Relocate to Spain Barcelona from India- Is it good decision?

Hi,

Here are the schools I know of:
St.Peter's school - stpeters.es/es or St.Paul's http://www.stpauls.es

At a quick glance I can only see fees for st.Peter's school:
- stpeters.es/img/pdf/schoolfees.pdf

or - .europais.com/en/home/ in Sant Cugat ( near Barcelona)

Unfortunately as the two schools in Bcn mentioned are private they are in the most expensive areas. The one in Sant Cugat I imagine is similar.

To look at rental prices see this website to get an idea: http://www.idealista.com/en/ Probably have a look at what price you want to pay and then if you want advice about which neighbourhoods are better let me know, the two schools in Barcelona are at the high end of Barcelona as they say here so when you look for flats ( unlikely to be a house in Bcn, but in Sant Cugat a house is a possibility) look in the Pedralbes area or the district of Sarria. Be warned you are looking at an exclusive area so it is not cheap. In a reasonable neighbourhood you are looking at spending at least 700 euros a month on rent for a flat of about 70/ 80 square metres with 2-3 bedrooms. Obviously there are cheaper options... I personally got a very good deal but I had been looking for a year and was in the right place at the right time!
As for living expenses I will have to check as I can't remember if the bills are every two months or three or every month, they keep on changing the frequency and the rates.


Barcelona is not a cheap city( but if you know where to look you can find the bargains!), however I would say that it is safe...there are very few places that I wouldn't walk around at night alone.

As for coming to Barcelona without a job, I wouldn't do it at the moment...I would try to set up a job from your end.., the economic crisis is still present though you wouldn't notice if you are in the touristy or posh areas. Your advantage is that you speak English- as the level here is a little low...do you speak any Spanish or Catalan? If not and they offer you a job with just the English there are free basics courses you can take when you get here.

One place you could apply to would be T-Systems ...it's a large company, German based but the language of business is English ( I taught English there for a while). I personally have no idea what an IT specialist earns... I will ask around and if I get any info will let you know.

Hello,

Thanks for your reply and shared details about schooling and Rental situation.
If possible can you please help to understand , does English speaking expat faces any issue due to language constraint in Spain ( Barcelona)?

What would be the avergage monthly expenses for family of 3 people including rent, utilities, travel and foods.?

Thanks in advance for your time again

Thanks

I think unless you have a European passport then your biggest hurdle will be getting a visa to live and work in Spain.
You need to be able to have a job offer and prove that no other European can do that same job. Reqlly your first port of call will need to be a Spanish embassy local to you.

Hello again,

With regards to general expenses I will put an approximate amount per month...electricity- 70 euros, gas 50 euros, water 50/60 euros. A parking space if not included with the flat rental will depend on the area but they have come down recently 80-100 euros. Public transport T10 ( 10trips on bus/ metro/tram) 10euros. T-month unlimited on the previous three for a month 50 euros and I think a 3monthly ticket costs around 100euros which is worth it if you are running around the city all day.
Food is reasonable, especially fruit and vegetables. It's hard to give an amount, but you can do quite a lot with little here.
If you are in IT I don't think not having Spanish will be a big problem at first but I expect they will want you to learn Spanish or Catalan when you are here. I explained your dilemma to my partner ( he is Catalan)and he was surprised that you want to come here when lots of IT experts from here are currently going to the UK as the pay is apparently a lot better there but I don't know what your options are in the case of visas etc.

Hello,

Thanks for your comments. I am looking into this by different view. For me i am getting opportunity to work in Europe and I am very excited about it. Regarding pay-for me entry into Europe is important hence I am not much worried about pay at this stage. But thanks for sharing this info, It may useful for me in future:)

I still need some more info

Can any one suggest which part of city is recommended to stay for expat?
Do we have any Indian colony in Barcelona Spain, i mean where indian peoples most commonly stay in Barcelona Spain?

Thanks again for your support here.

Hello HoveActually,

You have provide guidance in your last post  regarding the rental home. I need your more support here. As I will be relocating to Barcelona, Spain along with my Family ( Wife, Daughter and Mother). I am looking for 2 BHK flat ( 2 bathrooms) in good residential area and my preference is my daughter school ( international school) would be nearby ( prefer walkable) and my rent expectation is upto 700 Euro.  Good residential area means my family will face Safe and get good neighbors ( Indian people are preferred).

May I kindly ask you support to suggest some good residential rental location which full fill above criterion.

Thanks in advance for your support.

but I don't know what your options are in the case of visas etc.

They will be practically zilch if you are seeking work in IT industry.

The OP really needs to go to his local Spanish embassy to work this out. You wont be allowed to arrive in Spain and live here without a work permit and to do this you will need an offer from a company in Spain and they have to prove that no other EU citizen can do the same job. The process is long and drawn out, the government will send the company anyone they find to fill the position first.
On top of that if by some miracle you can get a work visa you then can only apply for this in your own country of residence, in this case India. So even if you did come and find a job you would then have to go back to India to apply for the visa.

Honestly, rents and locations is not your priority at the moment.

Hello,
Thanks for sharing this. But it would be a great help if you can share some details about recommended rental location for expat (Specially from India)
Thanks

What is the point though if you can't legally stay in the rental location?

Either you have a visa or not and going by the questions you are asking in regards to looking for work you don't have one.
Sort it out first but don't get your hopes up by investing to much time or money into a move you wont be able to make.