Spain Comes in 4th in Survey Assessing Expat Quality of Life

Spain Comes in 4^th in Survey Assessing Expat Quality of Life

Spain is considered to be one of the best places there is to be an expat, at least according to the latest survey by expat network InterNations. The survey included over 14,000 expats from around the world and included questions about living life abroad.

Its confirmed that Spain is one of the very best

countries to live in the world. 

Over 174 nationalities spread across 191 countries were asked how they would rate the quality of life where they live on several key factors such as safety and security, leisure options, health and wellbeing, and their own personal happiness.

When all of these metrics were considered, Spain came in fourth overall in the world. Spain performed well on several fronts; in particular the Ease of Settling in index, which ranks how welcome expats feel as soon as they arrive in Spain.

The friendliness of Spain alleviates many traditional fears expats have, and is complemented by the affordability, safety, climate, and infrastructure of the country that makes it easy to get around and get back home for visits.

There were only three countries in the whole world that ranked ahead of Spain. Japan came in third place, thanks to the peaceful lifestyle and great medical care. Austria came in second because of the clean air, good infrastructure, and great job prospects of the country. First place went to Taiwan; where expats can expect high levels of safety, plenty of choices for leisure, and high paying jobs.

Spain still topped the polls for Europe and is the destination of choice for many expats in the UK and wider European area thanks to the location, weather, and variety of places to live.

After factoring in the affordability and cost of living of the country, even expats who aren’t looking to get a high paying job can find comfort and a good life in Spain.

Spain Maintains Second Highest Life Expectancy in the World

Spain Maintains Second Highest Life Expectancy in the World

With the sun 320 days a year and the healthy life style its

no wonder the Spanish and its aging residents

live longer than Northern Europe 

The latest statistics from OECD suggest that the average life expectancy reached 83.2 years in Spain for 2016, meaning that Spain has the second highest life expectancy in the world after Japan.

In Japan the life expectancy is a slightly longer 83.4 years, but Spain is one of the healthiest nations in the world and offers the best chance of living a long and healthy life.

The data from the OECD census says that Spain has over 100,000 people who are older than 100. News outlet Reuters sent out their reporters to interview some of these people and find out how they live such long and healthy lives.

Some of the answers were the usual ones of “laugh, love, andeat well in Spain”, and then there were more intriguing answers. 106-year old Pedro Rodríguez swears that the secret to his longevity has been music as he has been playing the piano every day since he first learned how when he was young.

112-year old Francisco Núñez lives with his 81-year-old daughter at her home after shrugging off the local pensioners’ daycare; complaining that it had too many old people. 101-year-old Gumersindo Cubo suggests exploring his local woods as a child gave him the fortitude needed to live past 100. He attributes his long life to the pine resin he would inhale in the woods as a child, saying his mother would put a jar of it under his bed when he was sick.

Comas points out that all the people he talked to had their own strong support network of family and friends living by them, which is likely another reason they were able to reach such an old age. The Spanish approach of “family first”, which is also seen in Japan, is one of the main reasons Spanish people lead such long lives. Loneliness can be a real killer in the west but, as people grow older in Spain, their bonds only strengthen.

This, alongside the varied and healthy Mediterranean diet of Spain are what keeps the people there in fighting fit shape. Of course the welcoming climate and leisurely pace of life in the country also helps in creating a society that enjoys rich, long lives.

Spain Comes In 4th in Survey on Quality of Life for Expats

Spain Comes In 4th in Survey on Quality of Life for Expats

Life and is great in Spain

The latest Expat Insider Survey from InterNations is out and the results place Spain as the 4^th best country for expats to live; much higher than other countries including Germany, France, Italy and Australia.

This study was one of the most extensive of its kind and looked into the lives and experiences of expatriates living around the world. 14,000 people were polled about life away from home including the quality of healthcare, safety and security, their personal happiness, leisure options, transport and travel quality, and employment opportunities.

The top spot went to Taiwan, which was highly ranked for their economy, safety, and cultural attractions. Second place went to the European nation of Austria, making Austria the highest ranking European country. Austria scored well for their standard of living and expat employment opportunities.

Third place, one place ahead of Spain, was Japan. Japan coming in third may be a surprise given the infamous hostility that Japan seems to hold for other countries. Japan is great for temporary expats however as it offers safety, leisure, cultural attractions and high paying jobs.

Spain did quite well in just about every category. It scored particularly well on climate, scenery, and the relaxed pace of Spanish life. The country came in second for leisure. Expats were very high on Spain for the way the country welcomes children and the culture that promotes being out doors as much as possible.

The other European countries ranking in the top ten were Malta, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. Costa Rica and Singapore made up the rest of the top ten. While France has always thought of itself for being the best place for an expat to be it actually came 15^th, between Australia at 15^th and New Zealand at 13^th.

Spanish neighbour Portugal came in 14^th and both the UK and Italy didn’t place in the top 20 at all.

OECD Better Life Index Ranks Spain Among Best In The World for Work-Life Balance

OECD Better Life Index Ranks Spain Among Best In The World for Work-Life Balance

Its no surprise that Spain is one of the best

places in the world to live.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published the results from their latest Better Life Index. The results show that Spain performed quite well on several indices. So moving to Spain could greatly improve your life.

Even though overall life satisfaction was down globally – a mood swing likely caused by the never-ending economic problems of the world – Spain performed quite well in several areas. These great results included topping the table on work-life balance, the sense of community, and health and safety. 

The Better Life Index ranks the 34 most stable and rich nations the world over and ranks them based a number of topics including: Income, Housing, Community, Jobs, Environment, Education, Civic Engagement, Life Satisfaction, Health, Safety, and Work-Life Balance.

While Spain didn’t perform too well on some indices, such as jobs and income, in general life Spain is better than the OECD average.

The index results make for an interesting read. In terms of income the average disposable income of a Spanish household was €16,962, which was just below the €17,111 OECD average. There is also quite a divide between the richest and poorest people in Spain; the top 20 of Spanish earners are six times richer than the bottom 20%.

Spain also ranked just below the OECD average in employment levels. The results show that 58% of the working-age people in Spain have a paid job. This is a little below the 66% average. The study also shows that the Spanish work less hours than average. Spaniards work for an average of 1,690 hours in a year which is slightly less than the 1,776 average. Spain also performed a little blow par in education. Only 53% of adults aged between 25 and 64 hold a degree in Spain, which is significantly lower than the 74% OECD average.

The Good News

The good news is that, even though it’s bad that Spain has low job prospects and earnings, along with less highly educated people, the OECD study showcased how strong Spanish lifestyle and culture is. Spain has one of the longest life expectancies in the world; the Spanish life expectancy is 82 years; higher than the 80 years OECD average.

Spain also did well in terms of community. Spaniards are generally gregarious and friendly. They also possess a strong sense of civic duty that led to Spain doing well in this area. 93% of Spanish people said that they had someone they could call on if they found themselves in need; higher than the OECD average of 90%.

Spain also topped the tables in terms of the work-life balance; scoring a 9.1 out of 10.

Spain performed above average overall when compared to other nations in the Better Life Index. The cultural strength of the country made up for the shortcomings that gotten worse since the economy went down. Even though Spain still has some economic problems it remains one of the safest country in the world. Spain has the eighth-lowest homicide rate, great gender equality levels, low cost of living and an overall widespread sense of personal security is felt by every Spaniard.

Latest Survey puts Spain at Top of the Chart for Expat Healthcare and Social Life

Latest Survey puts Spain at Top of the Chart for Expat Healthcare and Social Life

If you’re an expat looking to find safety, healthcare, culture, and build a strong family and social life then it doesn’t get much better than Spain.

Spain and the Costa del Sol continue to draw

expats as its a great place to live

The latest Expat Explorer Survey from HSBC was published this week and it showed that Spain is considered to be one of the best destinations in the world for expats; at least as far as having an active social life and good quality healthcare goes.

The survey was taken by 21,950 people across 39 countries. According to these participants Spain did well in terms of property value and choice as it ranked in third place overall. Spain also did well in quality of life (coming second) and culture (coming third).

Even though Spain only came in 13^th overall the country still did well in the metrics that families and expats are more interested in; including safety, integration, making friends, and provide for the family. Spain did particularly well in how easy children find it to settle in to their new lives abroad.

This was the eighth annual HSBC Expat Explorer Survey and this year things seemed to favour the financial metrics. Singapore came in first because of their ability to provide expats with well-paying jobs. They also performed well in terms of safety and their scores in culture and integration improved over recent years.

Spain found itself let down thanks to the quality of schools and finance; ranking 26^th and 17^th respectively. It’s interesting that school quality was an issue given that many of the countries in the survey, such as Singapore, are known for doing everything they can to accommodate expats; so the quality of education would develop as a matter of this.

While there is a lot of choice on the Costa del Sol, many expats in Spain feel there are still some regions where there are very few British or international schools, which is why there is such a discrepancy. When it comes to finance many people are aware of the economic problems Spain has dealt with in recent years. Many are also aware of the recovery, which has really picked up steam this year.

The good news for expats is that Spain did above-average in the areas that will matter most to them. Spain is known for providing great healthcare, a welcoming culture that makes it easy to socialise and make friends, and overall a country filled with tolerant people that is easy to integrate into and has a low cost of living.

The areas that let Spain down were job security, entrepreneurship, wage growth and career progression. While these metrics may not be easily fixed, they are at least problems Spain can work on to improve.

The survey took the countries and broke each one into three different categories; Experience, economics and family. Spain may have come in 36^th out of 39 for Economics but it came in second for Experience and fourth for Family – presenting the largest divide between the categories seen with any nation.

The results send a clear message to the politicians of Spain; do something about the job market and the economy and you’ll build up the best country in the world to be an expat in.

To contrast the 13^th place of Spain, the UK came in 23^rd and France came in 29^th. In a disappointing and somewhat surprising move Italy came in 38^th; beating out only Brazil.

Spain Still Has One of the Best Life Expectancies in the World

Spain Still Has One of the Best Life Expectancies in the World

Spain and the Costa del Sol with its healthy

diet and warm feel good factor is  a fantastic

place to live.

Spaniards live a pretty long life thanks to their endless supply of sunshine, sea and fresh air. Many studies have been done that prove the benefits of living the traditional Mediterranean lifestyle, with practically every wealthy Western nation bordering the Med enjoying their own long life expectancy compared to Europe and even most of the world.

Data published from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has shown that Spain is starting to pull away from the rest of Europe in terms of life expectancy, along with France and Italy.

The Spanish average life expectancy has risen again and is now 82 years, which represents a five year increase over the past 20 years. It’s also one of the highest life expectancies in the western world. Back in 1990 the average Spanish life expectancy was 77 years, compared to the British 76 years. Britain has also seen an increase and now the average life expectancy for Brits is 81.5 years.

On a global level Spain ranks in 13^th when it comes to life expectancy. The top spot belongs to Andorra; the small country bordering Spain and France. People in Andorra can expect to live to an average age of 83.9 years.

While Japan did come in second place with their average lifespan of 83.3 years, they were followed by Iceland, Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus, Malta and Italy; showcasing that European countries, especially those around the Mediterranean, are where you need to live if you want to live as long as possible.

The Spanish also have some of the healthiest lifestyles in the world, according to more research that was conducted by Public Health England. The research showed that in England there are large discrepancies in health.

People living in the southeast and southwest of England have some of the best life expectancies in Europe but the more northern areas of the UK, in particular Scotland, performed badly in terms of health and longevity.

Another study; this one from the Global Burden of Disease, showed that living Spain reduces the chances of dying from many of the diseases and afflictions that plague the British including poor diets, diabetes, and high blood pressure; all of which play a big role in the health and death statistics of the country.

Spaniards are protected from many of the common diet-related health issues thanks to the Mediterranean Diet comprised of fruit, vegetables, fish and pulses. Spaniards are also guaranteed to get plenty of rest and their daily doses of vitamins C and D thanks to the generally slower paced lifestyle of Spain and the climate there.

Poll Finds 92% of Spanish Expats Satisfied with Life

Poll Finds 92% of Spanish Expats Satisfied with Life

InterNations recently conducted their Expat Insider survey and found that practically every expat living in Spain says they are satisfied with their life in the country.

The annual poll was released this week and also includes what the main attractions of Spain are; people love the warmth, the landscape, the family-friendly atmosphere, and the accessibility of the country. These were the reasons most expats gave for why they choose to live inSpain.

Spain ranked 14^th out of 67 countries polled. While it performed well in a number of metrics the country was let down by the lack of employment opportunities. Only 42% of those polled said that they felt positive about their career prospects in Spain. This category has a global average of 55% but, as many expats end up moving to Spain in order to work, this figure of 42% could be misleading.

When Spain was ranked on just why it attracts expats then it scored quite well. Over ¾ of the people who were polled said that Spain was just easy to settle down in, which was well above the global average of 59%. 86% of those polled said that the Spanish people are also friendly and welcoming.

84% of those polled also praised the Spanish weather and said that it was another positive factor of Spanish life. Only 1% of those polled said that they were dissatisfied with the Spanish weather after moving to the country.

The poll was conducted on over 14,000 people across 174 nationalities living in over 191 countries globally. Only the countries that saw more than 50 responses were ranked which is why it only goes to 67. This leaderboard of 67 countries was topped by Taiwan, Malta, Ecuador, Mexico and then New Zealand.

Spain was one of the most favoured European countries after Malta, Austria, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. Spain was certainly one of the most popular ones. Given how many people responded about Spain it’s almost a miracle that the numbers were so high.

Then again perhaps it isn’t all that surprising. Just look around and see the beaches, mountains, cities in Spain, people, infrastructure and economy of the country and you’ll soon see it really is one of the best places to live.

Survey Finds the Expat Life is Great for Wealth, Health, and Happiness

Survey Finds the Expat Life in Spain is Great for Wealth, Health, and Happiness

Living in the Costa del Sol is great for your Health.

A new survey by international real estate company MoveHub has discovered that moving to another country such as Spain due to the climate can really benefit your wallet, your body and your mind. They polled 1,000 people from across the UK, half of whom were expats and half that had never lived abroad. Their polling found that 69% of the people that had lived abroad would describe their health as being good or better. On the other hand only 58% of the people who never lived abroad could say the same.

Around 40%, compared to the 28% of people who were, or had been, expats said that they felt they earned a good salary. All of these benefits spread to happiness too. 63% of expats felt that they were happy or very happy. This was higher than the 53% of non-expats.

The study by MoveHub is just the latest sign that living in another country can lead to a lot of benefits. Other surveys have suggested this too. In fact there are barely any drawbacks at all. Expats are better educated, are more open-minded and willing to embrace another culture, and find themselves part of wide and varied social circles. As long as they do a little research before they move anyway.

Moving to Spain is a great way to experience these benefits and more. Spain has a great climate and a friendly culture, as well as the fantastic Mediterranean diet. Spain has quickly become the ideal choice for British and Irish people who want to try living in another country.

Spain is also currently in the middle of recovering their economy and property market. This means that it’s a great choice for people as they are more likely to find themselves living the good life experienced by expats in Spain.

A “Death Map” of Europe Shows Living in Costa del Sol and Spain can Provide a Longer Life.

Life expectancy longer in the Costa del Sol. 

Studies have been proving for a long time the health benefits of eating a Mediterranean diet and local cuisine in Spain, but it’s only now that a “Death Map” has been compiled by the British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. This map shows that the people living a Mediterranean lifestyle really do live longer than other European people especially it seems with the climate of southern Spain that has w an average all year temperature of 20C and have less environmental concerns in Spain than other parts of Europe.

Death Map

It’s a rather morbid thing to look at but it does show the clear divide in Europe, especially between the richer west side of Europe and the poorer Eastern Europe. It also shows a divide between the colder, if not wealthy and high spending Scandinavian countries, and their sunnier, more southern relatives.

The study shows that people who live in the warmer climates of Spain, Italy, Andorra and the southern and western parts of France can expect to have longer and healthier lives than people living in the UK, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

One of the main causes for this longevity is thought to be the diet of these southern countries. People in Spain, Italy and France eat far more fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil in the restaurants in Spain. They also eat less processed foods and less red meat.

Combining this diet with warmer climates in Spain and great healthcare systems means that these people enjoy not just longer lives overall, but healthier lives too. The Mediterranean countries have far higher percentages of people aged over 75 and considered healthy than anywhere else. The NHS might be keeping British alive for longer but it’s not keeping them healthier.

The study showed that in the ten years leading up to 2011, the Mediterranean countries saw the largest rise in the number of people aged between 75-84. There was also a rise in the 85-94 age bracket.