Living and working in Barcelona
Barcelona is the largest city in Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain. With a population of 1.6 million, this metropolis is a hugely popular city break destination. However, living and working in Barcelona is also becoming increasingly popular. Not surprisingly, because the Mediterranean climate is delicious and you just never get enough of tapas!
Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean Sea and is 160 km from the Pyrenees. The perfect combination of city and beach, the relatively low cost of living and the vibrant nightlife and city life make Barcelona a great city to live in.
Life in a Mediterranean city like Barcelona is incredibly relaxed. The sun shines often and you never really have to be bored. There is an abundance of bars, restaurants and super cosy terraces. It is shopping night almost every night and there is a beautiful city beach in Barcelona. Curious? Then read on quickly to find out what it’s like to live and work in Barcelona.
Work in Barcelona
Working conditions in Barcelona
There are plenty of reasons why living and working in Barcelona is so attractive. For one, the quality of life in Spain is generally very high. With its many hours of sunshine a year, friendly people, many public holidays (14) and Mediterranean lifestyle, you wish there were more hours in a day.
Although in most Spanish cities you work 8 hours a day and from 9 to 5, siesta is practised in many places in Spain. Usually the siesta lasts from 14:00 to 17:00, but this varies from place to place. So, depending on the region, people work between 09:00 and 14:00, and 18:00 and 21:00.
Salaries in Barcelona
In 2024, the average gross monthly salary in Spain was €2,250. The average net monthly salary in Barcelona is €2,803.98 in 2024.
You will find the highest gross monthly salaries in Spain in the following sectors: financial sector (€3,752.50), energy sector (€3,534.10), information technology and IT (€3,609.50) and public sector (€3,500.80).
The minimum wage in Spain
The minimum wage in Spain is €1600 in 2023. This amount will be paid 14 times a year. As inflation has risen very much in recent months, unions and the Ministry of Labour have proposed raising the minimum wage. This proposed increase is currently being discussed within the Spanish government.
Working in Barcelona hospitality industry
The range of jobs available in Barcelona is very diverse. For example, the hospitality and tourism sectors are very popular in Barcelona. Especially during the summer months, you will have no trouble finding a hospitality job in Barcelona. That is when many hotels, cafés, clubs, bars and restaurants are looking for (preferably multilingual) employees.
From holiday work as a DJ, barman or waitress at a nice club in Barcelona to a permanent job as a cook or receptionist at a hotel or bed & breakfast in Barcelona. Or would you rather choose a job as an entertainer/animator in a hotel? In this job, you will organise fun events, activities and shows for the whole family.
Are you flexible, sociable, a real go-getter and up for an unforgettable challenge in metropolis Barcelona? And do you speak several languages (e.g. English, Spanish and German)? Then a hospitality job is just the thing for you!
Working as a propper in Barcelona
Barcelona has a vibrant nightlife and many different clubs. This vibrant nightlife attracts many young tourists every year who do like to party. Especially in summer, many parties are organised. A job as a propper is therefore very popular during the summer months. As a propper, you try to sell as many club tickets to people as possible throughout the day. You are very sociable, not afraid to approach people and know exactly how to convince them.
Keep in mind that as a propper, you are usually paid on commission. So you do not have a fixed salary as a propper, so you might earn more one day than the next.
Networking in Barcelona
Having a large professional network can be very valuable. Networking can, for example, put you in touch with future employers and partners with whom you can work together on a project. And during networking events, you can learn more about the latest trends and developments in your field.
Barcelona is the perfect city for expanding your professional network. There is a networking event in Barcelona every day. There are also regular job fairs where you can discover the latest job opportunities in Barcelona. We advise you to regularly checkwebsites like Eventbrite and Allevents to stay informed about interesting networking events in Barcelona.
Applying for a job in Barcelona
Are you looking for a job with a Spanish company in Barcelona? Then of course it is useful to know how to write a Spanish CV and what to expect approximately from the job interview. Below are some tips that may come in handy during your job hunt in Barcelona.
Job interview in Spain
Employers in Spain really appreciate it if you clearly show your interest in the company and the position you have applied for. So feel free to call to ask how the application process is going and what the state of play is. Once you are invited for a job interview, it is of course nice to know in advance whether the interview will be in English or in Spanish. We recommend that you ask about this in advance so that you can prepare yourself properly. For example, you can practise a little with a Spanish friend or teacher beforehand. Think about which interview questions you might be asked and prepare some answers in Spanish in advance.
As with any job interview, the first impression is important. In Spain, this can be even more so. Dress professionally and make sure you are on time.
Living in Barcelona
Advantages of living and working in Barcelona
Barcelonans are very social, open and friendly people. They spend a lot of time outdoors and love to read a newspaper in a café. Preferably over a cup of coffee. They also enjoy drinking beers on the terrace with friends and going out until the early hours is almost an unwritten rule in Barcelona.
For many UK people who consider living and working abroad, Barcelona is number one destination. You will definitely not be the only one choosing to embark on this adventure either, as there are almost 15,000 UK people registered in Barcelona.
Accommodation in Barcelona
Rents for a room in a shared flat in Barcelona are around €550-€700. For a private flat in central Barcelona, you will spend around €1100 per month. Of course, you can also choose to rent a flat on the outskirts or just outside Barcelona.
Renting a flat outside Barcelona’s city centre costs around €800 per month.
Where to live in Barcelona?
Bustling neighbourhoods in Barcelona include Raval, Gòtic, El born, l’Eixample, Sarrià-sant Gervasi, La Vila de Gràcia, El Poble-Sec, El Poblenou and Sant Antoni.
Public transport in Barcelona
Public transport in Barcelona is excellent! If you want to take full advantage of Barcelona’s extensive public transport network, the multi-day public transport passes are the best option for you. Locals mainly use the ten-ride ticket (T-10) and other long-term passes. You can buy these from vending machines in metro stations, among other places.
Below are the prices of various tickets for public transport in Barcelona:
- A single ride (Billet senzill): €2.20
- One-day ticket (T-Dia): €8.60
- Ten-ride ticket (T-10): €10.20 (possible to share with several people)
- Billet Aéroport: (metro ticket to and from the airport): €4,60
The BCN Hop On Hop Off bus is another great way to discover a great city like Barcelona. This sightseeing bus takes you past more than 30 sights in Barcelona. You can choose from 2 different routes and if you buy your tickets online in advance, you get a 10% discount.
Eating in Barcelona
When you think of eating in Barcelona, you naturally think of those delicious tapas! But Barcelona really has much more to offer than just tapas. In fact, if there is one thing you can do well in Barcelona, it is eat well. Everywhere in the city you will find nice tapas and pintxos bars, cosy restaurants and terraces. Barcelona has a number of popular food hotspots.
Below are the prices of drinks and food in Barcelona:
- Espresso coffee in a coffee house – €1.25 – to €2.50
- Bottle of beer in the supermarket (0.5 litres) – €1.12
- Glass of beer in a bar – €3
- Bottle of cola (0.33 litre) – €2
- Bottle of 1.5 litre water in supermarket – 77 cents
- Bottle of 1-litre water in a tourist shop on the Ramblas – €2.00
- Baguette – €1.44 at the bakery
- Milk – €0.95 per litre
- Potatoes – €1.31/kilo
- Bananas – €1.85/kilo
- Iceberg lettuce – €1 per piece
We like to give a few restaurant tips in Barcelona. At the places below you can enjoy delicious Spanish dishes:
Cervecería Catalana
Cervecería Catalana has become one of the most popular tapas joints in the city. It is therefore often quite busy but it is definitely worth waiting for a table. Besides a large menu of tapas and small sandwiches, you can also choose from various tapas dishes of the day. The patatas bravas and fried camembert are highly recommended. And the desserts crema catalana and the 6-textured chocolate cake are finger-licking good! Finally, we can tell you that the dishes are affordable too.
Bilbao Berria
Besides tapas, Barcelona is also known for its delicious pintxos. Pintxos originate from the Basque country. Pintxos are similar to small tapas on a bun. Bilbao Berria is a popular establishment where you can eat pintxos. There are several establishments in the city, but the one on Plaça Nova is quite popular. The whole bar here is packed with cold and hot pintxos. You can grab as many pintxos from here as you like. Per pintxo, you pay €1.85. Besides pintxos, by the way, they also have small desserts on the bar. For a real pintxos experience, it is recommended to go around lunchtime, as around dinner time Bilbao Berria turns into a restaurant.
Bormuth
Another tapas bar we can recommend is Bormuth in the middle of the hip El Born district. You often recognise it immediately by the queue at the door, the lines are long and the place is almost always full. This is also because an evening at Bormuth is also very affordable.
Nightlife in Barcelona
When it comes to going out, Barcelona is incredibly trendy and diverse. There are countless parties, music concerts and clubs. Clubs in Barcelona can be quite expensive, but fortunately there are plenty of affordable places to go. Every night there is something going on in the city, but the real night out is on Friday and Saturday nights.
Thursday is student night in Barcelona, so on Thursdays you will mostly run into students. Moreover, you also benefit from free entry at most places on Thursdays.
Going out in Barcelona is also rather Spanish: clubs only open after midnight. Often Barcelonans first go to a bar to have a few drinks before moving on to a club or discotheque.
For an up-to-date overview of all parties in Barcelona, check the following websites:
Barcelona’s landscape and nature
The coastal area around the capital is also known as the Costa Barcelona. Ideal for beach holidays, this coastal area is full of small coves and wide sandy beaches. Popular and popular seaside resorts include Malgrat de Mar, Calella, Canet de Mar and Castelldefels, but the fishing villages of Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú are also popular with tourists.
The weather in Barcelona
Barcelona has a temperate climate with warm summers and mild winters. Barcelona enjoys plenty of sunshine (300 days of sunshine a year on average!) and relatively little rainfall, around 600 mm a year on average.
How many degrees is it in Barcelona?
The average temperature in summer is around 25 degrees Celsius. July and August are the warmest months in Barcelona.
December and January are the coldest months with an average temperature of 10 degrees Celsius. Although it can get cold at night, daytime temperatures are usually mild.
What not to miss in Barcelona
Sagrada Família
Perhaps Barcelona’s most famous landmark. This imposing church is also called ‘Basílica y Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Família’. From 1882 to the present day, this church has been under construction. Official completion is expected in 2026. The design is by Antoni Gaudí. The Sagrada Familia is built by donations. That probably explains why construction is taking so long. The inside of the church is just as impressive as the outside. Antoni Gaudí is also buried here in the crypt of Sagrada Família.
Opposite the main entrance of the Sagrada Família is a park called Placa de Gaudi. You can take beautiful photos of the exterior of the building here.
Camp Nou
Barcelona and the football club of the same name are inextricably linked. FC Barcelona’s stadium also hosts fantastic matches. Especially the derbies against Real Madrid are legendary. When not playing football, you can visit Camp Nou as a tourist. You can opt for a guided tour of the stadium. At the end of the tour, you can visit the FC Barcelona Museum and, of course, the shop.
La Rambla
Le Rambla is a very pleasant boulevard where there is always something going on. La Rambla runs from Plaça Catalunya to the port Port Vell. This boulevard is over a kilometre long. When Barcelona was no bigger than the Gothic Quarter, the city walls stood here. Today, La Rambla separates the central districts of El Gótico and El Raval.
The Ramblas is always busy and mainly overrun by tourists. It is bursting with kiosks, stalls, flower stalls, easels, statues, terraces, restaurants, shops, people and traffic. And the hubbub goes on until the early hours.
Plaça Catalunya
This large square in Barcelona is always crowded. Partly because the metro, bus, taxis and many pedestrians converge here. It is therefore the city’s most central point. The square is quite green and is also attracted by pigeons. You will also find beautiful fountains and sculptures and there are regular musical festivities. The square is especially atmospheric at night and is therefore definitely worth a visit.
Port de Barcelona
Barcelona’s port is almost as old as the city itself. It is also an important and much-used mooring for cruise boats. At the beginning of the Ramblas is the old port ‘Port Vell’. You’ll find good restaurants, bars and terraces here. You will also find a large shopping centre ‘Maremàgnum’ and Europe’s largest aquarium filled with six million litres of seawater.
Park Güell
Also called the green heart of Barcelona’s city, this city park is located in the district of Gràcia. The park has a huge amount of trees, avenues and squares. A giant snake as a seat winds through the park. Other things you will find in this park include the Gaudí museum, a gatehouse, a large staircase with a mythological dragon and a very large balcony from which you have a great view of the city.
Beach clubs in Barcelona
After a day of sightseeing, it is of course great to end the day with a nice drink at the beach. There are several beach clubs in Barcelona to choose from. The most popular beach clubs in Barcelona are Go Beach Club Barcelona, Purobeach Barcelona, Barcelona Beach Club, Mokai Beach Bar and The Coconut Club.
With the Barcelona City Pass, you can visit the main attractions in Barcelona. For example, it gives you access to the Sagrada Família (Fast Track) and Park Güell, you get a Barcelona City audio guide tour and you can travel on the Hop On Hop Off Bus.
So, as you have read, there are an awful lot of fun things to see & do in Barcelona. Besides these highlights, as a ¨local¨ you will discover many more things, maybe even some hidden unique places in Barcelona that tourists don’t come to.
Healthcare in Barcelona
When you start working and living in Barcelona, you have access to public healthcare at all times (this is also called Seguridad Social in Spain). You are therefore automatically insured in Spain.
Because of this compulsory health insurance, healthcare in Spain is accessible to every resident of Spain. This way, it is also possible for low-income and unemployed people to receive medical care. Healthcare in Spain is financed by social contributions deducted from your salary. So you don’t notice anything about this. Public healthcare in Spain is of good quality and comparable to healthcare in the Netherlands and Belgium.
You can officially register for public healthcare by applying for a Social Seguridad number. This number can be requested from your local ‘Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social’. You need to bring a valid ID, a copy of your employment contract and a completed TA1 form. After you have applied for the Social Seguridad number, you can go to your local Centro Salud (health centre) to apply for a healthcare pass. With this pass, you can prove that you are entitled to public health care in Spain.
Visa and travel insurance Barcelona
If you are a citizen of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you only need a valid national identity card or passport.
Security in Barcelona
As in most big cities, in Barcelona you need to be extra careful about pickpockets. Anyway, if you just watch your belongings carefully, just like you do in the Netherlands, then you have nothing to worry about.
