Sat, 21 November 2009
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From Barcelona: Are Barcelona residents really that happy?
Blogger Jeremy Holland delves into what foreigners and locals in Barcelona truly feel about living in the third happiest city.In September, Barcelona was ranked as the third happiest city in the world by Forbes magazine. Is it true? Well, it depends.
I don't know if it's similar in other major cities in Spain, having only lived in Cadiz for a bit, but there really does seem to be two Barcelonas – the one of foreigners and the one of locals.
Ask an expat, and in general they'll say they love the place for all these reasons. After all they came to Barcelona for a reason, usually the weather.
If they're one of the chosen few, they'll be working from home for a European company or for themselves, often in technology or as a small business owner, earning a decent salary.
Otherwise they may be English teachers who generally earn enough working twenty hours a week to live and travel.
Ask a local, and they would say it's the best and complain how expensive life in the city has gotten over time. Each year their salaries are stretched a little bit more, barely keeping up with inflation.
Meanwhile, they're expected to work harder and put in longer hours. The cost of housing has sky-rocketed, but the only new buildings are half a million each with a view of the sea or a hotel.
The third happiest city in the world
In Forbes’ article, Barcelona came in third behind Rio and Sydney and ahead of Amsterdam. So why are people so happy?
The article states it's more a reflection of perception than reality, and quotes Michelle Finkelstein, a vice president at a travel agency "The beauty of the city and its environs, along with affordable housing and business opportunities, is the fantastic lifestyle" to prove its point [Italics mine].
But why Barcelona? The weather's good, but no better than Malaga. It has man-made beaches, but nothing like further down south where they're real like Cadiz.
And it's certainly not the cheapest place in Spain as anyone who has been here can attest.
Oh dear! The third happiest city in the world, can this really be true? Did Forbes magazine interview anyone who had been mugged there? I only visited the city in August with my young family for a long weekend and experienced 4 separate attempts to rob us us. Our local taxi driver carried a crowbar in the front of the cab and was not at all surprised by our ordeal. The subway system is a dangerous place at night and yes, Barcelona is an expensive city to eat out in. If you stop by any of the small cafe-bars on the Ramblars and try to order a drink or coffee in high season or at peak times, they will throw you out if you do not also order a meal. The whole city in summer has pervasive smell of sewerage. There was literally no escape from it. As for the beaches, my guess is that all that stink has to end up somewhere. Can't say I want to swim there or eat locally caught seafood. Did the Forbes magazine interview people in the Catalan language? Barcelona prides itself in not really being Spanish. The consequence is that menus, street signs and public information are invariably incomprehensible even to many native Spaniards. We did find the real local people to be friendly and helpful. I loved the architecture of Gaudi but hated the commercialism of a city which no longer seems to share his ideals. A magnificent example being the McDonalds restaurant which defaces the approach to the cathedral and would cause Gaudi to turn in his grave. Gaudi ended his career prematurely, after being hit by a tram and was left to die in the streets because the taxi drivers did not think that they would get the fare.
My own view is that Barcelona is better visited if you have a guide who knows the area and if you do not have young children with you. As to why anyone would want to live there is a mystery to me though.
Nice blog. If you look at how the study was compiled, it was based on an online survey. If they had actually analyzed depression rates or things like job satisfaction and economic quality of life, it may be different. Though those numbers might be warped too - no Spaniard would ever admit they're depressed or anything less than 'fine'..not sure about the Catalans.
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