I'm moving to Barcelona, Spain for grad school at BBS and need help finding a cheap/safe area to live near by.

Question

The dorms at BBS (http://www.bbs-edu.org/)are too expensive and so is downtown Barcelona, where the school is located. I would like to live as close to the city (and school) as possible and would like to be close to the metro line so i can get to school with no problem and in no time. (I will not have a car).

I do not want to spend more than $500.00 US dollars a month on rent, internet and water, etc. Can someone please give me advice on the closest town outside of Barcelona that is no more than 15 minutes on the the metro so I can start looking for places to live.

The address of the school is Calle Aragón 182

08011 Barcelona, Spain

I would also like to live with spanish speakers my age (27) so I can learn spanish why I am living abroad.

I found a website sublet.com and it names cities such as Cuitat Vella, Horta-Guinardo, Nou barris, Eixample, Les Corts and Sant Marti. Are these safe and close towns?

Any towns, advice, sites would be of great help!

Thanks!

Answer 1

Have a look on this website - it is mostly in Spanish but if you know a little bit, then you should be fine.

http://www.loquo.com/ce/housing/rooms-fo...

I can't help with what barrios to live in as I lived in Madrid... sorry.  I would suggest getting some accomodation in a hostel for a week or two and walk around the areas to find one you like.  It's the only way!

Answer 2

Barcelona apartments are really expensive nowadays and a $500 budget for all of the above is nearly impossible i think. the cheapest place ive found for myself is around 800E per month!

if you dont mind sharing a place with someone, you can check out these places:

http://www.bcnrooms.com/bcnrooms/aloj_en...

there's another site i cant seem to remember right now but ill edit this when i do. cheers!

here's the other website, not sure if its short term only but its worth checking out. hope that helps!

http://www.barcelonaroom.com

search for room accomodation type.