What worries foreigners most about life in Barcelona
It's perhaps the most exciting and cosmopolitan city in Spain. However, a new study has found that foreigners who settle in Barcelona have some key concerns about life in the Catalan capital.
A new study by International Talent Monitor (ITM), a survey carried out every two years by the Barcelona Global business lobby, has highlighted a number of key factors that concern foreigners living in Barcelona.
Many might not surprise Barcelona natives, as the results highlighted a lack of affordable housing, high taxes, the increase in the cost of living, air quality and bureaucracy as the "main challenges" foreigners face in Barcelona.
Maite Barrera, President of Barcelona Global, stated that many of these problems are shared between locals and foreigners: "there is not much difference between what international talent thinks and the people of Barcelona think," although she pointed out that the former "value the city more than we do."
Here is a closer look at the main concerns raised by foreigners in Barcelona:
Housing
Finding a place to live is currently probably the biggest struggle for locals and foreigners in Spain's big cities, including Barcelona. Although foreign professionals have often been blamed for contributing to the increase in the price of rents, they themselves identify and suffer from a lack of affordable housing, according to the results.
The score for ease of access to affordable housing, whether for rent or purchase, received one of the lowest scores in the survey (2.6 out of 7) to the point of considering this situation as "very unsatisfactory."
ITM analysts consider that the increase in the price of housing influences a negative perception of the evolution of the cost of living in the city and is associated with an overall loss of purchasing power.
READ ALSO: The downsides of life in Barcelona you should be aware of
Taxes
The tax burden is also a complaint of foreigners in Barcelona. Identified as one of the main "barriers" to attract and retain talent in the Catalan capital, highly qualified foreign professionals have the "perception" that the tax burden in Barcelona is "high."
Its valuation declined in the last survey with respect to the precedents in almost all tax rates: wealth tax (with a score of 3/7 when in 2021 it obtained a 3.4), income tax (3.6 versus 3.5) or corporate tax (in this case with a 3.7 in both the 2023 survey and two years ago).
READ ALSO: The taxes in your region of Spain you probably didn't know existed
Sustainability and air quality
For the first time, the ITM asked the respondents about the quality of the air they breathe. Although overall foreigners professionals approved, many also insisted on the need for policies to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.
They advocate promoting urban transport - although 89 percent of people surveyed consider it satisfactory -, for better connections with the metropolitan area and for sustainable and quality tourism.
Salaries
74.4 percent of respondents said they are not satisfied with their salaries. Mercè Conesa, deputy general manager of Banco Sabadell and contributor to the survey, stressed that most are "dissatisfied" and feel salaries are "not accompanied by the increase in the cost of living".
Bureaucracy.
Keeping with the results of previous ITM surveys, there was widespread dissatisfaction among foreign professionals with Barcelona's administrative procedures, especially simple tasks like getting your hands on a NIE when you arrive or creating and registering a company in Barcelona.
Many respondents suggest the digitisation of admin systems to speed up bureaucracy.
READ ALSO:
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A new study by International Talent Monitor (ITM), a survey carried out every two years by the Barcelona Global business lobby, has highlighted a number of key factors that concern foreigners living in Barcelona.
Many might not surprise Barcelona natives, as the results highlighted a lack of affordable housing, high taxes, the increase in the cost of living, air quality and bureaucracy as the "main challenges" foreigners face in Barcelona.
Maite Barrera, President of Barcelona Global, stated that many of these problems are shared between locals and foreigners: "there is not much difference between what international talent thinks and the people of Barcelona think," although she pointed out that the former "value the city more than we do."
Here is a closer look at the main concerns raised by foreigners in Barcelona:
Housing
Finding a place to live is currently probably the biggest struggle for locals and foreigners in Spain's big cities, including Barcelona. Although foreign professionals have often been blamed for contributing to the increase in the price of rents, they themselves identify and suffer from a lack of affordable housing, according to the results.
The score for ease of access to affordable housing, whether for rent or purchase, received one of the lowest scores in the survey (2.6 out of 7) to the point of considering this situation as "very unsatisfactory."
ITM analysts consider that the increase in the price of housing influences a negative perception of the evolution of the cost of living in the city and is associated with an overall loss of purchasing power.
READ ALSO: The downsides of life in Barcelona you should be aware of
Taxes
The tax burden is also a complaint of foreigners in Barcelona. Identified as one of the main "barriers" to attract and retain talent in the Catalan capital, highly qualified foreign professionals have the "perception" that the tax burden in Barcelona is "high."
Its valuation declined in the last survey with respect to the precedents in almost all tax rates: wealth tax (with a score of 3/7 when in 2021 it obtained a 3.4), income tax (3.6 versus 3.5) or corporate tax (in this case with a 3.7 in both the 2023 survey and two years ago).
READ ALSO: The taxes in your region of Spain you probably didn't know existed
Sustainability and air quality
For the first time, the ITM asked the respondents about the quality of the air they breathe. Although overall foreigners professionals approved, many also insisted on the need for policies to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.
They advocate promoting urban transport - although 89 percent of people surveyed consider it satisfactory -, for better connections with the metropolitan area and for sustainable and quality tourism.
Salaries
74.4 percent of respondents said they are not satisfied with their salaries. Mercè Conesa, deputy general manager of Banco Sabadell and contributor to the survey, stressed that most are "dissatisfied" and feel salaries are "not accompanied by the increase in the cost of living".
Bureaucracy.
Keeping with the results of previous ITM surveys, there was widespread dissatisfaction among foreign professionals with Barcelona's administrative procedures, especially simple tasks like getting your hands on a NIE when you arrive or creating and registering a company in Barcelona.
Many respondents suggest the digitisation of admin systems to speed up bureaucracy.
READ ALSO:
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