Hola! Today I want to write and give tips on how to find an apartment in Barcelona. I think that Barcelona is one of the hardest cities in Europe to find an apartment especially if you have a budget and aren’t from Barcelona or Spain. I have been living in Barcelona for 1,5 years now, and had to search for an apartment twice. Here is what I have learned so far and is in my opinion the best way to find an apartment in Barcelona.
neighborhood’s
I think the most important thing to do first is to find the neighborhood you want to live in. As well which one is the most safest and the most convenience. Think about supermarkets, metro stations, how far is it from work, do you want to live close to the center or rather live in a more quit neighborhood. These are important things to know before you reply on an apartment. Neighborhoods in Barcelona like Eixample and sant antoni are more quite but still in the city center, the public transport is great over there. You can find either families, young couples or solo people living here and the neighborhoods are really save.
Neighborhoods like El Born and barrio Gotico you can mostly find young people, either students or young adults just starting with jobs. It is a very cozy but also very crowded neighborhood. It has its positive sides like being in the oldest neighborhood of Barcelona, lot’s of culture, right in the center of Barcelona and it is never boring. However it has also its negative sides like very crowded, lots of tourists because of the oldest part of the city, and unfortunately it is also a favorite for pick pockets. El born isn’t that bad, barrio Gotic you need to be more careful, especially if you are a woman. Keep in mind that things like pick pockets can happen everywhere, but in these neighborhoods it is just more common. On that note I would also advice to avoid the neighborhood El Raval, it is one of the worst neighborhoods where lots of bad things happen. You might find out that apartments in that neighborhood are cheaper, keep in mind that that is for a reason.
I would say the best way to find out which neighborhood is the best for you is to book an air bnb or apartment for a few weeks somewhere. And just walk through the neighborhoods that you have in mind. Get to know it, go to coffee places find out how many supermarkets there are and check for the other things that are important for you. Like this you will probably find out which one is best for you. Of course it could also be that after a few months you don’t feel it anymore and you want to move. That is okay as well, you can’t predict everything in life. But I do think that it is important that you have a good feeling about the neighborhood you’re about to move into.
You could also book different accommodations in the neighborhoods you have in mind. So you can experience a bit of how it is to live in that neighborhood.
A room instead of an apartment
While you are still in your hometown or just moved here and have to find an apartment really fast, it can be overwhelming and scary. Especially when you have a death-line to find an apartment because of work or something else. I think in that case it can be easier if you first look for a room to rent. It is really normal to have roommates for either young adults or mid thirties in Barcelona because of the prices they ask for apartments and the minimum salary you get in Barcelona (and Spain). Renting a room in Barcelona is cheaper, easier to find and easier to move out if you found your own place. Plus it gives you a steady place to look further for an apartment and you can find out if the Barcelona life really is for you. There is always a change that, even tho it was really your dream to move to Barcelona, the reality of it is just not what you had in mind. So when you are renting a room it would be a lot easier to move out then when you have a contract for an apartment for 5 years.
When to look
So you decided to move to Barcelona, the best way to find an apartment or room is to do it when you are already here. Like I said before, I think the best way is to book an accommodation (or more in different neighborhoods), and start searching from there.
Of course you can already make some appointments when you are still in your home country, but I wouldn’t say yes to anything until you have seen the place in real life. There are so many scammers, so the best way to avoid being scammed is to actually see the apartment or room and contract in real life.
However when for some reason you really want to search already when you aren’t yet in Barcelona, I know that a lot of agency’s offer to show the apartment/room via facetime. So this could also be an option.
Where to search
There are many ways to find an apartment or room in Barcelona. But my favorite is Idealista, it is a really good app and you can easily reply to the apartments, chat with the agency’s. You can choose which neighborhoods you want to search in and you can even mark your own part of Barcelona to search for apartments.
For rooms you have a lot of Facebook groups, keep in mind that Facebook also has a lot of scammers. So be careful for that.
There are also other apps: Habitaclia, Fotocasa, Badi and Spotahome.
Keep in mind that it can be really hard to find a place in Barcelona, so you’ll need to be on these apps everyday and react on apartments as much as you can. Don’t underestimate searching for an apartment in Barcelona.
In Barcelona you will probably only find apartments that you have to move in right away or at least within a month. I know in a lot of other countries it is common to find a new apartment in advance like 2/3 months before you have to move. Here that is almost not possible, so keep that in mind while searching.
These apps are a really good option to find a place in Barcelona, however you can also just go to agency’s and ask if they have apartments for rent within your budget. You never know, maybe you’ll come across a good option.
I hope these tips will help you find an apartment in Barcelona, good luck!
More information:
Check on Trainline for trains to and from Barcelona.
Check tripadvisor and trip.com for hotels in Barcelona
Check kiwi for flights from and to Barcelona
Travelwithbodien 