Lifestyle in Barcelona, Spain?

Question

Hey, i'm studying abroad for 9 months in barcelona, spain. i was curious what the lifestyle there is like... laid back? fast paced? artsy, etc.

also, what is education there like? would you say the universities there are more or less difficult than American universities?

Answer 1

Barcelona is a great city, definitely "artsy", incredible nightlife, interesting people from the whole world, it's very cosmopolitan, and the catalans are fantastic.

In a short walk you can go from the medieval burrough Barrí Gotic to the Art Nouveaux masterpiece buildings of Gaudí and other architects to modern day designer buildings.

If you don't know, Barcelona is part of the spanish autonomous region called Catalunya, it has it's own language, catalán and a unique culture and most catalans are fierce supporters of their culture and rightly so. "Spain" to them is a "foreign" country, or almost, there is heavy rivalry between them and the "spanish", never call a catalán "spanish"...

Well, to be honest Spain is a union of very unique old kingdoms that maintain their differences in culture and language, what a normal foreigner thinks of Spain is really Castilla and Andaluzia.

Regarding universities, I think most universities in Europe are a little superior to the ones in the US, on average, and considerably cheaper or even free...

But Barcelona is great, one of my favorite cities in Europe, I go there often since I'm portuguese, they're my "neighbours".