be an employment asset for sure. Natives there speak both languages interchangeably. You would rarely run into someone who doesn’t speak Spanish fluently.
3. Barcelona is slightly cheaper when it comes to housing and stuff, but not by a lot. Don’t understand what “organization” you’re talking about. Also, don’t know anything about graphic design programs, but there are tons of universities in both cities!
4. Hmmm.. maybe Madrid, it’s a bigger place, probably more immigrants there, so you’d blend in better!  That’s a total assumption, though, so maybe someone else has a better answer.
5. Well, that is a personal question, so it depends what is right for you! Both have a lot of culture, but the culture in Barcelona is perhaps more distinctly Catalonian, while Madrid is a mesh of Spainish culture.
6. Both cities have great public transport, huge subway systems.
7. You already asked this! Depends what kind of job.  It will be hard to find a job without Spanish, but it might be possible! If your English is fantastic you could teach English, or, like I said, work in a British-run restaurant or something that caters to expats.
8. They’re both big cities.. I’d say they’re about on par with each other. Don’t know the crime statistics.

Hi Sally,

Thanks a lot for your reply, though it was quite interesting I would like to hear and an opinion from somebody who has already experienced all the positive and negative sides of both cities in person.
And you, if you did such a big research, does it mean you are planning to move to Spain or it is just a hobby..😉
I’ll be glad to hear back from you and/or anybody who has what to say about the topic: Barcelona or Madrid are more “open minded” when it comes to accept expats and how important is to speak Catalan, if you live in Barcelona..? Isn’t it confusing in the beginning and Spanish or Catalan is more important to know, to be able to live in Barcelona..? And in case, they both are important, which one is more essential to study first..?

Hope to hear more about this..as so far I can’t make up my mind (Barcelona or Madrid), mainly because of those two languages in Barcelona..😉

Venisa..😊