Living in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona

Santa Coloma de Gramenet is a dense city right north of Barcelona, on the other bank of the Besòs river. Although it's a municipality of its own, it's effectively glued to the city: huge population, packed apartment blocks and an intense, working-class neighborhood life. Behind it rises the Serra de Marina, with the large Parc de la Serralada de Marina, while along the river runs the Parc Fluvial del Besòs, a green strip where people walk and cycle. It's one of the most affordable choices in the metropolitan area, and the metro connects it well to the center.

Who lives here

A very varied, long-standing population: historic working-class families, a large immigration (Latin American, North African, Chinese, Eastern European) and more and more young people and students pushed here by Barcelona's rents. It's a working-class, non-touristy city where people live in Spanish and Catalan and the sense of community is strong.

What it's like during the day

Constant street life: markets, neighborhood shops, crowded squares. The center around the Rambla de Sant Sebastià is the commercial heart. For greenery and air, you climb toward the Serralada de Marina or go down to the Besòs river park. The look is that of a dense, functional city, not postcard-pretty, but alive at every hour.

What it's like in the evening

Quiet and domestic. Neighborhood bars, terraces, family restaurants of a thousand cuisines. There's no nightlife: for a night out you take the metro and go to Barcelona. City festivals, like those in May, liven up the squares at certain times.

Getting around

Good metro. The L1 stops at Santa Coloma and Fondo; the L9 Nord serves the city with several stations - Can Zam, Singuerlín, Església Major, Fondo, Santa Rosa and Can Peixauet. At Fondo you switch between L1 and L9. Several bus lines complete the connections. You still remain outside Barcelona: factor in the travel time.

Eating and shopping

Very affordable shopping: municipal markets, ethnic greengrocers and butchers, supermarkets everywhere. For eating out, an enormous variety at low prices - Latin American, Chinese and Arab cuisine, and bodegas with a set-menu lunch.

When NOT to pick it

If you're after an elegant, quiet neighborhood with plenty of greenery at your doorstep: Santa Coloma is dense and heavily built up. If you want the nightlife or the touristy atmosphere of Barcelona. And if living in a municipality on the outskirts, outside the city center, weighs on you.

But if you're aiming for some of the lowest rents in the area and a metro that takes you downtown, Santa Coloma is a concrete, well-connected base.