In the summer of 2025, my husband, Sasha and I accomplished a lifelong dream of moving to Europe! I minored in Spanish in University, and ever since I was in my young 20’s, I had wanted to live in Spain. On one of my first dates with my now husband, one of many things we shared in common, is that we both had a desire to live abroad, to experience life in a different culture and through a different lens. As we started to have conversations more seriously about the possibility of living abroad, Spain had always been at the top of our list, so in 2025 when we realized that we qualified for the Digital Nomad Visa, that was our golden ticket to finally making the move a reality! 

In January we interviewed an immigration agency to ensure we had all the information we needed, and in February we committed to making it happen (we’re all about intentionally manifesting our life path, so we wrote out our goals and how we were going to get there, and spoke out loud our affirmations to really solidify it). This began the transition from “dream phase” into “do phase”, and thus began the tedious process of gathering all the documents needed to apply and make the move. By April, after months of research on “best places to live in Spain”, we were drawn to Valencia, as it seemed like the perfect fit for us (we had both traveled to Spain a few times, but never to Valencia, so we moved sight unseen!) We sold our condo in Seattle, sold our car, all our belongings, and shipped our basics (clothes, cookware, paintings and art), and soon we were on a plane headed to Europe on a one-way ticket with our nearly three-year-old child, three suitcases, excitement, ambition, disbelief, and gratitude. It was a wild whirlwind, and even though the first part of execution (leaving our home country) happened quite quickly, it had been a dream in the making for over a decade. We were well educated on what we were getting ourselves into, dedicated, committed, and we did it! 

When we arrived in Spain, we applied in-country for our visa, and 3 weeks later, we were approved! While we were of course excited, we knew that the hardest part still lay ahead of us…ah yes, the infamous Spanish bureaucracy. Well, I’m happy to say that after literal tears (a man at the town hall actually yelled at me when attempting to get our certificado digital), sweat, near defeat, followed by triumph, six months later we finally had all our documents in place. 

In this blog post I will cover:

1. How to narrow down the very difficult decision of choosing where to live in Spain
2. Why we chose Valencia as a place to live in Spain
3. 86 observations of living in Valencia – what it’s really like to live here as a foreigner, broken down by the following categories:
   1. Celebrations
   2. City Size, Infrastructure, Natural Surroundings, and Finding a Flat 
   3. Should you Ship or Sell Your Belongings Before Moving to Spain?
   4. Food! Customs Around Eating, Siesta Hours, and Grocery Stores 
   5. Cost of Living
   6. Weather and Fashion
   7. Healthcare
   8. Social Life, Making Friends, and Children in Valencia
   9. Language & Valencian People 

If you’re reading this, you may have already narrowed down your decision to move to Spain, which is fantastic! But now you may be wondering how in the world to choose where in Spain you want to live? There are a few key components that helped us to narrow this down. If you’re planning a move to Spain, I highly recommend doing the following:

1. Make a list of “must-have” versus “nice-to-have” to home in on your priorities. If you are a couple or a family, ensure you’re all aligned and consider everybody’s interests (for example, for both my husband and me, a “must-have” was lots of sunshine and a location near the sea, and for my husband, a “nice-to-have” was a flat with tall ceilings, while mine was a good beach volleyball scene – by the way, we got all four of those things here in Valencia!)
2. Once you have your criteria, use AI to help you find a city within Spain that meets all or most of your top criteria
3. Decide if you want to live in a city (and if so, big city like Madrid or Barcelona, or small city like Alicante or Malaga?) or the outskirts of a city, more like village life
4. Narrow it down to your top three choices (and if you’re a couple, choose the top three choices that you have in common) and make a pros and cons list for each of those destinations. If you want to get really nerdy and numbers-focused, you can use a weighted decision matrix 
5. Watch copious amounts of videos and read blog posts (like this one!) about each of your three top destinations – you’ll quickly start to pick up on the vibe of that place and if you can see yourself living there or not
6. Join hyper-local Facebook groups in each of your top destinations (i.e. expats in Valencia) and become involved in participating and reading posts from that group so that social media platforms show you more of that content. It’s helpful to get a better understanding of what it’s really like to live in a destination when you can hear from people who are currently living there and can provide anecdotal and real-time experience 
7. If it’s feasible for you, or you have a longer runway to make your decision (i.e. more than one year), some people find it helpful to take a “trial trip” where they go spend time in each of their top destinations to see if it suits them. Some people even visit multiple times so that they can experience the destination during different seasons of the year. However, this may be financially or logistically out of reach for some. Also keep in mind that to truly know what it feels like to live somewhere, you generally need at least 2 – 3 months because anything less than that will just feel like a dreamy vacation. 

So, out of all the wonderful cities and villages in Spain, why did we choose Valencia? There are well over 100 reasons, but the main ones were:

• Mild year-round climate and over 300 days of sunshine per year (I’m originally from Hawaii and we spent the last decade living in Seattle where I felt like a fish out of water in a habitat that did not suit me, so having access to near daily sunshine was a huge factor for us – Valencia has over 300 days of sunshine per year, making it one of Europe’s sunniest cities).
• A slower, more laid-back lifestyle that wasn’t so rushed (since we work on Seattle time zone, we have the entire day free and work in the evenings, allowing us to truly live la vida dulce).
• We wanted our son to grow up multilingual with an appreciation and understanding of cultures that are outside his home country (I love that on the playgrounds here, he asks “inglés o español?” when meeting another child).
• To live in a place that values family and relationships more than careers and status, and a culture who adores children.
• To be part of a warm culture where a greeting is a kiss on each cheek (always start on your right cheek, otherwise it can get awkward quickly – lean to the left touching your right cheek – one kiss on each side).
• To live somewhere where people are more touchy in a positive way (i.e. men putting their arm around a friend when they talk to them, a stranger patting your kid on the head when your kid accidentally runs in front of them, etc.) – positive physical touch is so important for mental health and to feel a sense of belonging and love and openness from others is a great feeling.
• To live in close proximity to both the sea and the mountains (Malvarossa Beach in the neighborhood of Cabanyal is just an 8-minute taxi ride from the city, and the mountains are less than a half-hour drive or train ride).

• To live somewhere with a lower cost of living than where we were previously residing.
• To live somewhere where public transportation is easy and inexpensive (Valencia is well connected by trains, taxis (including Uber & Lyft), buses, and bicycle lanes with ride share services).
• To live close to an international airport because we travel so much (VLC (Valencia Manises) is just a 15 – 20-minute drive from the city center depending on traffic).
• To have access to fresh, real food (especially seafood), not laden with antibiotics, hormones, or chemicals (many harmful substances such as brightly colored dyes, PFOAs (the synthetic chemicals found in teflon cookware), GMOs and chemical sprays are highly regulated by the EU).
• To have the ability to travel freely within the Schengen zone (in less than two hours by plane, we can be in a handful of countries that would have taken us 24+ hours to reach coming from the U.S.) We can spontaneously say, “hey, would you like to go to Italy this weekend?” (To be fair, we used to be able to say, “hey, want to go to Canada this weekend?” and that was cool, too.)
• Incredible towns, villages, and nature surrounding Valencia, easily visited on day trips or weekend getaways (El Calpe has been our favorite so far!)

While we loved our ten years living in Seattle (where we met, fell in love, started our careers, and our family), and still think of it fondly, as a place to live, it ultimately wasn’t where we felt like we were thriving in life. Costs became astronomical (hello $10 specialty coffee!) and the forced / guilted 20% tip for every service under the sun was getting out of hand. A cranky barista pulls a shot of espresso? 20% tip. An employee who barely greeted you and never made eye contact with you in the first place, takes a donut out of a case and hands it to you? 20% tip. A nice dinner out for two started to feel like a small mortgage, and the cost of childcare was a literal second mortgage. On a weekly basis, we would witness drug-induced homeless interactions on our street, and with the gun violence and mental health crisis in adolescents in schools, I just didn’t feel safe in my own neighborhood anymore, which was disheartening. Seeing young children and teenagers constantly on their phones instead of playing outside and playing with each other, made me so sad because that’s not the childhood my husband and I had growing up in the 90’s. As parents of a little one, we knew that there had to be a better environment for him to grow up in.

Moving to Valencia was the best decision we’ve ever made as a family, and it has been a literal dream come true. We had zero expectations when we moved here, because we truly didn’t know what to expect! And I can say that we still have several awestruck “I can’t believe we live here!” moments every week, and I feel grateful every day that we have the privilege to experience this incredible lifestyle of living in Europe. I’m sure the rose-colored glasses will eventually fade as they always do after moving somewhere new, but I’m happy to ride the “I can’t believe we live in Spain” honeymoon phase for as long as I feel it! Of course, moving to a new city, let alone an entirely new country, and literally across the world from where we’re from, is a daunting feeling, and there have been many emotional ups and downs as we’ve settled in and found our groove here. 

Now that we call Valencia home, I’d like to share some observations of the city during our time living here. Keep in mind that these observations are only for the city of Valencia, and not the entirety of Spain, and I’ll break it down by category.

86 OBSERVATIONS ABOUT LIVING IN VALENCIA

CELEBRATIONS 

1. Valencians love their fireworks – any reason to celebrate, they’ll take it! Especially during summer, there are sometimes fireworks every single night, and not just dinky street fireworks; huge pyrotechnic explosions and spectacles of vibrant colors, resonating through neighborhoods throughout the whole city, often shaking the building if you’re close enough to them!
2. The biggest and most important festival in Valencia (and one of the biggest in all of Spain), is Las Fallas. This festival celebrates the arrival of Spring with enormous satirical sculptures (the fallas), made of wood and papier-mache, which the falleras (people representing their neighborhood groups) spend all year long working on. The holiday is from 15 – 19 March, though celebrations typically last around three weeks, and it’s a holiday taken very seriously (i.e. schools close so that kids can enjoy the festivities and stay up late with their families.) Declared a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, this festival culminates with the burning of all but one monument, symbolizing renewal (not the most environmentally friendly festival, but very important to Valencianos.)
   1. CON: It’s LOUD, especially in the neighborhood of Russafa. If you’re not into endless fireworks and loud music throughout the night for weeks on end, you may want to consider leaving Valencia during this time.

CITY SIZE, INFRASTRUCTURE, NATURAL SURROUNDINGS, & FINDING A FLAT IN VALENCIA

3. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain by population (following Madrid and Barcelona), but it doesn’t feel like a big city. The city is the perfect size if you’re not a big city person but still enjoy the amenities of living in a city (i.e. museums, restaurants, nightlife, culture, etc.) When we first moved here, Valencia felt a bit overwhelming to me because we moved during peak summer tourist season (I’m from an island, and have never in my life lived in a big city – always on the outskirts of a city), but once we got to know the neighborhoods more intimately, it quickly felt like home. Valencia has a charming small town feel even though it’s the third largest city in Spain. Now it actually feels small to me. In fact, I find myself feeling a bit stifled since we don’t own a car. It’s easy to rent a car, but that requires pre-planning and logistics, and sometimes I miss just being able to hop in our car and go somewhere spontaneously (I know, this is a very American thing of me to say). I personally enjoy being able to see mountains or a body of water from within a city, or at least from a hill or lookout point, but this is non-existent here. Because Valencia is as flat as a tostada, it can feel a bit closed in until you go to a neighborhood like Cabanyal on the sea (which is less than a ten-minute drive from the city!)
4. As a pedestrian, especially when crossing the street, mind the bike lanes. Valencia is well connected by bike lanes (which are often painted in a rusty red color). Electric scooters are a popular mode of transportation (as well as what food delivery services like Glovo use), and they often go very fast, so pay close attention.

3. Within the city itself, there are barely any buildings taller than 7 stories high, so it doesn’t feel at all like New York City or Beijing. The architecture is beautiful and still wows me every time I walk out of our flat.
   1. CON: Graffiti is a big issue in Valencia. When establishments close, they bring the outside shutter down, and this is typically what gets tagged. It makes the city feel grimy, which is a shame, because otherwise I would say Valencia is a sophisticated city.
   2. CON: Dog poop everywhere. This is especially bad in Cabanyal (where we lived for 5 weeks when we were trialing different neighborhoods to figure out where in Valencia we wanted to live.) Just like in many cities, it’s a concrete jungle with not a lot of green space or grass (apart from Turia Park), so in the inner part of the city away from the Park, dogs don’t really have anywhere to do their business. In the summer it reeks of urine, and most days walking on sidewalks is like walking in a mine field – you really need to watch where you step. Some owners are considerate and responsible and you’ll see them carrying a bottle with water and soap, which they squirt on the “business” when their dog is done. I’ve seen others just look the other way after their dog drops a numero dos and just walk away. 
   3. CON: Public toilets are not generally available throughout most of Europe’s cities, and that also goes for Valencia. My biggest irritation is how few toilets there are in Turia Park and on the beaches in Cabanyal / Malvarrosa. You would think that a public park would have more accessible facilities. In the winter season, they close the bathrooms on the beach, which makes zero sense to me because it’s sunny nearly every day and we’ll often have days in the 70’s throughout the winter, and there are always people at the beach.
4. In older, more traditional buildings, it’s common for ceilings to be very tall (this is a huge bonus for my 2-meter (6’7”)-tall husband. Summers can be unbearably hot here (often over 100 F and humid), so tall ceilings help to keep homes cool, many of which do not have air conditioning. If you’re lucky, you may even find a flat with original tile flooring. Our flat has original tiling throughout, and it feels like we live in a museum.
   CON: tile floors are very hard and very cold (which is not ideal in the wintertime, when it gets colder inside your flat than it is outside, and feels like you’re living inside an ice box!) and also not ideal if you have a baby or toddler learning how to walk. Walls are typically quite thin in buildings in Valencia, so sometimes you may hear private conversations from your neighbors that you didn’t sign up for!

3. It’s common to offer house slippers to guests visiting your home, especially if you have tile floors. Keep several pairs of these on hand for when you have visitors.
4. The neighborhoods are very small; just a few blocks and you’re in a different neighborhood name. You can be just a 15 minute walk from a wealthier part of town and a less expensive part of town unlike the U.S. where you would have to drive 25+ minutes and be secluded from accessing the wealthier neighborhoods. For example, the hip and trendy neighborhood of Russafa, is just a 15-minute walk from where we live, but we have a different neighborhood name.
5. Turia Park is a big reason why we chose Valencia out of any other Spanish city. Green parrots and all kinds of beautiful birds call Turia Park home, and it’s so peaceful to walk in the middle of a bustling city and find some quiet reprieve.

3. I’ve never felt safer in a city than I do in Valencia. Especially coming from Seattle where homeless, gun violence, and a drug misuse epidemic plagues the city, it’s so nice to be able to let my guard down and walk at night without looking over my shoulder or worrying that someone might have a gun beneath a long coat. Even petty theft like pickpocketing is not common in Valencia like it is in Barcelona or Madrid (and I genuinely hope it stays that way).
4. On the inner parts of Valencia’s neighborhoods, most streets are one-way, and cars go slowly, making it feel particularly safe and quiet when walking with little ones.
5. The rental market is very competitive. Not as bad as Barcelona or Madrid, but it’s getting up there, especially during summer months! 
6. It can be challenging to find a rental (short or long term) if you have a pet or many children. Spain is a tenant-friendly country, so landlords are concerned about damage. 
7. Be prepared for all the paperwork to take up to six months to complete and to finally be a legal resident of Spain. Bureaucracy is long and drawn out, and many of the websites and systems are antiquated and not designed to handle such a huge influx of immigrants and expatriates.
8. Living in Valencia is sometimes directionally challenging because of the diamond shaped intersections and the fact that it is so flat, meaning you can’t see landmarks like the ocean or the mountains within the city. Therefore, you’ll need to rely on street names (or Googlemaps).

SHOULD YOU SHIP OR SELL YOUR BELONGINGS BEFORE MOVING TO VALENCIA?

16. This is one of the top questions I see asked on expat groups, and we also wanted to know the same when we sold our home in Seattle to move here! This is of course a very personal decision depending on how attached you are to your things, or what sort of belongings are important and meaningful to you. Generally, I would say unless you have expensive luxury furniture, sell all your furniture in your home country. There are loads of furniture stores here for every budget, including luxury home stores for higher end brands. Bring all your kitchenware with you only if you have nice things (i.e. Caraway pots, Le Crusset pans, etc.) – several of these brands are available here, but they’re more expensive than in the U.S. The only other items we shipped, were clothes (thankful that we kept our cold weather gear because we’ve definitely used it this year when it fell nearly below freezing!), our wall hangings and artwork (my mom is an artist and I’m a photographer for fun), our kitchen cookware (I cook a lot and like to have good quality cookware), and our rugs (we have beautiful rugs from Turkey and Mexico). The rest we sold in Seattle and we were so grateful that we thinned out as much as possible! I like that we struck a good balance between getting rid of most of our things so that we could start fresh, yet also kept a few key items that really gave us a sense of home and comfort.

FOOD! CUSTOMS AROUND EATING, SIESTA HOURS, & GROCERY STORES

17. Respect the siesta hours. Does the whole city shut down between 2 – 7PM? No, but most cafes and restaurants will, especially establishments that cater to locals rather than tourists. After experiencing my first Valencian summer, I understood why the siesta hours exist. It’s simply too hot to go out during that time, so people relax at home, have lunch with their families, (and yes, many folks actually do take a nap!), and head out later in the evening when it cools off and the city comes to life. Generally establishments will remain open closer to and in the city center, as they serve more tourists and expats, but the further outside you get, especially into the more local neighborhoods, keep in mind the siesta hours. To this day, I still don’t know the hours of some of our favorite restaurants because they’re so random. Sometimes Googlemaps is correct, and sometimes it says open and I excitedly walk 15 minutes somewhere, mouth watering in anticipation of my favorite cookie, just to find out that they’re in fact, closed. Or some establishments are open, but only for drinks and chips & nuts but the kitchen opens later for food.
    1. CON: If you haven’t grown up in Spain, it can feel frustrating not being able to keep track of what stays open and when. You open your fridge, hoping that something new will have miraculously made its way inside without you knowing, and you sigh when you learn that in fact, there is nothing exciting. With high hopes, you think about going out for croquetas and patatas bravas, but then your heart sinks as you catch sight of the clock…15:00…alas, the starvation window has begun. I didn’t realize how much I dislike this schedule until we traveled to Slovenia and then later to Prague, where everything was open all the time (or at least had consistent hours.) In Slovenia in the peak summer season, restaurants closed at 8PM – this is when most restaurants open here in Spain!
18. Many places, including markets (especially in more local neighborhoods away from the city center) are closed on Sundays, as Sunday is a rest day. This is why the markets are usually most busy on Saturdays and Mondays.
19. Get yourself a carrito immediately upon moving here. Your back and shoulders will thank you. Being from the U.S. where people drive everywhere, I had never even seen one of these cute little hand carts! You’ll need it to cart around your groceries, since you’ll be walking everywhere now, often on cobblestone streets. Grocery stores even have lockers for your carritos to keep while you’re shopping, which is a very cute sight.

17. Mercadona is the main local grocery store chain, and was actually founded here in Valencia. In the U.S. we have Whole Foods (and in Seattle, PCC) for organic and natural products and produce. If you’re looking for an organic store that sells bio products in Valencia, Herbolario Navarro is a chain with several locations in the city. If you live in Cabanyal, there is a store (though small and quite pricey) called Sensat. 
18. What food do I miss from the U.S.? I have to be honest, a lot. I’m a fairly adaptable human, and quite well traveled and open-minded, but Valencian cuisine is not exactly the most innovative or exciting. Of course, I love the delicious cheeses, the croquettas, the olives (which will spoil you for life), the fresh fish and tinned sardines, and of course, the delicious and famous paella (originating from this region of Spain!) but I miss variety and flavor. Traditional Spanish cuisine is very basic to my palate, but that’s because I grew up in multi-ethnic cities with a plethora of Mexican, Ethiopian, Indian, and flavor-forward foods. I’m also half Chinese, and being from Hawaii, I love Asian cuisine. When it comes to dining out, we’ve discovered some outstanding ethnic restaurants, such as Chinese dim sum, Mexican tacos, Himalayan and Indian (our favorite place on our street now knows us by name), and several great Italian places, but they’re fairly limited due to the ingredients available here.
19. Cocas are like mini personal pizzas or flatbreads and are traditional to the region of Valencia. 
20. The timing of meals is sacred; you will rarely see a local eating dinner at 6:00 PM (and good luck finding anything open that early.) I’ll be honest, sometimes living in Valencia feels like I’m going against the grain of society when it comes to eating, because I personally love to enjoy a big breakfast, eat a small lunch, and have an early supper, and all three of those things are just not how it’s done here.
21. In Valencia, the diet is not very vegetable-forward. In fact, quite the opposite. Lots of meat – sausages, pork, beef, bull, but not a huge variety of seasonal vegetables. To me, I find Spanish cuisine quite unhealthy because so many things are fried, and they use mayonnaise for all their sauces rather than fresh herbs.
22. Regarding cooking, I find myself feeling a bit uninspired by what’s available in Valencia (particularly in the winter when not much is in season.) They of course import some items from Mexico, South America, and other European countries, but most of what they sell is local (which I love!) but the downside is that it can be limited. 
23. Spain is not a tipping culture, which felt very strange to us coming from a city that pushes a guilted 20% gratuity in your face for every service under the sun. The pro about this is that dining out becomes much more affordable, and also way easier (no need to do math at the end of a meal or worry if you didn’t leave enough.) Taxes are also built into the price, so what you see is what it costs. If service was good, of course you can leave a few coins, but it’s not expected. You just eat, enjoy your meal, thank the staff, pay your bill, and leave.
    1. CON: Because Spain is not a service-oriented culture, don’t expect to feel served. “Service” is typically below mediocre at best; people are polite, but not warm like in Latin American culture. Of course, there are wonderful people who defy this norm, but they tend to be the exception. We spend winters in Mexico, so it felt like an enormous contrast. In Mexico, they say, para servirles (here to serve you), or a la orden (at your service.) In Valencia, 98% of the time when you enter an establishment, you’ll get a digame (tell me), or you may not even be acknowledged at all. It’s not necessarily that they’re rude, they’re just much more direct. The opposite of Spain’s “service culture” I would say, would be Japan, where service is honorable, respectful, and impeccable, making you, the guest or the customer, feel like royalty. However, I will say, once a Valencian knows you (i.e. you come to the same bakery every day and they realize that Valencia is your home and you aren’t just a tourist or someone who’s staying for a few months), and you make an effort to chat with them (in Spanish, of course), they are very friendly and personable – it just takes a bit of time to break the barrier, but that just means that it’s that much more authentic an interaction once you do make it into their “inner circle” past the niceties.
24. Is tap water drinkable in Valencia? The answer is yes, it is perfectly safe, but it doesn’t taste very good. Tap water is very hard, which results in dried out hair from the shower, extra dry skin in the winter, and lots of calcification on glasses (i.e. the shower door, glasses you drink from, etc.) We do our best to have as little plastic waste as possible, so we use a glass Britta filter for our water and fill it up from the tap. Many people also install a filter directly onto their kitchen sink, which is convenient and less wasteful.
25. Every type of coffee has its own name, and should be how you refer to it when you order. Baristas don’t dilute coffee with milk. If you’re European, you will likely be very confused by this statement. If you’re American, you may know exactly what I’m talking about. In the U.S., “coffee beverages” are mostly milk, a little bit of coffee, and a lot of sugar. Here they have a name for how you prefer to drink your coffee (i.e. a cortado is equal parts espresso and milk. A flat white is a stronger espresso with steamed milk and a very thin layer of foam on top.) If you want to impress a local barista, ask for cafe del tiempo (hot coffee or espresso poured over a separate glass with ice and sugar and sometimes milk) – this is a cold beverage and often enjoyed during summertime.
26. There’s fresh orange juice year round, and a machine in some grocery stores (like Mercadona) where you place a bottle beneath the spigot, press a button, and voila! Sweet fresh orange juice on tap.
27. Orange trees bear oranges in the winter, adding a vibrant pop of color to the city against a clear blue sky. However, these oranges are not edible; they’re very sour and typically used for marmalades or cooking.

17. Valencia doesn’t do cocktails. I mean, yes, they do, but they’re very basic and not innovative like in other cities. In Valencia, it’s all about the wine, beer, and agua De Valencia (a refreshing bubbly mixture of fresh orange juice, Cava, gin, and vodka). I don’t drink much, but I have to admit, from time to time I truly miss a good cocktail with mezcal. 
18. There’s no music in most restaurants (especially local establishments) – instead you will hear the wonderful sound of people talking, which is nice because you can actually hear your dining mates. Especially if you’re used to Mexico where music is literally life, and you hear competing beats blasting out forward-facing speakers whilst walking down any avenida, I find the quiet peaceful and soothing. There are a few cafes on our street, and I find the muted sound of chatter comforting.
19. Valencia loves mayonnaise. All sauces are made with mayo, and “spicy” is probably a one out of ten on a Mexican or Asian scale.
20. When waiting in queue, people ask ¿Quién es la ultima / el ultimo? to see who is last so they know whom to follow so they don’t cut the queue. I find this orderly and organized.
21. Nobody brings their reusable hydroflask or eats or drinks on the go (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Spaniard drinking coffee whilst walking on the street); they sit down in the establishment, enjoy their beverage or food, and then carry about their day; there’s no rushing around here.
22. Valencia is steeped in traditions. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, you’ll see a long queue out the door at the traditional bakeries that have been around for over 50 years.
    1. CON: It can sometimes feel a bit old-fashioned, like nothing modern or innovative is coming from the city. The most “forward-thinking” food establishment I’ve come across in Valencia, is a bakery called Molt, which uses ecologic flour.

COST OF LIVING IN VALENCIA

37. One of the many things I love about Spain (and Europe in general), is that the price you see is exactly what you pay. There’s no additional taxes, “service charges”, or gratuities added on, so when you see that an orange costs 1€, or a coffee costs 4€, that’s exactly what you’ll pay. I wish the U.S. would be this transparent in pricing.
38. The prices in Valencia over the past several years have risen significantly overall, particularly with the cost of housing. After living in Seattle for a decade – one of the most expensive cities in the U.S., when we first arrived in Valencia, it felt like a relief on our wallet, but now it just feels normal, and whenever we go back to the U.S., we feel price gouged. Overall, our lifestyle in Valencia costs around one third less than our lifestyle in Seattle. Valencia is certainly not a cheap place to live – nowhere close to some South American or Southeast Asian countries, but also not the price-gouging discomfort of a city like London. I find housing to be the most expensive, and groceries & dining out to be more reasonable, especially shopping at the markets. 

WEATHER & FASHION

39. Valencia has the summer humidity of Caribbean cities in Mexico. I did not expect to feel right at home (Hawaii) the very first time we exited the airport upon arriving in Valencia in July. Winters are much drier, but overall, Valencia is quite humid most of the year, but especially during summer.
    1. CON: Humidity = mold. Unfortunately, mold is an issue in Valencia, particularly in homes and in bathrooms. Sometimes when it rains, you’ll notice the dreaded smell of sewage coming up through the pipes, and it seems impossible to keep your shower free of black spots. 
40. Is the heat really that unbearable in the summer? The answer is, it depends on your personal barometer. If you’re coming from a place like Alaska, the UK, or Eastern Europe, then yes, it will be bloody hot. If you’re from a place like Arizona, Miami, or Hawaii, it’s not too bad, though July and August are the worst and when your electricity bill will be through the roof. Temperatures climb to the 90’s F (32 C) and sometimes reach over 100 (40 C) for several weeks straight, but it’s a humid heat, so make sure you replenish your electrolytes, as you’ll be sweating the moment you step out of your air-conditioned flat (if you’re lucky enough to even have A.C. in your flat).
41. A.C. isn’t used much by locals except for in July and August; Europeans don’t like to be freezing. I don’t know why this is a thing in the U.S., but if you go into an American’s home in the summer, their house is usually an iceberg, but they’re wearing a sweater and sleep with heavy blankets at night. I find it funny (and accurate) that Valencians view Americans as people who love to keep their homes freezing, which is quite wasteful.
42. There are mosquitoes in the summer. And flies. Relentless enormous black flies who will literally dive bomb your face, down your shirt, throw a dance party on one of your limbs the moment you stop moving it – anywhere it can reach, it will get you, often in groups. I can’t say I was expecting an attack of the flies when I thought about living in Valencia. Pair that with no screens on windows, and you’ve got yourself a party of bugs in your flat during summer. Winter is the glorious time when not a single bug can be spotted (except for the ever-so-non-illusive cockroaches in Cabanyal).
43. You may notice that many women don’t wear bras in the summer. I actually posted about this observation in a Facebook group called Ladies Moving to Spain, and the post blew up with hilarious comments, all in solidarity with remarks around how the bra would be soaked in an instant and it’s just too hot to deal with an extra layer of clothing. Fair enough!
44. It is legal to be topless on the beaches in Valencia, and the vast majority of females will indeed be without their top when sunbathing and swimming.
45. In the summer, cooler and lightweight materials such as linen and cotton will be your best friend.
46. People dress for the season, not for the actual temperature. I had to laugh when in October it was still sunny and in the 80’s F (25 C), but women were wearing the first of the fall fashion season’s coats, boots, and scarves, probably sweating their arses off, but hey, at least they’re fashionable!
47. In the winter, it’s common to wear a heavy jacket in the morning and then by 1PM be in shorts and a t-shirt, sweating whilst walking around Turia park and taking in the sunshine.
48. Brands are not popular. Unlike in the U.S. where branding on clothing is free marketing, with names printed on the arm of jackets, or garishly across the chest of a t-shirt, Valencia is subtle and sophisticated, often with solid colors over bright patterns. The U.S. also has a big college sports following, so students and graduates proudly wear their school name on their sweatshirt, which you don’t see much of in Valencia.

HEALTHCARE

49. Spain has universal health care (sistema nacional de salud), and health insurance is a dream; unlike in the U.S. where nobody – not the doctor nor the nurse nor the front desk of the hospital, nor the insurance company themselves, can give you an estimate of how much a visit will cost, so you’re often going in blind. I remember once getting a simple procedure in Seattle that took literally 45 seconds, and 2 months later I received a bill for $377.89. And don’t forget the .89 cents!! Here in Valencia, there’s no need to guess how much a visit will cost. In addition to free health insurance, you can also opt to purchase private health insurance, which grants you access to more doctors and lesser wait times to be seen for appointments. The cost of healthcare in Seattle for my family was $850 per month for two adults and 1 child, and here it is $200 per month (converting euro to dollar), and our co-pays are always €3,50 (that’s 3 euro, fifty cents, not 350), no matter what it is. One month our son got bronchitis and I got tonsillitis all within a few weeks, and we were in and out of both urgent care and previously set appointments, and our bill came out to a whopping €18 by the end of the month – this likely would have been over $1,000 in the U.S.
50. It is possible to purchase the flu vaccine at your local pharmacy and administer your own flu shot at home. I found this pretty wild, but we did it the first winter we lived in Valencia since we didn’t have our SIP card at the time, as we had just obtained our TIE card. (You need a SIP card to be seen in the public healthcare system, and in order to get your SIP, you need your TIE card.)
51. Like many European countries, unfortunately smoking cigarettes is very common. In Valencia, it seems that one out of every six people you pass on the street smokes a cigarette. It’s sad to me that a first world country who otherwise is fairly forward-thinking and healthy as an overall society, cannot get their act together to eradicate such an unhealthy habit. 

SOCIAL LIFE, MAKING FRIENDS, & CHILDREN IN VALENCIA

52. Valencia is a wonderful place to raise a family; children are revered here, rather than seen as a nuisance. They are well integrated into society, and are welcomed everywhere (including late night dinners at semi-fancy restaurants). One time we were dining at a restaurant with our friends and our kiddos, who were being a bit rambunctious, and I kept nervously looking around to make sure we weren’t bothering other patrons. To my surprise, not a single time did they cast glaring eyes our direction; in fact, just the opposite! Some of them looked over and smiled. When we left, I apologized (in Spanish) for the bother, and they all looked at me surprised, and responded, “are you kidding? They’re being kids, this is how it’s meant to be! It’s no bother at all.” Even our server said that it delighted her to see kids playing with toys and books rather than on their phones.
53. I have never seen more children per capita in my whole life, than in Valencia. Locals love children (especially older folks), so get used to people touching your kids’ head when they walk by, stopping them on the street to say, hola, guapo! or interacting with them and then telling you all about their own grandchildren. I love this about Valencia – it makes me feel like an accepted part of a greater community where people know that raising children is a village effort. I love that our child experiences kindness from strangers on the street, in a cafe, at a restaurant, or at the park. Our son frequently says, “Mama, he / she was so nice to me!” That’s how it should be everywhere in the world – children are our future!
54. Playgrounds in Valencia leave much to be desired. They’re small, bare bones, low to the ground, and seem to be built for small toddlers or babies. Besides Parque Gulliver (which is one of the most phenomenal play structures I’ve seen in my life! – modeled after the book Gulliver’s Travels where the body of Gulliver is the entire playground, complete with climbing structures and enormous wide and long slides) the playgrounds are basic. There are few structures that involve complex climbing and tend to have only a see-saw, some swings, and a small slide and that’s about it. 

52. People seem to be much more in the moment and less on their phones; especially in restaurants.
53. Spaniards love company. Friends and family are a very important part of Valencian culture. Eating out is preferred over cooking at home, and it’s not common to meet friends at someone’s house; you meet out at a bar, cafe, or restaurant.
54. Valencians love being outdoors (and luckily it’s sunny nearly 300 days per year, so being outside is possible and enjoyable!) I always find it funny that even on the coldest winter nights when it’s windy and near freezing, people opt to sit outside (with heaters and wrapped in heavy coats and blankets) rather than enjoying their meal in the comfort of the restaurant’s heated indoor space.
55. Children are much more engaged in the real world and far less on screens (they also seem to be inside far less because the weather is always so good). Many restaurants have playgrounds or large plazas nearby and the kids run around and use their imagination. Kids are better behaved in restaurants as well; rather than being plopped in front of a screen, pacified by fast-moving wide-eyed-overly-saturated-in-color cartoons, they’re often coloring or interacting with their family, often with grandparents.
56. Parents seem to let their children have more agency and free rein in Valencia, compared with parenting I’ve seen in other countries, especially the U.S. where parents seem to hover over their children at playgrounds, watching their every step and constantly saying, “be careful!”, or intervening at the very smallest sign of potential conflict. In Valencia, parents seem to trust their kids to play properly and figure it out if something goes awry, often watching from afar as they leisurely sip their coffee and enjoy a tortilla.
57. You’ll often see grandparents taking care of and spending time with their grandkids, and that goes for all ages. We frequently see abuelas and abuelos pushing their newborn grandbaby in the pram, treating their 5-year-old to a helado (ice cream), or walking home from school with their 13-year-old grandson. The connection that children have with their elders is so beautiful and sadly not something you see commonly in the U.S., where families often live in different states and only see extended family over holidays once per year. 
58. My husband and I have found it very easy to make new friends as expats, especially if you have kids. However, making friends with locals (even if you speak fluent Spanish), has been a bit more challenging, as they seem to already have their lifelong circle of friends and family. Valencia has become a city very popular amongst international expats, and making connections has been delightfully easy for us. What I love about the expat community here, is that because everybody is in a similar boat (moved here from another country and establishing new roots), whether they’ve been here for one month or ten years, everybody is keen to make new friends, so people make an effort to exchange numbers and arrange get togethers and they actually follow through and mean it when they say “let’s grab a coffee sometime”. That “sometime” is usually the next day or the following week. Because the weather is so pleasant nearly every day, meeting outside is easy and convenient. 
59. Amazon membership is different in Spain; you’ll need to cancel your U.S. membership and sign up for Spain’s membership, and you don’t earn any points if you have an Amazon credit card because it’s linked to your previous account. This means that if you spend a significant amount of time each year back in your home country, your Amazon prime will not work there anymore (including shopping at Whole Foods if you’re from the U.S., which means no more prime discounts.) Amazon is not nearly as popular in Valencia as it is in other parts of the world, because locals still shop at brick-and-mortar stores. (I find this endearing, though sometimes inconvenient, and we’ve followed suit because it supports local shop owners, keeps fewer trucks on the road, and there are dedicated stores for everything you can think of).
60. Returns in Valencia are not common, especially Amazon returns. There are dedicated stores to bring Amazon returns to, but the process is long and not always convenient. 
61. You’ll often be asked for your NIE number when a package is delivered to your home. This is one of many numbers that you should either memorize or have handy in your phone notes.
62. In addition to the wonderful fresh markets (Mercado Russafa and Mercado Central are the two main markets in Valencia), there are also individually-owned small standalone shops selling only a particular item such as vegetables or meat or fish, and they’re still affordable, whereas this concept is gaining popularity around the world, but elsewhere they would be considered “specialty shops” with a huge markup and not affordable to the general population.
    1. CON: While I love shopping locally, the American in me does miss a good Costco run from time to time and the convenience of having everything in one store (simply for time’s sake). Corte Ingles is a multi-level department store with several locations in the city that also has a grocery store on the bottom level. Here you can find everything from children’s clothing to shoes to houseware to furniture to electronics to specialty cheese, and both local and imported products. However, unlike Costco where you can buy in bulk and the prices are marked down, Corte Ingles is pricey and comes in normal quantities. (I’ve noticed during our world travels, that bulk buying is 100% an American thing, along with meal prepping. In Europe, people buy fresh ingredients and cook nearly every day and eat in smaller quantities. In the U.S., people are always rushing around everywhere, busy with fully packed schedules and generally don’t have time to cook every day and sit down to actually enjoy the meal they prepared.)

52. There are several food delivery apps (like Glovo and Uber Eats), and there are also grocery delivery apps for stores like Mercadona and Corte Ingles, however, we have found the grocery delivery to be inconvenient because delivery tends to not be available same day or even next day. Typically you need to order three days in advance for grocery delivery. Thankfully we live literally across the street from a Mercadona.
53. People drink wine and beer anytime of the day, even when taking a break during a work lunch.
54. A greeting is a kiss on each cheek; start on your right cheek (lean to the left).
55. Greet the room when you walk in, not just the people who work there (hola buenas and hasta luego when you leave.) Spaniards are not afraid of eye contact.
56. Rastrell is a second-hand store, which has orange containers spread throughout the city where you can donate used clothes or shoes. I am used to a circular economy living in forward-thinking green Seattle, where local Buy Nothing Facebook groups are very active, free little libraries are dotted throughout the entire city and can be found on every street corner, and people give away used clothing, furniture, kids’ toys, etc. all the time, and where Goodwill drop-offs are common. I was surprised to find that this concept doesn’t seem to be as prevalent in Valencia, and I’m still not quite sure why this is (perhaps they pass everything down to the next generation or give it away to friends or family members?) 
57. Going out in athleisurewear stamps you immediately as a foreigner. It may as well be like going out in your pyjamas, and unless you’re going directly to the gym or to the park, it’s just not an acceptable form of dress, and you may get the dreaded judgemental stare from a well-dressed abuela as she eyes you up and down with disproval (or confusion) whilst passing on the street. 
58. When someone tells you that something is in Spanish, they don’t say that it’s in Spanish, they say that it’s in Castellano because in this region Valenciano is the regional language.
59. Locals are fashionable, though there are influences from South America, China, and other parts of Europe, so the fashion is varied. It’s not as fancy or well-dressed as a city like Milan or Lisbon, but not casual or sloppy like Seattle.
60. On a weekday at 11 AM, it is not uncommon to see people of all ages reading a book outside on a park bench or an outdoor plaza sipping a coffee. You would rarely see this in a big city on a weekday in the U.S.; everybody is always rushing around, or driving in their car, and it brings me a sense of calm and joy when I see this; it encourages me to slow down myself.
61. The beach volleyball scene is EPIC in Cabanyal / Malvarossa. During the summer season, they set up around 40 nets on the beach (which is very wide and flat), and there are often tournaments held here.
62. Parque Turia is the reason we chose Valencia over other coastal cities we were considering such as Malaga or Alicante – green space and a place for children to run safely was very important to us, and indeed, we enjoy the park every single day, often biking, running, or setting up our slack line and hammock with a book.
63. The elderly are taken care of here, often carted around in their wheelchair by their caretaker, or escorted arm-in-arm by their adult son or daughter or grandchild, to the market, to church, to local events, or just for a walk on the street for fresh air and sunshine. Elderly and children are more integrated into the social fabric of daily life in Valencia, rather than stuffed away in elderly homes. I’ve heard from several older folks that in the U.S. they feel invisible or irrelevant, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in Valencia, where groups of older folks often meet together for coffee in the morning, chatting and enjoying each other’s company. There is a strong respect here for elders from people of all ages.

LANGUAGE IN VALENCIA & VALENCIAN PEOPLE

78. Do you need to speak Spanish to live in Valencia? The short answer is, yes. The longer answer is, if you want to live a comfortable and enriching life, and eventually, even though it may take some time, be accepted by the locals and actually liked and respected by locals, and even befriended by locals, you really need to be able to speak a bit more than a basic level of Spanish. Unlike Madrid or Barcelona where they’re used to high levels of foreign tourists, English is not widely spoken in Valencia at all, and it’s not like places such as Japan where locals are eager to practice their English; here you are expected to conform and speak Spanish everywhere. In fact, you may be treated differently if you don’t speak Spanish (and not in a positive way.) I highly recommend starting Spanish lessons even before you move here or as soon as you arrive so that you won’t feel like a fish out of water. You won’t be well regarded if you’re the kind of person who moves to another country, never intending to adapt and learn the local language; that just won’t fly here, and you’ll quickly feel ostracized, lonely, disconnected, and lost.
    
    For the last six years, my husband and I have spent winters living in Mexico, and growing up on the West Coast, this is the Spanish I am used to hearing and speaking. I minored in Spanish in University (and even had several exchange professors from Spain), and have been speaking Spanish since I was six years old, so I thought I’d have no problem here in Spain. Wow, was I wrong!! Not only is the type of Spanish spoken here different, the idioms, articulations, nuances and gesticulations are entirely different (as all Spanish-speaking countries are!) and it has been a heck of a learning curve for me to adapt to it, but I love learning something new every day!
    
    I’ll never forget the day we landed here and got off the plane with our then 2.5-year-old, I asked “donde recogemos la carreola?” (where do we pick up the pram (stroller))? The agent looked at me with such confusion, like I had just arrived from a different planet. Here, they call it a carrito (little car).
    
    I’m happy to say that after just a few months of living here, I gained the confidence to speak with more fluidity and fluency, and now I have full on conversations with abuelas at the park or vendors at their puesto (stall) in the market. I even know some fun sayings that are only used here in Spain! My husband is taking Spanish lessons and is also improving quickly, and our son has had a Spanish-speaking nanny since he was one year old, and attends a local Spanish school, so he’s learning Spanish at a native level. Every day we dedicate one hour where we can only speak in Spanish to each other, which has helped both of us tremendously, and is a fun family exercise! Even our trilingual son enjoys participating. 
79. Valenciano is a variety of Catalan and is not widely spoken in the city itself. While it is an official language, printed on signs and taught in public schools, it’s more commonly heard and spoken in the rural villages outside of Valencia. It is considered a minority language in the urban center, so don’t worry about having to learn Spanish and Valenciano. Just Spanish will do here. 
80. Valencia is a chatting culture – even men chat on street corners and at the gym, and it’s not just small talk, rather, full on conversations – the epidemic of loneliness, especially in males, is not apparent here at all. 
81. The most common greeting in Valencia is “hola, buenas!” (hello, good day, though, as a literal translation, simply means, “hello, good”). They drop the dias or tardes or noches, so, unlike in Mexico where they say they speak the full sentence, “hola, buenos dias!”, they just say, “hola, buenas!”.
82. The two words that you will hear most commonly in Valencia are vale (okay) and claro (of course).
83. The phrase Madre mía! (literally translates to “my mother”), meaning oh my gosh, wow, or to express strong emotion, and is used frequently in daily conversation. A car whizzes by going too quickly? Madre mía! You just find out that a girlfriend of yours is pregnant? Madre mía! You walk outside and it’s a sweltering 45 degrees C? Madre mía!
84. In other Spanish speaking countries, you’ll often hear buen provecho before enjoying a meal, but in Valencia, they say, que aproveche, which means the same thing (“enjoy”), but more eloquently means to make most of your meal (how poetic!)
85. If you accidentally bump into somebody or spill or drop something and you say sorry to someone, the response you’ll likely hear in return is either no te preocupes (don’t you worry), or tranquila (literally translates to calm or peaceful, but is their way of casually saying, no worries. I personally love hearing this word; it somehow feels like a warm blanket wrapped around my soul, and it actually does make me feel calm!
86. When we first moved to Valencia, at first I was a bit disheartened to find the local people a bit closed and standoffish (though keep in mind my barometer for kindness and openness is Hawaii and Mexico – arguably two of the nicest places in the world), however, after living here for some time, I have come to find Valencians to generally be polite, kind, helpful, and truly lovely people. Perhaps some can come across a bit “rough around the edges” on the outside, but on the inside, they’re like Turrón on Christmas – sweet and comforting. I may have a different experience than others because I speak Spanish, but I have found them to be very accepting of us and especially once they get to know us a bit better, very sweet and kind.

Phew! If you’re still with me, you’re either my Mom, Granddad, or husband (the biggest fans of my blog), or you’re planning a move to Valencia. In any case, I hope you’ve found this insightful and useful if considering a move to Spain!