Hi there!My husband&I have been several times in Barcelona,loved the place&are planning to move there.We,re flying back in September.Anyone visiting the place that period or already stays there?Just thought would be nice meet up for a while.....BESOS

I visited Barcelona 7 times before I moved there in June, 1998. Before I moved there I only saw what seemed to be the good things; the beauty of the city etc.
What I didn't realize until I moved there is that unless you are Catalan, you will have a very unpleasant life. My best friend in Barcelona moved there from Madrid after a divorce. Although she was Born in Spain and lived there all her life, she too was miserable. She moved to Paris(her mother was French) and loves it.
I think that the best way would be to rent an apartment for 6 months or a year to see if it passes your tests. All that is gold doesn't glitter.

Before you let yourself be drawn by Virtual786's positive thinking, I would suggest to you to read and do some research on social and economic issues related to Spain. Forget about travel guides, and have a look at specific web sites such as www.infojobs.net (work), www.loquo.com / www.idealista.com(housing)or www.networkbarcelona.com (networking).

Personal problems are another story. Unfortunately, I think they always travel with us, no matter how far we go.

"unless you are Catalan, you will have a very unpleasant life". So, we can assume than more than half of the population of Barcelona has a miserable existence.........

Certainly, when you visit a place for holidays is not the same as when you live there. I moved to Barcelona about 6 years ago. My life is not perfect, but I like it. Barcelona is awfully expensive, noisy, dirty, unsafe in certain aspects. And vibrant, beautiful, plenty of things to do and plenty of wonderful people (Catalan or not).

BTW, I moved here as well from Madrid. My origins are Catalan, but I lived more than 20 years in other regions of Spain. My ex, from another region of Spain, seems as well not to be having an unpleasant life (or maybe he's a masochist?) His only complaint about Catalans is that he will never learn Catalan well, as everyone switch to Spanish when noticing he has the slightest difficulty. Most of my friends and colleagues here are from other regions of Spain, some of them from other countries. It IS difficult to make friends here. People is certainly not so "open" as in other Spanish regions. But it is true that when you get a friend here, you get a friend for life.

My advice would be to get as much info as you can prior your trip (good websites provided by frachal73). Once here, better plant to stay for a while, to see if it really fits you for the real, everyday life. Work and cost of living are serious issues. Do not be too optimistic and think you will find "something" as this city IS expensive (just returned from Japan.... and still surprised to find that Tokyo is cheaper than here!!) and a decent job will not be easy to find. Better have a b-plan, or lots of savings.

Best of luck! Email me if you want to chat more

thanks quico for your help!the story goes like this:my husband had lived in barcelona a long time ago(12years).after visiting the place together,we took the very serious decision on moving there.untill we do move,we keep on going back there very often&at least for 20days minimum.you are right:we are not so naive to rely on a tavell forum for such a decision.i just bumbed into the vt as i was searching for barcelona greek communities.com.my intentions were to know more people who live or travell often to barcelona.we never needed a travell guide,my husband knew where to start from.and as you very correctly say,we keep on making an extended research.nevertheless,we could need some extra help...thanks very much for the web tips!very helpfull.p.s:we come from greece,so if you have any extra tips,i would aprecciate e-mailing me.would appreciate e-mailing me any way...LOVE,Kalli

i have been to madrid as well but didn't like it as much as barcelona.maybe because catalans have the same temperament as greeks.and i am greek.Madrid,on the other hand is a very beautifull town,but is very diferrent from barcelona&has no similarities to greek people.so we keep on going back continuesly,&keep on going untill we fix all the issues there.it's not easy moving with a little daughter,but what would life worth without risks...?especially with risks that you feell u will regret if you don't take them.staying for 6months-1 year as a test is our prior plan.just thought it would be nice meeting up with anyone who flies again in September...that's all...p.s:if you make a little research about economics matter in greece such as salaries&every-day food products,you would pull your hair out!did you know that rightnow athens is statically United Europe's no1 country whose economics have fallen so darmatically?In 2003-2004it was the last in araises in taxes&food products!Right now,it is the 1st country withthe lowest salaries&1st in araises in taxes&food products!so,i could say that although Catalunya IS expensive,it looks at least 25%cheaper