thoughts on spain
i definitely feel lucky i am in Barcelona now. in London there has been another lockdown since December. no shops, no restaurants/ bars, theatres, no gyms, no meeting friends. plus hello, weather. in Barcelona i can go play beach volleyball, i have been playing indoor volleyball too (although there have been periods of higher restrictions when it was not allowed), gyms are open again (after some period of closure), i can go to classical concerts, opera, restaurants (breakfast or lunch only for now), museums.so, for now, i am definitely happier here.
i have been to Barcelona many times before, as a tourist. and of course being here longer is not the same, and you do start experiencing both positive and negative things. so i thought i would start a list of observations, how things work or dont.
flats, housing, utilities etc.
1. market is really fucked up. usually it is landlord's market, but due to corona a bit less so now, but still. almost impossible to find anything directly from the owner. mostly everything via agencies. who charge tenants one month rent agency fees for the pleasure. this is a lot. in London usually it is landlord who pays, and tenants are charged something nominal. so far, because of unpredictability of my situation i am staying in long term Airbnbs which are more expensive than if i rented with a contract, but at the same time i am protected by AIrbnb, and do not need to deal with crazy landlords.
2. electricity is super expensive. in London for 1 bed flat i usually pay about £20-25 a month. here bills of 70 eur a higher are a norm.
3. a lot of really bad accommodation. flats with no windows to the outside world, super small, no heating, or with electric heaters (hello electricity costs), bad sound proof, you can hear everything, thin windows, holes between windows and doors and frames so you can feel wind comign in - and in winter it is not that pleasant - again hello electricity costs. i am now in my 4th Airbnb and i guess that is a part of my experience (i booked my first 3 flats without visiting them, but visited last one before booking) - one had construction next door with extreme noise every day 8am to 6pm, two were quite cold and dark. now i have a large sunny place which is warm from sun so i do not even need heating. so i am happy.
4. i am a member of some expat groups in Barcelona and Spain on facebook, and i understand that people usually complain when something is bad and do not say when everything is ok, but there are lots of peopel complain about landlords, seems in Spain it is "customary" to keep the deposit even if there is no damage, utilities can "surprise you" with a huge bill and its your job to prove to them you are not a giraffe. general feeling of vulnerability and lack of consumer rights. this is my impression (again, not my personal experience. who knows i may be lucky if i actually rent a flat here).
ADDED: very high taxes on buying a property. for example for a 200,000 eur flat, the tax is 21.725 eur
that's a lot. also i read cases when some years after flat purchase people received letters from tax authorities claiming the price was too low, saying "we think it is actually 400,000. please pay extra tax within 10 days".
discriminatory taxes on non EU people when sellign flats - you need to pay 3% tax from sales price (EU people do not have to pay it).
bureaucracy, taxes etc.
these are quite bad. i saw somewhere that per capita Spain has highest number of bureaucrats in EU. it is quite telling that there is a whole industry here and profession called gestor - people who help you deal with various state organs, from tax office, to social security, car registration or anything related to some state organisation. it is just too burdensome and complicated to do yourself. here is a funny video that is very close to reality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1K31w05eW4
taxes are quite complicated. also unlike some other countries i lived in, here people must submit tax declarations themselves (not enough to just have taxes deducted by employer).
in UK i have never heard a word from UK tax office (well. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs :) ). in Spain lots of people complain about some random accusations of tax fraud as in letters from tax authorities saying "5 years ago you received 40,000 eur from firm X but did not declare it. you owe us 5,000 eur in back taxes plus penalty. you have 10 working days to respond". i personally know people who got contacted by tax authorities for one reason or another. it is a bit scary.
positive - quite a lot if things can be done online. they have this thing "certificado digital" - you install it on your laptop and it proves that you are you and then you can do lots of things online with government websites. but then sometimes these systems crash and then you are fucked :)
banks are only open before lunch. and lots of banks are assholes. first of all only recently some banks launched accounts (mostly onine) without monthly fees, but having monthly fee of 5-20 eur is normal here. which is nuts for Biritsh people. in UK banks are free. also in SPain lots of people complain about banks charging them some random fees for no reason. havent happened to me yet. tax authorities can order banks to freese your account or to charge you some money first, and then you go and deal with them and prove you did not owe them anything. so i am not keeping much money in my Spanish account. but see above about "consumer rights" and feeling protected.
to add to "consumer rights" - lots of people complain about trying to cancel utilities, insurance, switch banks etc and then either not getting anywhere or months later getting bills from old providers. see "general feeling of unprotectedness."
other random stuff
amazing - love local bike rental scheme - "bicing". we have a similar one in London, but i prefer it in Barcelona because lots of streets have dedicated bike lanes and are in a convenient criss-cross shape. London streets are way too random and unpredictable. in Barcelona you pay like 50 eur a year (only residents, tourists cannot use them) and all rides under 30 min are free. i saved a shitload of money, and take metro maybe like once a month. in London anyone with a credit card can use them - £2 a day then rides under 30 min are free. i think yearly passes exist too.
funny observation. i found this difference quite surprising. in Spain packaging is not user friendly. try opening a bag of nuts, or carton of milk. you will either tear the whole thing and stuff will fall out, or you will need scissors or knife. i found this very weird. compared to "even your nan can do it" in UK.
in general "user friendliness" does not seem to be a thing here. i was once trying to pay a fee for my residency application. the good thing is you can pay it at any ATM (cash machine). the bad thing is it is absolutely impossible to figure out how by yourself. i tried several ATMs, went through all the options, could nto find the one i needed. went home, googled it, apparently i was supposed to insert my card first, and only then some new options appear. how on earth am i supposed to guess that :)
i think that is all for now. i ll add more stuff when something comes up.
the above may sound like i am complaining. i am not. these are just observations in a diary form of things that stood out for me. after all i am still here, enjoying the sun, the beach and volleyball.
peace
i have been to Barcelona many times before, as a tourist. and of course being here longer is not the same, and you do start experiencing both positive and negative things. so i thought i would start a list of observations, how things work or dont.
flats, housing, utilities etc.
1. market is really fucked up. usually it is landlord's market, but due to corona a bit less so now, but still. almost impossible to find anything directly from the owner. mostly everything via agencies. who charge tenants one month rent agency fees for the pleasure. this is a lot. in London usually it is landlord who pays, and tenants are charged something nominal. so far, because of unpredictability of my situation i am staying in long term Airbnbs which are more expensive than if i rented with a contract, but at the same time i am protected by AIrbnb, and do not need to deal with crazy landlords.
2. electricity is super expensive. in London for 1 bed flat i usually pay about £20-25 a month. here bills of 70 eur a higher are a norm.
3. a lot of really bad accommodation. flats with no windows to the outside world, super small, no heating, or with electric heaters (hello electricity costs), bad sound proof, you can hear everything, thin windows, holes between windows and doors and frames so you can feel wind comign in - and in winter it is not that pleasant - again hello electricity costs. i am now in my 4th Airbnb and i guess that is a part of my experience (i booked my first 3 flats without visiting them, but visited last one before booking) - one had construction next door with extreme noise every day 8am to 6pm, two were quite cold and dark. now i have a large sunny place which is warm from sun so i do not even need heating. so i am happy.
4. i am a member of some expat groups in Barcelona and Spain on facebook, and i understand that people usually complain when something is bad and do not say when everything is ok, but there are lots of peopel complain about landlords, seems in Spain it is "customary" to keep the deposit even if there is no damage, utilities can "surprise you" with a huge bill and its your job to prove to them you are not a giraffe. general feeling of vulnerability and lack of consumer rights. this is my impression (again, not my personal experience. who knows i may be lucky if i actually rent a flat here).
ADDED: very high taxes on buying a property. for example for a 200,000 eur flat, the tax is 21.725 eur
that's a lot. also i read cases when some years after flat purchase people received letters from tax authorities claiming the price was too low, saying "we think it is actually 400,000. please pay extra tax within 10 days".
discriminatory taxes on non EU people when sellign flats - you need to pay 3% tax from sales price (EU people do not have to pay it).
bureaucracy, taxes etc.
these are quite bad. i saw somewhere that per capita Spain has highest number of bureaucrats in EU. it is quite telling that there is a whole industry here and profession called gestor - people who help you deal with various state organs, from tax office, to social security, car registration or anything related to some state organisation. it is just too burdensome and complicated to do yourself. here is a funny video that is very close to reality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1K31w05eW4
taxes are quite complicated. also unlike some other countries i lived in, here people must submit tax declarations themselves (not enough to just have taxes deducted by employer).
in UK i have never heard a word from UK tax office (well. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs :) ). in Spain lots of people complain about some random accusations of tax fraud as in letters from tax authorities saying "5 years ago you received 40,000 eur from firm X but did not declare it. you owe us 5,000 eur in back taxes plus penalty. you have 10 working days to respond". i personally know people who got contacted by tax authorities for one reason or another. it is a bit scary.
positive - quite a lot if things can be done online. they have this thing "certificado digital" - you install it on your laptop and it proves that you are you and then you can do lots of things online with government websites. but then sometimes these systems crash and then you are fucked :)
banks are only open before lunch. and lots of banks are assholes. first of all only recently some banks launched accounts (mostly onine) without monthly fees, but having monthly fee of 5-20 eur is normal here. which is nuts for Biritsh people. in UK banks are free. also in SPain lots of people complain about banks charging them some random fees for no reason. havent happened to me yet. tax authorities can order banks to freese your account or to charge you some money first, and then you go and deal with them and prove you did not owe them anything. so i am not keeping much money in my Spanish account. but see above about "consumer rights" and feeling protected.
to add to "consumer rights" - lots of people complain about trying to cancel utilities, insurance, switch banks etc and then either not getting anywhere or months later getting bills from old providers. see "general feeling of unprotectedness."
other random stuff
amazing - love local bike rental scheme - "bicing". we have a similar one in London, but i prefer it in Barcelona because lots of streets have dedicated bike lanes and are in a convenient criss-cross shape. London streets are way too random and unpredictable. in Barcelona you pay like 50 eur a year (only residents, tourists cannot use them) and all rides under 30 min are free. i saved a shitload of money, and take metro maybe like once a month. in London anyone with a credit card can use them - £2 a day then rides under 30 min are free. i think yearly passes exist too.
funny observation. i found this difference quite surprising. in Spain packaging is not user friendly. try opening a bag of nuts, or carton of milk. you will either tear the whole thing and stuff will fall out, or you will need scissors or knife. i found this very weird. compared to "even your nan can do it" in UK.
in general "user friendliness" does not seem to be a thing here. i was once trying to pay a fee for my residency application. the good thing is you can pay it at any ATM (cash machine). the bad thing is it is absolutely impossible to figure out how by yourself. i tried several ATMs, went through all the options, could nto find the one i needed. went home, googled it, apparently i was supposed to insert my card first, and only then some new options appear. how on earth am i supposed to guess that :)
i think that is all for now. i ll add more stuff when something comes up.
the above may sound like i am complaining. i am not. these are just observations in a diary form of things that stood out for me. after all i am still here, enjoying the sun, the beach and volleyball.
peace