Study Finds Spain Most Active EU Country

While Spain is currently being cooked by the kind of sweltering heat that is good for exercising in, the fact Spain sees so much warm weather all-year-long is no doubt one of the reasons that it is the most active country in the European Union.

Researchers from the Stanford University in America tracked average step counts of people across 46 countries based on data from their smartphones.

The study showed that the average Spaniard walks 5,936steps, putting the country ahead of every other country in the EU. Hong Kong was the most active country on a global scale, with China and Japan coming in second and third. Indonesia came in last.

The Spanish proved to be much more active than the rest of Europe. The rest of the top five was made up of Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Britain. The Greeks came in last for Europe, averaging around 4,400 steps each day.

The reason behind the research was to assess the correlation between activity and obesity and heart disease rates. This is one example where correlation is in fact causation. Hong Kong is one of the most active countries and also the country with some of the lowest heart disease and obesity rates there is. Hong Kong was also the country that saw the smallest gap between the most and least active walkers. The study showed there was also a connection between the size of this gap and obesity rates.

The Stanford professors refer to it as an “activity in equality” and say that it is a good indicator of the general health of the population of a country. Hong Kong scored top in the world with a rating of 22.2, while Spain was able to place in the global top 10 with a rating of 26.1.

Following the data would make the least active countries the USA, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Canada – which also happen to be the countries with the largest carbon footprints in the world per capita.

Given the active nature of Australians however, it looks like step-count data isn’t enough by itself to determine the health of a nation.

For Spain however, the combination of an outdoors lifestyle, Mediterranean diet, and solid balance between work and life have apparently created one of the healthiest countries there is.

Study Finds People in Spain Don’t Drink Enough Water

Study Finds People in Spain Don’t Drink Enough Water

Its a fact, we all need to drink more water

As the temperature in Spain continues to rise for the summer, there’s a strong urge to throw yourself into the nearest body of water. There’s also the temptation to find a sweet shaded spot and enjoy a chilled wine or a fruity sangria.

Such are the simple pleasures of life in Spain that have been embraced by the Spanish and expats alike. Heat also brings dehydration however, and a recent study by the Spanish Royal National Academy of Medicine has discovered Spanish men and women aren’t getting enough water. The issue could quickly give rise to serious health problems down the line.

The study showed that less than one in five Spanishresidents was getting the daily recommended amount of 2.5 litres of water per day (for men) or 2 litres of water per day (for women).

The snarky among you might comment that they drink more than 2 litres of beer in a few hours, but the truth is wines and spirits, and even tea and coffee, are diuretics. This means that they cause you to pee more, leaving you dehydrated rather than rehydrated.

The way to stay hydrated is to drink juice and water, but the study showed that the average Spanish man drinks 1.7 litres of water a day, while the average woman consumes 1.6 litres.

Both sexes can expect to be left feeling tired and dehydrated when consuming just 20% less than the recommended amount. This can impair their work performance and increases the risk of a fatal road accident.

Being thirsty is a prime sign that your body is already dehydrated. It shouldn’t be considered a sign that you’re good to crack open another beer and drink some wine.

There’s no need for things to stay this way however. Spanish tap water is completely safe to drink, and can actually be quite delicious – as long as it’s not from Majorca! Bottled water is cheap and plentiful in Spain as well. If you feel that 2 litres of water is just too much, then remember that it’s just four bottles of 500ml or three pints of water. Anyone can fit that into their day.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on the colour of your urine. Yellow urine – to the point it’s darker than straw – is a sign that you’ve become dehydrated and should grab a glass of water.

Staying hydrated is a major issue in Spanish summertime, when being dehydrated can lead to sun and heatstroke, especially as the temperatures reach up to the mid-30s; which they do every single Spanish summer

Study Finds Average Expat Takes Six Months to Settle In

Study Finds Average Expat Takes Six Months to Settle In

Once settled in to the Spanish life style its hard to leave.

We’d like to start by offering a hearty congratulations to all the people out there that have recently made the choice to leave their home country behind and become an expat. It’s certainly a daunting move, but it could end up being the best decision you’ve ever made.

You shouldn’t worry if you’re having trouble fitting in and settling as soon as you arrive. Everyone goes through the expat life differently, but the process generally follows the same pattern; there’s the initial honeymoon period, then some time spent in doubt and frustration, and then a long period of amusement and bemusement as you take in the differences in culture, before you finally settle in for the long haul; putting down some permanent roots and making new friends.

A recent survey from HSBC known as the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey has assessed that this process takes six months on average.

HSBC polled thousands of expats and found that two-thirds of them took six months to feel like they had truly settled into their new country.

Just under half of expat parents with their children felt it took this long for their children to settle in, seemingly proving the adage that younger people adapt to new surroundings faster.

In the long term, 60% of parents said they feel their children had a higher quality of life abroad. Only 13% of parents feel that expat life was inferior to home life for their children.

Study Finds Costa del Sol One of the Best Value Beach Destinations in Europe

Study Finds Costa del Sol One of the Best Value Beach Destinations in Europe

There are 100's kilometres of fantastic beaches on the Costa del sol

A study from the UK Post Office of 19 European beach destinations discovered the Costa del Sol is the third-most affordable resort in Europe.

Even though Sunny Beach in Bulgaria was the top of the polls, it was still impressive for the Costa del Sol to come in third behind the Algarve in Portugal, especially given that the region comes with some of the most luxurious and family-friendly resorts in the world.

The Post Office survey analysed the cost of a basket of the everyday items a family would need on holiday. They found that it would cost £61 for all these items in the Costa del Sol. The basket includes 10 holiday staples such as ice cream, sun cream, and evening drinks and meals.

At the Sunny Beach of the Bulgarian Black Sea, the basket cost just £37, and £58 in the Algarve.

An interesting statistic is that the most expensive location in Europe can also be found in Spain. This shopping basket would cost £131 in Ibiza. So, by comparison, the Costa del Sol is incredible value.

While Marbella and Puerto Banús might not have the reputation and the nightlife of Ibiza, they are still able to stand their ground as far as glamorous clubs goes. In terms of theme parks, beaches, weather, restaurants, transport, choice and culture; there’s a wealth of choice in Costa del Sol.

Not far away from Cosat del Sol is the Costa Blanca, where the tourist basket would be £76; over 25% more expensive than in the Costa del Sol. It’s £89 in Majorca, around 47% higher than in the Costa del Sol.

The top five was completed by Marmaris in Turkey and Paphos in Cyprus. The five most expensive resorts of Europe were Ibiza, Sorrento of Italy, Nice of France, Zadar of Croatia, and the Lisbon coast in Portugal.

Study Finds Costa del Sol is Home to Most Accessible Airport in Europe

Study Finds Costa del Sol is Home to Most Accessible Airport in Europe

Malaga Airport is now one of the top airports in Europe

While it could not be the most scientific study ever performed, the millions of tourists expected to hit the Costa del Sol in 2017 are unlikely to care. Travel info and comparison platform GoEuro has ranked the Malaga airport as being the easiest one to access with public transport in Europe.

The Malaga-Costa del Sol terminal got a total score of 99.9 out of 100, putting it ahead of the other 29 busiest airports in the continent as far as accessibility goes; in particular with regards to public transport.

Even though the airport doesn’t have overground and underground railway connections like other major airports in Europe, it is appealing because of its sheer simplicity; there are quick, affordable, and regular buses connecting the terminal to the centre of Malaga for just €2 (or €1.80 for the train), with fleets of coaches ready to ferry holidaymakers over to Marbella, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, and even further.

Since the Malaga-Costa del Sol airport received an upgrade in 2010, it has become one of the unsung heroes in the record-breaking success the Costa del Sol has seen with tourism, efficiently moving thousands of holidaymakers to and from southern Spain with barely any hassle.

Passenger numbers for this year are already up 18.4% compared to the same time period in 2016, suggesting 2017 is going to be another record breaking year.

While many of the arrivals will head straight for the coast, the Malaga-Costa del Sol airport is also top of the charts due to its location near a city centre, as you can be in the heart of Malaga with a short trip o a bus or train. Second and third place in proximity to the city centre went to the Lisbon and Nice-Cote d’Azure  airports respectively.

Elsewhere in the country, the Palma de Majorca airport came in ninth for accessibility, with 10^th and 11^th place taken by El Prat in Barcelona and Madrid-Barajas airports for their quick, convenient, and affordable public transport.

The study found that Warsaw airport in Poland was where the cheapest public transport airport journey could be found in Europe.

Study Finds Costa del Sol Holiday Costs to Fall in 2017

Study Finds Costa del Sol Holiday Costs to Fall in 2017

The demand for the Costa del Sol continues

even if prices drop slightly

The latest Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer suggests that the average price on a basket of “holiday goods” will fall by around 3% in the Costa del Sol during 2017. This annual Barometer looks at the average prices of holiday essentials like sunscreen, beer, wine, dining out, ice cream, and toiletries in 44 of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

2017 is going to see the main resorts of the Costa del Sol be a little cheaper compared to last year, meaning that holidaymakers will be able to stretch their euros and pounds a little further.

It’s expected that the cheapest destination in 2017 will be Algarve in Portugal; where it will only cost you £33.36 to pick up a basket of these staple goods. This is a price drop of £4 compared to last year.

A basket of holiday goods in the Costa del Sol will cost £38.79, putting Spain in third place behind Sunny Beach in Bulgaria at £33.53. There aren’t any other destinations below this £40 threshold. In fact, the fourth cheapest resort – Marmaris in Turkey – could cost up to £49.74 for a basket of holiday goods.

Andrew Brown of the Post Office Travel Money said that holidaymakers can’t do much about the value of the sterling, but they can still do their homework and travel to places where the costs are low on things such as meals and drinks.

Europe is going to be one of the best places for value this year as nine of the ten cheapest destinations can be found in the continent. The Post Office also found that local prices fell in half of the European cities and resorts surveyed; further increasing the value of European destinations.

Study Finds Spain Smart Choice for Expats

Study Finds Spain Smart Choice for Expats

With the cost of living being so low and the excellent

Spanish lifestyle, its no wonder why more people

want to live in Spain

TotallyMoney.com; a credit comparison website, has looked at data from across Europe to finally answer the question of which countries in Spain offer Brits the best place to live. To the surprise of very few Spain scored pretty highly.

The website put together an infograph looking at the various metrics Brits consider when choosing amongst the top ten most popular countries in Europe to live.

These metrics included the average salary, weekly hours worked, and paid leave. Germany might have topped the poll – scoring well for salary and average amount of hours per week worked – Spain still came in third; just behind France.

The Infograph shows that Spain has an average annual salary of €27,000, which is equal to the average salary of the UK. While the Spanish are working slightly longer than Brits on average, and they have less paid leave, Spain is also a much cheaper place to live; ranking 73 out of 100 for cost of living (Britain ranked 100).

When you include that Spain has more public holidays than Britain and it just makes the country even more of an attractive choice.

TotallyMoney.com made surveying Brits part of the study. They asked Brits what motivates them to want to emigrate in the first place. One third of those polled felt they were overworked and half of them felt they were underpaid.

While Spanish wages might not be much higher, there is a reduced cost of living. So even if they were to earn exactly the same wage Brits would have more disposable income and an excellent Spanish lifestyle to enjoy it on.

Study Finds British Expats Getting Younger

Study Finds British Expats Getting Younger

More and more younger people are moving to Spain

The number of British expats aged between 25 and 35 has dramatically increased since 2011. For the past few decades it’s been pretty easy to imagine what the profile of the average British expat was; British people living in Spain and aboard were typically at least 50-years old and loved living a good old fashioned British live; the difference being that they had a nice tan, lived on a small bit of beach with a bar and a greasy spoon café, and about the only words of Spanish they knew were the British staples of “please” and “thank you”.

But now a survey from the British bank NatWest has shown that the demographics have changed. These days British expats are getting increasingly younger, have more upward mobility, and accept that they may only be living overseas temporarily.

The survey from NatWest also showed that, as recently as 2008, roughly two-thirds of the British expats living abroad felt that they were “lifers”; that they would stay overseas permanently and would never go back home due to many factors such as low cost of living, healthier lifestyle, warmer climate, remote working and many many more reasons.

Now the number of Brits who feel that they would never go back home is down to just one third. Back in 2008 only one in ten of the Brits who moved overseas did so for their work or another temporary assignment. Now that number is up to 50% - and these expats are getting younger.

As companies worldwide are looking to hire a more mobile staff the idea of moving to another country and working there for a few years is becoming more common. The survey from NatWest found that one in four British expats are aged between 25 to 35, compared to one in six from 2011.

The gender breakdown of these expats is becoming almost as equal as Spain itself. In 2011 only one-third of Brits who sought out a new life overseas were women. Now around half of British expats are women.

Dave Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking said that the typical expat doesn’t look how they used to. There was a time when moving abroad was such a huge commitment that everything would change for anyone who made the change.

He added that people are more willing to move to new shores to find adventure and start a business or advance their career thanks to the advances in remote working and the many ways that people can stay in touch with their friends and family.

Study Suggests Spain is Best Place to Start a Business

Study Suggests Spain is Best Place to Start a Business

If you’re studying business in Spain then the studies suggest that you’ll be more successful of an entrepreneur than anywhere else.

Record numbers of New Businesses are opening all over Spain

A study from the Financial Times (FT) shows that Spain really is the best place for aspiring entrepreneurs to study.

The research is based on information from full-time and executive MBA alumni (Master of Business) from the world over. The findings showed that more of the most successful entrepreneurs received their business schooling in Spain than any other country.

Even though Singapore and the UAE were considered to be the best place to actually launch your startup, the data suggests that many of these business students stay in Spain when they finish their studies; making the country the sixth-best place in the world to start a business, placing them ahead of Germany, the USA, and the UK.

Something that is more interesting is that the Spanish were second place when it came to successful entrepreneurs behind only Mexicans. It looks like there might just be something about the Spanish water that inspires business potential.

Part of the reason for this entrepreneurial success could also come from an economy that has made it hard for young Spaniards to find full-time employment; causing them to go into business for themselves.

Despite this the main cause for celebration must still be the incredible Spanish business school performance. The Financial Times data shows that Spain had the highest proportion of students who went on to set up their own company following graduation, pushing Swiss schools and US schools down to second and third.

It’s a pretty simple process to set up a company in Spain for both Spaniards and EU nationals. Even people who are outside of the EU shouldn’t have too much difficulty becoming an entrepreneur in Spain.

Spain recently changed their labour laws and the result is that it’s even easier to start business in Spain. These changes include relaxed employment laws that give potential business owners the chance to make bigger risks when it comes to growth strategies.

Another survey was carried out this week by BMC Software that discovered Spanish companies are some of the best companies in Europe when it comes to creating a creative and innovative workplace.

The study showed that 73% of the people employed in Spain feel that they can have their voices heard when it comes to creating change and innovation in their company; which is much higher than the 42% in the UK. Spanish companies also proved to be effective at inspiring their employees as 74% of employees are happy with the way their employment leaves them feeling.

These datasets show that Spain has come a long way from the old, nepotistic ways that Spain used to work. In the old days who you knew was always more important than what you knew. Things are continuing to move forward, which is good news for the youngsters and the increasing number of expats considering Spain as a place to start a new business and  can make a new life.

New Study names Spain 7th Healthiest Nation in the World

New Study names Spain 7th Healthiest Nation in the World

Its confirmed the Costa del Sol is one of the healthiest

places to live in the world.

Everyone knows how healthy the Spanish diet is. Spain also has a great healthcare system and is generally regarded as a very safe country with an excellent low cost of living. Even so there are a lot of reasons that one might end up unhealthy in Spain so you might be surprised to think that Spain is somewhere one could lead a healthy and clean lifestyle.

There are so many bars, clubs, and restaurants in the country that you’d be surprised to learn Spain now has the certification to prove that it is one of the healthiest nations in the world. Not only are Spaniards living long and healthy lives – partly caused by all the fruit, veg and fish in the Mediterranean diet – but they are also some of the most active and disease-free people in the world.

The results came in on a recent worldwide project called the Global Burden of Disease (GBD). They were published last week in The Lancet and it looks like the research shows Spain is the seventh healthiest country in the world.

The study looked at a wide number of factors such as lifestyle choices and measurable metrics including infant and maternal mortality, how well a country manages the spread of diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis, the amount of road crash deaths, and how many people die as a result of substance and alcohol abuse.

When these parameters were assessed the study would then give each nation a percentage score. Spain was able to earn a score of 82% which put them on par with the Netherlands, Finland, and the UK. Spanish next-door neighbour Andorra came in just ahead with 83% and a score of 85% went to Iceland, Sweden and Singapore.

The other two nations that made up the top-ten were Canada and Australia who both came in at 81%.

Living in Spain came in quite well thanks to its healthcare system, low heart disease and infant mortality rates and the overall diet of Spain. There were other metrics that let Spain down including their record on alcohol abuse and suicide and they received an urgent call to improve their efforts to cut down on smoking. In terms of quitting smoking Spain scored one of the lowest scores in the West at 33%.

Most of the bottom spots were taken up, unsurprisingly, by the nations in sub-Saharan Africa. They were mostly let down due to the lack of healthcare, high levels of preventable diseases, contaminated water, air pollution and high levels of infant and maternal mortality.

Study Shows Med Diet Better for The Heart Than Statins

Study Shows Med Diet Better for The Heart Than Statins

Spain is one of the healthiest places in the world to live

with 320 days of sunshine and its wonderful

Mediterranean diet, which helps you live longer 

It’s been shown by a new study that people who eat the Mediterranean diet are able to protect their heart better than people taking certain blood pressure correction and heart-protection medications.

The Mediterranean diet is the kind of diet that you find in countries like Spain, Italy and Greece. This Med diet involves plenty of olive oil, fresh fruit and v
eg, and fish. Don’t worry though; you don’t need to eat this diet in a bodega to get the benefits!

While there might be some health benefits to this socially inclusive way of eating the study from the IRCCS Nuromed Institute in Italy was focused entirely on the foods involved. This study showed that when heart patients were fed this Med diet their chances of dying an early death was slashed by a massive 37%, just over twice the 16% cut that heart medicine provides.

The researchers say that they can’t directly compare the figures and added many heart patients should combine the effects of both the Mediterranean diet and heart pills to get the best protection.

Even so the results were bound to draw attention in the medical world. The research would appear to back up several other studies and all of the anecdotal evidence that shows the health benefits of eating the traditional Mediterranean diet.

When people eat plenty of olive oil, fruits, vegetables and fish they ingest less fat and more beneficial nutrients. This nutritional balance has been shown to protect against diabetes, heart disease, and even some forms of cancer because of the anti-inflammatory effects of these foods and the nutrients they contain.

The study was headed by Professor Giovanni de Gaetano who went on to say that the Mediterranean diet was more effective than medication. Professor Gaetano also suggested that the government should begin subsidising fruits and vegetables and even make some fruit and vegetables freely available at doctor’s surgeries.

There are seven million adults dealing with heart disease in the UK alone.

Professor de Gaetano said that the study showed people eating a Mediterranean diet showed 37% less chance of dying from any cause compared to people who were eating poor diets. He added that the Mediterranean diet is accepted as being one of the healthiest diets there is. There have been several other studies into the Mediterranean diet that have shown how effective it is at reducing the chances of developing chronic issues and dying from any cause. Most of this research was focused on the general population though. These were people who were already healthy. De Gaetano wanted to look into the effects on people who already suffered from cardiovascular disease and if it would still be the best option for them.

The research would show that the diet is just as effective, if not more so, for people who need to control these conditions. Combining the Mediterranean diet with statin could provide the ultimate two-pronged attack to control these conditions without the negative side effects of medication such as muscle pain.

The study was done on 1,200 Italians who were followed for seven years. These participants all had heart disease and were instructed to record the foods they ate during this seven year period. How well they adhered to the Mediterranean diet was scored using a nine-point scoring system and, after other factors were considered (smoking, weight, gender, and exercise levels), the study showed that there was an average 21% reduced chance of death from heart disease with people following the Med diet. This went up to 37% for the people who strictly followed the diet.

Spain offers many chances for people to follow the Mediterranean diet as the cost of living in Spain is low and most restaurants and supermarkets make all the ingredients available at affordable prices. When you combine this diet with the outdoors lifestyle and a healthy climate it’s not hard to understand why the Spanish life expectancy is higher than most of Europe.

Study Finds The Spanish Property Market Performs Strongly in Europe’s Buy-To-Let Chart

Study Finds The Spanish Property Market Performs Strongly in Europe’s Buy-To-Let

Buy to Let out strips demand in the Costa del Sol which is good news

People looking to become landlords should consider investing outside of the UK if they want to bring in better rental yields. A British investor after good returns from their buy-to-let investment will find it more difficult after the recent hike on stamp duty.

Money transfer company WorldFirst took a look at the situation and saw how poorly British properties performed with rental yields by comparison to the rest of Europe.

This study also discovered that, on the other hand, Spain performed pretty well. Spain came in the top half of nations for bringing in money though rental income.

Going back to the UK though, the study found that a buy-to-let property in the UK would generate an average rental yield of 4.3%. This was enough to rank the UK 21^st out of 29. The bottom country was Sweden where there are strict rental controls. In Sweden a tenant is protected from having their rent hiked and this, along with other restrictions, discourage investment.

It was found that countries in Northern Europe, especially in Scandinavia, didn’t have very high rental returns. The only exception to this was the Netherlands where the average yield is 6.57%, making it the best market for buy-to-let properties.

WorldFirst believe that this is because of the low property costs in the Netherlands, and the healthy balance between the amount of people that own property and the amount of people that want to rent it.

Outside of Spain and the Netherlands other countries for the buy-to-let market were Belgium with yields of 6.47 and Portugal with yields of 6.29%.

Spain came in almost at the exact middle point by taking the rank of 15^th with their average yields of 4.96%. This was the average yield however. In some of the more desirable areas, such as Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, the yields may be much higher.

These are areas where the rental yields constantly come in at over 5% a year. They also have some very affordable properties for sale and there’s plenty of demand as Spain is one of the most visited countries in Europe. All of this goes together to make Spain a far more attractive country for the buy-to-rent market than these numbers suggest.

Overseas property specialist Simon Conn has himself suggested that when looking at these average yields it is also important to consider the public demand for housing and how easy it is to buy property in that foreign market. For example, the Netherlands may have the best yields but it doesn’t have the same amount of banks willing to lend on a buy-to-let property. Thus Spain, Portugal and Italy actually become the best choices.

In a comment about the study an analyst for WorldFirst, Edward Hardy, said that after the changes to stamp duty British investors may want to look further to find the best deal for high returns on their investment.

Buying property in the Costa del Sol is considered very bullish and the demand for rental property is very strong as many new northern Europeans come to rend first before they buy.

Spain Voted Best Place to Study Abroad

Spain Voted Best Place to Study Abroad

Madrid has been ranked the number one place to study in Europe by overseas students. Other Spanish cities Seville and Barcelona and Costa del Sol also placed highly.

The Madrid is voted a great place to study and live

Uniplaces have published a poll in which Spain was voted the best place to study by Erasmus students.

Madrid topped the poll while Seville and Barcelona placed highly as they came in fifth and seventh respectively.

These results mean that Spain had more cities in the top ten than any other country. These results are also confirmation of something that has long been suspected – you can’t beat Spain if you want to study abroad.

Cities were ranked using different criteria in the Uniplaces poll. The main criteria were the living costs, the education standards, the culture, the history and, of course, the nightlife that students could enjoy. Madrid has a party scene that was undoubtedly going to be a big hit with foreign students.

Madrid is also filled with culture, the universities are top notch, and the transport system is great. The city as a whole is safe and affordable. So students have virtually no worries outside of how well they are performing in school.

Spain had more going for it than just that though. Spain has a great climate and low cost of living in Spain that allows students to spend as much time sunbathing as they do studying. There are also so many great bars, restaurants and cafes throughout the country; especially in the big cities.

Spain is, of course, a great place to learn Spanish. For students outside of an English speaking country it also presents a great opportunity to learn English. The country has a lot of people who speak English, including a large number of former British citizens.

The size of the country, along with the variety of the different areas, make it a real treat to explore. Each part of Spain offers something unique and new for students to see. There are mountains in the northwest and the southeast has deserts.

Throw in all the coastline and it’s not hard to see why students are choosing Spain to spend their formative years.

Spain Voted Best Place to Study Abroad by International Students

Spain Voted Best Place to Study Abroad by International Students

Spain is a great place to lean Spanish and study

Uniplaces have published a poll that has found that Spain has been voted the best place to study abroad by Erasmus students.

The survey showed that Madrid was voted the best place to study abroad, with two other Spanish cities, namely Seville and Barcelona, placing in the top ten at fifth and seventh place.

As a result Spain had more cities in the top ten than any other country. It showed us proof of what we’ve suspected all along; Spain is the place to be when you’re considering studying abroad.

Uniplaces used five main criteria to rank the cities. They were the living costs, the education standards, the culture, the history, and, as they are students, the nightlife. The famous party scene of Madrid earned some major points with foreign students.

Madrid is also filled to the brim with culture, excellent universities and transport, and is a safe and affordable place to live. All the worries of students (outside of the studying) were minimal at best.

There were other factors involved that helped Spanish cities claim the top places. They have an excellent climate that allows students to mix studying with sunbathing, and bars, restaurants and cafes that keep them well fed and help them relax during stressful periods.

Spain is also a great place to learn Spanish, a language quickly becoming more common in Europe, as well as learn English from the many people who speak it in the country.

The size and variety of Spain make it a real treat to explore. Each of the corners of Spain offer something new and unique to travellers. The northwest has verdant mountains while the southeast comes with dry deserts.

Throw in the thousands of miles of coastline and it’s not hard to see why people would choose Spain as the place to spend some of the best years of their life.

A new study shows that buying property in Costa del Sol and Spain is the top location chosen by UK nationals.

A new study shows that buying property in Costa del Sol and Spain is the top location chosen by UK nationals.

Study shows that British do love the Spanish property market, data shows how they represent for one in every 5 property purchases made by foreign nationals last year. They love the assortments of different regions and locations available. Spain again is one of the leading holiday destinations for British nationals.

Costa del Sol, Spain

No shock then that a new International shipping company “Pack Send” have issued a survey and it reveals that one of the most popular locations amongst the people of Great Britain has been named as Spain for removals and shipping their belongings overseas

The low price of living costs in Spain is also a big reason for people to choose this location, it has always been known for its healthy diet, fantastic climate and easier way of life and offers a very high life expectancy, second in the world after Japan.

Southern Spain and the Costa del Sol has always been known to have a fantastic climate in winter months with and average all year temperature of 20C, when most of its northern European countries have very cold winters. It is not difficult to see why lots of people from northern Europe choose this part of southern Spain for health reasons due to the warm climate and Mediterranean lifestyle and 800 kilometres of beautiful coast line and beaches in Spain being very clean and with a flights only being just over 2 hours very accessible. Property prices are expected to slowly grow of the coming years as Spain recovery is now in full swing.