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Where to live in Sant AndreuCiutat Vella (Old City)

Neighborhood Residence selection Expat population Relative cost Commute to Privacy / low noise Restaurants Bars / Night life Shopping
center airport
Ciutat Vella (Old City) Old buildings, all apartments (no houses) High. This is one of the most popular suburbs in Barcelona for the younger set Medium to High Excellent Good Very Poor Excellent Excellent Excellent
L´Eixample Apartments in historic buildings, well renovated and highly sought after High. Again, this is one of the most popular suburbs in Barcelona High Excellent Good Weak Excellent Excellent Excellent
Les Corts Modern high-rise apartment buildings Medium (but the suburbs listed above are only 15 minutes walk away). Medium Excellent Good Neutral Neutral Neutral Good
Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Houses and apartments. This is a well-established area Medium (although very popular with families) High Neutral Good Good Good Neutral Neutral
Gràcia Apartments only High – popular with the younger set or students here on exchange Medium Excellent Good Neutral Good Good Good
Horta-Guinardó Occasionally you can find a townhouse, but mostly apartments. Low to Medium Low to Medium Neutral Good Excellent Neutral Weak Neutral
Nou Barris Older houses in a hilly neighbourhood. Lots of apartments too. Relatively low, although all of Barcelona is popular with expats. Low Good Good Excellent Neutral Neutral Good
Sant Andreu All apartments, but a mix of modern, 19th century and some less outstanding 1960s blocks Low to Medium Low Good Good Neutral Good Neutral Good
Sant Martí All apartments, mostly modern and some older buildings beautifully renovated Medium Medium to High Excellent Good Neutral Excellent Excellent Excellent
Sitges Apartments and some of the most expensive and prettiest houses in Spain High – popular with the owners of 2nd homes and weekend-getaway crowd High for the huge houses and Medium for the more normal apartments Weak Very Poor Excellent Excellent Excellent Good
San Cugat Many more houses than in the centre of Barcelona at reasonable prices High (with families) and medium for singles Low Good Neutral Excellent Neutral Neutral Neutral

Top Tips

01 Get a bank account: This will be the first thing most utility providers, telecom connectors and employers will require.
02 Get your NIE: This is a ´foreigners number´ and will probably be the second thing that utility providers will request.
03 The government offers free Catalan lessons to foreigners, in order to promote this rare and unusual language, so take advantage of it.
04 Agents in Spain can ask for up to nine months worth of rent as a deposit, ensure you have sufficient funds to pay this.
05 Spain is notoriously bureaucratic, allow between three and ten times as much time as you normally would for administration tasks.

Useful links

Interesting fact

Barcelona’s most popular tourist attraction, FC Barcelona Stadium, is also the biggest stadium in the world, with a capacity for 100,000 people.
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