When I retire, I want to spend several months in Spain--enjoying the culture and improving my Spanish.
Can anyone recommend some reliable resources for finding good, safe, affordable ($100 per night or less) accommodations in northern Spain, Madrid, Salamanca, or Barcelona? I want something more spacious than a B&B or hotel and would like to cook some of my meals.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
First, before you do that you need to obtain a long stay visa from Spain. So you should start that process now. You will a bunch of hoops to jump through or over. It will take some time. You probably will have to prove you have a long stay visa should you want to rent something for more than 90 days.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Be sure to know which western European countries (most of them) participate in the Schengen visa agreement. If you intend to stay in the zone for more than 90 days, you'll have to apply to Spain for a long-stay visa, showing that you have the money to support yourself in your retirement. See a related discussion at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/visa-requirements-4-months-in-7-europiean-countries.
We have a variety of books that you can read here in our Edmonds Travel Center library, including those with a long-stay focus.
Since it sounds like you'd only stay in each city for a week or two, you'll probably find tourist apartment rentals through some usual suspects, like Airb&b, VRBO, and booking.com. Rick recommends other options in particular chapters of his book, such as a Barcelona focus on p. 134.