Spain Voted In Top Five Countries For Expats
Spain News
Published: 05 July 2019 10:43 CET
Updated: 16 July 2019 12:43 CET
Spain has once again come out on top, with expats placing it in the top five of the most desirable countries in which to live in.
After being ranked 13th in 2018, Spain jumped up to 4th place according to the results of a recent HSBC Global Survey.
The only other countries that fared better in the report were Switzerland, Singapore and Canada with New Zealand rounding off the top five. Another favourite for Brits, Australia finished in 6th spot with the UK in an unsurprising 27th place.
The results were gathered after 18,059 participants over the age of 18 answered 27 online questions in regards to living and working outside of their own countries. Questions covered living standards, employment, finances, wellbeing and opportunities for children.
Spain scores particularly well with expats when it comes to quality of life, physical and mental wellbeing, personal safety and of course, everyone’s favourite, the weather.
The survey also included a number of tips from expats who had relocated to Spain offering some advice to those wishing to do the same.
“Adapt to the hours and meal times as soon as possible; don't fight the Spanish schedule.”
“Buy local expat newspapers before and after you arrive as they are a great source of information and have experienced all your problems queries and issues ahead of you; and more importantly will have some of the answers.”
“The difference in learning some local 'cult' phrases and sayings allows you to interact and joke, rather than demand others to interact with you. It can make the difference to someone thinking "not another foreigner" to... "hey I'd like to help them".”
“I would firstly agree on the place you would like to live and then rent for about six months. If you find that all is too your liking then is the time to commit.”
“If you're going to Spain to work, be prepared to work different hours to other EU countries. In Spain a lot of places close for siesta between 2pm and 5pm, then remain open till 9pm or 10pm. It's considered normal to work until 9 or 10 pm (while having some time off during the day) since this is considered normal business hours here.”
You can see the HSBC Global Survey here https://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com/survey/
Image Source: Diliff [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
