Anti-Tourism in Barcelona
 

We have a friend who is moving to Spain for at least a year. She has spent considerable time in Spain but has never lived there. Her first choice is Barcelona, but has been reading about anti-tourist sentiment. Her second choice is Madrid.

While I realize that it is difficult to quantify, can you tell us how deep is this resentment and is it directed to one group or nationality? She has been a few ex-pat boards for this reason and others.

Thank you.

The so called anti-tourism is primarily due to the overwhelming presence of cruise ships and the thousands of passengers they bring, something you will not encounter in Madrid. It's mostly a fault of the city and Catalan government, not the clueless tourist.

Most popular cities have a bit of anti-tourism, even if it's a large part of our income. Then they want to move to the place.

It's just people.

If she plans to stay for a year, does she really count as a tourist? (I take it she has the correct passport/visa.) I prefer Barcelona, and I suspect the climate is better, but I encountered no anti-tourist sentiment in either Madrid or Barcelona. I believe there was a demonstration in Barcelona recently but I hardly see how that would affect someone living there. Or even tourists, for that matter.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ommodation-law
http://www.politico.eu/article/ada-c...r-on-tourists/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/barcelo...rism-1.4043864
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/...082645192.html

Robert it has nothing to do with ships in port, it is about the depopulation of the city and letting apartments to tourists, rent rises and the use of certain platforms on the internet . All in the links above. There is a lot more in the Spanish press too.

What would worry me, if I wanted to move there is the independence debate. A referendum is to be held on 1st October this year. The Spanish government has stuck to it's words in that this is unconstitutional. This is the second time a referendum is to be held.
The Catalans have stated that if the Spanish block the referendumCatalan will simply declare itself independent. This is not going to be easy ride. There are many things to sort out, police, ID /passports, taxes, debts, infrastructure, keeping in the EU or not, keeping the Euro or not.
http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/05/22/...74_319567.html
http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/06/09/...96_161601.html
More news in spanish if you want to search for it.
I am not posting this for any political debate it is just to ensure that family IDM jump into something that was not considered.

I would not have the smallest worry. I travel to Barcelona quite a lot, staying for some days, and you can live there ignoring most of the tourists that arrive daily. There are plenty of expats living in Barcelona, and from other places of Spain, and they don´t have any problems with locals, it´s an unexistant problem.

Regarding the independence referendum, Barcelona is a multicultural city and it will not, IMO, affect norma life in the city. It´s just politics and life in Barcelona is and will be the same with or without this referendum (no way it can succeed, in any case)

I sometimes felt that there was more hostility directed toward the British in Spain, but if you are American then you can frequently be mistaken for British. It has seemed to me that anti-British sentiment is more prevalent in the super-sunny coastal areas where the British spend a lot of time, either on cheap holidays or in retirement communities that are not well integrated into the rest of Spanish culture (or even legally their own enclave!) and which have fostered a lot of ugly construction of condos and such that muck up the scenery.

In the few conversations I've had with Catalans and Spaniards about these things, they point out that their are two quite differing attitudes in Catalonia about what cultural preservations is really all about. Some Catalonians think the essence of Catalan culture is cosmopolitan, multi lingual, adaptive. Others embrace a Catalonian nationalism that is monolingual, traditional, exclusive. So if the interest is building friendships, no doubt many will be friendly, while others cool unless you respect their separatism.

What really matters is how your friend will react if she encounters hostility simply because she is neither Catalan nor Spanish, or is assumed on sight to be one of those irritating tourists rather than seen as a contributing member of the community (I assume she will be paying taxes). And if she is looking to make friends among the Catalans and Spaniards, she might need to look for people actively welcoming foreigners. In my experience much of Spanish culture is reserved & family-first anyway, pretty much all over the country.

I agree that she will need to go somewhere with a big expat community to make friends which is why I'd pick Madrid. Less issues with speaking Spanish instead of Catalan and being seen as a turista-though she would always bee seen as a guiri.
Is she retired how is she going to make money to live as Spain has no safety net? For me, I'd look at where she wants to live and the services available nearby(hospital, shopping, entertainment).

A freind moved her family to Madrid this year. She is loving it very much. The kids go to the American school which they found very difficult at first. They were behind so had a lot of catch up to do. They have a beautiful house close to the train and are exploring on her days off. Her husband can't work but they feel like it is worth it to live in another country.

Thank you all for your responses.

Does anyone have personal experience with this ex-pat sentiment in Catalunya?

My friend's Castilan is pretty good but her Catalan is non-existent. She is aware of the paper work and financial revelations that are needed for a long term stay. Among the documents needed, is a statement from the FBI indicating she is not a crook. An ex-pat community is not a consideration.

I also agree the separatist movement is a minor consideration. Even if it is fully successful, which is doubtful, it will take years to unravel the ties between Catalunya and the rest of Spain and be admitted to the EU, to take full advantage of its economic independence.

She knows Barcelona and Madrid as a tourist and has visited both many times for the years, but as an artist prefers Barcelona. But for peace of mind, she now seriously considering Madrid.

"My friend's Castilan is pretty good but her Catalan is non-existent."
Catalans won't expect a foreigner to speak Catalan. Besides there are many more Castillan speaking people in Barcelona than 20 or 30 years ago.

>>>The so called anti-tourism is primarily due to the overwhelming presence of cruise ships and the thousands of passengers they bring<<<

Where's Captain Nemo when you need him?

Not that one wants to, but if she prefers Barcelona as an artist, what are the risks of going and then moving to Madrid if things are not as expected? Is the paperwork city based, or country based? If country, then it would make moving harder.
Basing desires on 'what if' situations means a compromise that may not have to have been made.
If as you state an ex-pat community is not a requirement, then perhaps consider an art community - and art is a universal language. Starting in Castilian and showing an interest in Catalan may be the basis of budding friendships and support. As mentioned, the citizens may be a little reserved, but one would think that she would be outside of the tourist core therefore being assessed on her own merits rather than an assumed label.
I understand the concerns on reception and political change when trying to determine a new life in a new place, but if the initial consideration is one year, and change would not be swift, one does wonder about compromising one's desires or potential.

The end of this blog post deals with what it's like to live in Barcelona and deal with anti-tourist sentiment.

http://barcelonablonde.com/2016/07/0...-in-barcelona/

Thank you for your thoughts.

I think there is some idea people have that people in Barcelona can't speak Spanish (Castillian if you want), but they can, especially anyone younger.

Personally, I'd much rather live in Barcelona for a year than Madrid, but I know some people love Madrid.

It wouldn't have surprised me if the anti-tourist sentiment was partly due to cruise ships, I'm surprised if it really has "nothing" to do with them. I imagine Barcelona is more popular and that's why the tourist thing is more an issue there (such as with vacation rental apts).

I'd choose Barcelona if she really prefers it, as I don't thin the anti-tourist issues would affect her if she is there for a year and not in a prime tourist area.