Spain Is The 4th Best Country In The World For Expats

In the latest edition of the HSBC global survey, Spain now ranks as the 4th best place for ex-pats to live and work.

In fact, of all the ex-pats living in Spain that took the survey, 83% of them said that their lives had improved since moving to the Iberian Peninsula.

This 4th place ranking is the best position Spain has attained since the survey began 12 years ago.

In 2018 Spain finished in 13th place, yet this year managed to climb to 4th place with only Switzerland, Singapore, and Canada placing higher.

The weather in Spain played a big part in the ranking

The primary reason listed as being a deciding factor of why ex-pats liked Spain so much was, of course, the weather but there were other factors too.

The questions asked were divided into three broad groups and included, living standards, job advancement, financial goals and opportunities for children.

When studying the answers to the questions asked, there were three distinct areas where Spain scored high.

• A safe place to live and work.
• The sunny weather and mild climate.
• Overall better quality of life.

Personal safety ranked high

When it came to personal safety, 61% of people who took the survey said that they felt safer in Spain than in their home country.

The good weather also ranked high in the survey as it should, because waking up to a nice sunny day goes a long way to making you feel good.

The defining factor, though, and the main reason ex-pats like Spain so much was the quality of life, with 83% of the survey takers saying that their quality of life and overall wellbeing had improved since moving to Spain.

Spain is not the place to advance your career or make money

Where Spain scored badly was on the job and financial front where the majority of respondents said that Spain was not a good place to live if you were looking to advance your career.

They also cited lower wages in Spain as being a drawback with the ex-pats surveyed in Spain making an average of 36,000€ per year. This figure is around half the average 67,300€ that ex-pats earned in the other countries in the survey.

This can be a little lob sided though, as the cost of living was not taken into account, and we all know it is much cheaper to live in Spain than places like Singapore and Switzerland.

Where Spain did rank highly was when it came to families with children.

Good schools and the ability for children to make new friends easily was a big plus, as was the safety factor and the sense of community.

Family values too played a part with ex-pats noting how Spanish families looked after each other.

To sum up, Spain may not be the right place for you if you have career aspirations, or want to make a ton of money.

If however, you are looking to live in a safe place with a sunny climate and appreciate a more leisurely pace of life where personal happiness trumps financial reward, Spain could very well be the ticket!