{"id":108541,"date":"2026-09-15T09:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T07:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/?p=108541"},"modified":"2026-09-15T09:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T07:47:21","slug":"living-in-spain-as-an-expat-best-cities-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/lifestyle\/living-in-spain-as-an-expat-best-cities-prices\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"What is it like living in Spain as an expat? Guide to the best cities in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<table class=\"table table-striped table-color-200\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Buying an 80 sqm home in Spain costs an average of <strong>\u20ac252,308<\/strong>, and the average monthly rent is <strong>\u20ac1,131<\/strong>, according to data from the July 2026 Fotocasa Real Estate Index.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Madrid<\/strong> city (\u20ac19.95\/sqm) and <strong>Barcelona<\/strong> city (\u20ac18.20\/sqm) record <strong>the highest rental prices<\/strong>, while Valencia and Malaga offer a vibrant Mediterranean lifestyle with more affordable prices.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The cost of living in Spain is 23.1% cheaper than in countries like the United Kingdom<\/strong>, according to Numbeo figures, although administrative bureaucracy requires prior planning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Moving to Spain is the dream of many <em>expats<\/em> and <em>digital nomads<\/em>. Its exceptional climate with <strong>over 300 days of sunshine a year<\/strong>, a relaxed lifestyle, and world-class cuisine lead many to fall in love with the country and choose it as their home. However, each Spanish city has a unique character and local customs you should know before making the move (and no, we&#8217;re not just talking about the famous siesta).<\/p>\n<p>At Fotocasa, we give you first-hand insights on<strong> what living in Spain is really like: we break down the Spanish property market, the cost of living, and what to expect when landing in the country&#8217;s main cities.<\/strong> We take an in-depth look at Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Malaga\u2014along with their pros and cons\u2014so you can pick your ideal destination.<\/p>\n<p>How much money do you need per month to live comfortably in Spain depending on the city you choose?<\/p>\n<h2>What is the lifestyle in Spain like for <em>expats<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p>Living in Spain as an <em>expat<\/em> means immersing yourself in an <strong>outdoors-oriented culture<\/strong>, where sidewalk caf\u00e9s and terraces feel like an extension of the living room and social life sets the weekly rhythm. <strong>More than 6.9 million foreign residents live in the country<\/strong>, according to January 2025 INE figures, drawn by public safety and unmatched gastronomy.<\/p>\n<p>Daily life in Spain prioritises personal connections, work-life balance, and shared leisure time. The morning coffee culture, pre-lunch aperitifs, and lingering after-meal conversations (<em>sobremesas<\/em>) are an essential part of life in any city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fotocasa is the expert real estate portal if you are looking for your home in Spain and want to resolve your doubts about housing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":108559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13668],"tags":[16887,16889,15103,14821,13686,13687,16888,13688,13550,15099,15707,15054,13547],"class_list":["post-108541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-best-cities-in-spain","tag-cost-of-living-spain","tag-expats-in-spain","tag-foreign","tag-houses-in-spain","tag-housing-doubts-in-spain","tag-housing-in-spain","tag-lifestyle","tag-live-in-spain","tag-living-in-spain","tag-living-in-spain-as-an-expat","tag-moving-to-spain","tag-real-estate-market"],"modified_by":"Patricia Andr\u00e9s","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}