4bams

my son and 3 other students (21 yr olds) will be in barcelona studying at esade business school from january til may. any suggestions for accommodation would be appreciated! they will not be staying at the school, as it is out of town, and they want to be in the city. a reasonably priced option, in a good (safe yet fun) part of the city near transportation would be ideal. they would like to be all together, but could do 1 X4 bdm or 2X 2bdm units. i imagine a long term rental of some sort makes the most sense? they have been advised to book into a cheap hotel or a hostel for a while to get their bearings and search while they are there- does anyone know how best to do this, or an agency to recommend? the hotel/hostel they should arrive at? thanks for your help! oh- budget? does $700 per month per person seem reasonable or do i have to go higher?

amer_can

DD was in Salamanca for indepth Spanish for a year 2011/2012. She arived, stayed at a school billet for 2 nights (not great for a grown woman) went to a nice, clean, safe hostal @ the reccomendation of TInfo and wandered around looking for a place. Well..luck was with her and she found a 2 bedroom, 2bath, in a building 4 or 5 blocks from classes..recently redone, Washer/dryer/ security guard at the entry, elevator, and all for 750Euros a month.. 9 month lease. paid for WiFi/computer and all else was included. A very nice place for her AND FOR ME!!! Got to go 2 times for a month each and yes " hooked on Spain ". Too bad I'm such a senior and she is home now!! So to your question google rentals in BCN, see what is on offer and then have them go before renting to get the lay of the land..A lease that they have checked out by a Spanish speaking and ask at the school for any thoughts on the matter.. Safe areas are important in BCN so tell them to take care, keep their eyes on their belongings and eat the excwllent food and drink the excellent wine and savor the experience..

Cowboy1968

The only Esade location I found in BCN is the campus in Pedralbes. which is not out of town but more at the edge, in a rather upscale part of the city.
If that is the location you mean, you should also find lots of student accomodation near the nearby University, around the Zona Universitaria metro stop.
If they stay elsewhere, they should check how easily (or not) they can reach campus everyday.
As they want a rather big apartment, they should find more outside the historic city neighborhoods but rather in Eixample left/ esquerra or Les Corts (still assuming that the campus is in Pedralbes).
For a first idea what rentals cost in Barcelona, you can check out pisos.com

lincasanova

Here is an official student apt page.

http://www.habitatgejove.com/webv2c/en/index.htm

plenty of hostels also.. www.hostelbookers.com

re contracts. make sure the IBI is included and gastos de escalera ( Property tax and condo fees). If not know how much they are.
Alos, they will need a proper contract ( usually) to get their student visa residency card if they are not from the EU..

4bams

thanks for all of the above advice and i will get on it soon. what is a student visa residency card? is this different from a student visa (which he has) and if so where do we get the residency card?

lincasanova

If he has the visa he will be receiving the residency card after he goes through some paperwork here that his college will probably help him with. One has to later go to the police to turn in some papers plus photocopies of passport and visa page in order to get the residency card. The visa only lasts for a certain number of days.. 30 or 90 days ( it will say so on it) but allows him to apply for the residency card.

Don't fret.. the office for foreigners at his college will have the forms to fill out and help him do it and tell him where to go.

All non -EU citizens go through this process if they are studying here or moving here.