# Is anyone familiar with Barcelona?



## nicholea (Jan 26, 2009)

Hello everyone,

I am moving to Spain in mid-May and anticipate having to stay in a hostel before securing a short-term apartment rental. I have narrowed my choice down to three hostels, but am unable to decide because I know nothing about the layout of Barcelona, and therefore do not know which is in the best location.

I am hoping to find a hostel that is located centrally, so it will be easy for me to hop on the bus or metro to go apartment hunting, and hopefully something near a large supermarket. I have many food intolerances so I prefer to be in the vicinity of a market that has alternative food options such as rice milk and soy yogurt.

My three choices are:

Garden House Barcelona: located at Calle d' Hedilla 58 / near Valldaura

Barcelona Dream: located at c/ Av. Alfonso Xiii 28B / in front of Pop Ventura Metro Station

Residencia Erasmus: located at Torrent de l'Olla 212-214 / near Plaza Lesseps Station

I have absolutely NO idea where these are located, so if someone could offer a suggestion I would be grateful!

Thanks so much.


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

nicholea said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I am moving to Spain in mid-May and anticipate having to stay in a hostel before securing a short-term apartment rental. I have narrowed my choice down to three hostels, but am unable to decide because I know nothing about the layout of Barcelona, and therefore do not know which is in the best location.
> 
> ...


This answers most of your questions: Mapa del Metro de Barcelona España

VALLDAURA - well-out and quite isolated. I stayed there recently and was glad it was at a weekend and I was not really on any timetable. 

Lesseps is central and you'd be close to the action

Pep Ventura is a terminus so again you are quite a way out. 

You could try Expat portal, living in Spain, retiring in Spain. | thisisspain.info and I am certain Barry/Anita at Barcelona Flats would try to assist.


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

nicholea said:


> I am hoping to find a hostel that is located centrally, so it will be easy for me to hop on the bus or metro to go apartment hunting, and hopefully something near a large supermarket. I have many food intolerances so I prefer to be in the vicinity of a market that has alternative food options such as rice milk and soy yogurt.



I thought rice milk had been banned by most european countries due to its high arsenic content, is that not the case??? I´m genuinely interested. Anyway, If you try to live near a local street market, then you can buy and use proper unprocessed natural food, ie. fresh meat, nuts, fruit and veg etc... My local town has a big market hall where all the local farmers and growers sell their produce

Jo


----------



## nicholea (Jan 26, 2009)

Thanks so much, Steve & Jo 
The link provided to thisisspaininfo was very helpful. There's a lot of good information on there.

I had no idea rice milk is high in arsenic - I have it in my cereal at least once a day! Perhaps I should think of making the switch to soy milk after all. It seems to be healthier AND more affordable. But if I find rice milk when I'm in Barcelona, I will be sure to let you know, Jo.

Do you mind if I ask you both what you think of Barcelona? I have decided to enroll in a Spanish language immersion class that lasts two weeks and then will most likely try to find an apartment in Barcelona. But Salamanca and Granada seem so amazing, I hope I'm not making the wrong decision!


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

nicholea said:


> Thanks so much, Steve & Jo
> The link provided to thisisspaininfo was very helpful. There's a lot of good information on there.
> 
> I had no idea rice milk is high in arsenic - I have it in my cereal at least once a day! Perhaps I should think of making the switch to soy milk after all. It seems to be healthier AND more affordable. But if I find rice milk when I'm in Barcelona, I will be sure to let you know, Jo.
> ...


I dont know Barcelona at all, but it has a reputation for being very expensive, if you´re only renting then you can always have a look around and move on?! If memory serves, youre not an EU citizen which may make a difference unless you´re independantly funded???

As for milk, I have some funny ideas about food and foodstuffs. Soy milk is no better, apparently its production is not helping save the environment as soy has to be highly processed to stop it being toxic.

I suffer with a lot of food intolerances so I stick to a natural, non processed diet as much as possible!


Jo xx


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Magnificent, cosmopolitan city! Like Salamanca and Granada which would also be great choices I am sure you will have a ball


----------



## nicholea (Jan 26, 2009)

jojo said:


> I dont know Barcelona at all, but it has a reputation for being very expensive, if you´re only renting then you can always have a look around and move on?! If memory serves, youre not an EU citizen which may make a difference unless you´re independantly funded???
> 
> As for milk, I have some funny ideas about food and foodstuffs. Soy milk is no better, apparently its production is not helping save the environment as soy has to be highly processed to stop it being toxic.
> 
> ...


Ah! I didn't know that, either! I have an addiction to cereal so learning to live without it might be a struggle. But I'm glad you shared that information with me.

Your memory is good - I'm not an EU citizen, so working is going to be difficult at best, impossible at worst. I am independently funded, so money is going to be tight. Perhaps after the immersion class I will do some traveling around Spain to figure out where I like the best. I think I remember seeing that you live in Sevilla? That was actually my first choice, but it seems to be really hot and arid there, plus I am ethically opposed to bullfighting. Do you like Sevilla (or wherever you are living if I am wrong about that)?


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Have you spoken to Simon Harris - our resident expert on all things Catalonia.


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

No Jojo does not live in Sevilla - but, yes, Seville is VERY, VERY hot in Summer (as is Granada) 

Your comment in bull-fighting is confusing. Yes Seville is "famous" for bull-fighting but it's not something you see in the streets and if I were to take the moral high ground on the treatment of bulls I might be more inclined to boycott Pamplona or Denia rather than Seville.


----------



## nicholea (Jan 26, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> Have you spoken to Simon Harris - our resident expert on all things Catalonia.


No, Steve, I have not spoken with Simon. Is he the expat forum resident expert or thisisspaininfo? And how would I go about getting in touch with him?


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

[email protected] He wrote the definitive guide about Catalonia Expat portal, living in Spain, retiring in Spain. | thisisspain.info


----------



## nicholea (Jan 26, 2009)

Steve, you are full of information....many thanks! I'm sorry for such the delayed response. I went away for a while and had limited access to the internet. But now I'm back and have about 5 weeks until my move with very little of the planning done, so I certainly have my plate full! 
I'm discovering that I should have done a little more researching/posting on here before confirming any of my travel plans. I enrolled in a spanish language immersion program in Barcelona, which apparently is not a great place to learn Spanish due to the fact that most locals speak Catalan vs. Castillian Spanish.  
Hopefully I can avoid any more mistakes like that in the future....

Again, your help is appreciated. 




SteveHall said:


> [email protected] He wrote the definitive guide about Catalonia Expat portal, living in Spain, retiring in Spain. | thisisspain.info


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!! Barcelona is a GREAT place to learn castellano and is one of the main centres in the country to learn the language. You will have a great time there and you will be coming at a great time of the year. Enjoy! 

What I would say is that you have five weeks to go and that you should get as much Spanish into you as possible before you come - there are lots of ideas, free courses etc at Learning Spanish - Learning Spanish 

Te deseo mucha suerte


----------



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!! Barcelona is a GREAT place to learn castellano and is one of the main centres in the country to learn the language. You will have a great time there and you will be coming at a great time of the year. Enjoy!
> 
> What I would say is that you have five weeks to go and that you should get as much Spanish into you as possible before you come - there are lots of ideas, free courses etc at Learning Spanish - Learning Spanish
> 
> Te deseo mucha suerte


I´ve heard that Barçelona is very expensive tho??

Jo xx


----------



## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

jojo said:


> I´ve heard that Barçelona is very expensive tho??
> 
> Jo xx


Property in Barcelona is particular expensive, but you can eat out at a reasonable price if you avoid the most touristy areas. I remember a fantastic Chinese restaurant just off Plaza Catalunya called "Confuzion", great food and fantastic value for money. I would highly recommend the set menu.

Travel is also very cheap, especially if you buy a 10-trip ticket, which works out to 
0.69 Euros per trip and can be used for Buses, Metro and Tram.

Saying that if you fall into the trap of going for drinks down Ramblers then expect a large bill at the end of your visit - lol

Dave - glad to help.


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

...and going to see Barcelona play is a HDIEOUS waste of money! LOL 

Yes, it's like many great cities. The tourist areas are expensive but away from that not so. A friend lives in San Andreu and I was surprised just how inexpensive it was compared to Torrevieja where I live(d). Don't forget the locals have to live there too! Paying what they do for rents/mortgages they have to be careful with what is left. 

The transport is cheap which makes the excellent open-top tourist buses where you can jump on and off as many times as you like in 24 hours seem expensive. An Amercian tourist once gave me a tip - you can get tourist block if you junp on one of them at say 10 am and try to see everything in one day. He suggested starting in the afternoon - doing 3/4 hours and then doing another 3/4 hours the next day. If you do it that way you will probably see more, take more in and can focus on anything that you really enjoyed the first day. A useful hint I thought. 

Enjoy


----------



## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!! Barcelona is a GREAT place to learn castellano and is one of the main centres in the country to learn the language. You will have a great time there and you will be coming at a great time of the year. Enjoy!
> 
> What I would say is that you have five weeks to go and that you should get as much Spanish into you as possible before you come - there are lots of ideas, free courses etc at Learning Spanish - Learning Spanish
> 
> Te deseo mucha suerte



There's an old family friend of our's who has lived in Barcelona for years - the language is NOT a problem - and whenever she encounters anyone who wants to speak to her in Catalan, she often replies "Do me the courtesy of speaking to me in Castellano, or I will only talk to you in Gallego!". Sorted!! Seriously though, practically everyone will speak in Castellano to you - there's very few die-hard autonomous natives that won't. Don't worry!!! And good luck!

Tallulah.x


----------



## nicholea (Jan 26, 2009)

My_Name_is_Tallulah said:


> There's an old family friend of our's who has lived in Barcelona for years - the language is NOT a problem - and whenever she encounters anyone who wants to speak to her in Catalan, she often replies "Do me the courtesy of speaking to me in Castellano, or I will only talk to you in Gallego!". Sorted!! Seriously though, practically everyone will speak in Castellano to you - there's very few die-hard autonomous natives that won't. Don't worry!!! And good luck!
> 
> Tallulah.x




Glad to hear it, that makes me breathe a little easier! I have another unrelated question....how is the shopping there? I'm not sure how long I will be relocating to Barcelona for, but I'm debating as to whether I should pay to ship the clothes I cannot fit in my two suitcases. I looked into moving to Australia for a while, and learned that it's so ridiculously expensive to shop there, many people opt to pay for a flight to Singapore to do their shopping there instead. I'm not what you would call "label conscious"....will it be easy enough for me to refurnish my wardrobe affordably in Spain?


----------



## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Simple question - simple answer Yes! 

BCN has everything from Chinese Bazars to designer labels (for Jojo!)

Enjoy


----------



## nicholea (Jan 26, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> Simple question - simple answer Yes!
> 
> BCN has everything from Chinese Bazars to designer labels (for Jojo!)
> 
> Enjoy



Whew. Glad to hear it. Clothing crisis nearly averted


----------



## mike kelly (Aug 12, 2009)

I know a lot about Barcelona, if you have any questions


----------

