In a vlog made in Barcelona, Cosmina Avram met George, a Romanian who has been living in the Catalan city for 25 years. He would not give Bucharest over Barcelona, despite the fact that the Spanish city ranked in the world’s top 10 cities that offer the highest quality of life.
Barcelona ranks 10th in a world ranking of quality of life. PHOTO: Pixabay
This year, Barcelona ranked 10th in the international list of the 100 best cities to live in the world.
The Top 100 City Destinations Index, by data analytics company Euromonitor International, looks at the top cities around the world and ranks them based on criteria that include tourism, sustainability, economic performance and health and safety, CNN reports.
Europe dominates the 2024 rankings, with six cities in the top 10. Paris is No. 1, Madrid is No. 2, Rome and Milan are No. 4 and No. 5, Amsterdam is No. 7, and Barcelona is No. 10.
In a vlog made in Barcelona, Cosmin Avram met George, a Romanian who has been living in the Catalan city for 25 years. Despite the fact that Barcelona is a great city for tourists, life for Romanians here is not all milk and honey. George claims that if he could turn back time and be 29 years old again, he would not give Bucharest to Barcelona.
Barcelona is one of Cosmin Avram’s favorite cities in Europe. “It’s in the top 3” – he said at the beginning of the clip in which he presents the life of Romanians in the Catalan city.
“Even though Christmas is coming, people are sunbathing, we have brave people going into the water. It’s sunny, I think it’s somewhere around 17 degrees outside right now“, explains the vlogger.
The traveler began with a statement that will surprise many: “Believe it or not, Barcelona is a cheap city. You heard right! If we compare it to the other big European cities we’ve been to so far, it’s cheap here. You have quality when it comes to food. Hotels are a different matter, you won’t find anything good and cheap there, although we are now staying at a 4-star hotel, we pay 70 euros per night, the conditions are perfect. I found a good offer”.
Despite the fact that many Romanians complain about the low salaries in Spain, Cosmin Avram believes that in terms of quality of life, Iberians are better off than many Europeans. “Many Romanians tell me that it’s hard, that they earn little, but from my point of view, Spain is above many European countries where they earn well, much above Germany, for example. And here I mean strictly quality of life.”
The vlogger believes that you earn a lot for nothing, if “you lead a not very pleasant life, because not everything boils down to money, people here are much happier, much calmer, they are calm, they are not in a continuous run and you don’t see them gloomy. The same thing is happening in Italy”.
The vlogger’s guide in Barcelona is George, a Romanian who has been in Spain for 25 years.
Cosmin finds that food prices are very good compared to other European countries he has visited, such as Germany, Switzerland, Holland.
“At first I had nowhere to sleep”
“How is life here in Spain?“- was asked the Romanian who has been living here for 25 years.
“It’s good for me now. At first it was difficult, very difficult. There were days when I didn’t know where I would sleep. So, thanks to some guys who weren’t doing legal stuff, I had a place to sleep. I slept in a hotel with them 60 km from Barcelona and stayed with them for about a month, I think. I wasn’t going to do illegal things, but I had a place to sleep”says George.
After that, easily, easily, he managed to engage in construction. “After 2 and a half years of construction, he found work in a restaurant, although back then, in 2002-2003, they were very reluctant to hire Romanians. Romanians and Moroccans were not seen well”says the Romanian.
Is it worth coming to work in Barcelona?
“Is it worth coming to work in Spain today?“- Cosmin asked him.
“I came at 29 years old. If I were 29 years old again and stayed in Romania, I wouldn’t leave… I wouldn’t come to Spain. Maybe in other countries, yes. But not in Spain. And especially in Barcelona. I know the prices in Barcelona, where it is very expensivesays George.
Renting a room costs you at least 450-500 euros. “A two-room apartment, a studio of 35 square meters cannot be found below 800-900 euros. And if you find something under 800-900 euros, there are 200-300 people interested. And you, being an outsider, have no chance. Because I, for my part, if it were, I would rent to someone who is a national or is an official who knows that at the end of the month you collect the rent”.
Asked why the prices are so high, George explained: “because when you rent something here you have no protection, no security that it will pay its rent. Because the state protects him. The housing law, “vivienda” as it is called 2 years ago, was passed. 2 years ago you could still find apartments under 1000 euros. After that nothing is found. So you don’t find, I’m not. If you add that it was the COVID period, that many foreigners came to work here in Barcelona or in Spain in general. There are very few homes for sale and let alone rent.”
George does not believe that the problem of high rents in Barcelona is caused by tourists and the fact that many homes are rented out on Airbnb: “I live in Badalona. In Badalona, for example, there are 16 apartments for rent and none under 1,000 euros. And they don’t rent short term for tourists. In fact, it is a powerless government, which did not know how to take the necessary measures.”
George pointed out: “I would not come here again. It doesn’t make any sense. Because I was at home and I talked to a friend whose wife was at a cafe and was earning 600-700 euros. I earned 1300, of which I paid, 5 years ago, 750 euros per rent. And what are you left with? With 600 euros? So, no. Not.”
Cosmin replied: “The Romanians do not agree, they see things the other way around, they say that in Romania everything is bad, that things are going wrong, that wages are low, prices are high… I can’t argue with the prices here, they are really high .”
“I’ve been to Romania and I can’t say that the prices are much higher. You really have to look to find it cheaper. Here we are in Raval. In Raval, there are Pakistanis who sell fruit for 1 euro 20, 1 euro 30. If you go and buy from Mercadona or Consul or other stores, the same product, well, maybe a little better, but not by much, it’s double . This is seen at the end of the monthsays George.
In Badalona, where he lives, there is a market, where most of the sellers are Moroccan, and where he bought 2 kg of tangerines for 1.50 euros. If you want to save, you can’t go and do all your shopping in one store.
Why are Spaniards happier?
“Why are people here happier? You don’t see them so stressed on the street…”George was asked.
“Be it, I don’t know, maybe the food, maybe I don’t put so much emphasis on the problems, that problems exist in any country. Or on the surface, and that’s true, that’s true too,” answered the Romanian.
He related an experience he had with the Spaniards.
“When I moved to where I live, in Badalona, in the apartment, we don’t have an elevator. I found companies to install an elevator. So at the first meeting when there was, there was a neighbor who said to put the elevator where the others want, not where I want. So it’s a bit of racism,” George thinks.
He is of the opinion that the Spanish are not racist when you are “poorer, that way.” “The moment you stand up a little and demand, not the right, but you want to impose your point of view, you can’t because things change. Of course, almost no one will support you.”
Cost of living in Barcelona: 800 euros without rent
George also talked about the cost of living in Barcelona. How much does a normal family spend to live decently in such a city?
“The food is around 400 euros, if you are not looking for very good quality. I pay the light, 35 euros per month. Water, about 20 euros per month. Gas is more expensive in winter, of course, because we let it go for 3-4 months in the heat Gas, on average, about 50 euros per month, about 600 euros per year in total. Internet with two phones – 25 euros per month. House insurance costs 250 euros per year, community expenses are 50 euros per month, which includes the expenses of the apartment, the staircase and the administrator. Medical insurance, my wife and I pay 135 euros per month. Calculating everything, it comes to around 700-800, excluding house installment or rent“, detailed George.
Rent, he says, is very hard to come by.
“If I were 29 years old again and stayed in Romania, I would never leave”
“A waiter earns around 1,300 euros, a super-qualified nurse, just last night I saw, gets 2,000 euros, which doesn’t seem like much to me, a seller at a flower shop, 1,200 euros. So everything moves around 1200-1800, maximum 1800 euros. It’s not enough for life in Barcelona. You have to have your apartment paid off or pay very little rent to survive”George points out.
For a decent living, a person needs to earn around 2,200 euros, he estimates. “To be able to afford a vacation, to be able to afford to go to a restaurant, at the weekend, so about 2200. Here, including the rent.”
George analyzed whether it is worth coming to work in Barcelona: “Pyou are going to get 1,500 euro salary, one person. In Bucharest, as a waiter, you can get 700-800 euros with tip, right? So here you pay 800-900 euros rent, if you find a 35 square meter apartment, in Bucharest you pay 300 euros. So if you deduct the rent from your salary, you have 500 euros left in Barcelona and the same money in Bucharest.”
Cosmin doubts that rent can be found for 300 euros in Bucharest. “Go to annucul.ro in the Titan, Dristor section and you will find an apartment for 300 euros, because I look, every week I look to see even more than 300, 320 maximum, furnished. Here, even if you found the apartment for 800-900 euros, it is empty, but you have to be satisfied”.
George’s conclusion is that if he could turn back time and now be 29 years old, he would not leave Romania. “Currently, Barcelona is much more expensive than Bucharest, with the salaries that are earned in Barcelona.”
