I chose March 10 as my departure date and now I wonder if that was too soon to get everything done that needs to get done. But this is my last week of work and then I will have all my days free. Five full weeks of nothing to do but to get ready (plus visit friends) should be enough time to get everything taken care of.
Of course, one of the first things I need to do is to secure temporary lodging in Barcelona until I buy my place. I feel I need to be very conservative about my spending until I am settled and have a good sense of my cash flow with my new pension payments. So, hotels will be my last resort. For this short period, I think I would be fine in a private room, as long as it is comfortable and secure and has internet service.
I have looked at various websites that I used in the past, but the most reasonable listings are with a new website that I have heard good things about -
airbnb.com. After perusing a number of places, I decided to go with a private room in the
Sant Antoni area of Barcelona, the neighborhood where I would like to purchase my condo. It's a very large room, which will fit my large suitcases that I will take with me. And the host, Jesus, seems to be a very down-to-earth guy. We exchanged messages back and forth and it's now set. I now know where I will be in Barcelona for the first 20 days. That's progress!!
