For two years now, the third largest city in Spain has been at the top of the main international rankings on the quality of life abroad. But beware, warns this Frenchman from Valence, we are not preparing for a lasting installation like a week’s vacation.
With around 800,000 inhabitants, Valencia may be only the third largest city in Spain, but it ranks first in the world for places where life is good, according to a ranking by the American magazine Forbes. Cédric, he prefers not to give his name, has lived in Valence for six years. Born in Belfort, he left the high-level position in which he no longer found himself, he says, in the industry, to go and settle in Valence. He now operates a plantation of olive, orange and almond trees. He appreciates the authenticity that the city has preserved.
“There is a mentality that is very Valencian, he details, for example, Valencian is practiced a lot, which is the native language here, so much so that it is taught in schools, and the signs in the streets will be written or in Castilian, what we call Spanish, or Valencian.”
Among the advantages, expatriates acclaim the variety of cultural and gastronomic offer, affordable public transport, the possibility of practicing leisure sports, and of doing everything on foot. For three or four years, the Frenchman has noticed that the type of immigration has changed in Valencia. Retirees who have come to seek rest in the sun and young foreign entrepreneurs have gradually given way to whole families who are a little too flowery:
“We see a lot of people coming, and even in terms of housing and work, nothing is prepared, said-he. They are seen asking questions on social media. They already have a plane ticket and an arrival date, but they don’t automatically have accommodation, they don’t know the procedures either, and they even ask questions about the possibilities of finding a job.“
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Thus, some are unaware of the existence of the NIE, the foreigner’s identification number, an essential element for daily living in Spain, even as a European, and which allows, among other things, to open a local bank account or to register for health insurance. After a year or two, you must also hold a Spanish driving license and change the registration of your vehicle. Because Spain may be on the border of France, Cédric affirms that it is another world compared to France, and that the country lives at a completely different pace:
“It’s much less square, it’s freer, he details, ct is a certain tranquility and a pleasant rhythm of life, but at the level of the hours itself, it’s different. Historically, for what they were able to experience not so long ago with Franco, they have developed a great system of coping, not of fatalism, but of acceptance by remaining positive.”
Foreign residents would be around 100,000 in Valencia, or around 13% of the population of the port city. 13% is also the share represented by foreign buyers on the local real estate market. Unsurprisingly, the British are the top buyers, especially since Brexit.
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Find this column on the app, the site, and in the international mobility magazine “French abroad.fr”