9 Ways Valencia Is Handling Expat Crush

Are you curious about how Valencia is handling the expat crush? Well, wonder no more as I will clue you in on what’s happening in this once-undiscovered gem that was hiding all the time in plain sight.

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’ll know that once we moved from Seville to Valencia, I did not write about the city for at least a couple of years.

Call it selfishness, or wanting to hold on to it for as long as possible, or whatever. That crumbled when some big magazine named Valencia a top expat destination and other magazines piled on. The cat was out of the bag.

It has also been a minute since I wrote on the blog. Life you know, and travel. My last post was how Valencia was now closed, a tongue-in-cheek post because I felt like we had reached our limit. Isn’t that always the way things go? Shut the door after me :-).

It’s been crazy how fast things have progressed in the past year or so. I hear phrases like “Valencia is the new Barcelona” thrown around frequently. I had said before that I didn’t believe it could ever be so. Now, I’m not so sure.

9 ways Valencia is handling expat crush:

Off the top of my head, here are some ways things have changed.

Housing Crunch:

Talk to anybody who’s searching for a flat and you’ll hear the desperation of how tough it is to find one, especially if you have a budget that’s not stratospheric.

The problem is that while there might be plenty of flats available in the city as a whole (yeah, less than before, but still…), new immigrants are fixated on living in the central core, namely Russafa and the old center of Carmen. 

It’s no secret that their money goes a lot farther in Spain compared to where they came from. The budgets are therefore higher and they throw big numbers around. More money than the average gross monthly salary of a local.

What does it boil down to? Apartment owners (local and foreign) jack up the prices knowing that they will get it because the competition is intense and if you don’t take it, the next person will.

No less than three people I know have had to move out of their flats due to “family moving in” which is code for get out, I can get 3 times the rent you’re paying. 

Do I blame the landlords? Nope. You gotta move with the flow. It’s happening in hot spots like the aforementioned Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, and Mexico. Don’t believe me? Just watch House Hunters International or similar shows. 

Places are renting for double, or more than they did a year ago. Even rooms in a flat that used to be about 200 euros per room are now going for 500.

Sale prices are also going way, way up. Compared to 2022, the prices in the region have increased a shade over 14% and I don’t see it letting up either as long as the money and richer folks keep moving in.

I’ve said before that moving to a new country due to geographic arbitrage allows you to reinvent yourself. Back at home, you’re a wheel in the cog, just a nobody. Now, you move and suddenly, you have more money than the locals and feel like the grand poobah, and, everyone must know that. I get it.

Is there a cure for this? Probably not for a while. Until the powers that be move on to another destination, this will keep on. It would help though if people did some research before moving.

Crowds:

Holy moly! I find the city center suffocating now, but I’m probably just old. The crush of people is too much and I am so glad we live outside of the ring of fire. If you love the city vibe of shoulder-to-shoulder, then it’s for you. It’s loud, it’s slow.

I even saw a begpacker with the sign that used to be all the rage in Thailand. It said something like give me money so I can continue my travels. Uhmm, NO! There was a 114% increase in the number of tourists over the previous year (2022) by May 2023.

I would assume that number is left in the dust by now. Spain recently joined the whole digital nomad visa thing and that has brought a lot of people working remotely in. They were late to the game, but it’s been a success from the looks of it. This has added to the above housing crunch.

English everywhere:

That was bound to happen as a result of there being more people. When we first got here, I was scared of venturing out by myself without my husband to translate because very few people spoke English.

It’s more common, especially in the city center, but even now, in our neighborhood, as fellow immigrants get squeezed out of those neighborhoods. Three years ago, it was only me and a British guy with a Valenciano girlfriend who chatted when we walked the dogs and we were happy to discover each other.

Now, the tobacco shop, the pharmacy, the grocery store, cafes, etc., I hear more English. I don’t mind as I used it as a language exchange of sorts. They hear my struggling Spanish and switch to their struggling English and I reply in Spanish. I still take my conversation classes and it’s still a struggle, but never give up, and never surrender. 

Uptick on petty theft:

Don’t get me wrong. It’s nowhere compared to other big cities, but it has increased since the lockdown ended. Lots of stories of purses, backpacks, and phones being stolen. This is in addition to bike theft which was already here.

I guess most, not all people had gotten too relaxed and became victims. From what I understand, if the theft is under 400 euros, the police don’t do anything, so, of course, the thieves are more brazen.

Before you say “Oh, that’s madness,” note that in San Francisco for instance, it’s $950! What it means is that you gotta stay aware of your surroundings and guard your stuff.

Limit on meal times:

I have to admit that this one irks me, and we don’t even eat out too often. It used to be once you had a reservation for lunch, for instance, you could stay for the duration of the time the restaurant in open, so you linger.

A lot of places have adopted a 90-minute limit on reservations and will rush to get you out so they can turn over the table. Two friends had to eat their meal in one place, and dessert in another because they were kicked out.

The restaurants are slow af to bring you your food, does that mean you then have to rush through the meal? I can only hope that’s not true. This leads right to the next point.

Higher prices:

In the old days, think just three years ago or less, you could have a great menu of the day for about 10-11 dollars. This would include an appetizer, main, dessert, and/or coffee, and a drink (wine, beer, or water).

Now, think 15-17 dollars for just the main and appetizer. I run a foodie group with a friend and it’s getting harder and harder to find restaurants at reasonable prices, especially because we dine out on Saturdays which have higher prices as a norm.

Granted, these prices are nothing for expats, but I am only here to tell you how Valencia is handling the expat crush :-).

The higher prices are everywhere in the world, so that’s not particularly shocking or unique. Inflation, world problems, the stock market, COVID aftershocks, etc, contribute to that.

More Variety:

The upside of it is that we’re able to find more American-centric staples like bagels (6/10), red velvet cake, and even cinnamon rolls. I love that. I can’t think of any more right now, but I’m sure there are way more.

Bus routes:

I know everything up till now can be taken as negatives, but there are some positives too, I think. One of them is the expansion of public transportation.

In addition to the new metro line 10, there have been several added bus routes to make it even easier to get around. This to me, means that if you can get over the cache of living in the center, you can still find affordable places in the outskirts. I’m talking within a 15-minute walk to the center. It’s good for your buns :-).

Airport expansion:

This can also be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. International trips have meant departing from Madrid or Barcelona, and to some extent, Malaga.

They have been expanding the airport because they’ve had incredible numbers swinging through its doors. The per-month passenger number record was broken back in July with almost a million, and that’s not counting the airport in Alicante either.

There are rumors there will be a direct Valencia to New York flight as soon as summer 2024 They hope to spur more visitors from the States and Mexico way. Yeah, more people. It would certainly be more convenient for us, but it also means more people.

Conclusion:

There is a lot of food for thought. I can’t decide for you if Valencia should still be on your radar or not. That would depend on your situation and financial health, etc. All I can tell you is that I love it here.

You might like: Reasons not to visit Valencia

My husband is still only 87.3% loving it… hahaj! (bureaucracy related mainly but I remind him it’s the same in Italy where he’s from). The point is that no place is perfect. You have to make the best decision for you. 

Over the years, I’ve seen people come and go as they search for a place to call home. You might know that we ended up here after stints in Malta, Malaga, and Seville.

That’s the whole point of being experimental expats. No place and no one is tying you down, and, you’re not a failure if you have to move on. We love the food, the wine, the people, the relaxed lifestyle, and the ease of travel.

If I still haven’t convinced you to not move here, consider the course 🙂

Are there some things that I’ve missed? If you can think of more, please share.