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Introduction
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It seems like Barcelona represents today
in Europe what London was a few years ago:
the place to be !
Maybe because of the design, music (mainly
electronic) and fashion trends that born in
the Catalan capital, maybe because of the
media (just think about the massive coverage
MTV is dedicating to Barcelona), all around
the world Barcelona is becoming a synonymous
of Glamour.
This is not 100% true: as any other
metropolis, Barcelona has got many different
souls…some of them really opposite. In the
same town two realities live side by side,
never meeting each other: first one, the
strong international community (probably you
will be an active part of this), people who,
just like you, decided to live here. The
other one, very difficult to be known for
real, is the Spanish (sorry…Catalans)
community, made by people who are born in
Barcelona and have spent all their life in
this town.
Very soon you will realize that, unlike
other Spanish citizens, for a foreign guy,
it’s pretty hard to know Catalans. As an
international resident, you will probably
have friends coming from all over the world:
Italians, French, Americans, English, maybe
Spanish…but hardly Catalans.
This reminds me the movie “The Others” or
“The sixth sense”…I hope you’ve watched
them: we live together on different levels,
never touching each other…
Personally, after three years in Barcelona,
I know very few Catalans and I woul invite
for a beer or a night out just a couple of
them.
On the other hand, if you succeed to cross
that line and get to know for real a
Catalan…probably you’ve got a new life-time
friend !
Up to know I’ve always spoken about
Catalans, never about Spanish. This is
something you should really keep in mind if
you decide to expatriate to Barcelona for a
long time: “Catalunya is not Spain”, as it’s
clearly written on the fence of Sagrada
Familia. Just bureaucracy joins Catalonia
and Spain: coming to Barcelona because you
like Spanish culture and traditions is a big
mistake…if this is the case, just go to
Andalucia or Madrid, don’t choose Barcelona.
If this is clear, we can finally start with
the real guide.
Have a good reading! I hope you will find
it useful and interesting.
continue...
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Italian