Malaga is the World's Second-Best City to Live as an Ex-Pat

If you’re a foreign resident looking to explore the world and wondering where you should relocate to, you’ll be interested to hear that Malaga has been voted as the world’s second-best city to live in as a foreign resident. The city also secured first place when it came to cost of living, and was considered the best place to make friends and socialise. The study was conducted and reported by Internations, who undertook a significant survey amongst the ex-pat community.

Anyone living in the city will already know that Malaga is a great place to live: it is one of the most popular locations for property hunters in Southern Spain and the Costa del Sol. It is an incredibly popular location for tourists to visit, particularly during the summer months, with many attracted by the food, the architecture, and the chance to explore the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. The ranking will come as no surprise to those already living in Malaga, who have an excellent work-life balance, a high quality of life, and access to excellent facilities.

Breaking Down the Figures

Malaga came second in the rankings only to Kuala Lumpa, which was ranked as the best city in the world to live in as a foreign resident. A total of fifty-seven international cities were included on the list, and Malaga was considered a more desirable location than cities such as Dubai, Sydney, Singapore, Prague and Basel.

If you’re considering a move to Malaga then it is significant that the city ranked first in the Friends and Socialising subcategory (78% compared to the global average of 57%) and third in the Getting Settled subcategory (69% compared to the global average of 48%). These are two key indicators that once you arrive in the city you will find it easy to create a happy and fulfilled life for yourself, filled with friends and social engagements.

Concerned about how much the move will cost? Malaga is perhaps one of the most affordable cities to relocate to, with 86% of foreign residents marking a positive score on the local cost of living index. It’s important to note that Malaga has excellent transport links, meaning that you’ll never feel isolated from your friends and family members overseas, and the city is both easy to find from a global perspective, and easy to navigate your way around on a smaller, more local scale.

What is particularly special about Malaga is that the local residents are always friendly and welcoming to foreign visitors and residents: this was ranked as an 82% positive experience, compared to 67% as a global average. This is uniquely Spanish: because the country relies so heavily on tourism, visitors are largely treated with kindness, warmth, and respect. Finally, it will come as absolutely no surprised that not a single foreign resident living in Malaga (0 percent) had anything negative to say about the weather in the country. Offering year-round sunshine, when it comes to relaxing and enjoying your downtime, this report has demonstrated what the long-term residents of Malaga have already known for a long time: there is no better place in the world to be.

Working in Malaga

No destination is perfect, either for tourists and residents, so it stands to reason that there will be some areas where Malaga didn’t score quite to highly. Residents of the city won’t be surprised to learn that all of these categories involve employment. If you’re ambitious, career-focused, and looking to climb the property ladder quickly, then Malaga might not be the place for you. Malaga was placed in the bottom ten (51^st place) when it came to the Urban Work Life index. In the subcategory for work-life balance the city was in 32^nd place, in the Job and Career category the city was 56^th place, and in the job security subcategory the city was in 50^th place.

For this reason, Malaga might be a more attractive prospect if you are self-employed, already have a remote working role, or are retired or planning for retirement.

Malaga is a beautiful and historic city with so much to offer. You will receive a warm welcome by the locals, and it is the perfect place to enjoy an authentic Spanish experience. If you’re looking to enjoy an active social life, in a city filled with sunshine, it’s the perfect place for you. Are you thinking of moving to Malaga? If you’ve always dreamt of relocating but don’t know where to start then our local property experts are perfectly placed to help you find the Spanish property of your dreams. Why not get in touch today?