Living in Barcelona: what the relocation brochures don’t tell you

Today I’m here with my friend Maria, a remote worker who has lived in Barcelona for two and a half years.

Everybody is talking on social media about Barcelona becoming a new tech hub in Europe and attracting foreign capital and, obviously, foreign talent. But sometimes the reality is a little bit different.

Maria, talk to us a little bit about your experience in Barcelona. Why did you move here, and how did you find the city?

I was living in Cyprus at the time, and we decided to move to Barcelona because we were looking for a bigger city, more exposure to culture and better opportunities for education for our daughter.

The idea was that we would move to Barcelona. It has access to the sea. It has the Mediterranean climate. It has the Beckham Law, which would allow us to be more cost-effective compared with other European cities.

So that was the rationale behind the choice.

Okay. Now tell us the reality of it.

That’s obviously the brochure — the postcard that you receive in the mail. But what actually happens when you move here? Especially after two years, what has been your experience?

Barcelona has been great.

On the cultural front, it’s a very beautiful city and very vibrant. There is a lot going on, a lot of events and plenty of museums. On that front, it really delivered. I still love the city a lot.

But I would say that I’m currently looking for another opportunity for me because some things really didn’t play out as I expected.

To begin with, it was quite challenging to find an apartment. The market is quite competitive. It’s also hard to find an apartment if you have a pet.

I would also say that the overall safety situation in the city is not that great. I had my phone pickpocketed in a store pretty much the month after I moved in.

It was a bit of a surprise because, having lived in Cyprus and Canada for the past 15 years, I was taking safety for granted. It was really hard for me to adjust to that.

I would also say that I found it hard to integrate as a foreigner in Barcelona, and that is also one of the most important factors for me.

You have a daughter, right? Schooling, I imagine, is really important, as it is for a lot of people who come to Neoria.

How was the schooling situation when you actually moved to Barcelona? Did you find it easy? How did you find the system? Any surprises?

Overall, there are three types of schools in Barcelona. There are public schools, private schools and what are called semi-private schools.

My daughter was going to a semi-private school. Overall, we had a very good experience.

However, it is important to keep in mind the role of Catalan, and you should expect a large portion of classes to be in Catalan. You should also expect to need the language on a day-to-day basis.

Of course, that is very important because if you come from outside Catalonia, in most cases you won’t already speak Catalan.

As you said, you’re now looking to move. What is the determining factor? Why have you decided to go?

As I mentioned before, I found it quite hard to be a foreigner in Barcelona.

The bureaucracy around my residence permit also became really untenable.

The other factor that is important for me is the simplicity of travel. I found it a bit too expensive to travel to and from Barcelona, especially around summertime.

And we decided to move my daughter to an English-speaking school, so we were just waiting for the school year to end.

This is the reality that nobody on social media talks about.

A destination that might work for a year or for a short period of time might not work in the long term, or it might create a significant operational burden.

If you want to stop guessing and actually use data to make your next decision, go to Neoria and model your numbers to see where it makes sense for you to live.