I’m often asked what it’s like to live in Barcelona. This gem of a city is on many a tourist’s bucket list, but visiting for a week as a guiri (local not-so-kind slang for foreign visitors) and moving here permanently are two entirely different things. If you have the slightest notion of taking the plunge, I can tell you what my experience has been.
I quietly snuck into Spain in September 2020 when the world and its borders were shut down. After doing quite a bit of research, I found a gray area in the rules for traveling during the pandemic. Unfortunately, instead of a normal direct flight to El Prat, Barcelona’s airport, I had to take two different planes and three different trains to get here.