Searching for a place to call home is overwhelming. While many sources sing Valencia’s praises, several questions still arise. From ‘can I afford to live in Valencia?’ to ‘are there good job prospects?’, there are many considerations involved.
When combined, these considerations form the broader question, ‘is Valencia a good place to live?’.
The short answer? Yes, Valencia is a truly fantastic place to live. Described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘a simpler and more seductive Spain’, Spain’s third-largest city recently triumphed over the larger cities of Madrid and Barcelona, topping InterNations’ expat insider survey as the best city for expats. For us, the reasons to call Valencia home are clear, and we’ll detail them throughout this blog.
Low Cost of Living
‘Can I afford to live here?’ is a fundamental question when contemplating relocation. Fortunately, Valencia’s cost of living is remarkably low, especially compared to other major cities in Spain, Europe, and across the globe.
Our blog, Cost of Living in Valencia, breaks down the expenses you can expect to incur when living in Valencia and directly compares the results to other major cities. Here, we cited official figures showing that the cost of living in Valencia is 15.75 per cent lower than in Madrid and, notably, London is 51.2 per cent higher than in Valencia.
What is more, Valencian real estate is considerably undervalued – making it a fantastic option to get on the property ladder and for broader investment purposes.
Browse the amazing selection of properties available in Valencia city and province.
Quality of Life
You can expect a phenomenal quality of life in Valencia. Think glorious weather, excellent healthcare, delicious gastronomy, high safety, and a brilliant work-life balance. What is more, the luxurious Valencian lifestyle is attainable despite the low living cost.
Really, these two factors alone go a long way towards answering the question:
‘Is Valencia a good place to live?’ (YES).
Find out more about Valencia’s enviable quality of life:
Work Prospects
Admittedly, Valencia’s low cost of living is somewhat offset by the (generally) lower salaries offered by companies in Valencia. Furthermore, work opportunities were traditionally harder to come by compared to other major cities.
However, there has been a recent influx of international companies in Valencia, creating numerous new job opportunities for Valencians and expats alike. Moreover, many of these international companies are willing to provide more competitive salaries. As a result, many predict that other companies in Valencia will adapt their offerings to stay competitive and attract talent.
Further to these increasing opportunities, there has been a notable shift to remote working, which is likely to continue. This means that many are choosing to reside in beautiful, low-cost Valencia while enjoying high salaries from companies based elsewhere.
Find out more about remote working in Valencia:
Due to COVID-19, certain job opportunities are notably more scarce. However, we expect to see a similar number of job opportunities in Valencia (comparative to the number pre-COVID) when the situation improves. Moreover, the remote working trend will continue post-COVID, meaning that people can exploit the increasing number of new opportunity types.
Social Circles
Like many major cities, Valencia has a rich cosmopolitan society. As such, it is an extremely welcoming city for expats, where you can meet others from all walks of life.
The vibrant and welcoming city of Valencia presents many opportunities for expats to integrate into Valencian society and expand their social circle. From the traditional festivities like Las Fallas and La Tomatina to daily life, we have found plenty of opportunities to meet new people. Furthermore, should you opt to live in an exclusive urbanisation in the broader province, many include prestigious country club memberships where you’re sure to develop a fantastic social circle.
Find out more: Best Areas to Live in Valencia Province
In the absence of a country club membership (or even in addition to one), many expats actively seek social opportunities on platforms like Facebook and MeetUp, on which there are groups specifically for expats in Valencia. Through these groups, you can network and arrange to meet your new friends in one of Valencia’s lively bars or cosy cafés. Moreover, many of these groups advertise regular language exchanges, where you can meet with Spanish people who will help you practice your Spanish, in exchange for you helping them to practice English.
Moreover, there are plenty of opportunities to meet people organically, such as playing a sport, attending a fitness, art or language class, or even signing up for surfing lessons. There are numerous possibilities to meet new people while having a great time!
Our Verdict
As shown, there are many specific questions to consider when planning to relocate. In this blog, we have answered questions surrounding many fundamental aspects, from the cost of living and quality of life to work and social prospects in Valencia.
Our explanations indicate that the answers to these questions favour living in Valencia, and thus, we feel that we have in turn answered the broader, all-encompassing question:
‘Is Valencia a good place to live?’ – Absolutely.
Do you want to live in Valencia?
If yes, we urge you to get in contact today so we can get the ball rolling! Despite current, uncertain times, there are always ways to make your dreams closer to becoming a reality.
