Lydia Spencer-Elliott
EXPATS have named Valencia the best city to live in, a new survey has revealed.
“Health and culture are great here. However, it has always been difficult regarding employment,” said one participant.
Additionally, over half of residents said the city was good for finding new friends.
From a list of 66 cities across the globe Valencia was ranked 1st for ‘overall’ quality, with Alicante, Malaga and Madrid all breaking into the top 10.
“Spain’s performance was really exceptional this year,” InterNations Founder, Malte Zeeck, told the Olive Press.
“Out of the five Spanish cities in the ranking, four have made it into the top 10, which is very impressive,” he said.
Notably, it was only Barcelona that has not scored a spot in the top 10 list.
However, the city still ranked 25th in a list of 66 locations.
“Expats love the wonderful climate in Spain and find it fairly easy to get settled in. They are also quite happy with the cost of living,” Zeeck continued.
“Last but certainly not least, expats report very high happiness levels in all five Spanish cities, which I think says a lot about the country.”
In second place, Alicante has proven a retirees paradise, with 81% of expats happy with their financial situation and ability to get settled in their new home.
Over 15,000 expats have participated in the survey to rank each location on quality of urban living, getting settled, urban work life, finance & housing, and local cost of living.
