Living like a local in Spain

What part of Spain? It's a pretty big place. Gijon and Lugo are pretty non-touristy, have good grub, and are large enough to have something to do at night . Zaragoza is in the same category, only much larger. Portugalete has real good seafood and easy transportation into Bilbao. So does Algorta on the other side of the river. If you want to live like a local does that mean you want to cut your grass and go to the plumbing supply hose for a backwards widget? What kind of night life? A tapas crawl followed by flamingo and disco or do you want to walk out to the next village and prop your boots on the table with the sheep farmers? Give us some kind of hint.

Also, how good is your Spanish? That makes some difference int he smaller, non-touristy cities. Remember, locals speak Spanish.

Without further advice on your vision of 'living like a local'..... 'cities to consider staying in' - look at the map, take a name and google - does what it offer float your boat? 'less touristy and easy to navigate on foot' - if you do not want to mix with the guiris you do not have to. There are parts of every city where you do not hear anything but the local lingo. All cities are navigable on foot (depends how long you want to be on your feet) or excellent bus, metro or light rail services. ' A city that has good connections for day/weekend trips would also be a huge plus.' - All cities will be a transport hub for the region and for connectivity to at least other cities. Is this city you want in a north American sense, i.e. could be just 1000s population? I am describing in a European sense 100,000s plus.

Hi Kate...I have not traveled a lot in Spain, but a few years ago spent time in the south and loved it. We started in Malaga (flight from DTW with one stop I think)
We then traveled around the south and to Morocco, but if I were going to stay any length of time in one place I would have no problem with Malaga. Plenty of places to wander, restaurants, shopping, etc. We were with a group of photographers so had a bus, so can't speak to the connections, but I am sure someone else here knows. We went to Granada, Sevilla, Antequerra, Jerez and Arcos de la Fronterra (sp) without any really long bus rides. We also went to Tariffa and took the ferry across for a few days in Morocco... Assilah and Chefchouen...amazing!

These are excellent tips so far, thanks so much! Here is a bit more information about what I am looking for: -We are learning Spanish, but by no means fluent! We would like to be able to learn more of the language while we are there. -We are traveling with children- so nightlife is not a priority (maybe even a negative?) -Last fall we had a fantastic time "Living like a local" in Verona with our limited Italian. If anyone is familair with Verona- what would something comparable be in Spain. -We are open to suggestions on location. We arrive in Barcelona and have friends along the border of Spain/Portugal (Badajoz). Have visited Cadiz, Malaga and Alicante in the past.
Thanks!

The closest thing to Verona would probably be either Burgos or Valldolid, but it's almost apples and oranges. If your friends don't mind having you nearby, there's not a thing wrong with Badajoz. Extremadura is about as far off the tourist track as you can get without working up into Galacia. I'd pick Badajoz over either Caceres or Merida just on general principle. The other good thing about it is that's it's only a hop into Alto Alentejo, a great part of Portugal that's also neglected. What I know nothing about is public transportation.