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Relocating to Barcelona

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  • 17-10-2013 9:37am
    #1
    peewee1512
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭


    Hey all! I need help - I have been offered a fantastic work opportunity in Barcelona but I am quite scared of the move. Has anyone here living or has moved to Barcelona? I need some questions answered.

    Thanks all.


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    #2
    bobjohn82
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭bobjohn82


    I've been living in Barcelona for about 3 years now. It's fantastic regarding quality of life and so on but it isn't as cheap as people would have you believe and the salaries are pretty low. Even still, I'd definitely recommend it. I have no intentions of going home anytime soon, even though it's one of the few economies worse off!


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    #3
    peewee1512
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭peewee1512


    Thank you for getting back to me. What is the tax system like over there - will I have money left every month!? What about the renting? I have a small son so I would be looking for somewhere outside of the city - with a garden? Where would you recommend?


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    #4
    bobjohn82
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭bobjohn82


    I have a son over here too, and we live in the suburbs. As for renting, it depends where you live. The real value is outside the city a bit. In the city you get an old one bed apartment and pay for "culture" and "authenticity". You can get a much bigger place, new build, for about the same price outside a little. Forget about a garden though. It's all apartments. You might get a shared one for the building at best. To get an idea of rental prices, check out these sites:

    http://www.fotocasa.es/en/
    http://www.yaencontre.com

    You can expect to pay 600-900 euro a month for a 3 bed apartment.

    The taxes are high enough, but it obviously depends on your salary. You can check out this tax calculator here:

    http://www.cincodias.com/servicios/calculadora-salario/

    Also, utility bills seem to increase every 6 months. Outside of Barcelona, good areas (at least that I know of) would be, Sant Cugat, Rubi, Castelldefels, Cerdanyola. Further out you have Terrassa and Sabadell which are cities themselves but only about 40 minutes on the train to BCN. None of the places I mentioned have a commute of more than that.


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    #5
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,882 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    bobjohn82 wrote: »
    <snip>
    The taxes are high enough, but it obviously depends on your salary. You can check out this tax calculator here:

    http://www.cincodias.com/servicios/calculadora-salario/
    <snip>
    is that just income tax or everything including prsi/ health and whatever else is liable out of the pay packet?

    if thats the end figure then its not the worst (compared to germany)


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    #6
    bobjohn82
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭bobjohn82


    Yeah that's everything, I think. I'm not sure how things are in Germany so maybe it's not that bad. All I know is I'm pretty tight by the end of the month! It keeps going up too.


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    #7
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    bobjohn82 wrote: »
    I have a son over here too, and we live in the suburbs. As for renting, it depends where you live. The real value is outside the city a bit. In the city you get an old one bed apartment and pay for "culture" and "authenticity". You can get a much bigger place, new build, for about the same price outside a little. Forget about a garden though. It's all apartments. You might get a shared one for the building at best. To get an idea of rental prices, check out these sites:

    http://www.fotocasa.es/en/
    http://www.yaencontre.com

    You can expect to pay 600-900 euro a month for a 3 bed apartment.

    The taxes are high enough, but it obviously depends on your salary. You can check out this tax calculator here:

    http://www.cincodias.com/servicios/calculadora-salario/

    Also, utility bills seem to increase every 6 months. Outside of Barcelona, good areas (at least that I know of) would be, Sant Cugat, Rubi, Castelldefels, Cerdanyola. Further out you have Terrassa and Sabadell which are cities themselves but only about 40 minutes on the train to BCN. None of the places I mentioned have a commute of more than that.

    My wife is Catalan, and I lived there for a few years (now live in US but go back there 2 times a year).

    You could also look north - basically anywhere on the rodalies line makes for an easy enough commute into the city.

    I have friends that live in Maresme province (Vilasar de mar and also Mataro) and have communal gardens - pay around 900 a month in rent. However you need to have a pretty good grasp of spanish and a smattering of catalan to make it up there.

    I also know LOTS of people that live in apartments in Barcelona with kids and love it (both catalan and Irish). There are a lot of expat groups for parents with kids, and enough amenites around for kids to make life pretty good.

    Remember that Barcelona can get very cold as you go into November/December time so utilities bills go up. A lot of older buildings are not properly (if at all) insulated which means that heat can escape very easily.


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