Anywhere near La Rambla! Great stores, vintage shops for furniture/local finds, close to Gaudi-style buildings, and really right in the center of teh hustle and bustle of Barca. Enjoy, you are lucky!

As a local Barcelonian, I can tell you that your neighbourhood will depend a lot on your personal circumstances. For instance, I wouldn't recommend Eixample for families with kids (I'd rather look out at El Clot, for instance, which is also cheaper, or Pedralbes/Sarrià if you want to go upscale). I would also avoid Les Rambles and nearby unless you're a young person who doesn't care too much about noise and drunk tourists "evacuating" on streets.

"Bad reputation" districts are "Besòs", "Besòs Mar" and sometimes "Nou Barris" (although you can find plenty of exceptions here). Horta is nice, but communication isn't that good and if you aren't close to a metro station and streets can be narrow.

As a local, top priority is having a metro stop near your place, as owning a car is almost impossible these days. If you're staying longer, the best mobility option, hands down, is a scooter.

If you want to check the first "suburban crown", your best bets are Badalona, L'Hospitalet and Esplugues de Llobregat for the "affordable" (sometimes ugly) options. Sant Just Desvern/Sant Joan Despí are more upscale and have Tramways and suburban trains that run often. Or if you like the beach, Castelldefels is just 20 km away and has an excellent commuting lines. All these towns are within Metro zone 1, so transport is relatively cheap.

As places to go furniture shopping, there are plenty of local furniture shops. For instance, there is a local franchise called Kibuc, or a chain store called "La Fábrica" or "Expo Mobi" which are excellent Ikea alternatives (you have two of them, one is easily accessed with Metro L8, stop Fira)

Oh I am so envious!! Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in the world. Thank you XavierN for your excellent tips. Can I ask you: what is living like in Raval? It reminds me of what the old East Village here in NYC used to be, a little bit.

@Fritzen:
If you're a student, single or adventurous, it's ok. But I'd skip it otherwise. The area near Mercat de Sant Antoni is very nice and very close to El Raval, so it's a viable alternative. It's all, in the end, a matter of budget. El Raval can be cheap but there is sometimes trouble there.

I live in Barcelona and I think that Gràcia and Sant Gervasi are very good, safe, quiet and nice neighbourhoods. Maybe a little expensive. There are green zones and parks and all kind of stores in this quarters. The Raval, nowadays, is pretty noisy and dirty, although is perfect for a tourist stay. Another good place is Eixample, close to the center and plenty of awesome buildings.
I wish you a happy stay in my city.

When I was in Barcelona a few years ago I really liked the El Born neighborhood--lots of nice little shops, restaurants, cafes, very pleasant to stroll around in, although it did strike me as being too cool (and the price tag it implies).

I travel to Barca every year (for business and pleasure) and have had plenty of time to explore inside and outside the center of the city.

I live in NYC, i feel at home in La Ribera and El Born. I also like of L'Eixample, but as it's such a large area, certain blocks have more charm than others. Barceloneta is very quiet, but has a culture all it's own and some say it's not as "pretty" as other areas (historically, Barceloneta was a separate working class town, made up of fishermen and their families).

A good friend (American) and his wife (Spanish) just had their first child and live in Poblenou. He says that they're close enough to the action, the beach, events and venues to find entertainment. But also a bit removed, so they have peace. Might be worth checking out.

I would stay away from Raval, at least for now. There appears to be tension between barrio and politicians. On my most recent trip old buildings hung banners in protest of new hotels. As well, the prostitution has become more apparent.

When i was there just a month ago, i looked at real estate, and there were many neighborhoods i had never heard of. The city is expanding again and quickly, so getting an agent might be a good idea.

Good luck!

Congratulations!

Two places to start your apartment search:

http://www.loquo.com/es_es/sl/3
Spanish craigslist; has everything from buying, renting (rooms, apartments) to selling furniture.

http://www.coleadministradors.cat/borsa.asp?lang=es
Real estate agencies' listings.
This is a very good website as all the agencies are credible.
If you are searching somewhere else, be aware of the agencies that ask you money in advance to give you listings (usually with nonexistent apartments/addresses).

My favorite neighborhoods:
La Barceloneta
Barrio Gotico
El Borne
Vallcarca
Gracia

I love El Raval, but it really depends on what street you are and how close to Ramblas.

Good luck!!!!!

Also, if you like Brooklyn Navy Yard / DUMBO before lofts kind of feeling (and you don't mind being close to the beach :)) check Poble Nou.

Oh, I miss BCN now! I lived on the line dividing el borne and la ribera, and I loved it.

I would also recommend Gracia. Really a small town feel "in" the city.

Don't know much about where you should live, but you should check out Zara Home and Casa for accessories.

I loved the Zara Home on Pla Angel off of Pla Catalunya. It's upstairs and really feels like you are wandering thru someone's apartment. I wanted to buy so much while I was there, but it was a half-year stay and I had no where to bring it home to!

basically, make sure you are near metro, grocery, pharmacy, bank and post. all else is a short subway ride away.
check for mold/mould (? - english is not my first language fyi) and excesive leftover grease on the walls, and that you can walk around the kitchen (we had standing room only, one person at a time. and i wont even start on the state of the kitchen before i wipped up the elbow grease).
make sure the bathroom is aired and you have plenty of sun exposure (those were actual concerns in my ap).
be prepared for unexpected rain showers. dont take long baths/showers, as water is pretty pricey.
ah, and try for a place with washer (dryers werent common, we used a line outside the window) and with central gas, as finding gas tanks is a chore.
now for the neighborhoods.
well, casteldefells is very nice, very suburban, and about 30mins from downtown by train (i might be off by 10mins, been a while).
i lived in sant andreu, which is a cheap, very close knit catalan comunity, lots of families, and they (used to) insist on using catalan everywhere, so if you can't do at least spanish, i'd stay away.
usually, the recommendation was "stay away from the yellow line of metro", as that has (statistically) the worst neighborhoods.
eixample is heaven, but expensive.
near camp nou/ub campus is/was a party/hooker zone.
around the ramblas/barrio gotico (the gothic part of town, medieval - litteraly) is usually student space, lots of partying and noise. and a bit dangerous sometimes.
up in the mountain is more exclusive (ie expensive).
barceloneta is (was) the hub of the bohemian/artistic/gay comunity.
(boy is this reply long!)
les corts (the metro station and surrounding area) is nice, not that expensive, and has great views. the stores are farther appart tho. everything is. it is more spacious, planned, very modern (think le corbusier), less haphazard then most of town.
the hospital sant pau/sagrada familia area is nice to live in, maybe expensive tho.
those are the ones i know more about.
and try to stay away from the parc guell area, as those stairs will kill you.
hope this helps. let us know where you end up!

I studied in Barcelona for a summer and lived with an older woman in a fabulous apartment near Parc Guell. It was a nice area, not too busy, felt safe. The beach and more 'happening' areas were just a quick metro ride away. Make SURE you are near a bus stop and/or metro station. I think living near Las Ramblas would get old real quick (loud, dirty, tourists). The area around La Sagrada Familia is beautiful but expensive and also full of tourists. ENJOY BARCELONA! It is such a cool city!

I'm a us expat (left NYC 6 years ago). I agree with XavierN, avoid the ramblas area, it is beautiful but the late night revelers and summertime hordes can be exhausting. I originally wanted to move to gracia (nice in a beatnik-y way) but wound up in the Sants-les corts area and love it. I can walk to tons of shops, 2 malls, an original version cinema, tons of restaurants, and I´m within a few blocks of 3 major metro lines and the main train station. And about 7 minutes on the metro and I'm standing on Ramblas. Agree with everyone here, make sure you're near a metro stop, transport is key.

I would contact an English (UK) real estate agent or housing agent that specialize is international housing because so many British are moving to places like Spain and France.

My cousins moved to France from England several years ago and had a British agents help them find their house. There are also a handful of British shows about people moving from the UK to mainland European countries so I know these agents are out there.

el booooooorn! greatest place to live. close to everythng, not too expensive, a great community of young and young at heart people...and look around for furniture on trash days...you can find some treasures!

How exciting! Barcelona is one of the most beautiful and best-designed cities in the world!

My vote goes for Eixample -- we stayed in an apartment there, and thought it was wonderful -- great architecture and planning, nice parks around. We were only 2 blocks from the metro and a block from the wonderful food market (Mercat de la Concepcio). It was close-in, well-served by public transportation (we took the metro everywhere), and felt quite residential. The main boulevard had children's playparks in the middle, so I would disagree -- we found it to be a very family-friendly neighbourhood.

Avoid Las Ramblas -- full of pickpokets and tourists.

Thank you everybody for your feedback and advice! This is why I love Apartment Therapy! My husband and I are super excited about the move but a little apprehensive at all the details that come along with it. We will certainly keep you all posted and maybe do a house tour once we get there :) Un fuerte abrazo!

I spent a semester of grad school there and lived in Poble Nou. It's not the most charming but for regular everyday living, pretty convenient. We were close to all the necessary things like grocery store, pharmacy, metro stop, and the metro ride isn't too long into the heart of the city. Plus, it was about a 20 minute walk to the big 'American style' mall at Diagonal Mar, which has an Al Campo. Al Campo is a giant grocery/homegoods store, which, lets face it, can be very very nice if you're still weaning yourself off of American-style convenience shopping.

Just wanted to add that, if I had a choice, I would definitely have picked to live in Gracia. So charming, with all those little cafe-ringed squares and gorgeous buildings.

Idealista.com is another site you can use to find or browse areas and flats for rent/sale.

As a local, I would tell you to avoid Las Ramblas or anywhere nearby. Chock-a-block with tourists and pickpockets day and night!

There are a couple neighbourhoods I would reccomend, such as Poble Nou, Eixample, Born or Gràcia. And some you better avoid, such as Raval, Carmel or Nou Barris. It really depends on what are your top of the list preferences but the best thing id to search for a place close to a metro station! For searching, you can thy these:

www.habitaclia.com
www.idealista.com

In terms of furniture and accessories, as with everything, it depends on your budget, but I would reccomend:

www.ikea.es
www.habitat.net
www.maisonsdumonde.com
www.boconcept.com
www.zarahome.com
www.casashops.com

If you need any more information don't hesitate to ask! :) Welcome to my city!!!

Oh, one more thing. Servei Estacio is a great place for supplies, like craft stuff, hardware, fabrics, random household goods, materials that come on big rolls (like cork and felt), plexi, foam, etc., etc. I can't remember the street, but it crossed La Rambla near Casa Mila.

I also second the recommendations for Zara Home and Habitat.