Live, laugh, Barcelona: Unraveling one of our favourite relocation destinations

Let’s get down to brass tax: In global comparisons, Barcelona consistently ranks as having an excellent quality of life. In fact, in 2023, it beat popular metropoles such as London, New York, and Rome in the Economist’s Livability Index. But what exactly makes the city stand out? We’ve taken the time to explore some of Barcelona’s most prominent qualities as a relocation destination and potential future home.

Barcelona offers fantastic connectivity with the rest of Europe. An abundance of (affordable) flights allows residents to reach almost any major European city in a matter of a few hours. You can also take advantage of the close proximity to the French border – within 6 hours, you can be in Paris by train. In even less time, you can be riding along the Cote d’Azur or towards Italy.

Location and climate

Many professionals are attracted to Barcelona’s Mediterranean climate, with ideal outdoor temperatures throughout most of the year. While summers can get rather hot, you have the ocean at your doorstep to help cool off.

In fact, the city centre offers direct access to the coast, port, and beach. Towards the inland, you’ll find a large range of protected hills and forests for hikes and escaping the downtown.

Architecture and districts

Barcelona is renowned for its exciting blend of architectural styles. Here, Gothic, Romanesque, Modernist, and contemporary landmarks mingle to create a cityscape that feels colourful, lively, and constantly worthy of exploration.

The city owns much of its character to some of the earliest examples of modern urban planning. Over time, you’ll be able to spot many conscious design choices made to improve connectivity and overall quality of life for residents.

Like in many other cities, Barcelona’s districts come with distinctive differences in atmosphere and lifestyle. We’ve made a short summary of the most popular areas below:

• Eixample: This stylish and upscale district might just be the most iconic neighbourhood of Barcelona. Known for its exciting architecture, grid-like layout, wide streets, and famous landmarks.
• Gracia: Artsy, local, creative, and homey. This neighbourhood is a popular home for artists, musicians, digital nomads, but particularly also for families.
• Poble Sec: Close to the city centre, yet some say more raw and authentic. This area filled with tapas bars, theatres, museums, and galleries is a great home for those who enjoy living off the beaten path.
• Barceloneta: This waterfront town is the perfect option for digital nomads who can’t get enough of the beach and ocean. Here, life is sunny, warm, and peaceful.
• Poblenou: Home to @22, the city’s tech and innovation district. Wander through old warehouses transformed into large offices, creative co-working spaces, startup launchpads, modern galleries, craft beer breweries, concept stores, and more.
  

Transport, healthcare, education, and cost of living

Let’s run through some of the essentials:

Barcelona, like the rest of Spain, has excellent healthcare. As a resident, you’ll be able to join the country’s universal healthcare system or opt-in for private alternatives. Digital nomads sometimes go for the latter to have easier access to English-proficient staff and services.

If you’re planning to move to Barcelona with your family, you have a range of multilingual schooling options available to you – from international schools to digital education models. The Spanish education system is robust, and high-school graduates receive degrees on the IB (International Baccalaureate) level.

The best way to travel through Barcelona is through the extensive system of metros, buses, and trains. Connections run regularly, and many vehicles are well-maintained and airconditioned. This allows you to leave your car at home – which is a plus since driving through Barcelona can be tedious.

While Barcelona’s cost of living is higher than in other parts of Spain (with the exception of Madrid), it is still lower than other Metropoles in Europe such as Dublin, London, and Paris. Barcelona’s price point is comparable to that of Berlin or Rome.

LGTBQ+ friendliness

In 2023, Spain ranked 7th in the global LGBT Equality Index. The country counts as an overall safe and welcoming destination for queer workers and travellers. Gay marriage was legalized in 2005, and trans people can change their registered gender without having to undergo gender-affirming surgery.

As such, and being a metropolitan city, Barcelona hosts a thriving LGTBQ+ scene, with no shortage of queer and queer-friendly events and venues. Residents shouldn’t have any problems expressing themselves in public – if they do run into issues, they can contact the LGBTI Centre for support.

Lifestyle and culture

True to Mediterranean form, life in Barcelona is known for being approachable, laid-back, and relaxed – maybe one of the biggest differentiators to other European cities of its size and status. Newcomers in particular benefit from the social, warm, and welcoming atmosphere.

Life here certainly runs on its own schedule – expect serious siestas and social activities that last way into the night. Dinner time is rarely before 9 p.m., and you’ll find friend groups and families with children roaming the streets late, late into the evening.

This might give you an idea of how well Barcelona blends restful calmness with a colourful, vibrant, and openly expressed joy for life. After all, Barcelona carries an impressive cultural heritage, which the city maintains and expands upon to this day. Residents are able to enjoy countless museums, exhibitions, galleries, independent cinemas, concerts, festivals, and more – not to mention clubs and bars for nightly adventures.

Nevertheless, Barcelona has made a point of accommodating the industrious – the city offers founders and digital nomads fantastic spaces to network, drive projects, and stay productive. And it works! More than anything, remote workers from across the globe have come to know Barcelona for its ability to provide an excellent work-life balance.

Food and cuisine

This is too important a topic for us to mention in passing: food in Barcelona is fantastic. Here, you’ll find exciting international spots, brilliant bars, 26 Michelin-starred restaurants, and exceptional dining choices at any given price point. All that being said, it is probably the local cuisine that makes all the difference.

While we won’t dare to compare Catalan and Spanish cooking (or attempt to accurately dissect the differences), it’s safe to say that you can expect Mediterranean flavours, great seafood, fresh vegetables, excellent cheese, cold cuts, and, of course, tapas.

As far as the latter are concerned, we particularly think you should check out:

• La Plata
• Lluritu or Lluritu 2
• La Cova Fumada
• El Xampanyet‍

Last but not least, Barcelona hosts some fantastic food markets to boot. This includes La Boqueria (just off La Rambla) which can easily be considered one of the most famous food markets in the world.

What’s not to like?

Of course, not everything can be perfect. Before wrapping up, here are some challenges you might face when moving to Barcelona:

• Summers can get very, very hot. Even with the seaside close by, on some days it might be best to simply escape altogether.
• Barcelona is not very car-friendly. The downtown’s famous design was not created with automobiles in mind, leading to unintuitive routes and regular traffic jams. Street parking is equally tricky.
• There are a lot of tourists. Depending on the season and area your're in, their presence can range from feeling exhausting to becoming entirely overwhelming.
• The city is home to a fair amount of petty theft and crime, so it's worth keeping your wits about, especially when visiting more touristic areas.

That being said, none of the above needs to be a dealbreaker. After all, if there's one thing nomads are good at, it's to adapt and overcome.

And there it is – an extensive, if not exhaustive, list of why digital nomads have fallen in love with Barcelona. If you’re curious about the city as a potential destination for relocating, we’ve written an article focusing on remote work in Barcelona here.