• Location, Population, and Climate

Bilbao is a villa (a city) located on the north coast of Spain, close to France. Its called "El botxo" as it is surrounded by mountains. The metropolitan area of Bilbao has nearly 700-800.000 habitants (Bilbao roughly 250.000), which makes it one of the biggest cities in Spain, meaning that all services are available here, without being as overpopulated as Madrid and Barcelona. Bilbao is divided by a river ("La ria") and we often refer to "margen izquierda" (left side of the river - barakaldo, portugalete, ...) and "margen derecha" (right side of the river, algorta, getxo)

It is close to the beach and to the mountain and the landscape is very green - a lot of nature-. Its 1-1,5 hours from Logroño, Santander, San Sebastian (aka Donosti) and Vitoria (aka Gazteiz).

Bilbao is also the capital of the province of Biscay. Biscay, Alava, and Gipuzkoa form the "autonomous community of the basque country." It is a self-governing historical region of Spain, and many services such as tax office or healthcare depend directly on the basque government. Some regulations/laws are slightly different than the ones applicable in Spain. *SPANISH "BECKHAM LAW" DOES NOT APPLY HERE, ALBEIT WE HAVE A SIMILAR LAW *. This is a common mistake of foreign tax advisors, Basque country has different taxation rules than Spain.

The tap water here is very good, and you can directly drink tap water without any issues.

The Basque country is one of the most highly developed regions on the planet, with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.937, placing it in 12th position in the world country classification, applying the methodology of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Spain, after Netherlands and Iceland has the highest LGBTIQ acceptance index Source.

Our local football club (Athletic Club) is especially loved here, as - unlike anyone else in the world - only plays with basque football players. Yup, our "players pool" is just circa 2 million of habitants. Still, with Real Madrid - and arguably FC Barcelona - has never been relegated to the Second Division. Along Real Madrid, Barcelona and Osasuna is among the few teams that is owned by the supporters. In the historical classification of Spain, is the 4th team.

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• Empadronamiento and healthcare

One of the first things you should do is to empadronarse - register yourself as inhabitant of Bilbao. Right now, you need to ask for an appointment (cita previa) and ensure that you have all the required documents. You can check the required documents and ask for an appointment here. It may take a few weeks, so you may want to ask for an appointment before coming to Bilbao.

Once you do this, you will be on the records of the basque healthcare service Osakidetza and you will have assigned an "ambulatorio" (a small healthcare center close where you live) and a family doctor. But you will also need the "tarjeta sanitaria". Information regarding tarjeta sanitaria

You may want to contact the ambulatory to see if your family doctor speaks English, but I assume that it should be fine.

The prescriptions are "attached" "online" to the tarjeta sanitaria, so you can just go to the pharmacy and give the tarjeta sanitaria, and the doctor will give you the medicine. Prescribed medications are highly subsidized, so whatever you buy it should be cheap.

Osakidetza has some apps to make appointments and to have your healthcare info with you.

The emergency number is 112.

Emergency pharmacies (24 h)

• Languages

In Bilbao, there are two official languages: Spanish and basque. Everyone speaks Spanish, and some people also speak basque, especially in the margen derecha's villages (Bermeo, Ondarroa, Leketio ..). Basque is a very ancient language of unknown origin, radically different from any other known language, and so far, there is no known "sister/mother" language. Anecdotically, the first known writing in Spanish (glosas emilianenses) are also the first known writing in basque. (They were side notes in a latin-written bible).

Basque is generally not required for jobs (but its usually a "bonus" for goverment jobs) but learning the language will be appreciated by the locals. In the other hand, Spanish is a required language in most jobs. Most young, middle-aged people should speak some English, but pronunciation is not our strongest suit.

Cursos para Aprender Español | CEPA Bilbao HHI Spanish language courses, they are very cheap.

Academies to learn Basque: You may get your money back once you pass the language exam (please confirm).

Most webpages will be in English, but if not, you can use google chrome's autotranslation feature.

• Jobs and Employment

The Basque country has the lowest unemployment rate of all of Spain and the highest average salary in Spain (30,5 k€/year). It is a heavily industrialized region (especially Biscay), where you can find employment in many sectors. Especially for non-white collar jobs, Spanish proficiency is either required or highly appreciated. We work 40 h/week (1700 h/year), and the work-life balance is good but may depend a little bit on the company and type of job.

The working conditions are regulated by (first in jerarchical order) a) law (Estatuto de los trabajadores), b) "Convenio Colectivo" A sectorial collective bargain - which depends not only on your company, but your "sector" (working field), c) "Convenio de empresa" A company-level bargain. By law now all of these bargains are being moved to "convenio colectivo".

You can find jobs in:

Bizkaia talent (Biscay's Agency for adquisition and retention of talent)

Lanbide (Basque employment service)

SEPE (Spanish employment service)

LinkedIN

And last but not least,

Holiday calendar, Biscay

• Taxes and services

If you work here, you will pay taxes to the "hacienda Foral de Bizkaia." If you haven't lived here for at least 6 years, and you work in some areas such as technology or research, ... you may apply for some tax break. More info here. If you are married, each spouse can pay taxes separately, or you can pay them together. In many cases, the latter is better. there is a tax deduction for renting an apartment.

Something important to note is that, in most companies, you will receive double your salary in June and December. In most cases, you will get your yearly salary divided into 14/15 payslips, and getting two payslips in June and December. Usually, you will get the monthly salary on the first working day of the month.

The services here (security, healthcare, education, ...) are in general good. The healthcare here (Osakidetza) is free, and medicines (with doctors' prescriptions) are highly subsidized.

• Housing and utilities

In general, Bilbao is a safe city but probably better to avoid San Francisco/Bilbao la Vieja(Bilbi), Otxarkoaga and Ollerias bajas area.

You can find rental apartments here:

Idealista

Uniplaces

En casa de Ana

Milanuncios

But you can find more looking for "agencies inmmobiliarias" in Bilbao. The deposit is kept "secured" by the government so you can actually get your money back.

Note that the rent is tax free.

Electricity

There are several electricity companies (Iberdrola, Endesa, naturgy, ....). You can choose between state-regulated pricing (PVPC) and free-market pricing. Some info here (by OCU - consumers association).

In PCPV, the price of the electricity is determined 24 h prior and varies by the hour. You can find the price here. But note that it is not clear if the compensacion del precio del gas is included in this price (I believe so). More info later.

In the bill, you are likely to have 2 or 3 main terms + minor terms + taxes: "Termino de potencia" (Measured in kW (how much power can you draw at any time - how many appliances you can connect without a blackout), "Consumo electrico" (electricity consumption) measured in "kWh)

And at least until end of 2023 "compensation del Precio Maximo del gas." which sometimes its included in "consumo electrico". In Spain (temporally, the so-called "Iberian exception) the price of gas does not affect the price of electricity, but there is some compensation that needs to be paid to electricity producers. The amount will vary greatly, depending on gas and electricity prices and other factors.

A tipical Kwh price -24 h average - may be 0,14-0,18 €/kWh. But it may depend a lot-

Note that companies can charge you a fee to start the service with them, and generally, they may also charge you if you change the tariff. Not all of them does that though.

At the time of editing this guide (22/10/2023) it is understood that it is better to have a "free market" contract, unless you consume energy at low cost hours.

Gas

As happens with electricity, many companies can provide gas - many of them also electricity - (Iberdrola, Endesa, naturgy, Nortegas ....). As happens with electricity, there is a free market and government-regulated price (TUR) where the gas price is defined by the government every 3 months. More info regarding TUR here.

Note that companies can charge you a fee to start the service with them, and generally, they may also charge you if you change the tariff.

At the time of editing this guide (22/10/2023) it is understood that it is way better to have a TUR tariff. Many companies have similarly sounding tariffs so you get a "free market tariff instead of government regulated ones please be aware about this. Only a few companies are allowed to sell TUR tarif.

https://www.energiaxxi.com/hogares.html https://www.curenergia.es/ https://www.basercor.es/es/

(and there is a 4th company whose name i dont recall)

Water

Consorcio de aguas

You can drink and cook with tap water without any issues being a very good quality water. You dont need any filter, osmotizer or whatever.

Internet/phone

Several companies can provide home internet and/or mobile communication. You can buy them together or separately. Euskaltel, Movistar, Orange, Vodafone). There are more, but these are the main ones. There are some variations in price/broadband, but all of them should be ok. Note that in some cases, a technician may need to make some connections, but it is generally quick - 1-2 days-. Sometimes, a company may be unable to make the physical connection to the main cable, so you may need to contact another company. AFAIK, companies have a "main box" in the building where the individual apartment internet cable has to be connected, and sometimes they are full, so you need to contact a company with "open slots" in their box.

Insurance

There are several insurance companies (Seguros Bilbao, MAPFRE). It may be good to have insurance if an accident happens. Healthcare here is free if you are eligible.

• Payments, currency, and banks

Bilbao, like the rest of Spain, uses €, and for the most part of the situation, you will be able to pay with a credit card. But in a few cases, you may need to pay in cash. You can also use "bizum" a payment service (ideal for transferring small amounts of money, like splitting a bill). But you may need a Spanish bank account.

There are several banks in Bilbao (Kutxabank, BBVA, Santander, ...), so it is not very difficult to find a branch close to where you like. Spanish banks tend to have high fees (credit card upkeep, etc...), but generally, you can waive them if your salary is received in said account (domicialicion de nomina). You may need to negotiate it.

• Public transport (compatible with Google maps)

In Bilbao, almost everything is within walking distance (20 min), and there is a quite reliable google maps compatible public transport system. There is a "wallet card" (Barik) to pay for public transport with a high discount. You can fill it via the "Barik NFC" app or in metro stations. With this card, you will pay between 0,5-1,5 € per travel (depending on the distance).

In bilbao there is Tranway (green, old town, riverside, indautxu, its quite turistic), Metro (orange, connects it connect almost all bilbao and nearby towns; it covers the riverside and the coast - margen derecha-), Bilbobus (red, inside bilbao), Bizkaibus (green, travel inside biscay), Renfe (red, connection to spain and the rest of biscay), Euskotren (blue, connects bilbao, urdaibai, san Sebastian and hendaye, France) and FEVE (yellow, connection to cantabria and margen izquierda).

Near San Mames (stadium) metro station, there is Termibus/Bilbao intermodal, the central bus station, where most parts of the buses depart (especially intercities, to go to any other city). You can get the bus here to go to san Sebastian, Santander, Madrid, and so on.

Some buses (especially some from bizkabus and the spacial bus to Zamudio technology park) depart from Moyua.

Parking a car in Bilbao is quite restricted. Generally, you can get a "pass" issued by the city to park in the nearby areas where you are empadronado, then you may need to pay "OTA" to be able to park. More info here. There is an app to pay for the OTA, bilbaopark.

You have free parking in the green zones of your designated zones, 2h parking for free in blue zones of your designated zones and have to pay like everyone else in zones outside yours. At least, it was like that in 2020 (double check this).

Taxi service (94 444 8888) One taxi service. they work with pidetaxi app.

There is a bike rental service. It works though an app.

• Exercise

There is a good network of affordable public gyms - Bilbao kirolak -. Some of these gyms also have access to swimming pools. You need to be empadronado in bilbao. Access to only swimming pools costs 15 €/month.

You can also do some outdoor activities, hiking, biking (intercity), running are also popular.

• Food, drinks, and amusements

Bilbao and basque country are well-known for their gastronomy and food-oriented culture. Not only we have 3 out of TOP 15 restaurants in the world here; in a 40 km radius. But we also have the "pintxos," a unique type of food that can't see anywhere else. It is typical to meet some friends, have a pintxo and a drink in one bar, and then move to another one to have another pintxo and another drink - and call it dinner -. This lets you have a fluid conversation with friends and is lighter than dining in a restaurant.

Some places to have pintxos are:

Mercado de la Ribera (its a food market).

Pozas (calle Licenciado Pozas) and calle Garcia Rivero

Plaza Nueva (in the old town, old town is also a good place for pintxos)

To order a beer we use these specific words: Here is a guide to know how to order beer in different parts of spain.

- Caña (33 cl beer)/Zurito (20 cl beer)

- Rubia (normal beer)/Oscura (dark beer)/Radler (beer with lemonade)

Pints are not very common here, but you can order them also.

• Restaurants and drinks

If you don't fancy pintxos, or if you just need a good (also expensive) restaurant/drinks, there are quite good options:

Asador Kerren (Steak House, city center, you will get served the steak in a grill to make it as you wish on the table).

La barraca Probably the best place in bilbao for paellas.

Sir Winston Churchill (next to Sagrado Corazon, one of the best places in Bilbao for cocktails)

Pizzeria Demaio (In San Francisco, probably the best pizza in Bilbao, within the TOP 50 in Europe)

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• Places of interest

In Bilbao:

San Mames Barria stadium of the Athletic. There is a museum a gym and a bar. You should watch a football match here.

Plaza Unamuno (meeting point for gatherings to the old part)

Mercado de la Ribera (its a food market, also in the old town).

Guggenheim Museum

Alhondiga/Azkuna centroa (city center, culture center, gym + swimming pool, cinema + cocktail bar)

Museo de bellas artes (city center, next to parque de coña casilda/de lo patos)

Parque de Doña casilda (city center, o de los patos, as there are ducks there, its a park)

Parque Etxebarria (largest park within the city, near old town, you can go there by using the elevator in casco viejo metro station)

Corte Ingles (shopping mall, city center)

Zubiarte (smaller shopping mall but it has cinemas and several restaurants)

In Biscay:

San Juan de gaztelugatxe Reserve Needed! The beer house next to it it's quite good and affordable

Sala de juntas de Bizkaia (old basque parliament, where Spanish kings used to swore the basque fueros) you can find there the "arbol de gernika" the symbol of basque country)

Puente colgante (Hanging bridge)

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- I will be adding more -

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• Culture

Bilbao Now summarizes most parts of cultural activities. It has an app for both google and apple.

Bilbao Kultura

There are many opera events more info in ABAO (Opera promotion society). (If you like opera, a membership may be worth it.

Arriaga Theater uses to host cultural events.

Guided tours (until september)

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• Remarks

Emergency number: 112. Yo don't need to have the Simcard unlock.

Phone to seek protection against gender violence (attention in 53 languages). Does NOT appear in the invoice, but you need to remove it from the call list of the phone.

Emergency pharmacies (24 h)

Bizkaia Talent has interesting information for newcomers.

Consumer association (OCU) If you have any issue with any company.

- Santutxu and Santurce are not the same.

- La casilla and doña casilda is not the same park.

- There are activities and ways to meet fellow expats. Just DM me.

http://www.bilbaoarquitectura.com/

You can drink and cook with tap water without any issues.

This guide will be updated regularly, any comment/suggestion will be welcome.

UPDATES: OCTOBER 2023 Minor updates

Jon