Moving to Barcelona, grateful for any advice

JackaL

New member
Hi guys

I will be living in Barcelona for 6 months, starting this summer. I'd love to hear/read from the local culés here and discuss some topics that I am interested in. I am greateful for any help and good advice.

I have been to Barcelona 5 times now and know the "inner" city quite well, however, my maximum stay in the city was only 1 week. So, there's a lot for me to discover.

Apartments
I have read the apartment issue on several blogs, websites etc. Apparently, the dominant strategy seems to be to rent an AirBnB room for a couple of weeks to go for apartment hunting and find the right place. Idealista, Pisos.com etc. are the websites and listings for apartments. I am just afraid that the apartment I am looking for will be overpriced because I just need it for 6-7 months. Do you have any ideas or even leads here?

Bloggers / interesting writings
Do you know of any bloggers in Barcelona that write in English and are interesting to follow? Blogs could be about football, city life, food, politics, culture etc. as long as it is good reading? The ones I find on google are mostly blogs that are very good search engine optimizers but the content is mostly about general food and touristy tips, very superficially written and not that interesting at all. Maybe some of you do follow interesting blogs from local people? (btw: I have checked out reddit/r/Barcelona)

FCB matches / venues
Of course, I'd love to visit the Camp Nou several times (I've been there once) if possible. In any case, do you know of any good Bars where Barca fans gather (not your usual Irish sports bar) to watch games?

Other advice
Do you have any other non-touristy tips/advice? Things to see that are normally not on any websites (e.g., timeout.com) or anything else?

Thanks guys!
 

Alik

Moderator
Hey man,

Regarding places to see, you should definitely go to bunquers del carmel if you haven't been there already. It's got the best view in the city. Also if you want to go to the beach, the ones in Badalona and Castelldefels are much better and less crowded than the ones in Barcelona and they are not far at all.

To watch a Barça match, go at least once to La Taverna de Barcelona. The atmosphere is great, they play the Barça anthem and chants before/during the match. Plus it's right by Plaza Catalunya so if it's a big match you can go to the Font de Canaletas to celebrate the win with the rest of the city. But you need to reserve or arrive early to find space in that bar. But otherwise, there are localC bars in every block which show the matches.

Regarding accomodation, I can't really add much. Idealista is the best alternative as far as I am aware. Plenty of students come for just 6 months, so it shouldn't be unusual for find agreements for that duration.

If you are going to be needing public transportation often, consider getting either a 3-month unlimited card ("T-Jove" if you are under 26) or signing up for the public bicycle system "bicing".

If you like to play sports yourself, download the "Timpik" app. It will show you matches that are organized every day which you sign up for.

It's not much, hope it helps a bit.

Good luck! You will enjoy your time here for sure.
 

JackaL

New member
Hey Alik,

Thanks for this, sounds great to me. Yeah, the apartment situation is always an issue when moving to another city/country.
 

Galning

Moderator
For the apartments, I wouldn't rent anything before coming over and checking for yourself.

Bars I really don't know, I go to the stadium every game. But it shouldn't be too hard to find a good one as practically every bar shows all games. You'll find a nice one soon enough.


Are you going to study here or work?
 

JackaL

New member
Thanks for your help. I might rent a room for a couple of days/weeks to go for the apartment hunt. I think there's a tradeoff between stressfully looking for apartments and finding the right place and overpaying via platforms, such as spotahome.com (or similar) and having "less trouble". The price gaps are huge: an entire apartment is sometimes the same price as a room in a shared apartment on spotahome.

I will be working in BCN.
 
Hey man,

Regarding places to see, you should definitely go to bunquers del carmel if you haven't been there already. It's got the best view in the city. Also if you want to go to the beach, the ones in Badalona and Castelldefels are much better and less crowded than the ones in Barcelona and they are not far at all.

.

Agree with the Bunkers del Carmel. One of the most picturesque views in all of Barcelona.
 

BarcaOG

Banned
My Best 7 Travel Tips to Make You the World's Savviest Traveler
Always pack a towel. ...
Buy a small backpack/suitcase. ...
Pack light. ...
But take extra socks. ...
Take an extra bank card and credit card with you. ...
Make sure to use no-fee bank cards. ...
Travel by yourself at least once. ...
Don't be afraid to use a map.


who r u
 

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