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Barcelona Safety, Beach Robberies & Expat Life in Spain | The Rest Is Spain EP16
Jun 11, 2026
In this episode, we take a closer look at street crime and safety realities in Barcelona, including beach robberies, pickpocket hotspots, and the areas often referred to as the city’s more dangerous barrios. The discussion also explores how these issues affect both visitors and expat communities living across the city.
Alongside this, we break down where expats tend to settle, how those enclaves differ in terms of safety and lifestyle, and practical advice for anyone travelling or relocating to Spain - from avoiding common scams to staying safe in busy tourist areas and at night.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Staysure Expat, helping expats travel with confidence: https://www.staysure.com/expat
This episode is in conjunction with Reale Seguros Expat - https://www.reale.es/expats/en
More from The Olive Press here: https://www.theolivepress.es
#Barcelona #SpainPodcast #ExpatLife #TravelSafety #StaysureExpat
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0:00
About a week later, they've got a phone
0:01
call to tell them their car had been
0:04
used in a ram raid.
0:05
>> Aren't they [snorts] going to be a bit
0:06
like, why were these foreigners coming
0:08
to my country?
0:09
>> If you go out at night, you will be a
0:11
target. Even if you don't get robbed,
0:12
people will be watching you and thinking
0:13
if they can rob you.
0:14
>> Don't forget to subscribe to The Rest of
0:16
Spain on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple
0:19
Podcasts.
0:21
>> Welcome to The Rest of Spain Podcast,
0:23
brought to you by Stay Sure Expat
0:25
Insurance, The Olive Press. I'm here
0:28
today at Centro House Marbella. Isn't it
0:30
beautiful? The sun is shining, and I'm
0:32
really glad to be back. So, Walt and
0:34
John, hi. How's it going?
0:36
>> Hey Georgina, all good. How are you?
0:37
>> Very well. Good morning. It looks very
0:39
nice there. Are you enjoying the
0:40
weather? You up on the roof terrace or
0:42
in the garden?
0:43
>> I am indeed. Yeah, work working hard
0:45
here today. So, quite excited to get
0:48
into the news this week. Some good
0:50
stories.
0:51
Um, and get your take on it, cuz
0:52
obviously you guys have all the
0:54
behind-the-scenes knowledge. But, I have
0:56
to say, this one This one on the cover
0:58
is crazy. So, tell us about this one,
1:01
John.
1:01
>> Yeah, I mean, as I As I learned in
1:04
journalism, you have to tell so-called
1:06
pub tests, which is where you go down
1:08
the pub on a Friday evening and tell
1:09
your mates a story. And this ticks
1:12
literally every single box. It's It's
1:14
quite extraordinary, really. A guy, you
1:16
know, and all of us do this, don't we?
1:17
We park our cars at the airport. We go
1:19
back to UK or back off on holidays, and
1:22
you turn up at the whichever airport,
1:23
whether it's Valencia, Barcelona,
1:25
Malaga, Palma, and you know, you hand
1:27
your keys over to someone at the airport
1:29
who says, "Great. When are you back?"
1:30
You tell them, you know, it's It's all
1:31
booked in normally. So, you know when
1:33
you're back. Anyway, this chap
1:35
and his wife in Marbella turned up at
1:37
Malaga airports with their car. They
1:39
basically handed the keys over, went off
1:42
on their holiday, came back 10 days
1:44
later, and went to, you know, the normal
1:46
meeting spot. And the guy's like, "Mm,
1:49
can't find your car." So, he's like,
1:50
Actually, this has happened to me once,
1:52
actually, and they did find the car,
1:53
though it was the next day. But, they
1:55
they said, "We can't find your car." And
1:57
he was like well where is it? I said
1:59
well we actually don't know. So they
2:01
were like this is ridiculous. What it's
2:03
actually 3:00 in the morning by the way.
2:04
I came in really late.
2:06
So
2:07
they then got given a kind of it's it's
2:09
a company called One Parking Malaga. So
2:11
we give they've got plenty of cars. So
2:12
they were handed
2:13
>> used them.
2:14
>> Have you?
2:15
>> [laughter]
2:16
>> Well they were handed a car.
2:16
>> car back so.
2:18
Well I'm one of the lucky ones.
2:20
>> I mean it it's not necessarily their
2:21
fault as you'll hear but but the bottom
2:22
line is they got they got a courtesy
2:24
car. They went off. And about a week
2:26
later they got a phone call to tell them
2:28
their car had been used in a ram raid.
2:31
And they were like what? I parked my car
2:32
with you. How on earth did my car get
2:34
used in a ram raid? Well it turned out
2:36
that one of the One Parking employees
2:38
wasn't very happy. Decided that he was
2:40
going to take the car
2:41
>> [snorts]
2:41
>> and ram raid his office in the middle of
2:44
the night. Go into One Parking's office
2:47
and break into the safe. Well he
2:48
obviously knew the safe. And took I
2:50
think 3,000 euros. Bless you. 3,000
2:53
euros of of money. And And and then
2:57
And you can see all this on video camera
2:59
cuz they've got their video cameras up
3:00
in the office. Got back in the car,
3:02
drove off, and then blew the car up just
3:04
round the corner. Literally just
3:06
literally next to Malaga Airport.
3:07
[snorts]
3:08
So they were like okay fine. So I guess
3:13
you know we'll get our we'll get a
3:15
insurance. We'll get our car back pretty
3:16
quickly. We'll get a new car. It's it's
3:18
actually quite a new car. So they went
3:19
to Mapfre, big in Spain's biggest
3:21
insurance company who said [snorts] well
3:24
after about sort of 2 weeks they said
3:26
actually no because you'd handed the car
3:28
you'd given the car to somebody of
3:30
trust. It wasn't you know you'd handed
3:31
it to them. Someone was responsible for
3:33
it. So it's their insurance. So then
3:34
they went to One Parking's insurers and
3:37
Generali who insure them in their
3:39
garages say well yes inside all our
3:41
garages you are insured if a car's
3:43
stolen but because it was taken by an
3:45
employee and taken out and that employee
3:48
used the car for himself we're not
3:50
insured. Or I should say, generally says
3:53
you're not insured.
3:54
Anyway, this was 9 months ago. So,
3:57
they're still waiting. And meanwhile, by
4:00
the way, they had the cheek to the
4:01
police contacted them. They had to go to
4:04
court last week and turn up in court to
4:07
give evidence in the case about their
4:09
car being blown up, you know,
4:11
in a ram-raid. But, they still haven't
4:13
got a car. They have They've actually,
4:15
luckily for them, been kept the courtesy
4:17
car from the garage, which they've been
4:19
told they can keep till November, if
4:21
worst-case scenario. Uh
4:23
But, they're kind of, at the moment, car
4:25
less. And so, yeah, it's
4:27
>> [laughter]
4:28
>> very bizarre situation.
4:29
>> What do we know about this employee? Cuz
4:31
you you got to be pretty crazy in the
4:33
head to ram-raid your own business and
4:35
steal the safe. Is it What What's the
4:37
What's the deal with this guy?
4:38
>> Well, he's obviously, I imagine, fairly
4:40
just either disgruntled or has a kind of
4:42
criminal bone in his body, or a fairly
4:45
serious criminal bone in his body. We
4:46
don't know the exact
4:48
exactly what happened, because when they
4:49
went to court last week, typically, it's
4:52
being Spain,
4:53
his the lawyer turned up and said there
4:55
was something wrong, he couldn't appear,
4:56
and so, they've been given another court
4:58
date now. So, we don't actually know
5:00
what's happening, but the police are
5:02
prosecuting this guy, you know. And you
5:03
know, I have to say, it's quite funny,
5:05
cuz we've got the video, and you can
5:07
look at the story online, and you'll see
5:08
the video of this guy. First of all, you
5:10
hear these massive bangs as the front
5:12
door of the garage is obviously hit. You
5:14
know, "What the hell's that noise?"
5:15
Suddenly, the door breaks open, and in
5:17
comes the car, you know, and then this
5:19
this ridiculous funny funny little white
5:21
car, his Kia his Kia car comes flying
5:24
through the door, and then you see the
5:25
guy get out the car, and he's wearing a
5:28
intifada headscarf. So, I don't know if
5:30
he's a Muslim, but
5:32
he he goes into the into the office, and
5:34
about 10 minutes later, comes out
5:37
with with whatever he's got, the swagger
5:40
from the safe, and off he goes.
5:42
>> Yeah,
5:43
covering his tracks. He He didn't plan
5:46
it very well. But, that's really sad. I
5:47
mean, let's hope that they do get
5:49
justice and they do get
5:51
compensation and get the car back.
5:53
>> But who's going to pay out? Is anyone
5:54
going to pay out? Someone's got to pay
5:56
out. Do we know anything on on what's
5:57
going to happen?
5:57
>> I mean, here's the question, Will. I
5:59
mean, so both insurance companies insure
6:02
this guy for certain jobs, right? One of
6:04
them if his car is stolen and whatever.
6:06
One of them if the car is stolen from a
6:09
garage where they're looking after the
6:10
car. If those insurance companies don't
6:13
insure the car for being taken out by an
6:15
employee who who blows it up, what
6:18
happens next? I mean, both you know,
6:20
insurance are like, you know, I don't
6:22
know what Have you found this in Spain?
6:23
I've been here 20 20-something years, 25
6:25
years nearly. And what happens is that
6:28
when you have your car, you know, you
6:29
have a damage, someone goes in the side
6:30
of you, you don't automatically don't
6:32
take it in and give you a new car. You
6:33
then have to wait, drive around for 3 4
6:35
months with a dent in the side of your
6:37
car or something not working. So, it's
6:39
not like in the UK where things get, you
6:41
know,
6:42
quickly changed. So, I think they're
6:45
going to spend nearly a year going
6:47
backwards and forwards. I think in the
6:48
end the garage will probably have to
6:50
just give them a car, right? I think
6:51
they're going to have to give them a new
6:52
car.
6:53
>> Yeah, let's hope they get that that
6:55
sorted. Um
6:58
So, Paul Dan, expats in Spain, and that
7:00
moves us on nicely to the next story,
7:03
which is about expats, which is what
7:05
we're all about, but how lots of places
7:08
where there's British expats are
7:09
actually being kind of praised as having
7:12
this great input to the community. So,
7:15
this is on page 67 of the um newspaper.
7:19
So, uh tell us about this one then.
7:22
>> Well, this one, Caroline, this is a It's
7:24
come from the latest INE data, which is
7:26
the Institute of National Statistics. We
7:28
obviously we know there's a lot of
7:29
expats in the south of Spain and all
7:31
over Spain, but some of the numbers are
7:33
quite quite mind-boggling. And they're
7:35
not where you think it might be cuz for
7:37
example, Costa del Sol, where you guys
7:39
are based, famous for being a kind of a
7:41
hotspot, but actually, if you want to
7:43
find where the Brits are, they're
7:45
more further to the east. And what the
7:47
data showed us is there's certain towns
7:50
or villages, not really like a whole
7:51
town, but small parts of a town or small
7:54
villages where the British population
7:56
makes up almost half of the town, which
7:58
we found quite amazing. And we focused
8:01
only on the British population, but
8:03
actually, if you took in all the foreign
8:04
populations, many towns were at 70-80%,
8:06
you know, including all the Belgians and
8:08
the Dutch and the people like that. And
8:10
one thing you we also kind of hear about
8:12
is
8:13
a lack of integration from expats. They
8:15
come along and they stick to their sort
8:17
of stick to their own kind and they form
8:19
parallel societies. And you sometimes
8:21
hear this stuff, isn't you know, it's
8:22
pretty negative coverage. But in these
8:24
towns, so we got our journalist Alessio
8:25
to dig into it and we found five five of
8:28
them where they the populations of
8:31
British people is 40-something percent.
8:32
And one of them is 55%.
8:34
>> Now, we're going to take a quick break
8:36
from talking about the news to hear from
8:38
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8:42
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8:47
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9:02
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9:08
>> And Alessio went around calling the town
9:10
halls. Yeah, yeah, majority Brits. So
9:13
Alessio is you know, he he's a very good
9:15
journalist and he's calling the town
9:16
halls, calling local businesses saying
9:18
like, "What's it like having so many
9:19
Brits in your town?" And you know,
9:22
thankfully and and and gratifyingly, the
9:24
response was all extremely positive. And
9:26
this was you know, it's great to hear,
9:28
isn't it? If if you're if you're a
9:29
British expat in Spain. Um cuz a lot of
9:31
these towns
9:33
>> Yeah, yeah. Cuz obviously, you You if
9:35
you're hanging out in Benidorm or
9:36
somewhere, you don't get any feedback.
9:38
But, uh
9:38
>> Well, normally when you say Brits in
9:40
Spain, it does have a negative
9:42
connotation. I'm sorry, but it does. And
9:44
I can say that cuz I'm British. But, it
9:46
actually isn't true, is it? So, we're
9:48
seeing here
9:49
>> Yes.
9:50
>> people welcome Brits into the community
9:51
and welcome them for everything they
9:53
bring.
9:54
>> But, Tim, hello. Without Without
9:55
looking, can you Can you have a look?
9:57
Can you guess where these towns are?
9:59
Which part of Spain?
10:00
>> South coast.
10:01
>> It's not Costa del Sol. It's not Malaga.
10:02
>> It's Costa Blanca. Costa Blanca South
10:05
most, isn't it? Almeria.
10:06
And Almeria, there's kind of the corner
10:08
South where the weather's where the
10:10
weather's probably best, right? You'd
10:12
think now, wouldn't you? You'd think
10:13
>> Costa Blanca. It's Almeria and Murcia.
10:15
>> It's Almeria and Murcia. That's true,
10:16
yeah.
10:16
>> Yeah. It's not even Costa Blanca or
10:18
Costa del Sol.
10:19
>> I did spend a year free, yeah. When I
10:21
graduated.
10:22
>> Which town did you live in?
10:23
>> It's cool. In the city of Murcia.
10:26
>> Quite a nice place, isn't it?
10:27
Surprisingly nice when you get there.
10:28
>> Very nice. Yeah.
10:30
>> You kind of feel like it's going to be
10:32
like grim cuz a lot of Murcia is pretty
10:34
grim, isn't it? The coast, but the city
10:36
surprisingly interesting and
10:37
>> It was very pretty, yeah. Very pretty.
10:40
>> But, can I just add to this wall that
10:42
what's interesting is that that Alistair
10:44
spoke to kind of apart from the mayors
10:46
in a few cases and apart from a few
10:48
local businesses, they all said that
10:50
most of Brits are quite integrated and
10:52
that they learned some of them learned
10:54
Spanish and they said that a lot of the
10:56
villages in particular
10:58
like Bédar were dying. I mean, they were
11:01
disappearing. They were kind of
11:02
vanishing and depopulating. And that's
11:03
when the Brits came, they started
11:05
opening up the the huertas, the
11:07
vegetable gardens, the water courses.
11:09
They started, you know, actually
11:11
bringing economic activity back to these
11:14
towns. And they they brought a new lease
11:16
of life.
11:16
>> Completely revived them, yeah. And the
11:17
number one
11:19
the town with the most British, that's
11:20
actually quite amazing. It's Mazarrón in
11:23
Murcia. It has a population of 31,000.
11:26
And from what our information tells us,
11:28
55% of those are Brits.
11:30
>> It's It's actually It's actually let's
11:31
just get this correct. There's one part
11:33
of Mazarrón. It's one section. It's You
11:35
know, like like sometimes you have a
11:37
town and they have a little sub town.
11:38
So, it's a small It's one part of it. I
11:40
think overall, it's about 35, 40%, which
11:42
is still an extraordinarily large amount
11:44
of Brits, right? Yeah. But, it's it's
11:46
one It's one barrio. I mean, but you
11:48
know, in Bédar, which is I've been to
11:50
and it's 928 people live there. 42% of
11:53
them are Brits. So, you're talking
11:55
about, you know, 400 Brits in a
11:57
population of 900.
11:59
>> But, do you think sometimes though,
12:01
Spanish people who've lived there, it's
12:03
their country, aren't they going to be a
12:05
bit like, why are all these foreigners
12:07
coming to my country?
12:08
>> Now, we're going to take a quick break
12:10
from talking about the news to hear from
12:12
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12:14
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12:16
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12:19
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12:32
>> You know?
12:33
>> They're very You know what? They're very
12:34
accepting and and I remember seeing
12:36
polls where they're actually, you know,
12:37
very accepting of Muslims, foreigners,
12:41
even gypsies. They're quite They're
12:42
accepting of strangers, you know, and
12:43
they're quite integrated gypsies in a
12:45
lot of parts of Spain. Even Even Brits.
12:48
It's the It is It is a Generally
12:50
speaking, they are more accepting of
12:53
foreigners than any other country in the
12:54
world, the Spanish. They're very good
12:56
They're very good accepting people.
12:57
>> Yeah, no. I I feel very accepted here,
13:00
have to say.
13:01
>> It's a bit different in Catalonia, I
13:03
would just add the
13:04
the acceptance and tolerance is a little
13:06
bit less.
13:07
>> Yeah, but But, not not necessarily
13:08
Brits, though.
13:09
>> No, yeah. No, Brits too. Brits as well.
13:12
Yeah, they're more nationalistic.
13:14
They're a bit more protective of their
13:15
culture. And like the town where I live,
13:17
they they don't really want foreigners
13:18
and they'll they'll let you know. Like,
13:20
I know a girl who has started a Tik Tok
13:22
channel showing off the town. I'm not
13:24
even going to name the town. Or they
13:25
have done other times. And you know, you
13:27
know there's classic Tik Toks where they
13:29
like look at this beautiful place and
13:30
look at this bar you can have a beer.
13:31
And in the comments people destroyed it.
13:33
Take this video down. Delete this video.
13:35
Stop what you're doing.
13:37
And they were the people who know that.
13:39
Exactly. They wanted to remain
13:40
undiscovered. And I kind of see it like
13:42
cuz it's nice beaches.
13:43
Yeah, the beaches are not too
13:44
overpacked. But it's a different vibe
13:47
here, I will say to be honest. It really
13:49
is.
13:50
>> Well, I mean I think it's cuz I'm seeing
13:51
in my head the the tourists go home
13:54
banners and I think they're that you
13:55
know people about accommodation and
13:58
stuff. So, there is that going on as
14:00
well. I think it's to do with them
14:01
um bumping up the cost of living for
14:03
everyone else, isn't it? So.
14:05
>> Def- Def- Definitely that's an issue.
14:06
And what I mean you've got you did a
14:08
really great feature this issue about
14:10
the bad barrios of Barcelona. And you
14:12
know,
14:13
you make a point that it's different up
14:15
there in Catalonia cuz of course there
14:16
are bad barrios in Seville and in
14:17
Madrid. But in particular you focused on
14:20
some of the worst barrios in Barcelona.
14:22
Can you tell us Tell us a bit more about
14:23
that? So, we we did the article on it.
14:26
If people know Barcelona the city, La
14:28
Barceloneta which is the beach side
14:30
barrio and El Raval which is is pretty
14:33
notorious just across the whole of Spain
14:35
for being a place you don't really want
14:36
to go. And it is interesting cuz the
14:38
beach side barrio, Barceloneta, is kind
14:40
of a microcosm of what the other towns
14:42
along the coast don't want to become.
14:44
Even though Barceloneta is very nice.
14:45
And just last week they had their kind
14:46
of festival their annual festival party
14:49
and it's full of people dancing and
14:50
drums and and and you know trumpets and
14:52
all that stuff. And it was amazing. They
14:54
did it for four days. So, the local
14:55
people are
14:56
getting a bit sick cuz it's four days of
14:57
drumming, do you know what I mean? But
14:58
it's um
15:00
It's a It's a beautiful kind of
15:01
community. But what the
15:03
I think towns up the coast want to avoid
15:06
is that in Barceloneta it's not
15:07
particularly safe. And there's a lot of
15:09
problems with thieving especially on the
15:10
beach. So, it's a nice big beach, you
15:12
know, got all the volleyball nets and
15:15
and people selling stuff. And it's just
15:16
basically the busiest beach probably in
15:18
Catalonia.
15:20
But also if you leave your bag next to
15:22
your towel and then you're looking the
15:24
other way, it can go like that.
15:25
>> Even if you're sitting there.
15:27
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll tell you a true
15:28
story. I was on the beach one night at
15:30
dark with a group of friends sitting in
15:32
a circle and we had like a big pile of
15:34
these deck chairs, you know, like the
15:35
sun beds all piled up. And a thief, I
15:37
swear to god, we had a MacBook with us.
15:39
They'd gone round the other side, the
15:40
side of the sea. They tunneled under the
15:43
sun beds and one of my friends saw a
15:46
hand coming out of the sand to grab the
15:48
MacBook and he grabbed the hand and we
15:50
caught this thief and we were like 12
15:52
people and there was one thief and it
15:53
was like, "What do we do now? We caught
15:54
him." And in the end we let him go cuz
15:56
he didn't steal anything. But, and this
15:58
was a while ago, this wasn't recently,
15:59
but that's how it is round there.
16:01
There's when I was there to do my like
16:03
the, you know, my little walk around to
16:04
the for the article I did.
16:06
There were police doing circuits of the
16:07
beach constantly, non-stop.
16:10
But, this is during the day. On the
16:11
other hand though, it is a beautiful
16:12
town. You've got a nice, well, I say a
16:14
nice blend of all the local, sort of
16:17
local Catalan like indigenous people if
16:19
you want to call them that. Very working
16:20
class. Um, it's not particularly rich
16:22
barrio. Then you've got all the expats,
16:24
you know, the young kind of people who
16:26
live in the town, live in the barrio cuz
16:27
it's a nice place to live. Then you've
16:29
got all the tourists who are main mainly
16:31
the ones who get
16:31
>> They must be the victims, right? Aren't
16:32
they? All the all the victims must be
16:34
tourists, eh?
16:34
>> Yeah, they This is actually one thing I
16:36
have heard is that lately the thieves
16:38
have started targeting the residents as
16:40
well, including the Catalans. And I I've
16:42
known many friends who live there. I've
16:43
got two friends who live there today and
16:45
um one of them who used to live there,
16:46
she would say that
16:48
uh she two different friends have told
16:49
me this that if they were walking home,
16:50
two girls, late at night, the thieves
16:52
just walk up to them and they hand over
16:53
their bag. It's like that. You said that
16:55
in the article. I can't believe that.
16:56
Swedish girl. The The first time she
16:59
would fight and then she realized that
17:00
you can't win and if you fight, you
17:02
might get worse outcome.
17:04
>> Maybe you could take like a
17:06
pretend handbag with you, have your
17:08
valuables tucked away and have like a
17:09
pretend handbag and they'll be like,
17:11
"Oh, okay, you can have it then." You
17:13
know.
17:13
>> Yeah. One bought from the lucky looking
17:15
men for 5 euros or something.
17:17
>> Exactly. Yeah.
17:17
>> Yeah, that's right. And
17:19
>> put a brick in it or something.
17:20
>> So, how do people know when Say I went
17:23
to Barcelona for a weekend, which is
17:25
something I might consider doing. I
17:26
don't really know the area. Where Where
17:28
do I have to not go then, Walt?
17:30
>> So, Barceloneta is fine. I mean, the
17:32
general rule is if there's people on the
17:33
street
17:34
>> make it sound that great.
17:35
>> Yeah, but okay, so one thing is very
17:36
important to make clear is that when you
17:38
say it's bad, it's only a little bit
17:40
worse. It's not suddenly like you're
17:42
going to walk out your door and get shot
17:44
or robbed. It's just that there's a
17:45
bigger If you're not careful, if you
17:47
don't know what you're doing. If you saw
17:48
an American come over and have been to
17:49
Europe before and only lived in Texas
17:51
all their life, they might get robbed
17:52
cuz they just don't really know what
17:54
sort of street wise skills to use more
17:57
wits about them. But, there's another
17:59
barrio called Raval and this is a
18:01
different beast and I lived there for
18:03
about 2 years. There's one little corner
18:05
that's nice. It's beautiful. It's full
18:06
of old buildings, Gothic buildings,
18:08
reasonably safe.
18:10
>> That market's nice, isn't it? That cool
18:11
market and and the art gallery, yeah.
18:13
That
18:14
>> Yeah, there's there's loads of cool
18:15
things, but if you leave this little
18:17
bubble and this is like Gothic area of
18:19
Barcelona, it's like the old town, so
18:20
it's full of alleyways and
18:22
this is where the thieves mainly live, I
18:24
would say. And I've heard it's worse
18:25
than ever now cuz it's like there's a
18:27
lot more knife crime, whereas before it
18:29
was just bag snatching and wasn't really
18:31
violent so much. Now it's a lot more
18:33
violent
18:34
and there's a [clears throat] lot of
18:35
stuff that goes on in Barcelona that we
18:36
don't have the capacity to report on cuz
18:37
it's so so abundant. And there's a
18:40
certain there's It used to be old old
18:41
slums and they demolished a lot of it
18:44
about 20 years ago, 25 years ago, and
18:45
made this nice beautiful rambler, like
18:47
boulevard. The idea was to basically to,
18:49
you know, gentrify a little bit and tidy
18:50
it up. It didn't really work. It just
18:52
became a focus point for all the
18:54
kind of the the thieves of the
18:55
neighborhood to hang out. So, when I did
18:57
my walk around for the this barrio, I
18:59
stopped in this rambler Raval, sat down
19:01
and had a beer, had a canya, and within
19:03
10 minutes I saw a guy running and then
19:05
the police sirens and then the police on
19:07
foot chasing and they caught him. And
19:09
everyone kind of stopped and looked but
19:10
then turned back to their beer cuz it's
19:11
so normalized. Even last week there was
19:14
a
19:15
the Guardia Urbana, which is the local
19:17
police, they they published that they
19:19
had arrested a thief. This is where the
19:20
thieves thieves live, you know.
19:22
>> Isn't that where they have those big
19:24
people like who who get rent Airbnbs or
19:26
people who live there they video what's
19:27
happening in the street below from their
19:29
first and second floor balconies?
19:31
>> there's many Instagram accounts that
19:33
document all all the bad stuff that goes
19:35
on and yeah, there's one street with a
19:37
Gaudi palace that it's very beautiful,
19:39
it's one of the you know, UNESCO sites.
19:41
Same street where there's so many videos
19:43
of people filming from the balcony of
19:44
fights, robberies, problems, you know,
19:47
just bad bad stuff. And there's
19:48
definitely like there's a whole area of
19:50
this this barrio where I would say it's
19:52
a no-go zone even during the day. And
19:54
like some people might scoff at that.
19:56
>> But yeah, that's a really important
19:57
tourist area well because you know, as
19:59
you say, you know, the kind of Gaudi
20:00
buildings really fascinating, aren't
20:02
they? And people lots of tourists go
20:03
there and surely that's the old part of
20:05
town. So in a way, isn't that the most
20:07
interesting part of Barcelona?
20:08
>> Well, yeah, so Raval is on one side of
20:10
the Rambla. The Rambla is like the heart
20:11
of Barcelona tourism. So that is a kind
20:13
of an interesting cocktail. But the the
20:15
bad part of Raval is on the other side
20:17
of the barrio. So you you can get lost
20:20
and end up there and that's kind of what
20:21
happens and that's when you get robbed.
20:22
If you go in the daytime, you're
20:23
probably fine. If you go at night, you
20:25
will be a target even if you don't get
20:27
robbed. People will be watching you and
20:28
thinking if they can rob you. Thing with
20:29
Barcelona, you start to recognize when
20:31
people are following you with their eyes
20:32
and you can tell they're sizing you up
20:34
if they can rob you. And they're hanging
20:35
out here, they might hang out at the
20:37
metro station entrances. It's always
20:39
been like that.
20:39
>> Wow.
20:40
>> So why are the police allowing this?
20:42
Yeah, why are the police allowing
20:44
>> another deeper bigger story and I mean I
20:46
think they've always been very lax on
20:48
petty crime. Like if you don't steal
20:50
something over 500 worth 500 euros, it's
20:52
under 500, they let them go
20:54
automatically. So I've heard that the
20:55
police coach people to say whatever was
20:57
stolen is worth more than 500 euros so
21:00
that they can police can then hold the
21:01
person the thief. But normally they get
21:03
arrested and released, arrested and
21:04
released. This is the air
21:06
They are They are that they're trying to
21:07
bring in new legislation and laws to
21:09
combat this.
21:11
And you say if you ask who they are,
21:12
it's it's mainly not Spanish or Catalan
21:15
people. This is a whole sensitive topic
21:17
of who they are. It's
21:19
It's generally people from Morocco and
21:20
and Algeria, which is not to say it's
21:22
all people from Morocco and Algeria, but
21:23
they're somehow there's I would say some
21:25
of the worst people from these countries
21:26
end up in Catalonia.
21:27
>> What about the Pakistani gangs? Cuz
21:29
didn't we get in touch with someone
21:30
recently got in touch with us and asked
21:32
said that that it's all being organized
21:34
the different sectors have been
21:35
organized by different nationalities and
21:37
the Pakistani gangs are doing something,
21:38
aren't they?
21:39
>> This So this is the fascinating part of
21:40
the underworld of Barcelona that it's
21:42
all organized by ethnicity and
21:44
nationality. So you It's not like you
21:46
just join any gang you want. If you're
21:47
Pakistani, you're part of the Pakistani
21:49
I wouldn't want to call them mafia.
21:51
There's they do they do arrange their
21:53
business affairs in a kind of
21:54
mafia-esque way, but the Pakistanis are
21:56
famous for not being violent, not
21:57
particularly rob thieving, you know,
21:59
they're just selling beers or selling
22:01
stuff illegally and they probably don't
22:03
do their paperwork and they probably not
22:05
have all their paperwork the you know,
22:07
permiso de trabajo trabajo.
22:09
But they they're fine, you know, they're
22:11
quite nice. And then you got all the
22:12
guys from Senegal and other African
22:13
people selling in the streets. They're
22:15
normally fine. It it People know who the
22:17
thieves are, you know, and it's a
22:19
sensitive topic cuz it's it gets a bit
22:21
racist.
22:21
>> So what what do you do then if you Yeah,
22:24
tips.
22:25
>> To not get robbed, don't be drunk.
22:27
>> you do? How do you be street wise?
22:28
>> So for example, I know where not to go.
22:30
There's even some streets where you just
22:32
see people hanging out on corners. Their
22:33
eyes are kind of following everyone.
22:35
Those are the people to avoid. The but
22:36
it's the main thing is don't be drunk.
22:38
At late at night you can get robbed even
22:39
if you're sober and being careful.
22:41
If you're in the wrong place. So stick
22:42
to the right areas. We In this article
22:44
we've said where not to go. We've named
22:45
the places where you should
22:47
>> get I think the one about you saying
22:48
about getting drunk. I mean be careful
22:49
no one puts anything in your drink as
22:51
well if you go out at night and you end
22:52
up having something put in your drink.
22:54
So I I do hear that people have who have
22:56
been drugged then get robbed later on
22:58
when they're stumbling around, right?
22:59
>> That that's not a different topic, but
23:01
it's normally the people who spike you
23:02
are the ones trying to rob you. Whereas
23:04
in Raval, it's just habitual thieves who
23:06
um the state, the system of government,
23:08
the justice system doesn't know what to
23:09
do with them or how to deal with them.
23:10
>> I I loved your one of the things you
23:12
recommended was a really cool jazz club.
23:14
You said that it's really local, you
23:16
don't get many tourists, but they have
23:18
great live concerts. So that's the place
23:20
that I like the sound of. I mean, it
23:21
sounds like the worst part of the Raval,
23:22
but
23:23
>> As you will see, it's
23:24
>> You have to arrive by taxi and leave by
23:25
taxi.
23:26
>> Who says it's not the worst place? For
23:27
example, John, if me and you went there
23:29
and we knew what we were doing, we'd be
23:30
fine cuz we're two men, you know, we'd
23:32
long as you speak a bit of Spanish and
23:33
you just look a bit savvy. They It's the
23:35
clueless people who are going to be
23:37
the target.
23:38
>> I love the way you say we went there
23:40
[laughter] and we didn't get mugged cuz
23:41
we looked savvy.
23:43
>> But Caroline, so you're you're a blonde
23:45
woman, you would be a target
23:46
automatically. You know what I mean?
23:47
Like it is like that.
23:48
>> Yeah, yeah.
23:49
>> Well, it's not nice. Stick to La Rambla,
23:51
Caroline, you'll be safe.
23:52
>> I wish I got a really big hunky guy to
23:54
go with me.
23:55
>> be fine, yeah.
23:56
>> To protect me. Okay, yeah.
23:58
>> me to come with you then?
23:59
>> Okay.
24:00
>> Okay. So to be streetwise in Barcelona,
24:03
you basically need to not look like me
24:05
and you need to look like Walt and John
24:07
and speak Spanish and not be drunk,
24:08
guys. So that's that's the advice, is
24:10
it?
24:11
>> Speaking Spanish always helps, doesn't
24:12
it? Everywhere I've been in Spain, any
24:14
danger, anything, anytime I've had to do
24:16
any questioning or any problems, like
24:17
the other day that we're going through
24:18
another day, this Matthew's story we did
24:20
last week, but you know, going up to the
24:22
office and talking in Spanish and
24:24
smiling and bit of jokes in Spanish just
24:26
gets you off the hook, doesn't it? Just
24:27
really helps.
24:28
>> Guys, speaking Spanish in Barcelona can
24:29
get you in trouble.
24:31
>> Really?
24:32
Oh, yeah.
24:32
>> You get dirty looks sometimes, yeah.
24:34
>> Do you have to speak Catalan?
24:35
>> They prefer Catalan, yeah.
24:37
>> Do they speak English or Spanish? Like
24:39
if you
24:39
>> Some prefer English and Spanish, but
24:41
I've been in places where everyone's
24:42
speaking Catalan and I say something in
24:43
Spanish and everyone looks at me like
24:44
I've done a fart, you know.
24:46
>> [laughter]
24:46
>> Actually, Paul, there's a question for
24:47
you. Do you not have to get Catalan in
24:49
order to keep your residency there? Is
24:51
that like a new law or is that just a
24:52
myth?
24:53
>> It's one of those things they I think
24:54
they want to do it. To renew your
24:56
residency, you have to show basic
24:58
Catalan, not a high level. To show that
24:59
you
25:00
>> sure?
25:00
>> Yeah, yeah, not a C1, just like A1 or
25:03
A2, just to show that you're kind of not
25:05
taking the the mickey, you know, trying
25:07
to integrate and respecting
25:08
>> to be okay?
25:09
>> If I did it tomorrow, no. But I've got 7
25:11
more years on my residency, so I'm not
25:12
too
25:12
>> Can't you go down like you could drive
25:14
down back down to La Línea or Marbella,
25:16
where was it La Línea you last
25:17
registered, and just go and do it there,
25:19
and then go back up again, no?
25:20
>> Yeah, exactly.
25:21
>> So, if you do your residency in La
25:23
Línea, which to be honest, that's where
25:24
I did mine the first time, does that
25:26
mean you have to speak with like an
25:27
Andaluz accent? Do they test you on
25:29
that? Yeah. Okay, guys, well, listen,
25:31
this has been great. Um short and sweet
25:33
today. Interesting stories. I want to
25:35
hear more about this mafia story,
25:37
Jonathan, so maybe we do that next time.
25:40
>> Happily.
25:40
>> you think? Happily.
25:41
>> There's always that good mafia story out
25:43
there, isn't there? So much to talk
25:44
about.
25:45
>> Yes, more and more and more.
25:46
>> Unfortunately, yes, it does seem to be
25:47
the case, yeah. Okay. All right, guys,
25:50
thanks a lot, and see see you next time.
25:52
>> Before signing off, guys, please, if
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you're enjoying the podcast, subscribe
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it is. This really helps us, and write a
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26:04
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>> All right, cheers.
26:18
>> All right, thanks.
26:19
>> Thanks, guys.
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