We're moving to BCN in April 2012 - need help with a few things!

Hi!

I just moved to Barcelona and I found a one bed apartment (65m) in Eixample. It is a really nice place to live and I really recommend it to newcomers: you have everything very closed to you (shopping but also the beach at 4 metro stations etc). The rent is a bit higher but I do really think that it worth it. I pay 850 euros for this flat which is fully furnished.
A last thing: take into account the price of the "rent agency"- they can be really expensive and take more or less 10% of your annual renting price.

Sorry for my bad english but I hop it helps...
Good luck

Carol.

Thanks Carol, that's helpful

Hi, I think it's a good idea to stay in a hostel or hotel for a short while before finding somewhere permanent to live. Flats rent quite quickly here, especially anything that's good value. I can also recommend Gracia as a great part of the city to live, whilst being in the centre of Barcelona it still retains it's small town, community feel.

Hi there,

What I reccommend you is to find a temporaly accommodation for a while (like a room) since find a goood place is quite hard. Prices for good flats are cheaper that 2 years ago, and with luck you could find a cosy furnished apartment for less that 750€.
If you're looking for the best location consider: the city center=the most crowded and noisiest place in the world, is not a good value since the flats are old and expensive. Eixample is a good option and is not unusual to find good prices for good apartments. Gracia is one of the best quarters of Barcelona (I'm living there) since is less noisy and cleaner than the city center.

Good luck

giodemattia wrote:

If you're looking for the best location consider: the city center=the most crowded and noisiest place in the world, is not a good value since the flats are old and expensive. Eixample is a good option and is not unusual to find good prices for good apartments. Gracia is one of the best quarters of Barcelona (I'm living there) since is less noisy and cleaner than the city center.

I think that is all subjective, and I have a completely different opinion.

Ciutat vella can be expensive, but I have also seen just as many cheap places there as I have in Eixample or Gracia.

I live in the right in the ciutat vella and love it, there are always things happening in Raval and Gotico, loads of great bars, galleries, restaurants, etc. and travelling anywhere is really easy. There is also the bonus that if you go out and want to come back by Bicing, then it is downhill from everywhere.

Is Gracia really that quiet in the evenings and weekends? Only in the smaller streets and away from squares I would say.

Gracia is nice, but I wouldn't write the centre off. I really love Poble Sec as well.

Personally I'm not a big fan of Eixample, it just doesn't seem to have the same soul.