Hola,

I have some questions about living in BCN.
Moving in a week!

25 years old, male, 180cm, London, UK

• I want to live in the city centre, preferable near the beach. How “safe” is La Barceloneta? How’s this area as far a noise and crime?
  
• What are the demographics of Cuitat Vella/ La Barceloneta? Like average % of Catalans/ Spanish, expats, immigrants, middle class/ upper class.
  
• Is 1800 Gross salary per month a good salary? Is that enough to live on? (no kids, no car, maybe party once a week).
  
• Income tax. I know that's it's complicated and that their are different scales, but is 20% a realistic figure?
  
• Spanish or Catalan? Which language is more “useful”, from a foreigners perspective. Do expats tend to learn/ speak Catalan or Spanish? What about English?
  

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Any salary in Spain is a good salary

Oh and I must ask, why is your height improtant lol

sorry cannot help with any othere queries as we live in the south

He didn't say height. Maybe owns a Mini?

1800 gross is not bad, but Barcelona is not a cheap city so you will not be rich with that amount!

I have some Swedish friends living in Barceloneta. it's close enough to everything. I feel perfectly safe there when we go to visit and actually it's fairly quiet. At least it is on the top floor!
The tourist areas of Barcelona are hotspots of pickpocketing but as long as you know that and take precautions you'll be fine!

In response to the original question, €22k is above the Spanish national average.

http://live.kyero.com/2011/06/23/average-spanish-wage/

As to taxation - well it is different to the UK and if you are paying rent then ensure you get a proper rental agreement as your rent outgoings are allowed in your taxation. It isnt much, but it is probably enough to ensure a decent meal every couple of months.

If you are on a Spanish Contract of Employment then you may find
http://www.advoco.es/hot-topics/102-...tax-rates.html
useful


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As OP made his one and only post on 17th November I suspect he is one of the 'one post and gone' brigade so he'll never see the advice.

yes, it can be annoying with such people, but there are many and varied reasons for that

but - the indicator on the board says there are 657 views of this thread, so perhaps there are one or two people out there who are hiding behind a bush who are able to get something from it all

sometimes even the "old timers" pick up new information

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22k in Barcelona is nothing, it is an expensive city. You may be able to get by for a year on a wage like that living in a tiny flat in a bad area, but you'd need at least 50% more to be comfortable.

cm we already know that your "comfortable" is not necessarily the same as everyone else's
I really do wonder if you were ever 22, eager to go out in the world and have a look round. Or perhaps you had the silver spoon you were born with as a backup.

better to try and find out than to just believe everything you pick up on forums. Otherwise you will never leave the house in case you meet pickpockets, muggers, hit & runners, ram raiders and murderers. Or even little old (and young) ladies shopping in their PJ's. But then Barcelona is too upmarket for that to ever happen

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Parts of Barcelona are upmarket, others not at all. It is expensive though. But yes if the OP is 22 years old then 22k is a good wage