Important info for nomads moving to Barcelona

This was initially a reply to the previous post, but it was getting so long that it’s worth just having a dedicated post for it.

• What's the day-to-day life like? Cost of living, community, safety, weather, etc.?

Day-to-day life largely depends on you, obviously. It’s a big city with any amenities you can think of, so it’ll depend on your hobbies and what you already do in your day-to-day life.

Cost of living is cheaper than other European tech hubs but it’s rising more and more every month. I go back and forth between Barcelona and Berlin every month and every time the difference in prices is lower. Housing is the most expensive in Spain, even higher than Madrid, but depending on which country you’re coming from you’ll still find it cheap (i.e. it’s A LOT cheaper than NYC or SF, obviously, and definitely cheaper than London, Dublin, or Switzerland). If you’re making 50K+ a year you’ll be just fine, below that you might want to consider sharing an apartment if you want to have disposable income for leisure and other whims.

Safety: this is not like other European cities, but it is still European. Crime is highly concentrated in specific areas. Try to avoid El Raval and some of the Gothic Quarter at night. Watch for pickpockets in Las Ramblas, Placa Catalunya, and Barceloneta, they are petty theft hotspots so do not leave your belongings unattended when you’re in a bar terrace or the like. DO NOT go into La Mina, like ever. Not that you’d have any reason to, but just in case. Nou Barris and Sant Andreu are a bit sketchy too (not as bad as La Mina). In general, not being a clueless tourist who looks and behaves exactly like a clueless tourist is the best way to minimize any risk. You will see that you will generally stick to Eixample, Gracia, Sarria and Sant Gervasi, Passeig de Gracia, Diagonal, or Barceloneta.

Weather: The best in Europe. Period. It does get a bit muggy in August, though. Nothing like India in May, mind you, but you’ll see people avoid going outside from 12pm to 8pm then if they can during the hot months of Summer, again, especially August. Then after 9pm the city bursts to life all of a sudden. It’s nice.

• Are there good coworking spaces or cafes for remote work?

Plenty! Like just wander around Eixample or Gracia, or look online, you’ll find whatever floats your boat. It’s a modern city with a HUGE digital nomad / expat population. IIRC the expat population in Barceloneta is like 25% (not that you should move there, though, I particularly don’t like it, it’s very touristy and full of drunks).

• How's the Wi-Fi and overall infrastructure for digital work?

You’ll have 0 issues. Again, it’s a European city. In some respects you would think it’s the capital of Spain, it just isn’t because of reasons.

• What’s the digital nomad visa process like? Is it easy to apply and get approved?

Can’t speak to the digital nomad visa process because I came in through a different process (wife is Catalan), but I can tell you bureaucracy here is CONFUSING AS HELL. Not to mention that the UX of any government site is completely undecipherable even to locals who have been living here all their life, which is why even they get “gestores” (advisors) to do the bureaucratic stuff for them. Your best bet is to contact an expat advisory firm, just watch out for the big ones because they don’t really care about you and there are also some small firms which are a complete mess and surprisingly barely speak English. I’ve been with Expats Advisers for three years now and I’m super happy. If you go with them ask for Axel (he’s the owner), great guy.

• Any issues with taxation, banking, or residency rules I should be aware of?

I mean, it’s hard to say without knowing which country you’re coming from or how different it is there. Your best bet, as mentioned in the previous question, will be to get tailored support with an expat advisory firm. It’s not expensive for basic queries and it’s worth every single penny to get you the peace of mind.

• How do locals feel about digital nomads or foreigners staying long-term?

I won’t sugarcoat it: there are many who antagonize expats (that’s the specific term they use rather than digital nomads or foreigners). Usually locals draw a clear distinction between two types of foreigners: the expat (white immigrant from richer country) and the immigrant (brown or black or Asian immigrant from poorer country). You’ll find that, in general, those who are extremely anti-expat also happen to be extremely pro-immigrant, but in the “woke” way, basically, not the “not racist” way, if that makes sense. The worst are the young wannabe Marxists funded by their parents money, there are plenty of those. But, to be fair, amongst the expat-hating crowd there are also those with actual arguments, like how expats are partly responsible for pushing up the prices of housing and everything else so much and don’t bother to ever learn the local language. It’s a fair criticism. On the other hand, you’ll find that people who work at startups or “business” companies (consulting, law, etc.) or generally people who have a more global mindset and have travelled quite a lot themselves, are super welcoming of expats. So don’t worry, people are not going to throw tomatoes at you when you’re out strolling by, but also don’t expect to be treated kindly if you behave like a tourist with 0 interest in the local Catalan culture.

Catalans get a bad rep for being dry and everyone will tell you it’s impossible to break into a Catalan friend group. The first part is partly false: they are more serious than most of the rest of Spain, but they are wayyy more approachable than the rest of Europeans, even other Southern Europeans like Italians. As for the part about the friend group, well, that is kind of true. The chances of you breaking into a group of all-Catalan friends who have been friends since childhood, where probably half of them don’t even speak English, are virtually 0 if you only speak English. And still, I have a friend who managed to do just that, he came from Italy, learned Spanish very quickly (it’s similar to Italian) and got a Catalan girlfriend, and very quickly started learning Catalan as well.

So, here’s your lifehack if you want the locals to like you: learn Spanish first, but DO NOT stop there. Learn Catalan. The marginal effort of learning it when you know Spanish is almost zero, they are very, very similar. If you learn Catalan, even the Marxist kids funded by their parents will like you. Speaking from experience here :)

Good luck and post here again if you got any other follow-up questions, I’ll be watching around for new posts!