Considering relocating? Madrid, with its fantastic lifestyle, is a great option. Keep reading to learn the top 5 benefits of moving to Madrid
Are you considering relocating? If so, you are not alone. Many people are moving to Madrid because of the fantastic lifestyle it offers. Keep reading to learn the top five benefits of moving to Madrid.
1- Spain offers an excellent work/life balance
In many countries, people live to work. In Spain it’s the opposite: people work to finance their lifestyle choices. To illustrate: The international bank HSBC has a yearly league table that ranks countries on a number of factors such as quality of life, ease of settling in, physical and mental well being, average income, job prospects and quality of schools. In 2021, Spain ranked the third best country in the world for expats. Much of this comes from its quality of life ranking.
2- Wonderful weather
The weather is another major draw for people considering moving to Madrid, particularly for those that like the sun. The city averages 350 days of sunlight per year, making Madrid one of the sunniest European capitals– an honor it shares with Athens. To put this in perspective, Los Angeles averages only 260 sunny days per year.
If you like to experience the change of seasons, but nothing too extreme, Madrid is an excellent option. The winters are cool, but rarely does the temperature drop below freezing. There may be a dusting of snow around Christmas time. The spring and autumn weather in Madrid is delightful. Summers can be hot, but the air is dry and the city is filled with swimming pools and shaded terraces where you can enjoy a cold caña (beer) with friends and watch the world go slowly by. Or you can do as many Madrileñ@s do and head north to cooler climates in the mountains, Galicia or Cantabria.
3- Diverse, high quality restaurants
Madrid has an increasingly dynamic restaurant scene. The 2021 Michelin Guide revealed that Madrid now boasts 23 Michelin star restaurants. The highlight of these is the Michelin three star DiverXO, which offers “new unexplored ways of understanding the gastronomic experience.” Like a circus, you must buy a ticket to enter. Forbes recently named DiverXO the third best restaurant in the world, in its 2023 rankings.
If ethnic food is your thing, Madrid offers an increasingly diverse array of Mexican, Japanese and Thai restaurants. If love Chinese food, head to the neighborhood of Usera. This is the Chinatown of Madrid and has very authentic Chinese restaurants.
Do you like to eat healthy? Ten years ago that was extremely difficult in Madrid. Now, it seems like every day there is a new, bio restaurant opening. One of our favorites is MO Movimiento, a new Italian restaurant (see photo below, of its terrace) located in an old theater. The ingredients come from bio, sustainable sources. It has not one, but two wood burning pizza ovens.
4- Low cost of living
Many people wish to retire in Western Europe, but assume the costs are prohibitively expensive. The truth is, Madrid has a relatively low cost of living. In fact, it is cheaper than Costa Rica and only a bit more expensive than Panama. Plus you have the advantage of living in a highly walkable, elegant European capital filled with art and culture. This is why Money Magazine recently rated it one of the top 10 cities in the world in which to retire.
5- Excellent healthcare system
The pandemic has made it very clear how important it us to have good healthcare. People that are legal residents of Spain have access to free healthcare. The Spanish healthcare system typically ranks in the top 10 in the world. In Spain, the healthcare system varies greatly by region. Both the services provided, and prices, vary across the different autonomous regions. Madrid, being the capital, has the best hospitals in the city. According to Newsweek, half of the country’s Top 20 hospitals are located in Madrid.
Although Spain has a public healthcare system, this does not mean it is free. People that work for employers, or who are self employed, pay into the social security system. The typical annual contribution for public healthcare in Spain is 2000€. However, this hides the fact that those who are self employed pay drastically higher social security contributions. Currently, self employed people pay a little over 300€ per month to support the healthcare system. For higher earners, this will increase to almost 600€ per month by 2025.
If you are part of the growing group of people that is relocating to obtain relatively high quality, low cost healthcare, you have a few different options if you are self employed. First, you can obtain private health insurance in Spain. It is relatively cheap and offers excellent coverage- the better plans even include dental. Second, you can invest in Spanish property of 500k€ or more and receive a Spanish golden visa. This not only gives you and your family long term residency, but also free access to Spain’s public healthcare system. To learn more about Spanish healthcare, we refer you to this article: Everything you need to know about Spanish healthcare
Do you want to learn more about Spain’s golden visa program? Or perhaps you know about it and are ready to start looking for your dream property in Madrid? Regardless of where you are in the process, we invite you to arrange a FREE CONSULTATION to learn more.
