Where Am I Going?
Gathering information and deciding where to move
The Alhambra. Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo.
Chances are, if you’re reading this and thinking of moving abroad, you already have someplace(s) in mind that you’ve already lived in or visited before. No matter how much you already know or where you are in your process, there’s still much to figure out and do before such a big undertaking. Thinking about and writing down your priorities and desires is an essential first step in focusing your research on where to move. If you haven’t settled on a place yet (and even if you have), there’s plenty of information to be gleaned from others who have taken this journey, and there are online resources you can mine for helpful information.
Among the non-quantifiable priorities that my husband and I identified when deciding to move from New York City to Barcelona with our kids were:
Proximity to family and friends
Proximity to my husband’s work (he travels for work mostly in Europe)
Focus on family, friends, and leisure
Better quality food
Some other topics were at the top of our minds that we wanted to research before leaving our home in New York City:
Talking to people who have lived in the place(s) you’re considering, beginning with friends, is a great place to start your research. It can also be informative to join an expat group on Facebook where you can interact with people who have gone through a move to your destination. Search “expats in [city]” and join the one(s) with the most members and activity (posts per day). You can search within the group for topics you’re interested in or post a question.
Before our move, we found the Facebook group Expats in Barcelona was full of posts and replies on everything from finding an apartment to how to dispute an electric company charge to what banks have the best policies. There are also books on moving to many if not most countries (and some cities) in the world, with useful tips specific to your destination.
Looking up some statistics about the places you’re interested in can also help you to compare and make decisions.
Statistics from the City of Barcelona’s International Welcome website
Cost of living
This was one of the most important factors in our decision to move to Spain, if not the top reason. During one of our first conversations about moving, friends of ours who had recently moved from the U.S. to Spain told us they had more than halved their grocery bill and reduced their rent by two-thirds.
Curious about the cost of other goods and services, I poked around online and found that Numbeo has extensive cost of living data, including a feature that allows you to compare costs from your current city to where you’d like to move (rent in Barcelona is 69% cheaper than in NYC!) or prices in two different destinations you’re considering.
Data from Numbeo.com
Education
Spain is an attractive place for families for various reasons.
It has good, free public schools and affordable semi-private and private schools. The City of Barcelona has published a helpful guide for international families to help them understand the basics of the school system—including resources for non-Spanish speakers—and available options.
One notable difference between education in the U.S. and Spain is that schools aren’t dependent on local taxes. That means wealthier areas don’t necessarily have more resources. Of course, each public school is a reflection of the social and economic conditions of the families it serves, but you don’t have to fight for an apartment or house in a neighborhood in order to access better-equipped schools.
When I started researching neighborhoods in Barcelona, I asked people I knew where the areas with better schools were. No one understood my question! Finally, a friend explained to me that all schools were funded equally in Spain.
If you have hobbies you’d like to pursue in your new location, searching for local groups and available classes before your move is also a good idea. You may be able to hook up with an interest group online so you’ll have a ready-made community of like-minded people when you arrive.
I knew I wanted to learn about the hydraulic tile that’s so common in late 19th and early 20th century buildings in Barcelona and was able to find many local aficionados by searching on Instagram. They post about local events and attractions of interest that I’ve been able to enjoy since my move.
Housing
A recently published, comprehensive travel guide can give you a flavor of different neighborhoods if you’re trying to decide where to start your search for housing. Asking friends who already live in your destination and searching for posts in a Facebook expat group can result in inside information that you might not get elsewhere.
I recommend looking at reliable real estate websites and apps as early as possible to educate yourself. Perusing listings on Idealista was an invaluable way for us to learn about what to expect in terms of reasonable prices per square meter in different parts of the city, and what to expect in terms of furnished versus unfurnished apartments, appliances, broker fees, etc.
In Spain, rent is paid via automated bank transfer, so it’s important to look into banking options beforehand as well.
Safety & Wellbeing
If you have access to the public healthcare system in Spain (as does anyone who pays into the Spanish social security system), you’ll save a lot of money compared to what you spend in the U.S. on what you’d spend on private insurance. Even if you do buy a private health insurance plan (called a mutua), the cost is much less than private insurance in the U.S. (which has the most expensive healthcare in the world).
Spanish healthcare ranks 6th worldwide, so quality is not a worry.
In addition, Spain has less gun violence, violence in schools, and state violence than the U.S. (the U.S. ranks 7th highest in the world for police killings of civilians).
The 2022 Global Peace Index, which measures societal safety and security, domestic and international conflict, and militarization, ranks Spain 29th (in the ‘high’ category for peace) among nations in their “Global State of Peace” index. The U.S. is ranked 129th (in the ‘low’ category).
The top 6 reasons people move from the U.S. to Spain:
Cheaper cost of living (54% cheaper in Barcelona vs. NYC)
Lower crime rate (92% higher crime rate in the U.S. vs. Spain)
Healthcare (Spain ranks 6th and the U.S. ranks 35th)
Weather (The Costa del Sol gets an average of 320 days of sun per year!)
Culture (including work-life balance and the siesta)
Education (Spain has good, free public schools and affordable semi-private and private schools)