Spanish cities top list of expats’ preferred destinations in 2020

The Spanish cities of Valencia, Alicante, Malaga and Madrid have emerged as four of the ten most popular destinations for expatriates to live in this year.

As the demand for remote work grows, expatriate workers are increasingly prioritising factors like health, safety, climate, work-life balance, and favourable real estate market conditions, according to Idealista. The study found that the shift to smaller cities had begun even before the worst phase of the pandemic and that more expats are now opting to live in coastal cities.

The research was conducted by InterNations, an online platform for expats, which has about 4 million members. Over 15,000 people of 173 nationalities participated in the survey, which found Valencia, Alicante and Lisbon to be the three most preferred global cities for expats to live in 2020, followed by Panama City and Singapore. Spanish cities dominated the top ten list, with Malaga ranking sixth and Madrid ranking ninth.