Short (8 months) sabbatical in spain

[Bolsa]

We are fortunate/brave/mad enough to be planning a short sabbatical. We are confined to October - May and though we speak french we are planning most around Spain.

One idea is that we spend the first 3 months (Oct, Nov and dec) in Barcelona having Spanish classes and enjoying the city. Then from January we are thinking of buying a small camper and heading south, to tour the coast around to Valencia, Seville, Portugal, Vigo, Santiago, Bilbao and then to Biarritz and, time permitting, along the Pyrenees to Carcassonne.

It's still in the planning stages as it is pegged for 2024. But I would appreciate any tips or experiences of any stages of this. We have been saving for sensible things but decided life is too short 😬 so here we are. House can be rented or swapped for those three/4 months in Barcelona. Will go with what we get.

Oh and until recently we were starting in Paris, would anyone choose Paris over Barcelona? The added interest/challenge is the language we do not speak plus the weather.

You will need a visa for any stay longer than 90 days, so this would be a priority. Make sure you get one before spending any money.
The 90 days in Spain are not cumulative with 90 days in France as it will be 90 days for the whole Schengen area.

Unless you are a resident, I don't think you can purchase and register a vehicle. You would need a NIE. You need to investigate this as it means you wouldn't be able to purchase a camper. Same rule applies in France.

Barcelona is gorgeous. You can still enjoy the beaches in October and from mid November, skiing is just a couple of hours away. People are way happier and friendlier than in Paris. November in Paris can be a bit beurck, cold and wet. Less people would be outdoor, and the bloody wind on the quais is brutal.

I loved every minute of the years we spent in Barcelona. Over the course of time, I noticed a shift towards more and more Catalan at the expenses of Spanish. Most people speak both but some will flatly refuse to speak a word of Spanish and by law it is their right. My paediatrician was one of them, one of the librarian at the local library, ...
Barcelona will also be cheaper.
A lot of houses in Barcelona do not have any form of heating, which you might not notice when renting in October as the temperature is still mild, but make sure to check/ask if there is heating (air con or gas) as having to buy and rely on electric heaters might be a new item on your budget list. And trust me , you need heating in Barcelona in December.

Thank you. We are EU passport holders so a visa is not an issue.

That's interesting about heating. Do they just put up with being cold all winter?!

In Barcelona they speak Catalan, not Spanish, so I think if I wanted to learn Spanish I'd go to a city where Spanish is the language. There are lots of lovely Spanish cities and IME many Spanish cities are still very authentic and unlike global theme parks, with the exception of Barcelona, which is very touristy indeed. In all honesty, I'd choose Valencia over Barcelona if I wanted to live somewhere and learn the language. Or, since you're going in winter, how about heading to the south of Spain? Seville is glorious and mild in winter.

Aside from that, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea!

Great news about the EU passport, big problem solved. I have no idea how people manage without heating. We are now in Australia, in the Northern Beaches, and of all the countries we have lived in, it is the one in which I suffer cold the most. In Sweden and Switzerland, we were living in t-shirt as houses are boiling hot. I would go to work with amazing dresses with short sleeves and just a big coat and giant scarfs, and then inside the workplace , everyone had bare arms.

I would say that Catalan is not an issue in Barcelona. Most people are happy to speak Spanish, with a few exceptions. People in shops, restaurants or people you meet will speak in Spanish. Then you have of course a few who by choice refuse to speak it. No big deal, a smile and move on.
The same argument applies to Valencia by the way, since people there speak Valencian (a type of Catalan) and not Spanish .

Most gorgeous cities in the world are touristy. Paris being another one of them. Tourists go there because they are beautiful. London is touristy in some area, less so in others/ Same applies to Barcelona. Not a single tourist in Sarria.

Barcelona is vibrant and alive, and with a great culture life, from Theatre shows to Ballets and concerts, plenty going on at any time.
The big negative are the pickpockets. A true plague. Once you know and take the obvious precautions - not putting bag on floor in cafe, or back of the chair, always ALWAYS closing your handbag, and holding in close to body especially tube, ... - it is fine. I never had anything stolen in Barcelona.

Yes to this.both my cousins lives there at separate times for a gap.and both got mugged.scary scary scary but seemed a thing everyone's new happened in Barcelona!

Sorry about your cousins @kateandme Yes everyone knows . A crossbody bag, with one hand on zip during tube trips on green line, if wearing a backpack, you wear it on your front in crowded places, you don't put phone on table, bag always on you, never next to you.
For enjoying the beach, there are two huge "beach clubs" called both club de natacio one next to the other in the Barceloneta that have swimming pools, gyms, leisure, and a gated access to beach and the first one , called Club Natació Atlètic-Barceloneta, is very cheap and you can get a day pass, so you get a locker. You can't leave your bag on the beach and go for a swim.
During all my years in Bcn, I was a member of one of the clubs, it made life a lot easier. You adjust behaviour to risk.

My wallet got stolen twice in London in the 1990s. Once from my open bag in a library and the other from a changing room in TopShop, when I left my bag out off sight for 20 seconds to grab a different size. Both times, my fault, as you don't leave a bag open with wallet visible nor abandon a bag in a crowded shop.
My husband had his jacket snatched in Naples by two young people on a scooter . He was holding it in his hands as it was too hot. You look like a tourist, you become a target anywhere.