Experience in Barcelona, Spain by Al

Why did you choose to go to Barcelona, Spain?

Because Barcelona is surrounded by mountains and beach and the weather in Barcelona is perfect.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I don't have a scholarship i receive around 500€ just for my rent and food from my family and there are other expenses around 200€ depending on what kind activity i do.

What is the student lifestyle like in Barcelona?

It's challenging to be honest as a foreigner with no knowledge about the language makes it hard at beginning with all the NEI and other things like going to a super market or resturant as mostly people here don't know how to speak english. But nothing to worry about much. As people are very calm and even if you don't speak spanish. they try their best to communicate. 

Would you recommend the city and the University of Barcelona to other students?

I will definitely recommend the city to everyone i know or meet in the future I'm glade i came to such a beautiful city
Unfortunately i cannot say the same for the college I'm studying in now as they have been changing rules and all the administration people have changed and they are really making student life hard

What is the food like?

Food is great of the many countries i have tried food. They have almost every type of food here. Mostly you will find food from many countries. So no matter which continent you are coming from you will find food from every content. One of the most suggested spanish food which is Paella

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Barcelona?

While yes i had to pay 90€ to the website from which i have booked my appartment. Even the other websites they will charge extra money to book an appartment from their website. If you have arrived already in spain and didn't book an appartment. Than best is to ask around people at your university or check around with people. You will find house cheaper than the website and don't even have to pay the online fees. 

How much does it cost to live in Barcelona?

Depends on what kind of life style you want. If you want cheapest it can be  around 450€.  As Mostly outside the center of Barcelona you will find single rooms with 250€ and sharing around 140€ minimum. And if you want inside center of Barcelona a single room can cost minimum of 300€. And for transportation depending on how many time you travel in a day you should decided. If your house is near your university and use transport sometime best is to buy T10 card which is worth 11.35€ as per now the price have increased recently. You can use this card for 10 time and is valid till you use it 10 time. If you have to use transport everyday to go university or other place i would suggest to buy t-usual card which is valid for 1 month and is unlimited to use and is worth 40€ way better than byuing the t-10 card as it will cost way more than the t-usual. And for food if you want to coock you can buy grocery which can cost around 100€ a month. Eating at restaurants can be more costly. And your expans will be more depending on any activity you want to do.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

While normally they speak fast but if you are dedicated to learn it's easy it will be difficult for you to understand at beginning even if you have learned the language just make sure to request the person to speak slowly. Yes we were given the opportunity to learn spanish in our university. But only till A1 now they don't teach above A1

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Barcelona from your city?

While over here bus, metro, train and tramp can be used with one ticket. Their are many options to select from. As you would have a brief information of which ticekt to buy in the previous topic which was in the expense part. 

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Barcelona?

Mostly everything closes very fast here . So if you like partying you can go to clubs their are many in Barcelona you can even party with freinds in the beautiful beach of Barcelona.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Barcelona?

I will say if you want to eat in Barcelona go to tge local resturants you will be surprised their foods are way better than some of the famous resturant you know. Like pizza restaurant just try from the local resturants.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Sagrada Familia mostly crowded but the beauty and structure of the church is magnificent.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Barcelona in the future?

Try to research on what ever you are going to do if you have no idea about it. Try to be calm you might feel down because of the language but they are very nice and will try to help you even if yoy don't know how to speak.