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MOVING TO SPAIN

Three cities in Spain voted world’s best for foreign residents

For the first time, three Spanish cities have clinched all three top spots in the latest ranking of best places in the world for foreign residents, as voted for in the InterNations Expat City Ranking 2023.

Published: 20 November 2023 13:30 CET
Three cities in Spain voted world's best for foreign residents
Málaga (left), Valencia (top right) and Alicante (bottom right) have been ranked the three best cities for foreign residents in a recent global survey by Internations. Photo: Jesper Brouwers/Unsplash, Joe Kassis/Pexels, Will Meyers/Unsplash

The Andalusian city of Málaga took the top spot when it came to the world’s best city for foreign residents, closely followed by Alicante in second and Valencia in third.

All three Spanish cities had top 10 ratings in categories such as Ease of Settling In, Quality of Life, and Personal Finance. They were all highlighted for their welcoming cultures, enjoyability, and affordability.  Málaga and Alicante also made it into the top 10 for “Expat Essentials” such as housing.

Málaga 

The southern city of Málaga took the number one spot as “Expats’ Favourite City” in 2023, beating 48 other countries worldwide. This is a step up from its 2021 ranking of second place. 

The Andalusian city is known for being the gateway to the Costa del Sol and its beaches, as well as its strong arts and cultural scene. 

According to the respondents, Málaga was ranked best for Local Friendliness. A total of 89 percent said that the locals are particularly friendly towards foreign residents, versus 65 percent globally. Unsurprisingly it also came in second place when it came to finding friends.

Málaga also came in second place for in the Quality of Life Index, and first place for its much-sought-after climate and weather.

An aerial view of Málaga. Photo: Enrique / Pixabay
 

Foreign residents also loved the city for its leisure options, ranking it in second place. Málaga also featured among the top 10 in the Travel & Transit (8th) and Healthcare (10th) categories.

Unsurprisingly city’s lowest (but still above average) ranking was for working, coming in 13th spot. It also ranked very close to the bottom (41st) for the local job market. Despite the lack of good jobs, the city claimed the top spot for work-life balance.

When it comes to accommodation, the city came in sixth for housing, 11th for easiness of finding housing and fifth for affordability. The city scored particularly well among foreigners who want a low cost of living too, coming in top for Personal Finance and general cost of living. Overall, 88 percent of foreign residents are happy with their life in Málaga, compared to 72 percent globally.

READ ALSO: How much does it really cost to live in Spain’s Málaga?

Alicante

Alicante has long been a popular place for foreigners to move to, particularly among the Brits. This year it places second out of 49 in the Expat City Ranking 2023.

Of Spain’s 50 provinces, Alicante comes out as the favourite spot for Brits with 76,739 living there. 

READ ALSO – MAP: Where do Spain’s British residents live in 2023?

The city excelled in the Ease of Settling In category coming in second and also claimed the top spot in the Culture & Welcome category. In fact, it took top spots for feeling welcome, feeling at home and social lives.

Alicante also ranked in third place in the Personal Finance category, showing that it’s reasonably affordable too. The majority of foreigners (78 percent) are happy with the general cost of living, compared to only 44 percent globally. The city even ranked first globally for affordable housing.

READ ALSO: Four in ten properties sold to foreigners in Spain are in Alicante

Quality of life is another reason Alicante scored highly. Healthcare came in fifth place, scoring for its affordability (6th) and availability (8th).

READ ALSO – Alicante vs Valencia: Which one is better to live in Spain?

Alicante (pictured) is a slightly cheaper city to live in than Valencia. Photo: Dean Milenkovic/Unsplash
 
 

Foreign residents also enjoy the excellent local leisure options (7th), which were boosted by great air quality (7th) and climate and weather (3rd).

It narrowly missed out on the top spot largely due to its low ranking in the Working Abroad category where it came in 40th place.

Foreigners reported that the local business culture does not promote creativity (39th), independent work (40th), or flexibility (41st). The ratings for their personal career opportunities (40th) aren’t any better either. 

Despite this, overall 92 percent of foreigners are happy with their life in Alicante, compared to 72 percent globally.

Valencia

Valencia was named the best city for foreign residents in the InterNations Expat City Ranking for 2022, and while this year, it has slipped to third place, it’s still one of Spain’s most popular cities. 

Despite this, it’s still a favourite city among foreigners who rank it particularly high for its quality of life, leisure options and recreational sports.

READ ALSO – Moving to Valencia: A guide to the best neighbourhoods to live in

Valencia is known as being the birthplace of paella, but is also loved for its fantastic beaches, atmospheric old town and the 7km Turia Gardens park that wind their way around the city. 

Affordability of healthcare came in first place, while availability came in third, ranking among the best healthcare worldwide.

READ ALSO – REVEALED: The cheapest and most expensive areas to buy or rent in Valencia 

Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences. Photo: JOSE JORDAN/AFP
 

Ease of getting around, public transport and being able to walk and cycle were also cited as highlights.

Like the other two cities though the Working Abroad category did not score highly, coming in 36th place. Career Prospects went down to 47th, which is the worst rated among the Spanish cities included in the ranking.

Despite this, 79 percent are happy with their work-life balance (vs. 63 percent globally). Foreign residents are pleased with the general cost of living (3rd) and Personal Finance (6th). It also came in 7th for affordable housing.

This could be helped by the fact that most feel welcome there and consider local residents to be friendly (89 percent vs. 67 percent globally for both factors).

A total of 80 percent of foreigners are happy with their social life in Valencia, compared to only 56 percent globally. These above-average results lead to a 6th-place ranking in the Ease of Settling In.

Overall 91 percent of foreigners are happy with their life in Valencia, compared to 72 percent globally.

Two other Spanish cities also scored highly in the rankings. The capital of Madrid came in sixth place, while the Catalan city of Barcelona took 13th spot. 

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PROPERTY

REVEALED: The financial aid and tax cuts for people who move to a village in Spain

If you're looking to move to a rural part of Spain, you can benefit from financial aid to buy a property, as well as personal income tax breaks.

Published: 3 July 2024 14:07 CEST
REVEALED: The financial aid and tax cuts for people who move to a village in Spain

For around the last 10 years, several places in Spain have been suffering greatly from depopulation in a phenomenon dubbed ‘Empty Spain’.

Around 22 million Spaniards live in the 100 most populated municipalities (not provinces) in Spain, according to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE).

This means that around half of the total Spanish population is concentrated in four percent of the national territory.

A lack of jobs, infrastructure and opportunities in rural areas has forced young people to move away, a trend which has been taking place since the days of Franco with Spain’s rapid industrialisation.

Services that did exist such as banking and health services are now also progressively closing down or moving to more populated areas.

READ ALSO: How ‘Empty Spain’ is now a political party

To face the challenge of what’s know as “Empty Spain”, the Spanish government included in its Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan a specific section dedicated to aid to help fight against depopulation.

This features many incentives for those who are willing to move to the countryside and help repopulate empty areas.

The aid aims to promote the economic and social rejuvenation of these areas by supporting innovative and sustainable projects that create jobs. 

Digital nomads have been facing a lot of backlash in Spain recently, blamed for increasing rental prices and gentrification in cities, but the fact is that if they’d be willing to move to the countryside, they’d not only be able to gain incentives and tax breaks, but also offer a new lease of life to areas that desperately need it.

READ ALSO: Spain’s Catalonia to offer up to €40,000 to renovate rural properties

The total budget allocated to helping combat ‘Empty Spain’ is €10 billion, of which €7 billion is coming from Next Generation EU European funds.

The ‘Repuebla Plan’ is an initiative that seeks to combat the depopulation of rural areas in Spain by offering housing and job opportunities to people who want to move to these areas.

What aid is available?

Aid for buying a home

The State Plan for Access to Housing 2022-2025 includes direct aid to help people under 35 to buy homes in municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants.

The aid consists of a subsidy of up to €10,800, with a limit of 20 percent of the purchase price for young adults who buy a home in these municipalities.

The property must be your habitual and permanent residence for at least five years and the prices cannot exceed 120,000. Applicants can also not have an income that exceeds €24,318 per year.

Tax breaks and housing benefits per region

Some Spanish regions have personal income tax deductions to attract new inhabitants, as well as other housing benefits.  

Aragón
Aragón will help those under 35 years to buy a house in municipalities of under 3,000 inhabitants. 

Asturias
Aid will be given for the acquisition or rehabilitation of a habitual residence in areas at risk of depopulation. It will be applicable to those under 35 years of age, large families or single parents.

Castilla y León
Aid will be granted to those under 36 years of age for the purchase of a home in municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, or 3,000 if it is located at a maximum distance of 30 kilometres from a provincial capital.

The region will also offer aid of up €10,000 self-employed people who move to a rural village in underpopulated areas, taking their economic activity or business with them. The place where you move to and your age, as well as your business will affect how much you get. 

Madrid
This region offers discounts of up to €1,000 for personal income tax for those under 35 years of age who live in municipalities with less than 2,500 inhabitants. There’s also a 10 percent discount on personal income tax for those who buy or restore homes in these municipalities.

Castilla-La Mancha
A 15 percent bonus will be given for buying or renovating a home in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants.

Murcia
The region offers a 15 percent deduction for the purchase or renovation of a primary residence in rural areas, with a limit of €9,040. A 20 percent deduction is also given for renting a primary residence in rural areas, with a limit of €700; and a deduction of €1,000 is given for starting an economic activity as a self-employed worker or as an employee in rural areas.

Galicia
This region offers a personal income tax deduction of 10 percent of the amount paid for the purchase or renovation of a habitual residence in municipalities with less than 3,000 inhabitants. This deduction has a limit of €400 per taxpayer and applies to those under 36, large families or people with disabilities.

La Rioja
Bonuses will be applied for the purchase, construction or rehabilitation of primary residences in small municipalities.

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