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You are here: Home Moving to Getting Started From Barcelona: Finding a place to live

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19/02/2010From Barcelona: Finding a place to live

From Barcelona: Finding a place to live Looking for a place to live upon moving to Barcelona can be overwhelming. Blogger Jeremy Holland offers some first-hand advice on how to get organised.

For any of you moving to Barcelona or looking for a new place to live, the process can be time consuming and a challenge. A good first place to start is the website Loquo that offers listings on a daily basis for rooms and flats for rent.  There's also Idealista and a few others, although they tend to cater more to the Spanish crowd. Normally, a person will post the type of room, the cost (usually rent and one month's deposit), the flatmate requirements (boy, girl, student etc.) and their contact info (email / telephone).

If you haven't arrived yet, you might want check out what's available on these websites to get an idea of the going price. You can email and see if they're willing to hold it, but that might be tough. Good rooms are a hot commodity and people generally want to rent the room asap.

Another option would be to post something about yourself, what you're looking for and see the responses you get. In this case, you're more likely to find someone who will hold a room. Now, you'll be dealing with a complete stranger so any monetary transactions probably wouldn't be a good idea. However, as most people here aren't shady and pretty transparent, if someone has agreed to hold a room, chances are there'll be one. Likewise do the courtesy of letting the person know if you find somewhere else to live.

If your personal trust isn't that high to take someone at their word, you can do what I did. I rented a room through the TEFL course. You can also do so through an agency. Chances are you'll be paying quite a bit more than the going rate for the month, but that is a price for peace of mind.

If you're thinking of renting your own flat, be warned: it's not cheap nor easy. The deposits required can range from anywhere from three to six months, plus an agency fee and other add-ons. They'll generally want to see some proof you can pay which will mean a work contract and pay stubs from the previous year. The high cost and paperwork are the reasons why almost everyone I know shares for at least the first five years.
 
Compared to other parts of Spain, housing in Barcelona is expensive but offers a great selection of different types of flats in which to live depending on the neighbourhood. The L'Eixample district tends to have bigger and more spacious flats with higher ceilings and the chance to stay in a beautiful building. The flats in Gracia, El Born, El Raval  and Poble Sec are often older and smaller but offer buzzing neighbourhoods of hidden squares outside the door. Those of Arc de Triomf and Poblenou are newer but more residential.

Rooms are usually described as exterior, which means a view of a street, or interior, which looks onto the elevator shaft and both are almost always furnished thanks to IKEA. Kitchens veer to the small side and don't always have ovens, while bathrooms can sometimes have a shower, a toilet and a bidet, but no tub.

Of course, equally, if not more important than the room, is the people you live with. Once you've found a place at a price within your budget, you'll then visit the flat and meet your potential living companions. In many ways it's like a job interview and at the end of it, they'll debate whether or not it should be you or one of the many others. It helps to speak Spanish, but there are still plenty of opportunities for those who don't know the language yet.

Like I said, the process can be hectic. Arranging times to meet, running around, going through the interview process is a pain but just remember this is your space, so don't feel rushed to pick a place just because you are tired of looking.

Choose right and chances are your flatmates will become like family. Choose wrong and you'll be starting the process all over again the next month.

Jeremy Holland / Expatica

Written by an American expat, From Barcelona, is a blog dedicated to the city, the life and the people of the capital of Catalunya (Catalonia).


2 reactions to this article

republican posted: 2010-02-24 12:21:32

neighborhood...keep it REAL please..stop sucking up to those across the pond!

Sincerely,
Oh Boy Another Mistake America..aka..(OBAMA)

Montse posted: 2010-08-16 13:24:58

Graig list http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites is also a good site of rooms for rent and if somebody things about renting the whole flat www.enalquiler.com is one of the best ones in Spain.

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2 reactions to this article

republican posted: 2010-02-24 12:21:32

neighborhood...keep it REAL please..stop sucking up to those across the pond!

Sincerely,
Oh Boy Another Mistake America..aka..(OBAMA)

Montse posted: 2010-08-16 13:24:58

Graig list http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites is also a good site of rooms for rent and if somebody things about renting the whole flat www.enalquiler.com is one of the best ones in Spain.

Add a comment

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