Living in Barcelona

hola: alquilo habitacion individual en barcelona centro, plaza de españa, familiar y comodo, mfernandezgomez@hotmail.com  tfn, 34 934211463 saludos Maribel.

Welcome on Expat.com barcelona_54,

Can you please post in English in this Anglophone forum please. For Spanish discussion, please use the Spanish version of the site

Regards

Wow, this link as been active for a long time and everyone has had such varied experiences. I'll share my experience in the event that it will help someone. Feel free to ask if you have any questions, I'll be happy to try to help. After making such big change myself I understand the value of first hand information.

I have traveled each year for the last 7 years. My trips have varied from 3-5 months all to Spanish speaking countries for studies of some sort or another. 3 of the trips were to Spain; 5 months in Madrid, 2 months in Barcelona and then Madrid and last summer 3 months in Barcelona. Two months ago I moved to Barcelona indefinitely after my French husband and I married in February.

Barcelona...there is so much to say.
I LOVE Spain... and chose Barcelona over Madrid for a reason that is personally important: it is on the water (apart from the fact this is where my husband lived, he was open to move anywhere). I am from Florida and after living in Madrid for 5 months I realized that it was just WAY too far from the water. However I LOVE Madrid, it is a wonderful city. After spending the summer in Barcelona last year I knew it was somewhere I wanted to be.

Moving from another country to Spain the most important thing to take into consideration is that NOTHING is going to be the same. This is fantastic if you are open to new ways of thinking and experiences, but will ultimately drive you to misery if you think you are going to move to a different country and things are going to be the same.

Transportation:
We do not have a car here for 2 reasons: cost and convenience. Gas is expensive, parking is expensive (at home and in public spaces) and insurance is expensive.  It is much more of a hassle to drive and find parking if you are going somewhere in Barcelona than to take the metro or a taxi (taxis are cheap).  If you are familiar with NYC it is the same situation. My husband had a car last summer when we were together and although it was nice to have your own space, in the end it was much more or a hassle. The metro cards are reasonable and there are options to look into. If you live here with your family (you have to prove it- be married, parents of a child...) there is a familiar metro card that is 48 euros and is 70 rides valid for 30 days and people in the same family debit off of the 70 rides, but have their own metro cards. Other than that you can basically walk everywhere in Barcelona if you wanted to.  The city is actually much smaller than people thing. My husband and I are both very sporty and most of the time we chose to walk b/c it's do-able.

First, all of your bills: rent, water, electricity, internet, cell phone (if you have a contract), gym... and almost everything else, comes directly out of your checking account. As well as your paychecks/ money earned is usually deposited directly into your account. You don't receive a bill and then pay it later or your paycheck and then deposit it. I was told that this is relatively new b/c so many people were defaulting on their payments. For this reason it is realllly important to have a bank account, quickly.

Rent: I know this thread is old so I'm sure the situation has changed a bit. There are a lot of places to rent, Barcelona is filled with apartments and there are good deals you just have to take the time to look. We looked for over 2 months at over 100 apartments until we found ours. We found that most apartments are furnished. Unless you own your flat and plan it is pretty uncommon to rent and lug your furniture from one place to another. This was odd for me to wrap my head around, being American this is what we do, but after I came to terms with it, it is ok.
We only had to pay 2 months rent when signing the contract for 1 year, however we had to provide my husbands work contract that had to be "indefinido" and all kind of other paperwork to show that we were here legally. I know that is not a req for all apartments. After signing the lease you have 10 days (normally) to report anything that isn't working to your landlord and they will replace/ fix it. If you don't report these things within their given time frame they are your problem for the term of the lease. When we moved in our washing machine didn't work, they replaced it.  After the 10 day period there were other problems that unfortunately we had to take care of but they weren't major. I have a friend who's hot water heater broke and of course she had to fix it, yikes.
We live in Sant Gervasi- Gracia, which is an amazing area (I would definitely recommend it) and are paying 790/month.  It is a 1 bedroom (furnished) with a living room, terrace with a nice view, washing machine, other appliances. It isn't huge, but for a couple or 1 person it is fantastic.

Internet: We have Jazztel. To have ASDL you have to have a phone line so if you don't have a phone line, whatever company you contract the internet through will require you to get it. We have both home phone and internet through Jazztel. it is 40 Euros/ month and we have 60 minutes of free calling to cell phones.  I don't know exactly how much it is/ minute to call landlines or cell phones as we haven't received a statement yet. However I do know that it isn't included as unlimited as it is in the US.

Water & Electricity: Water isn't  very expensive and you pay it every 3 months. Electricity on the other hand is another story. I'm not sure if it's like this everywhere in Barcelona, but I'll tell you what it's like in my area. The electric company we have is Endesa, which is a privately owned Italian company. You have to pay your electricity every month (it doesn't come out of your account automatically), but you don't pay the actual amount every month. You pay an estimated usage that is determined from the year before for that month and then every 3 months or so they come out and do an actual reading. After the actual reading is compared with what you have already paid they issue you a credit if you paid too much or you pay more if you weren't charged enough. I came across this fun fact this week when we received notice that we hadn't paid our electric bill from February. We had the apartment in February, but I was still in the states and my husband was still in his old place, so no one was here the entire month, but we had an electric bill of 140 euros! Crazy! It took me awhile to even understand the concept.. which clearly I don't agree with, but this is an example of the things you have to accept.

Cell phone: my husband and I both have pre paid phones through Yoigo. After researching all of the cell providers I found them to be the cheapest. I have a phone with the Droid operating system and I can access the internet and all of my accounts from my phone. We don't really tend to use the phones that much so they really aren't a significant expense.

Food: I have found to be one of my biggest expenses, but little by little I am finding smarter ways to shop. Dia is an inexpensive grocery store, but they don't have all of the luxury items. I try to buy all I can from there and then get the individual things they don't carry from other places. Most grocery stores have home delivery so if you don't have a car you don't have to worry about lugging bottles of water, milk, wine + groceries home. There is a store called Bonarea that I have just found recently that carries high quality meats for reduced prices. The products come directly from the "supplier" (not sure if that's the right term for groceries) so they are less expensive. If you can buy a bunch of stuff there and freeze it, it works out pretty well. I think there is more than one, but I go to the one right by my house on the corner of Principe de Asturias and Rambla del Prat. Wine and cheese are inexpensive....compared to the US at least.

Gym: also a rather high expense, but worth it. We both go to the DIR gyms. There are SO many of them in Barcelona and depending on your membership you can go to all of them! The membership will run you about 75 euros a month, but if you go to the gym daily and consider that you can shower there, that's a savings at home on electricity and shower products There is a new DIR Tuset that is VERY nice.

Jobs: Well I have been here for 2 months and I'm still not working. To be  honest my job search didn't kick in until about the third week and I will say that at that point it wasn't full force. So to be fair I'd say I have REALLY been looking for a job for about a month. There are many jobs posted online for all types of work
http://www.loquo.com/es_es
infojobs.net
monster.es
laboris.net
www.afuegolento.com
There are endless sites really, the frustrating part is that there are SO many jobs "available" but they seem unattainable. I have been told by more than a few people that you have to meet people, that your connections are way more important than your skills. You need an "enchufe" is the word in Spanish for connection. So I suggest finding expat groups/ groups in general and get out and meet people. I'm trying to do that right now, but of course easier said than done. The salaries are low, yes, but you just have to learn to adapt. It's like a relationship, if you love the city enough you will make it work

For basically EVERY job, besides teaching English you have to have working papers for Spain (and I have found that a lot of the English teaching jobs are now also requiring it).  Working papers means NIE and Social security number.  My personal experience is that it is basically impossible for an American to get working papers unless you possess some sort of untouchable skill. To get the working papers you have to have a contract of 1 year (they don't exist in Spain until you at least complete a trial period, you have to have papers to start the trial period). The company has to sponsor you, pay a bunch of money, do a bunch of paper work and demonstrate that you have a skills that no other worker in the European Union (who already has working papers) can fulfill. This is why companies most of the time don't bother.  When I inquired last summer about the working papers the Spanish consulate in NY told me flat out that they weren't issuing work permits at all right now because of the crisis.

I have my working papers and SS#, my residence and permission to work is good for 5 years. I was able to get it because my husband is French. If anyone has questions about that process ask me, that's a whole other book to write about...but I'm happy to help if someone needs it.

Language: I don't speak Catalan, but I do speak Castellano (Spanish). Speaking Castellano is a must unless you are going to stay in the very touristy areas, which are NOT Barcelona.  I plan to learn Catalan at some point after I get the job situation situated with a schedule. There are free classes all over the city, which is awesome. Of course they want to promote the language so that more people speak it.

People: I have found the people here to be exceptionally nice. Every time I go into a store to ask about an appliance the person working wants to take it out, show me how to put it together and how it works, blah blah blah. I went to buy a duvet cover for my comforter and couldn't decide on a color.  The guy in the store let me take 2 pillowcases home to see what color would look better in my room.  I didn't buy anything there previously and he didn't make me pay or leave a deposit or anything.  i found a cover I liked better at another store, but bought it there anyways b/c I was so impressed by his gesture of trust. Similarly I was trying to fix my shower (way more complicated than it sounds) and the guy working at the hardware store gave me 3 different sets of parts since he didn't know exactly what I needed, told me to try them and bring back the ones I didn't need. without paying for any of them, the parts valued about 60 euros all together.
I feel like things like this happen all the time, but of course I don't go to Corte Ingles. These are small stores around Gracia and San Gervasi, I try to give my business to them, the service is much better too. Corte Ingles is SUPER expensive. We reserve going there if we ABSOLUTELY have to, if we can't find what we are looking for anywhere else...they do have everything.

The nightlife here is very fun! I feel there are different tiers of nightlife. There are the huge, touristy, REALLY expensive discos, which are fun if you like them, but you are definitely going to pay.  The younger students I have known that come here love these discos, a lot of them are on the beach.  There is a chill, relaxed cocktail, beer, wine type of atmosphere in Gracia and Borne, which I enjoy. There is also a pretty good salsa scene here if you like dancing salsa. You can basically dance any night of the week, except for Monday I think and surely there is a place I just don't know about. Of course the other tier is the high class "pijo" scene, expensive, but really fun. Such as the Eclipse bar in the Hotel "W" on the beach or other various high profile clubs. My favorite are the terraces. During the summer ever bar/ club/ lounge opens a terrace if they have one. My favorite is Alaire in Passeig de Gracia, some nights there is a DJ that plays lounge music and you have a great view of the city. There are many others, just look online.

Crime: Barcelona is a crowded city, with many immigrants, tourists and a crisis. Add all of that together and you have petty crime. If you are careful you won't have any problems. Don't carry more than you need (money wise), don't carry your passport, hold your belongings carefully in crowded tourist areas and the metro. Don't hang your bag on the back of your chair or leave it on the floor when you are eating. Be aware of what is going on, if someone comes up and starts talking to you, even if it's for directions, that should be an alert to watch your surroundings. Make sure the door at the entrance of your building is closed behind you. Choose to walk down busy streets at night vs small streets where there aren't many people. If you are careful you will be fine. As far as prostitutes I heard that a couple of years ago the government in Catlauña launched a big effort to clean it up. So I hear it isn't as bad as it was. I have barely seen any of it and I don't walk around with my eyes closed.

All in all Barcelona is an AMAZING city, but you have to adapt and learn to enjoy it. It's not going to be the same as where you came from.... but you don't want it to be the same, right? If you wanted it to be the same, you shouldn't have left your country in the first place. And frankly if you don't like the city, MOVE, there are enough people here as it is to have negative people walking around.  I have gone on and on and I could continue forever because there is so much to discover and appreciate.  I hope some of the discouraging comments from others haven't influenced anyone too much Come and discover Barcelona for yourself... with an open heart and mind.

Fantastic post KeriUSBCN, thanks &

I agree with pretty much everything that Keri said, especially that Barcelona is an amazing place to live.

Just thought that I would add a couple of opinions of my own about some of the things she covered:

Transport
Regarding transport, completely right. There is really no reason to have a car here if you live in the centre of the city, if you need a car for a day or two to go out of the city anywhere then you can hire them very cheaply.

Apart from the fact that it is easy to walk around and that the metro is cheap and reliable, don't forget about Bicing, which is also a great way to get around, and costs about 35 euros a year.

Internet
We have Telefonica/Movistar landline phone and ADSL, the cost is about the same at 40 euros a month, but the customer service and reliability have been a complete nightmare.
Other people who I know have jazztel seem to have much better experiences.

Mobile phone
We use Yoigo as well. When we first moved here, I had a Yoigo phone and my wife had Vodafone, and my bills were consistently less than half of hers, despite me using the phone more!

Food shopping
The only thing that I disagree with Keri on, and disagree completely!

I avoid supermarkets here as much as possible, and I hate having to go into one. There are so many amazing food shops and markets all over Barcelona, and the quality is generally far better than you get from a supermarket, with prices that are similar.

I buy meat and vegetables from the market, cheese and butter from the cheese shop, wine and water from the wine shop, and fresh bread from the bakery, etc.

In every shop I can discuss what I'm buying and the best way to cook this cut of meat, or the best kind of apple for this or that, I get to try different samples of ham or cheese or wine, and shopping stops being a chore and becomes a complete pleasure.

In a city where food is so important and where the majority of shop/stall keepers have a real passion for, and huge knowledge of, what they sell, it just seems wrong to go and buy something prepacked from an unknown source that has probably travelled huge distances to get into the supermarket.

The only time I go into a supermarket is for things like sugar or salt, and I get back out as quickly as possible.

JPope

Hello!

A tip could be sharing an apartment. If you share an apartment for 900 € with 3 persons it will just costs you 300 € a month :-)

Just wanted to say to anyone that comes on this site and is looking to move to Barcelona please don´t listen to some of the comments on this thread (especially banned bcnexpat).
I am 31 and live here with my husband and young daughter, yes Barcelona does have problems with crime but which large city doesn't. I have lived here for a year now and the only reason we are looking to move to Malta is because my partner has been offered a good relocation package there. I have found the people in the city lovely and haven´t expected me to use Spanish from day one at all. Some shop owners even give my daughter a free chocolate bar just because they think she´s pretty!!! As for rents we only payed the one month in advance and admin fees exactly the same as you would be expected to do in England. I think a lot of it is down to attitude and if you come to a city and integrate yourself with the community with a smile and a good morning you will have no problems.
I can´t comment on the nightlife scene as being a mother I don´t get to see that side but from what others have told me it seems pretty good and if we do take our daughter for a meal in the evenings the restaurants go out of there way to make sure we are all happy and chatting with our child.
Barcelona is also a beautiful city with a lot of culture and some of the buildings are just amazing.
I think those of you that have had a bad time have clearly got yourself into a bad area and did´n´t do enough research before you left which to me seems the obvious thing to do before you move anywhere new regardless of country!!!
Barcelona does have negatives but I think a positive outlook on things always makes a place seem better

Hello lindseyb,

That may be one the reason that this member has been banned by the moderator team. By the way I appreciate your last paragraph Well said

Thanks Yud, think you have to embrace wherever you live, only live once after all xxx

I must say it is an Excellent thread for the newcomers.
I have got admission in UPC Barcelona tech, UB, UAB and ICFO joint
degree program in Masters in photonics engineering. I am from PAKISTAN. I have n't anyone to guide me regarding my living expenses (food especially) in Barcelona. I want to ask some questions if any one knows the answers must reply
Could I be able to manage my food in 250 euros? as I can cook food. I do not drink and go to discos as i have never done it before in my life.

Hi Dolokhov!

Welcome to Expat.com

Armand

Best thread on the web. Brilliant read, travelling to barcelona again next month and can't wait. I've only been home for a week!

Hello, we are new to the site but found this topic really interesting because we would really love to move to Barcelona.

We have been doing quite a bit of research but would love the opportunity to speak with anyone who has successfully moved from the UK to Barcelona. We are coming over to Barcelona for a weekend very soon and would be very grateful if anyone could spare an hour to meet us just to talk about their experience (we'll buy the vino and tapas).

To begin with we are thinking about buying a small apartment to predominately let out as a holiday let that we could use ourselves but with the intention of eventually moving over permanently.

If anyone has any experience of this kind of thing we would be really interested in speaking with you and hearing any thoughts about the current economic climate in this regard.

Thanks,
Al and Cass