Expat Spain: Warm, friendly and brilliant for family life
A great climate and friendly locals make up for the lack of career opportunities in Spain, according to a survey ranking the quality of life for expats around the world.
Spain ranked a respectable 14th out of 67 nations in the InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey, which was released on Monday.
It appears in the top five for quality of life and in the top ten for ease of settling in, according to the survey that ranks countries based on expat views on certain aspects of life.
Almost all expats living in Spain (92 percent) claim to be "overall satisfied with their life" despite the fact that only 42 percent of respondents felt "overall positive about their career prospects" in the country (far lower that the 55 percent global average).
READ MORE: Want to know the secret to a happy expat life in Spain?
With Spain barely out of a five year recession that has left the nation struggling with 20 percent unemployment it is hardly surprising that in the job security sub-category Spain ranked 55 out of 67 countries.
But Spain’s warm climate generally made expats very happy, with 84 percent of respondents stating that the weather was a positive factor in making the move and only one percent admitting that they weren’t happy with it when they got here.
Those expats with young families felt generally satisfied with Spain with over half evaluating Spain as excellent in its attitude to children (compared with a global average of 39 percent).
READ MORE: Life is better in Spain says survey of expat mums
But the category in which Spain excelled was in making expats feel welcome. Three-quarters of respondents agreed that it was "generally easy to settle down" in Spain (compared to the 59 percent global average) and 86 percent of expats said the "general friendliness of the population is overall good".
"I love the warmth of both the people and the climate! Money isn’t the main goal in life, and there is more focus on health and happiness," said one respondent.
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The survey by InterNations, which defines 'expats' as people who live in a different country than the one they were born in or whose nationality they have, quizzed some 14,300 people of 174 nationalities in 191 countries about various aspects of their lives.
Only sample sizes of at least 50 respondents per country were used in the final report.
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Spain ranked a respectable 14th out of 67 nations in the InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey, which was released on Monday.
It appears in the top five for quality of life and in the top ten for ease of settling in, according to the survey that ranks countries based on expat views on certain aspects of life.
Almost all expats living in Spain (92 percent) claim to be "overall satisfied with their life" despite the fact that only 42 percent of respondents felt "overall positive about their career prospects" in the country (far lower that the 55 percent global average).
READ MORE: Want to know the secret to a happy expat life in Spain?
With Spain barely out of a five year recession that has left the nation struggling with 20 percent unemployment it is hardly surprising that in the job security sub-category Spain ranked 55 out of 67 countries.
But Spain’s warm climate generally made expats very happy, with 84 percent of respondents stating that the weather was a positive factor in making the move and only one percent admitting that they weren’t happy with it when they got here.
Those expats with young families felt generally satisfied with Spain with over half evaluating Spain as excellent in its attitude to children (compared with a global average of 39 percent).
READ MORE: Life is better in Spain says survey of expat mums
But the category in which Spain excelled was in making expats feel welcome. Three-quarters of respondents agreed that it was "generally easy to settle down" in Spain (compared to the 59 percent global average) and 86 percent of expats said the "general friendliness of the population is overall good".
"I love the warmth of both the people and the climate! Money isn’t the main goal in life, and there is more focus on health and happiness," said one respondent.
The survey by InterNations, which defines 'expats' as people who live in a different country than the one they were born in or whose nationality they have, quizzed some 14,300 people of 174 nationalities in 191 countries about various aspects of their lives.
Only sample sizes of at least 50 respondents per country were used in the final report.
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