Is Barcelona Spain a nice place to raise a family, I have 3 kids 11, 6 and 18 months old?

Question

Is Barcelona Spain a nice place to raise a family, I have 3 kids 11, 6 and 18 months old?

Answer 1

Yes it is.. But just remember that all the schools in Catalonia ( Barcelona) give classes in Catalan.. ( and only 1 class in Spanish)..

So Just remember this.. Good Luck

Bcn_mimosa from Barcelona, Spain

Answer 2

Yes, it's a beautiful place to raise children.  The Barcelonans have been doing so for many centuries.

Seriously, there are lots of great family things to do there, and the sense of family that runs through the area is really strong.  Multiple generations doing things together, typical of most Spanish and hispanic cultures...Beautiful beaches right there, where we saw lots of families playing together (some of whom, I'm quite sure, were natives to the area).

I'm sure you'll figure out which neighborhoods fit you.

The only thing I would question is how you plan to make a living?  Are you from an EU country?  Work visas and work are very hard to find all over Spain these days.

If you can work past that, you're golden.

Answer 3

I have heard that it is one of the best places to raise kids. I saw many people with strollers (some of them are tourists) in metro, walking outside, and it was the sign that at least, it is easy to get around with kids. Public schools, however, are not great, in comparison with Russian Schools, for example, but maybe much better than many American Public schools or local Catholic or private schools. It is much cheaper that in the US.

The downside of a public school in Barcelona is that Spanish Language is getting to extinction and the Catalans are trying to make it a home- language only. The main school language is Catalan while some subjects like Physical Education are taught in Spanish, and the Spanish Language class itself, and no more than 2-4 hours per week. The point is to eliminate Spanish, and make it the way Catalan was forbidden in Schools during the Franco time. So, if your kids are in Private school, there is more Spanish and English. Kids do play outside and it is great, and they will not like your kids if they don;t speak Catalan. By the way, it is really easy to pick up, and it is in some ways similar to Spanish, French and Italian (Roman roots). There is lots of separatist politic that is placed on very young kids in schools and that I did not like.

I think children of Catalunya (that's how it is spelled in Catalan) will have a hard time getting enrolled in colleges and universities outside of their region or communicate with the rest of Spain. Maybe that was the main intention. If a person wants to work in Catalunya, they must pass the Catalan language exam. That's for the working parents, of course.