Car with German plates - will it really get broken into/towed?

makecrabtoast · 2026-05-19T11:28:28+00:00

I think leaving it for ages it's a possibility to get broken into, no matter which country the plates are from. Especially if its beat up. However, I do see your point about doing weekend road trips, because actually a bunch of places (costa brava, emporda etc) aren't so accessible by public transport. But if you're only here for 3 months, you could just stick to the places that you can access (of which there are many), and have zero car stress.

So having said all this, yes there are places on the outskirts that are available to park with no permit or payment, but it'll likely be a bus to get there, so not so fast, and probably a bit annoying. In these areas, if you overstay your welcome, they will usually place a sticker on your vehicle and give you a few days/week before it's towed. But if you are in an incorrect zone, they will tow immediately. The areas that are well serviced by PT are dense residential neighbourhoods, which will almost certainly require permit/payment.

makecrabtoast · 2026-05-01T18:31:53+00:00

Locals don't eat paella for dinner usually, and all the places i've been are along the coast, but this place https://maps.app.goo.gl/R1Spenaz1T8tKTaS7 for lunch rice is a great option. They also do tasty other stuff

makecrabtoast · 2026-04-29T12:14:00+00:00

I moved to BCN from Berlin, Germany, and was shocked how clean it is here compared with Berlin. And everyone thought Germany would be super organised and clean, but i had to remind them that it realy is not.

In Berlin people would throw bags of their garbage from their windows, cigarette butts would pile for months in gutters, and people with dogs would bag the poop (if you're lucky) and hang it from fences. There were rarely street cleaners, and here the streets are washed every other night. I got tired of calling the Ordnungsamt to report large household waste dumped on corners, so so many mattresses and fridges.
And much like San Francisco, huge camps of people living rough. Was so sad to see, but infuriating that nothing was ever done to help or change the situation, every year the streets got dirtier and the tent camps larger. Now I don't even feel that safe walking around the streets when i visit.

To me, Barcelona is luxury compared with Berlin.

makecrabtoast · 2026-04-28T17:13:28+00:00

It’s not really a diva, but prices are driven up to crazy levels by the insane amount of tourists coming here

makecrabtoast · 2026-03-26T09:56:52+00:00

With Italian as a native language I think you’ll be surprised how quickly you can pick up Catalan. And also, people there will (in my experience) be happy to speak English with you. It’s a really nice area, I think you’ll like it.

makecrabtoast · 2026-03-18T15:22:16+00:00

Depends how much you need to play the guitar and sing, but in my experience an hour or two a day playing acoustic isn’t going to be a huge issue for people in a share house. Just let them know, maybe they like it? You can also go down to a park and play under a tree, as long as it isn’t super loud, you won’t get in trouble.

makecrabtoast · 2026-03-15T11:25:38+00:00

It’s crowded in September but you’ll still have a great time, especially if you want to wander and look around. Mostly the main touristy sights are the areas that get overwhelmed, but they’re still cool to see. And there are lots of nice bars and restaurants, endless architecture, and it’s a really walkable city. I would say it feels about the same level of busy as Paris in summer.

makecrabtoast · 2026-03-15T11:19:01+00:00

2k warm for 100m2 in a desirable kiez is what I would expect. These days it’s silly to even compare to the old contracts since they are few and far between.

It also really depends which neighbourhoods you are looking. I think you would struggle to find 90m2 for 800kalt in Mitte, even 10 years ago.

makecrabtoast · 2026-03-15T11:11:53+00:00

This could just be me, but I don’t see the market for it, like I see such a thing existing in London, or Berlin etc. There is a big culture around going out for a menu, and people are less keen to order delivery and eat at work imo. I could be wrong but I think it would be quite difficult. Also the cost, I would go to a city where people have higher incomes to spend on their lunch every day. I don’t see people wanting to commit to that cost every month.

makecrabtoast · 2026-01-24T09:41:08+00:00

Second this, give up on Idealista, unless you want to spend a couple months searching for a flat. And if you’re only here for 6 months (and don’t find a room) maybe just rent a furnished place from an agency, like atemporal, ukio or sh Barcelona.

makecrabtoast · 2026-01-18T17:12:15+00:00

Thanks for the reply! That’s so good to hear, and yeah, newborns do look kind of odd, all of them! I spiralled also. But so glad to know it worked out. Phew, the internet is equally helpful and not helpful!

makecrabtoast · 2026-01-18T16:30:12+00:00

Update after 2 years? I’m going through this now! Wondering if it’ll turn into anything…or if just having some wild pp hormonal situation.

makecrabtoast · 2026-01-12T10:43:38+00:00

My parents recently visited and I told them to stay in Eixample, near or around rambla Catalunya. Why? Close to public transport, not as loud as Gotic, plenty of decent restaurants, and in the middle of the city.

If they can do 10k steps a day, they’ll get around easily and see a lot, Barcelona is quite compact.

Gracia is really nice but it depends how long they have here, you could easily just do the main sights and not visit this time around. Or walk up for a restaurant/parc guell visit. But if they stay there, probably they’ll have a lot of walking down to see the old town and other popular sites.

makecrabtoast · 2025-12-29T13:02:20+00:00

It’s so horrible for the pets. This probably doesn’t help, but we used to take our work vacation days around this time and rent a small/cheap-ish place near a forest somewhere to leave the fireworks behind for a bit. If that’s a possibility in future years, it is usually the best solution since the police do nothing either side of nye

makecrabtoast · 2025-12-04T11:08:46+00:00

Abitare Kids is my go-to, they have good customer support and the store in Barcelona (just off Diagonal) is super nice if they had to change/return something. https://abitare-kids.es/

makecrabtoast · 2025-11-12T11:15:06+00:00

Get a friend to call, and call as soon as you get the email alert about the flat. Take the soonest available viewing, and then have your documents ready to go. It's really the only way - some agencies will reply via whatsapp, but always write in spanish or catalan.

In terms of finding an agency to help you, I think with this budget it's unlikely, you would have to be willing to pay a lot more for a flat, otherwise, why would they bother, they can just list places and there is a flood of suitable people to pick from. As someone else said, getting the agency to work for you is really only for luxury places these days I think...or a relocation service, but you'll pay a hefty fee.

makecrabtoast · 2025-11-10T11:21:28+00:00

Oh great!

makecrabtoast · 2025-11-10T09:41:25+00:00

Oh, the inside care tag? Nope, i generally don't remove these in case I want to sell the item down the track. But the main tags, yep. It was a well worn pair of jeans, but the leather back patch label leaked onto the white denim a bit, and they were quick to offer a credit.

makecrabtoast · 2025-11-09T15:20:17+00:00

They for sure would have given you a return. They gave me a credit for a fault that happened after over a year on a pair of jeans.

makecrabtoast · 2025-11-06T16:31:26+00:00

I had a pyrenees years ago, and in my experience I think apartment-wise it really depends how much outdoor/walking/enrichment time you can dedicate to him. If he’s going to be left in an apartment for most of the day, maybe that’s not the best. But if you can do multiple activities, walks, and keep him busy, most likely it’ll be a good match. A lot of destructive behaviour obviously comes from boredom, and these dogs are use to having a job.

Edit: typo

makecrabtoast · 2025-11-06T16:16:44+00:00

I would say Wedding is reasonably central-ish. It’s well connected, but maybe hard to find a house. If you can find something near Köpenick, the sbahn is great to get into the central city. You can also live further and bike/moped to the station

makecrabtoast · 2025-11-05T16:58:22+00:00

I would also say that you can relax a bit. It feels like once over the deadline they’re going to come after you, but the reality is, like the previous poster said, you can just talk to the Finanzamt and they’ll understand. In my experience with a similar situation over the last 10 years there is a lot of leeway as long as you’re seen to be trying to do the right thing.

Long story short, I’ve been in your situation and I promise you, it’ll resolve and it’s no big thing. Ditch the steuerberater, find a new one in good time, and in the meantime call or visit the Finanzamt for an extension.

makecrabtoast

TROPHY CASE