cookie86

Hi All,

I'm a PhD researcher (still in UK for next few years) looking forward to some hopeful opportunities abroad once my studies finish. In particular looking at Spain (absolutely love Barcelona).

Out of curiosity, whilst writing this post, does anyone have any advice regarding learning the language before I make inroads into trying to get over there. Obviously it makes sense to speak the language but would it make more sense to try to learn Catalan, being that my optimal choice would be a career in Barcelona, or would it make more sense to learn Spanish, given that it is more widely used across the world...

I'll ask this question on the relevant forum but thought I'd ask here in case someone has any insight for me.

Thanks

Darren

bakedbean

Hello and welcome to the forum. Yes, best to ask in the Spain section of the forum.

cheers

We have some things in common to a degree.
I'm originally from Liverpool, now in the US, and we were in Barcelona a few months ago for an overnight stay. Our hotel was in an industrial area but we did go into town on the city bus. The area we saw wasn't too attractive and I wish we had taken a bus tour of the city and maybe we would have got a better impression.
We got off the bus and walked some distance on a commercial street and it looked dirty and the many apartment houses looked grimey. We may have been on a wrong street and there may have been some nice shops on another street.
As you can see I would like to be proven wrong.
Cheers

Pollyana

I've gpt some friends who say Barcelona is stunning, especially from a historical point of view, and I've often thought of going there.
Would be saddened if your view is correct How long were you there? Di you see the Cathedral area at all?

cookie86

I can recall thinking something similar when I arrived there initially, but there are some really stunning places to visit. This being through the eyes of a tourist however I'm unsure as to the experiences of the expat community there generally.

Funny you should mention the US, its been a similar ambition of mine to be able to work in the States (we can also add Canada, Hong Kong, Japan to that list as well!). What is the attitude to UK PhD grads from an employment perspective if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks

cookie86

The cathedral (Sagrada Familia) is a fantastic site. They were doing some work on it when I was there so you had to creatively ignore the JCB's and endless hard hats... but the site itself is very impressive.

cheers

I don't think readers should put very much weight on my observation.
As I mentioned I was there overnight. To be accurate, maybe two nights because we were going on a cruise and returning from a cruise. So we were passing through.
We stayed at a Travelodge which was opposite a Japanese Nissan assembly plant (factory).
I thought the people were helpful although they don't speak English(typical British comment. They travel the world and expect everyone to speak English)
Cheers

cheers

I think it is excellent.

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE Darren.

I will move this thread over to our Spain forum. You're bound to get advice from our 'Spanish' regulars.

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

cookie86

Thanks guys, i'm pleasantly surprised how active these forums are so hoping to get some interesting comments from people

Darren