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LIFE IN SPAIN

Spain ranked second best country for foreigners to live in 2023

Spain has emerged as the second favourite country for foreigners to live in, beating 51 other countries in the latest Internations Expat Insider survey. 

Published: 11 July 2023 17:16 CEST
spain best country for foreigners
A square in Hondarribia in the Basque Country. Spain is the second favourite country for foreigners to move to according to a new survey by Internations. Photo: Guerrero de la Luz/Pexels

Spain has long been a country that foreigners want to move to, with good weather, culture, food and quality of life being some of the main draws.

Its reputation as one of the world’s favourite destinations to live in has now been further consolidated after it came in second place in the latest Internations Expat Insider 2023 survey. 

The only country that came out ahead of Spain was Mexico. The others in the top five were Panama, Malaysia and Taiwan. The only other European country that made the top 10 places was Portugal in 10th place.

The worst five destinations for foreigners according to Internations respondents were Kuwait, Norway, Turkey, South Korea, and Germany.

With more than 12,000 respondents, it’s one of the most extensive surveys on living and working abroad and offers insights into life in 53 destinations worldwide.

Respondents’ provided detailed information on satisfaction with their respective countries in categories including – quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, personal finance, administration and language.

Spain in first place for quality of life 

Spain took the top spot 1st when it came to quality of life, with foreign residents particularly happy with their health and well-being (4th place) and leisure options (1st place).

Spain offers plenty of world-class beaches, historic cities, opportunities for sports and a wide variety of natural areas for an outdoor lifestyle.

Residents in Spain are satisfied with their social lives, coming in 10th place, finding it fairly easy to fit in with the local culture (2nd place).

Since the first Expat Insider survey in 2014, Spain has always ranked in the top 10 for quality of life and consistently featured among the best worldwide for its leisure options.

In fact, 88 percent of foreigners living in Spain are content with the culture and nightlife in España, compared to 68 percent globally.

Nine out of ten respondents said they’re pleased with the opportunities for recreational sports compared to 75 percent globally.

Thankfully, Spain’s great climate and sunny weather, the third best according to the survey, makes it easy for foreigners to enjoy these activities on a regular basis.

Spanish healthcare is highly valued

The quality of healthcare in Spain also ranked highly among foreign residents. They are satisfied with both the availability (84 percent happy vs. 71 percent globally) and the affordability (82 percent happy vs. 62 percent globally) of healthcare.

Spain’s quality of medical care came in 10th place globally. Quality public healthcare is free for those paying into the social security system and private healthcare insurance costs far less than in other countries such as the US.

READ ALSO: How does Spain’s healthcare system compare with the US?

Spain ranked highly for culture and social life. Photo: JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Culture, social life and feeling at home

Overall, Spain came in 6th place in the culture and welcome category, with four in five people surveyed saying they feel at home here, 18 percentage points more than the global average (62 percent).

They also consider it easy to get used to the local culture (78 percent are happy vs. 62 percent globally).

When it comes to social life and making friends, almost seven in ten say they have found a personal support network in Spain (vs. 58 percent globally), and 72 percent are satisfied with their social life there (vs. 56 percent globally).

Poor career opportunities 

Although Spain came out ahead overall, there were several categories where Spain didn’t perform well at all. Unsurprisingly, most of these had to do with working life. Spain performed worst in the working abroad category, coming in 34th place.

Less than half of respondents said that moving to Spain has improved their career prospects (vs. 59 percent globally), and 36 percent are unhappy with the local job market (vs. 26 percent globally). Job security came in 43rd place and the state of the local economy also ranked poorly, in 39th place overall.  

Foreigners in Spain often agree that you don’t move to Spain for career growth. Jobs are not easy to get, and moving up the career ladder is hard. In fact, it’s consistently ranked as one of the worst places to start a business and salaries and low compared to many other Western European countries.

Stats relating to the average foreigner who moves to Spain. Source: Internations

Spain’s frustrating bureaucracy

Spain also ranks below the worldwide average in the admin category, in 33rd place. Nearly half the respondents (47 percent) have difficulties dealing with the notoriously difficult bureaucracy, which takes up a lot of time and causes plenty of frustrations and delays. 

READ ALSO: How to get a ‘cita previa’ (appointment) in Spain when it seems impossible

On the positive side, the country ranks 10th in the work and leisure subcategory. This is mainly due to the fact that many are satisfied with their work-life balance (73 percent happy vs. 63 percent globally).

Cost of living and language

Despite the poor work opportunities, finances don’t appear to cause issues many for foreigners in Spain – more than two in three are happy with the general cost of living, compared to only 44 percent globally.

When it comes to the language 36 said they find it challenging to live in Spain without local language skills (vs. 32 percent globally), but luckily 62 percent say the local language(s) are easy to learn.

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LEGAL HELP

Noisy local fiestas: What to do when your Spanish town hall is responsible

Town and city fiestas are commonplace in Spain and they’re part of what made many of us fall in love with the country in the first place, but sometimes the town hall can overstep and the noise pollution just gets too much to bear for neighbours.

Published: 22 May 2024 09:35 CEST
Noisy local fiestas: What to do when your Spanish town hall is responsible

It’s bad enough in Spain when you have to deal with noisy neighbours or loud bars and clubs, but what about when the culprit is your ayuntamiento (town hall) or city council?

If you want to know what your rights are on noise from construction, find out here, what to do about noisy neighbours here and about bars and clubs here. 

During these local fiestas (every city, town and village has at least one a year), councils set up concert and performance venues form of open-air stages or tents called casetas or carpas.

In these cases, there’s often no sound insulation and the noise carries much further as everything happens outside.

Even though these festivals may only go one for a week or two, they can often disturb residents who aren’t in attendance and are trying to sleep.

You could be someone who needs extra sleep like a doctor, nurse or firefighter, you may be ill or have small children, there are many reasons why you might not be able or want to join in. Even if you are in the minority, your rights should still be respected.

In fact, in places such as Barcelona, when the local Gràcia festival takes place, there’s so much noise created by neighbourhood organisers that some people even decide to leave their apartments for the week as they know they won’t be able to sleep.

This option is of course not open to everyone, and in truth, you shouldn’t have to leave your home temporarily because of a celebration that is supposed to bring joy to the local population.

So, what can you legally do and what are your rights?

Even city and town councils must continue to comply with municipal by-laws during local fiestas. The Spanish Civil Code guarantees that you should have respect in your own home.

Law 40/2015, of October 1st, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, which came into force in October 2016, establishes that “Public Administrations objectively serve the general interests and act in accordance with the principles of effectiveness, hierarchy, decentralisation and coordination, with full submission to the Constitution and the Law”. 

This means that even the authorities must uphold the law and serve their people. They have a public responsibility to manage and to do it to the best of their abilities.

The first thing to keep in mind is that you stand a much better chance of getting your council to listen if you find other people who are affected too, so it’s not just you complaining on your own.

Make sure to talk to your neighbours or others living on the same street to find out if they’re also affected by the noise and form a group of people who share your grievances.

In theory, councils and ayuntamientos are in charge of enforcing celebration schedules, making sure the volume of music isn’t too loud, controlling the capacity at venues and enforcing alcohol laws so that people are not drinking on the street (if it’s not allowed in that region).

READ ALSO – FACT CHECK: No, Spain’s Balearics haven’t banned tourists from drinking alcohol

According to Law 7/2002 on protection against noise pollution, these are the maximum sound levels allowed for leisure venues:

Nightclubs: 104 decibels

Venues with musical entertainment: 90 decibels

Game rooms: 85 decibels

Bars and restaurants: 80 decibels

Find out if the festival events and activities infringe on any of these rules and regulations above and if they do then you have a case to take to your town hall.

Technically, the festivals should take place at a local fairground or somewhere away from the main residential area, but we know that this is not always the case. The concerts and events often happen in the very streets and squares where people live.

Firstly, you need to contact your ayuntamiento or local council or explain the problem. It’s best if you put it in writing so there’s a record of what you’ve said.

Try to include as much evidence as possible as to how the festivals are breaking the rules and include testimonials from as many neighbours as you can.

Organisers may not listen to you the first time, but if you keep contacting them, they will be forced to listen and have to respond.

If the situation is the same every year and they still don’t change anything, then you and your neighbours should contact a lawyer to represent you and take the matter to court.

This has actually been done several times by different communities throughout the country and in many instances, the law has sided with the people instead of the authorities.

In 2017, the Superior Court of Justice of Navarra, sided with a community of owners in Mutilva Baja when they complained about noise coming from an outdoor tent which had been erected for the festivities of the local patron saint. They claimed it was noise pollution above the legal levels and said the council had done nothing to try and reduce it.  

In another case in Getafe, thanks to a neighbourhood protest led by a lawyer specialising in noise pollution called Ricardo Ayala, the carnival celebrations were moved to the fairgrounds on the outskirts of the city.

Again in 2022, in Castilla-La Mancha, the Supreme Justice Tribunal imposed a sentence on the the Puerto Lápice City Council due to damages derived from noise pollution from musical events held in the town square.

The celebrations were not forced to be stopped completely but the council did have to agree with a limitation on hours and noise levels specifically for the concerts held in tents outside. It did not affect any other part of the festival.

Therefore, it is possible to take legal action against your ayuntamiento if they are breaking the law, but there’s no guarantee it will be a straightforward process.

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