Live in Valencia: an honest take after ten years
Valencia keeps winning expat surveys. The 2024 InterNations Expat City Ranking put it at number one again, ahead of every other city in the world.
After a minor slip to 3rd place in 2023, Valencia returns to 2022 form by regaining first place in the 2024 Expat City Ranking. It also ranks first in the Quality of Life and Personal Finance Indices.
Source: InterNations Expat City Ranking 2024
I have lived here for over a decade. The number-one ranking is not wrong, but it does not tell you the whole story.
What follows is the honest version: what the surveys get right, what they miss, and what you should know before you actually live in Valencia.
What the rankings get right
Cost of living is genuinely lower than Madrid or Barcelona. Rent in a decent neighbourhood ran me roughly half what an equivalent flat would cost in Lisbon last year.
The climate delivers what the brochure promises. Around 300 days of sunshine, mild winters, hot but not unbearable summers if you know how to ventilate a flat properly.
The city is walkable and bike-friendly to a degree most European capitals cannot match. The Turia gardens, an old riverbed turned nine-kilometre linear park, is the daily lung of the city.
Healthcare is good and accessible. Once you have your SIP card, GP appointments come within days and the public hospitals are competent. Private cover is cheap by Northern European standards if you want faster specialists.
What the rankings do not capture
Valencia is loud. Genuinely, structurally loud. Scooters at 3am, neighbours at 1am, mascletà gunpowder concerts every spring afternoon. I have written a longer post specifically on the city’s relationship with noise because it deserves more than a one-line warning.
Bureaucracy is slow. Getting an NIE, registering for healthcare, opening a bank account, dealing with the Hacienda. Each step is straightforward in isolation. Sequenced together, the process eats months. Setting up a business locally compounds the friction.
The job market is not designed for foreigners who do not speak Spanish. InterNations itself flagged that 46% of Valencia respondents reported a poor local job market. If you are coming for the lifestyle and bringing your own income (remote work, freelancing, retirement, investment), Valencia is excellent. If you need to find a Spanish-language corporate job here, it is harder than the rankings suggest.
Summer in July and August is hot enough that the city empties. Many small businesses close for two to three weeks. If you arrive in August expecting a buzzing capital, you will find a coastal village.
The practical decisions that matter
Three early decisions shape your experience here more than people expect.
Neighbourhood. Ruzafa is hip but loud. El Carmen is beautiful but tourist-heavy. Cabanyal has the beach feel and a slower rhythm. Patraix or Benimaclet give you proper local life with good metro access. I cover the trade-offs in the neighbourhood guide.
Visa pathway. Americans, Brits, and other non-EU citizens have three viable routes: the Digital Nomad Visa, the Non-Lucrative Visa, and (until it closes) the Golden Visa. The choice has real tax implications. My breakdown of the residency options goes deeper.
Language commitment. You can survive in English in central Valencia. You cannot integrate. The version of life you get without Spanish is roughly half the experience, and almost none of the deeper community.
The honest pros and cons
Pros that are genuinely as good as advertised: climate, food culture, beach access, walkability, cost of living, healthcare, public transport, the Turia gardens, the festivals, the easy weekend escapes by train.
Cons the marketing leaves out: noise, bureaucracy, job market for non-Spanish speakers, summer heat, central housing competition during high season, the slow pace working against you when you need something done quickly.
If the cons sound like dealbreakers, Valencia is not your city. If they sound like fair trade for the pros, you will probably love it here.
Where to look next
If you are weighing the move, the practical pieces I keep getting asked about most:
- Real cost of living for North American and UK expats
- Airport guide and first-week settling-in tasks
- The full relocation checklist for Americans
- 10 things expats wish they had known before moving
If you want a local view on your move
The InterNations data is a useful starting point. The lived experience after ten years here is more nuanced than any survey can capture.
If you are weighing whether to make the move, want a second opinion on a neighbourhood, or have visa questions a real estate agent will not give you straight answers on, get in touch. I have walked the same path and I am happy to share what I learned the slow way.
