It's no secret that tuition in Europe is less expensive than in the US. In some countries such as Germany, university education is nearly free. While this is very attractive to students in America, knowing how much is the life cost abroad can bring insecurity and second guesses regarding studying in Europe.

While I've already talked about the benefits of studying abroad and why students should consider it, this time I will talk more about how much money do you need to live as a student in Barcelona.

Spain's cost of life is relatively cheaper than other destinations such as England. Compared to Puerto Rico, a US territory, I found it was cheaper to live in Barcelona. Although rent could be more expensive, groceries, transportation, and utilities are cheaper. To this, I add the quality of life, the mobility, and the free or cheap recreational activities the city offers. All things considered, you can live better in Barcelona with the same or less money than in Puerto Rico.

The monthly budget you need to live in Barcelona will ultimately depend on your lifestyle, but for me it was an average of 700 euros/month or 930 euros/month including out-of-Spain travel. Here's a sample breakout of the monthly expenses:

Breakout of monthly expenses

Option A - Living at the university dorms:

Category	Price/Budget
Essentials
Rent (utilities, internet, and weekly cleaning included)	€ 390
Groceries & toiletries (cooking all meals everyday + snacks)	€ 85-100
Transportation (Zone 2, to travel between the UAB and the city center)	€ 65
Mobile phone	€ 15
Laundry	€ 20
Miscellaneous expenses (i.e. Medicines, cleaning products)	€ 50
Non-essentials
Clothes	€ 40
Entertainment (museum tickets, cinema tickets, eating out)	€ 50
Travel	€ 250

💡 Notes about the non-essentials 💡

Clothing: I decided to set a monthly expense for clothing because I didn't know if I had to invest a lot in Fall and Winter wardrobe. Turns out I barely used this budget so I would instead transfer it to the miscellaneous or travel category.

Entertainment: Since I always cooked my main meals and museums are mostly free on Sundays, I would usually spend a lot less and also transfer the rest to the travel category.

Travel: I would not travel every month. Instead, I would save this money for some months and then make a well-planned trip. I've written about how I did low-cost trips to England, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Austria so a 250-euro allowance was more than enough.

Option B - Living in Barcelona city

Category	Price/Budget
Essentials
Rent of a room at a shared apartment*	€ 270
Utilities	€ 40-50
Transportation (Zone 2, to travel between the UAB and the city center)	€ 65
Mobile phone	€ 15
Miscellaneous expenses (i.e. Medicines, vitamins, cleaning products)	€ 50
Non-essentials
Clothes	€ 40
Entertainment (museum tickets, cinema tickets, eating out)	€ 50
Travel	€250

Breaking the categories down

Groceries 🍊🍗🍛🍞

I loved how cheap it was to buy quality products. I would go grocery shopping monthly to Al Campo and then make the biweekly purchases such as milk at smaller places like Condis. Other places with good prices are Mercadona and Carrefour, but Al Campo by far is the cheapest. I would buy fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, rice, beans, pasta, bread, eggs, milk, juice and snacks. Literally everything that I needed at half of what it would cost me in Puerto Rico. To give you an idea, a bag of sandwich bread would cost me 0.85 centimes versus 2.49 USD in Puerto Rico.

Rent & utilities 🏠💡💧

During my stay, I lived both at the university dorms and in the city. My monthly budget for rent and utilities was set at 390 euros (the dorm's rent) so when I moved to the city I had to find a place where I would not spend more than that. I found a shared apartment at 270 euros plus expenses. I was lucky to pay this amount because usually rooms at shared apartments can be quite expensive. I saw prices as ridiculous as 450 euros for a room in an apartment with two other housemates. It's not worth it. Try using agencies such as Habitatge Jove, that help students find places at better prices. With an estimate of 390 euros for rent, you should be alright but always do research first.

Transportation 🚌🚇🚈

Depending on where you live and where you study, you will need a Zone 1 or Zone 2 ticket. UAB is in Zone 2 if you live in Barcelona city. Likewise, if you live at the university, the city center is in Zone 2. If you will make almost daily travel, it is better to buy a monthly or quarterly Zone 2 ticket (at around 75 euros/month). On the other hand, if you will travel between the two zones around 2 times a week, it might be more cost-effective to buy the 10-trip Zone 2 card (at around 20 euros) and buy a separate 1 Zone ticket for moving withing one zone (such as the city center). Either way, estimate around 75 euros monthly and later find what best suits you. If you live and study within the same zone, it will be cheaper.

Mobile phone plans 📱

Plans are a lot cheaper in Spain (compared to the US). Depending on where you want to call, you can find plans starting at 10 euros. With Orange I paid 15 euros a month for a plan that included 3 GB of data and 30 minutes of calls in Spain (which I rarely used). To call my family back in America, I would use Skype's 2.99 USD plan, its free version or Whatsapp. With so many apps and alternatives, you don't have to spend a fortune on mobile phones. Also, as of the time I'm writing this post, there are no costs of roaming within the European Union (with some exceptions) so you can travel around and use your phone as if you were in Spain.

Entertainment & traveling ✈🏰⚽🎤🎉💃

If you will be living in a foreign country and continent, chances are that you want to enjoy your time there. It is useful to make a list of the places you want to go and set a monthly allowance for traveling. Also, I suggest that you make a separate budget for in-city entertainment such as eating out, going to the cinema, or night club. That way, you don't end up spending all your allowance on clubbing and end up falling short on travel money. For the best airfare deals, I would usually use Google Flights. Check out my guide on how to travel on a budget and you will be set to go.

Clothes - make smart purchases 👕👗👖👟👙

I am not a fashion expert but I am very practical. I would rather spend money on traveling than on buying new blouses every month. Instead, I would have classic pieces in neutral colors that I could combine and wear constantly. For Winter, I had one heavy coat in black and two other coats for less cold temperatures (one in a caramel tone and the other in navy blue). Jeans will do fine in Winter but if you travel to colder countries such as Germany, you might need thermal leggings. For cheap deals in fashion clothing go to Primark. Decathlon is also great for thermal clothing and sportswear.

Earning extra money during your stay 💰✌😎

In Spain, student visas for Americans usually allow you to work some hours and earn money. I did an internship during my master's degree, and as a non-planned income, it was very convenient. Make sure to check if you can legally work under your visa terms as permits may change depending on your country of origin.

Free spreadsheet - Monthly Budget Planner

I have created a spreadsheet where you can calculate the budget you will need to live abroad as a student. It includes:

• An overall budget sheet for one-time expenses and yearly budget 
• 12 sheets, one per month
• Estimated versus real expenses calculation
• Month-to-month cumulative balance calculation to know if you have an excess or are carrying a debt

Hope it helps! If you have any questions, leave me a comment below, tweet me at krystel_k or contact me here.

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Disclaimer: This article is based on my experience living in Barcelona from 2016 to 2017 and should not be used in substitution of legal or financial advice. Prices stated here are offered as a guide. Actual/recent prices may vary.

The Montserrat mountains are located at around 1 hour from Barcelona city. It has a monastery and a spectacular view. It's a must-see if you’re nearby. One Sunday I decided to visit it and wow, the beauty of the place is astonishing.

Getting there was an adventure itself since I had to make several transfers from one train to another. First a ferrocarril, then Renfe and another train. When I finally arrived 2-3 hours later, I was welcomed with a long line to wait for the funicular. Oh, great. While I was getting used to the idea of waiting for over an hour to get in the funicular, I heard a familiar accent. Turns out the couple behind me were a Puerto Rican and a Cuban living in Miami. It was nice chatting with them about the Island since both lived there before moving to the US. Time flew by and at around 2 PM I was taking my 5-euro-ride on funicular to Montserrat.

Sundays have become the day of getting to know Barcelona. It’s just great to be around the city, relax and recharge for the new week. This time I decided to visit some museums. The amazing thing here is that most museums are free for everyone each Sunday after 3 PM. So around 2:30 PM my friend and I took the train to Plaça Catalunya.

Museo Picasso

Once in Pl. Calatunya, we walked to Gràcia and took the L4 metro in La Pau direction and stopped in Jaume I. From there, the museum is within walking distance. It’s not in plain sight though, Google Maps will be your friend because the museum is located on a small street that is very easy to miss. Or at least for me. Thank you, Google Maps.

Naturally, there was a super long line. We waited for 1 hour and a half until we could get our free tickets. 

Once in the museum, we wandered around the gift shop for a little until it was time to enter the expo rooms. There were lots of cute stuff but at tourist prices. When it was time to enter the exposition, we were told that photography was prohibited. It was a bummer, because I saw some paintings I would have love to take a picture of. 

Picasso Museum features extensive work from the artist, from early year’s sketches to masterpieces such as Las Meninas. The exhibition Cubism and War: The Crystal in the Flame was up when we visited. This expo features the work from Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Diego Rivera, María Blanchard, Gino Severini, Jacques Lipchitz and Henri Laurens (MuseuPicasso.bcn.cat; 2016).

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Caixaforum Barcelona

Out of the the museum by 6 PM, we headed back to Catalunya to take the L1 towards Plaça Espanya. Caixaforum is also within walking distance, heading from Plaça towards Montjuic and then making a right. 

There, we visited the expo Philippe Halsman. ¡Sorpréndeme!, a photography collection of the best work of Philippe Halsman. One of his most famous photographs is of Marilyn Monroe jumping:

Andy Warhol:

Audrey Hepburn:

His photographs on LIFE Magazine covers:

My favorite photograph (because part of me is a little like Wednesday Adams):

A super fun and interactive part of the exhibition was the one where you would take a picture doing a facial expression and then select the question that would best fit it. This was based on “The Frenchman”, a photographic interview made by Halsman. Our photo went perfect with the question, “Would you marry a football player?” I guess the real question is, who wouldn’t?

After visiting the whole gallery, we headed out. I had hours of art in my head, Sunday was almost over and a new week was just starting. Where will I go next?

If I had to describe my first two weeks in Barcelona in one word it would be: challenging. Coming from a 3.5 million people Island, this was a radical change. Public transport that my disoriented self couldn’t quite understand, bureaucratic procedures, sharing a tiny apartment with a stranger, getting lost in Barcelona centre, different food, my family hundreds of miles away. If not for a familiar face, a friend that I have who lives here (it really is a blessing!), I could have lost my mind. But I didn’t.

After the initial “what have I done? Let me flight back”, I have slowly getting used to everything and I’m happy to say I am in a much more comfortable state. I have officially started my master’s degree, I’ve made new friends, I know which train to take, I’ve mastered the art of cooking yellow rice, my inner clock has finally adapted to the 6-hour difference and I finally connect daily with my family thanks to the beauty of telecommunications, Whatsapp and Skype. I’m yet to be done with the legal procedures but hey, life won’t always be a walk in the park.

Since this has been my first time in Barcelona ever, I took the time amidst the crazy days to do some sightseeing. Here’s a recap in case you didn’t see it on my Instagram:

The Gothic Quarter

I walked around the Gothic Quarter and my old soul naturally fell in love with it. I plan on going with more time to visit it carefully.

Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia

Casa Batlló de Antoni Gaudi

La Pedrera – Casa Milà de Antoni Gaudi

View from Plaça Espanya

Antigua Plaza de Toros las Arenas – now a mall that preserves the façade of the old bulls ring.

View from the top of Plaza de Toros

Montjuïc 

A really beautiful area with a palace and historical buildings designed for the Barcelona International Exposition of 1929. It was a bit cloudy but I still made the trip up and took some photos.

Palau Montjuïc & The Magic Fountain

The German Pavilion

The Four Columns

Originally, four columns were built to represent the flag of Catalunya. Although later they were torn down by the dictatorship, they were build back in 2010.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Palauet Albéniz

Jardines de Joan Maragall

Teatre Grec (Greek Theater)

Estadi Olímpic - Used for Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics

I definitely have so many places yet to see but the best part is that I’ll be living here for a year (and who knows if it’s more than that) so there’s plenty of time! I’m feeling like I have made the best decision of my life, coming here to live and study for a while. I’m living my dream, the one I had since I was a child. It is often not when we wanted it or when we planned to, but dreams do come true in the end if we work for them. One of my favorite lyrics -because of course I always need to quote songs- is:

That lyric is the real deal. Things will eventually be right. Sometimes we just have to wait a little longer.

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On my next post…

On my next travel diary, I’ll be writing about my experience visiting beautiful Girona and its volcanic natural reserve. Stay tuned!