In order to discover where it is you want to relocate to in Spain, it’s worth getting a cheap flight deal to various locations in the country as often as you can. Obviously if you are retired and moving to Spain, you’ve a lot more time on your hands to do this. If you’re moving because of work you probably don’t have a whole lot of choice in where you choose to live. Unless you want a long commute in every day the safest bet is to move close to the office. For everyone else, just moving to enjoy the life of the expat, the choice is yours.
A twentieth of the population in Spain is expatriates. Harking from North Africa, South America and Britain, expatriates come to enjoy the warm climate, low cost of living and relaxed nature of the country. It is perhaps advisable if you are one of the lucky ones who can live wherever you like, to avoid the coastal resort areas of the country, as although you might have enjoyed living it up on the Costa del Sol on holidays, if you had to live surrounded by swathes of tourists drinking and partying where you actually live, you may start to tire of it pretty quickly.
Choose a place that has easy access to roads or railway lines that lead to the coast. Or move to a city like Barcelona that is near to a few coastal towns. That way if you want beach, you’ve got beach, and when it’s time to go home, home is everything you wanted it to be, a relaxed Spanish environment.
To live in a city then, may be the best idea you never had. Two highly recommended options here are the aforementioned Barcelona and the capital, Madrid.
Barcelona is a beautiful city. Las Ramblas run through its heart, with shops all along it and even a museum of erotica. Down a cobbled street you will find the Picasso Museum, with many famous works by the artist including a great number of works painted during his famous ‘Blue Period.’ The artist Gaudi’s work can be seen scattered across the city, its signature curved mosaic style a dead giveaway. The Sagrada Familia is his most famous achievement, one of the most unusual cubist cathedrals you will ever see. Barcelona is just a short distance away from coastal resorts such as the beautiful town of gay-friendly Sitges.
Madrid being the capital is the busiest part of Spain and you will see with the fastest walkers. Here you will find more Picasso in the form of perhaps his most famous and widely recognised piece, Guernica. There are pretty squares and parks in Madrid as well as trendy bars and restaurants. There is also an Egyptian temple, Templo de Debod, in the middle of the city in the Parque de la Montana. The temple was transferred bit by bit after it was saved from flooding. Madrid is away from the coast but the high speed trains in the country mean a trip to almost anywhere is never off the cards.
John Hutchinson has enjoyed travelling since he was a young boy when his parents first took him to visit family overseas. Since leaving home, John has tracked down family all over the world and regularly jets off to faraway lands to see distant relatives.