Expats Rate European Cities In New 2024 Survey About Living Abroad

Moving to Europe is a lifelong dream of many Americans and there’s never been a better time to take the leap. Dozens of countries have launched digital nomad visas, including Italy and Türkiye, and there are ever more remote working jobs.

But with hundreds of cities to choose from, it’s hard to know which destination will be best for your lifestyle, budget and interests. Here’s where the new Expat Insider survey by InterNations—a global networking and advice site for expats—is indispensable.

The platform has asked over 12,500 people living in 174 countries to rank everything from ease of settling in to cost of housing and the weather. Here are the European cities they cited for expats at the moment—and one country is a clear winner.

Valencia Is The Best City In The World For Expats In 2024

After a minor slip to 3rd place in 2023, Valencia returns to 2022 form by regaining 1st place in the 2024 Expat City Ranking. It also ranks 1st in the Quality of Life and Personal Finance Indices.

No respondent in Valencia had anything negative to say about the affordability of public transportation, opportunities for recreational sport or their personal safety. In fact, more than nine in ten expats rated these factors favorably. More than three in four expats are also satisfied with the general cost of living and their financial situation.

Valencia’s drawback is in Working Abroad (31st)—but this is already an improvement from the bottom 10 in 2022. Expats aren’t impressed by the local job market (46% negative responses vs. 31% globally) or their improved career prospects upon relocating. Nevertheless, they feel that they’re paid fairly for their work (1st) and enjoy their work–life balance (3rd).

Working abroad isn’t what drew expats to Valencia anyway: only 8% of respondents cite job-related reasons. The main deciding factor was a better quality of life (27% vs. 9% globally).

Spanish Cities Dominate The Top 10 Destinations For Expats

The only European cities in the top 10 were all in Spain. Málaga ranks 2nd overall in 2024, passing its 1st place crown from 2023 back to Valencia. The city features the happiest expats, in part due to a smooth Ease of Settling In where it came top.

Not only do the majority of respondents agree they have a personal support network there (1st) and are happy with their social life (1st), they also feel both welcome (1st) and at home (1st) in Málaga.

However lively the social life, the Working Abroad Index (44th) indicates serious career challenges, especially considering that the city ranked 13th in the 2023 index. All four subcategories of the index worsened in performance, from Work & Leisure losing its 1st place to Career Prospects (51st) slipping to the bottom 3 from the 36th spot.

Alicante ranked 3rd best city for expats in 2024 after seeing 2nd place the previous year. In contrast to the other Spanish cities, Alicante is the only one with a top 10 place in the Expat Essentials Index—a result that’s mostly carried by the Housing Subcategory. Over two-thirds of respondents in Alicante rate the affordability of housing positively, double the global average. And a similar share says it’s easy to find.

Alicante’s Working Abroad Index (41st) is its only index to not make the top 10. Career Prospects is again in the bottom for a third Spanish city, and job security (47th) is a concern. What’s more, less than half of expats there agree that the local business culture supports flexibility.

Madrid isn’t far behind in 7th place. It similarly offers a great Quality of Life (4th), Ease of Settling In (7th), and satisfying Personal Finances (13th).

Compared to the top 3, Madrid receives slightly worse results in the Expat Essentials Index, ranking 28th. Nevertheless, it’s the Spanish city with the best result for Working Abroad (also 28th).