Life in Barcelona

After high school, I moved to Barcelona because that's where I started my university studies. I've been living here for three years now and I love it very much, I don't plan on moving back to Hungary for now.

I think Barcelona is a wonderful city. You can get used to everything, of course, but I remind myself every day how lucky I am to be here.

I deliberately looked for an apartment in a part of the city that was not a noisy district frequented by tourists, but inhabited by local families.

The first real culture shock, in a good sense, came two days after I moved into the apartment that I still call my home.

I was sitting outside on my little terrace, drinking my morning coffee. Suddenly I see a car stop, and the driver gets out and starts packing. I live on a narrow street, where two cars can't fit side by side. A line of cars started to form behind the packing man during the morning rush hour.

As a Hungarian who have always lived in Budapest, my first thought was that the honking and the nervousness would start. I was surprised because the drivers were waiting patiently. Then one of the drivers got out of his car and started walking towards the packing man. By this time, more than ten cars were waiting, at least five minutes had passed. I thought that the fight, the swearing was about to start, but on the contrary: the man who got out of his car went to help. Together they finished faster, he handed the packages to the packer. Finally, they shook hands and everyone went about their business.

I was just amazed. Is this even possible?

Yes, here people are more patient, calmer, and in a good mood. In the store where I shop regularly, they recognized me after the third time and greeted me as a friend. They asked me where I was from, and it turned out that several people guessed, thinking I was American because of my pronunciation. (At that time, I didn't speak any Spanish, and especially not Catalan).

I moved here in the summer, and it was also surprising to me that the little ones are taken out to the playground at 10 pm. It's very lively until midnight, and the kids only can play outdoors at that time, because it's very hot during the day and the equipment in the playground gets hot.

There are cafes and bars around the playgrounds, where parents sit while the children play.

In summer, taking a siesta is a particularly good solution, again because of the heat. Local shops close at 2pm at the latest and only reopen around 6pm. In the hottest weather, everyone can take a break. Of course, large grocery stores and multinationals are open all day.

I also really like the food here: Mediterranean cuisine is really good for me, I've been living healthier since I've been here. The vegetables and fruits taste different. Shopping is cheaper than at home.

I also love Catalan traditions and holidays, I wrote a separate post about this, you can read it here.

Of course, I had some negative experiences too. For example, I didn't expect that in a city that practically lives from tourism, they wouldn't speak barely any English. Catalan is the primary language, it's spoken in the family, then the children learn Spanish, and very few people make the effort to learn other languages. It was strange, because often I couldn't even make myself understood with the simplest English sentence. It's true, they are naturally helpful, they make themselves understood with their hands and feet and with Google Translate if they like you.

The other thing I didn't understand at first was that they don't like tourists. For example, at a Christmas market, when I greeted them in Catalan, the vendor was very nice, enthusiastically explained, chatted, and gave me a tasting. But when I accidentally switched to English, because it came automatically (I've only lived here for a few months), the previously very friendly vendor immediately froze and became distant.

Of course, I understand that this overtourism is a burden on the city. At the same time, it is the source of most of the city's income, and the many catering establishments, restaurants, and hotels would not survive if there were no tourists. A huge proportion of the population works in tourism in some form. They would have no job if the tourists did not come. Somehow, they still do not want to understand this and deal with it properly.

Barcelona, despite all this, is a truly multicultural city, with digital nomads coming here from all over the world who fall in love with this city just like I did.

I also have friends from all over the world, from Algeria to Lebanon, many from Latin America and Mexico. There are a lot of Asian, African and South American students at the university. This cultural diversity adds a lot to the appeal of Barcelona for me.

I have learned a lot and continue to learn about the local architecture, art, and culture, which is what I will tell you about in this section, and I would like to draw attention to sights and interesting facts that tour guides and travel books do not mention, as only those who live here can know about them.

In the Barcelona section of the blog, you will find out what life is like in Barcelona.