If you’re thinking of moving to Spain as a young and rich expat, you’ll probably be looking at a few shortlisted locations. Now the word “rich” can mean many things, but I’m using it to define young entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals who have a relatively high income or net worth.

Here’s my view on where to live in Spain if you fit that description, based on what I’ve seen during my time in Spain.

In my experience, people tend to consider the following locations:

• Barcelona (Catalonia)
• Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid)
• Costa del Sol (Andalucia)
• Costa Blanca (Comunidad Valenciana)
• Balearic islands (Islas Baleares)

First, I will explain why I listed them in this fashion.

For Barcelona and Madrid, they are pretty much the only serious destination within their autonomous regions, so I put down the city names directly.

For the two coasts (del Sol and Blanca), expats tend to be a bit more spread out and refer to the names of the coasts when explaining where they live.

For the islands, most expats will be found on Mallorca or Ibiza.

The autonomous region in brackets is important due to the fact that the tax implications differ between each region.

Housing

The best houses I’ve seen were in Madrid, Costa del Sol (look around the Marbella area as an example) and the Balearic islands. Barcelona also has some decent places, but they tend to be extraordinarily expensive and there are relatively few newer builds.

Young couples and families tend to prefer modern housing and there is a dearth of that type of housing in Barcelona due to bad socialist policies in place, among other factors. The city is also constrained by its geography, meaning the suburbs are actually quite distant compared to other cities. You will find decent housing in suburbs like Sant Cugat and Sitges, but you lose the proximity to the city.

Culture

For year-round cultural activities nothing comes close to Barcelona or Madrid. The difference becomes even more apparent in winter, when the other locations in my list become devoid of activity as tourism wanes.

If you value events, conferences and networking opportunities, then again you will want to stick to one of these two cities.

Expat Community

Barcelona wins this hands-down due to the large size of the expat community and its diversity. Other areas tend to be dominated by expats from certain countries (e.g. Germany/UK) whereas in Barcelona you’ll find a mix of people from all over the world.

Madrid is good too from this aspect but the expat community is smaller, especially when considering the type of person I have in mind in this article.

Politics & Taxation

In my opinion, Madrid and Andalucia are the two regions that are doing things the right way politically. They are trying to reduce taxation and encourage investment in the regions, while Barcelona is stuck in socialist hell.

Everyone has their opinion on politics, but regarding taxation the numbers speak for themselves, and show that Madrid and Andalucia are the best places for lower taxation in Spain, although it remains quite high in any case.

Education

If you have kids, and want to find a top international school, but also give your kids a holistic education in terms of sports activities and mixing with many other nationalities and locals, then you want to stick to either Barcelona and Madrid.

You can find some decent schools in the other areas, but you will miss out on the better availability of extra curricular activities and social life that the two biggest cities of Spain offer.

Keep in mind that once your kids turn eighteen and start looking at Universities, they will probably leave Spain and further their education in the US, UK, or the Netherlands. You might want to plan around that if you value living close to your children.

Travel

If you intend to travel a lot, then the best options are clearly Madrid and Barcelona, both of which have highly trafficked international airport. I particularly like the airport in Barcelona, but both are pretty good.

Travel between the two cities is also very convenient via the high speed train connection, which is important if you plan to conduct business in both cities. Madrid is better connected to the rest of Spain through both road and rail, so that’s another consideration if you want to explore Spain or have business all over.

Weather

If weather is very high on your priority list, then Madrid loses out due to its more extreme temperature highs and lows. It also lacks having the sea and the summer lifestyle one associates with coastal areas.

All other cities and areas I mentioned are great, but I would have to put Barcelona top due to its great and balanced weather. Summertime is always great in Barcelona and the Costa Brava, while the winter is not too cold and very pleasant for excursions. You also have several locations for good skiing within 2 hours drive from Barcelona.

The Balearic islands and southern coast of Spain are not my favorite because they tend to be more deserted in wintertime.

Some expats move to the Canary islands due to the great weather in winter, given their location, but in my opinion you would lose out on too many other things to make this a top destination.

Time to Move to Spain?

Spain is a wonderful country to live in as an expat, and has very few rivals worldwide if you seek overall quality of life. It might not be the top in anything, but it does have a bit of everything you need to live a happy life.

The biggest downside is inept politicians and a high level of taxation. This is why many expats are now choosing to move to Portugal instead of Spain. I have noted my thoughts on Barcelona vs Lisbon in a separate article, but in a nutshell, if tax optimisation and English-speaking locals is high on your priorities list, you will want to look at Portugal. For everything else, Spain wins out.

Have you moved to Spain as an expat? Do you agree with my assessment? Happy to continue the discussion in the comments section below.

These are just a few links I use to find attractive day trips and activities in the area around Barcelona and beyond.

Meetups

These are meetup groups that organize one-day trips, and can serve as inspiration if you want to do your own trip with a rented car, or if you have your own transport.

• Plan B
• Enjoy Catalonia
• SMexperiences
• Yepalo
• Descubridores de Barcelona
• Nature & Friends
• Back to Nature

With Kids

• Sortir amb nens
• Mammaproof
• Totnens

Around Girona

• Turisme Girones

My Favorite Trips

For adults or the whole family:

• Sitges
• Cardona Muntanya de Sal
• Hiking in Montserrat (or just visiting)
• Catalunya en Miniatura
• Wine tasting (there are many similar options)

For Kids:

• Toboganes Can Matas in Sant Cugat
• Parc de la Costeta in Begues (3 great slides)
• Granja D’Aventura Park (or other similar farms)
• Minilandia
• Cycling in El Prat

If you’re looking into buying expensive fashion items as an investment or simply as a hobby, one way of lowering the barrier to entry is to find the items on a used goods website.

There are two main leaders in the used luxury fashion items space in Europe:

• Vestiaire Collective
• TheRealReal

Whenever possible, I buy the best products available on the market, which are normally the most expensive. The reasoning behind that is that you get to actually enjoy an amazing product, plus you know that there is the possibility to resell it at a good price. The latter point is important to me as an investor.

A lot of people just look at the price tags of some luxury designer bags, for example, and can’t believe how any person would buy them. The truth, however, is that some of those same bags can actually increase in price over time, making them a great investment. Handbags are in fact one of the most popular classes of alternative investments worldwide. The same goes for vintage cars and certain prestigious sports cars, for example.

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This is going to be a highly opinionated post about my thoughts on Lisbon and Barcelona. It’s written from the viewpoint of an entrepreneur/investor who appreciates the good things in life and is also planning the future of his kids.

I’ve lived in Barcelona for several years and visited Lisbon many times, most recently in May 2021. I have friends who are entrepreneurs and investors who live in both cities. Right from the outset, it is obvious that I can’t probably draw an accurate or scientific comparison between the two cities as I’ve never lived in Lisbon, but I have to do my best with the knowledge I’ve got till now. The whole point of the article is to sort out my thoughts and possibly decide to live long-term in one of these cities.

I’m absolutely in love with Barcelona (and Spain in general), despite its many problems, and for many years have considered it the best place for living in the world. However, while Barcelona’s attractiveness has been declining over the past few years due to several reasons, Lisbon has been gaining a lot of traction. Given that 5 years ago I would have told you that Barcelona is clearly my favorite and that Lisbon would definitely come in at second place, I am forced to revisit the question to see whether the choice is not that clear anymore.

In a wider context, this can also be taken as a Spain VS Portugal article, but I feel that focusing on Lisbon and Barcelona, in particular, is more important, as those two cities have a very different feel to the rest of the cities in each country. While they benefit from country-wide benefits (such as tax incentives in Portugal) as well as problems (Lisbon does not save itself from the red tape and bureaucracy that Portugal is known for), there are many more things that are quite specific to each of these two cities.

Business-friendliness

In Barcelona, it is quite frequent, and it was especially so in 2020 with the pandemic crisis, to see newspaper articles asking whether there are enough help programs for entrepreneurs and businesses.

This led me to realize how the local government has got it all wrong. The question to ask is the following:

Are there too many obstacles to entrepreneurship?

In Barcelona’s case, in my opinion, the answer to that question is absolutely non-debatable. It’s a resounding yes. Anyone who embarks on an entrepreneurship journey in this city is doubly a hero in my view. First to go against the grain and take the big risks that all entrepreneurship necessitates, and secondly for having the patience and grit to deal with all the bullshit one has to go through to legally start a business and maintain it. Not to mention that if they are eventually lucky and good enough to turn that business into a huge success, the government will be the first in line to heavily tax the business and the entrepreneur as if it had some huge part to play in that success.

Spain manages to attract many wealthy expats and entrepreneurs due to the climate, beauty and history of the country, but then discourages them from taking an active part in the economy with high taxes, complicated procedures for operating businesses, as well as the language barriers.

Portugal, on the other hand, is wide open for business. Lisbon has been attracting many expats over the past years, in no small part due to the NHR scheme which I’ve described in a separate article on taxation in Europe.

Taxation

Arguably the biggest reason for the influx of expats to Portugal in recent years has been the NHR scheme which permits retirees, investors and entrepreneurs to receive their incomes tax-free in Portugal for a period of 10 years.

Spain, on the other hand, burdens you with many forms of taxation, including the modelo 720 report which is pure evil.

It’s no surprise that tons of Spanish and expat entrepreneurs, high-income earners and investors are moving to other jurisdictions like Andorra and Portugal. Others who have been considering their options for moving from their home country skip the Spain option altogether. Catalonia, the region within which Barcelona resides, has the worst tax oppression in Spain.

Portugal does not require any such reporting nor does it levy wealth tax, which is a big relief given that these two things are what most expats feel most burdened by in Spain. If not on the NHR programme, however, taxes are in the same region as those in Spain. Barcelona has higher income taxes compared to Lisbon though.

On the other hand, it is also a valid point to think that the NHR is a kind of trap to lure you in with the promise of no taxation, knowing that once you settle in the country it will be hard to leave once the ten years are up, and will compensate for the lost taxation in early years by spending another 20-40 years paying high taxes in Portugal.

Language

A much higher percentage of Lisbonites speak English when compared to the Barcelona natives. You will find signs in English, contracts can be in both Portuguese and English, and you will have no problem navigating the daily needs if you only speak English. This has made Portugal a hotspot for native English speakers like Americans and British, who are less likely to speak other languages. For Europeans who are used to learning and speaking multiple languages, the barrier is usually lower in Spain, but in Barcelona, you also need to deal with the fact that a lot of the official documentation is in Catalan, including signage. Many times a Spanish version is not available either. For those who are struggling to even learn Spanish, also having to deal with Catalan can be a deal-breaker.

I’m a big fan of learning langauges and have studied both Spanish and Catalan. I’ve found the process very enriching and enjoy my conversations with the locals and being able to communicate easily for my daily needs, but it’s undeniably harder to do things in Barcelona if you don’t speak Spanish or Catalan versus Lisbon if you don’t speak Portuguese.

If you’re moving to one of these countries and learning a new language is one of your highest priorities, then maybe Barcelona would be the winner in this area as Spanish is arguably a much more useful language than Portuguese on a worldwide basis. Ultimately though, once you learn any of these three languages, it’s pretty straightforward to learn the other two as they are very similar in my opinion.

Education

While I would probably send my children to a private school in either of the two cities, I see it as something of an absolute must in Barcelona. Public schools use Catalan as their primary language, giving it preference over Spanish. English comes in a far-off third place. Realistically speaking, unless public school students take private tuition, they will not be able to speak English when they leave school. This is a total fuckup in my opinion. I’ve shared my thoughts on the Catalan independence debate already, so I won’t get into that again here, but it’s a well-known fact that there is at least some indoctrination going on in public schools in order to produce youngsters that are pro-independence. That’s another thing that is unacceptable to me.

Turning our eyes to private schools, both cities offer a good selection of options where native English speakers are in charge of teaching most subjects, and where there is a reasonable expectation of a good percentage of students to be international rather than local.

Lisbon wins here, although education is not just about the school experience. I’d say kids and youngsters have more opportunities in Barcelona, especially if they excel in sports and want to take that seriously.

Accommodation

Due to the ignorant leadership of the Catalan government, in Barcelona, there has been little new development in recent years. What I would consider a basic and decently furnished apartment in Barcelona would be promoted as “luxury living” by the local estate agents, with the corresponding price tag.

The same problem exists in Lisbon but from the opposite side of the spectrum. The Portuguese market was hampered by rent controls for many years so buildings were practically abandoned by owners since there was no incentive to refurbish and maintain them. Now that the market has been liberalized things are moving once again, but it will take a few years till there is a steady supply of modern properties on the rental market. The “new” properties that are currently marketed are typically 20 years old.

Properties marketed as “luxury” are barely decent by my standards, same as in Barcelona.

Check out the following portals for finding property in Lisbon and surrounding areas:

• Imovirtual
• Longtermlettings
• Idealista
• Spotahome
• Luxuryestate
• Longtermrentalsportugal
• Sotheby’s
• Keller Williams
• Re/Max
• Urbanprofile

While the prices are also on the high side, I think if you’re looking at the premium market in both cities, you’ll find more opportunities in Lisbon. I believe that it is better to buy than rent right now in Lisbon given the dearth of good apartments on the rental market. However you will have more luck finding furnished apartments in Barcelona compared to Lisbon.

Keep in mind that it is easier to find heating in Barcelona apartments than it is in Lisbon. If you’re stuck with a non-heated apartment, be prepared for a very cold few winter months. Those coming from cold countries think this is a joke until they go through their first winter without good heating. Then they learn the lesson. I would not live in any apartment that is not well insulated and preferably have central heating.

Cost of Living

The cost of accommodation in Barcelona and Lisbon is around the same, but most other things are cheaper in Lisbon. That leaves out online shopping though (more expensive and more of a hassle in Lisbon), so it might be a tie if we factor that in.

Energy costs are more expensive in Portugal. There are also many toll roads, and fuel is more expensive too.

Purchasing a vehicle is more expensive in Portugal. Although people say that eating out is cheaper in Lisbon, on my most recent trip I found that eating at good restaurants costs just the same as in Barcelona, if not more.

Air Pollution

Barcelona is the 6th worse city in Europe when it comes to air pollution according to this study. The Spanish capital Madrid is number one while Lisbon is ranked 116th. Therefore Lisbon clearly wins in this aspect.

Weather

Barcelona has better weather than Lisbon for my tastes. I like sunny, dry days with no wind. That’s what Barcelona provides for most of the year. Lisbon, on the other hand, gets windy and wet especially in the winter months. You will need to layer up as the temperature changes rapidly during the day. It’s definitely one of the bigger dfferences. If it’s sun you’re looking for, then both cities provide a lot of it.

Transport

Moving around within the city is hands-down easier in Barcelona than it is in Lisbon, not least because of the hilly terrain that Lisbon is famous for. I love cycling around Barcelona on my Bromptons and it’s not much fun to do the same in Lisbon. The cobblestone streets don’t help either. Barcelona has a multitude of transport options available. I can think of an amazing seven convenient transport options off-hand for getting into the center from the outskirts of the city. Transport is one of the things that I’ve never had a problem with, and it’s only gotten better over the years.

One of the few good things that the local government has done is to continue adding bike lines throughout the city, so it’s really easy to move around by bike. Electric scooters had taken over these lanes for a while, but I hear they’re banning them from using the bike lanes in 2021.

Nightlife

I have limited experience of the nightlife in both cities, all I can say is that whenever I went out in these cities I had a great time. It’s important to note that drinking alcohol on the street is not illegal in Portugal, so you will find lots of that in the city’s parks. I grew up in a similar environment and while I understand the negative consequences of allowing this, I never really experienced any significant mishaps myself. Ultimately, banning street drinking just resulted in people crowding into bars and having to spend more money there. I would therefore prefer the Portuguese way of doing things.

Friendliness of locals

This is another nuanced topic. I understand that if you don’t speak Spanish or Catalan in Barcelona you’re going to face an uphill struggle due to the low level of English literacy. You might meet people who get flustered if spoken to in English, although it’s mostly frustration about not being able to communicate rather than unfriendliness. In Lisbon, on the other hand, it’s much easier to find English-speaking locals and that might make it seem a friendlier place.

I can’t complain about the friendliness of people in either location. I have nothing but praise for the people in Barcelona, and I haven’t had enough experience to comment in a deep way about the people in Lisbon. I have noticed a certain resentment by the Portuguese locals towards expats, mostly due to the typically big wage gap and the fact that the government seems to be doing its best to attract foreigners while perhaps giving the locals a raw deal. This resentment is visible especially if you read articles about Lisbon written by foreigners. You’ll always find some Portuguese who write negative comments related to what I just explained. On the other hand, other Portuguese are just as typically quick to jump in and slam their compatriots’ comments and apologize on their behalf, further lending credibility to the idea of overall friendliness of the locals in Lisbon.

One observation that will be of interest to any male single readers is that you will probably find a bigger dating pool in Barcelona than in Lisbon. In Barcelona, you’ll see many beautiful local women, and that’s not as much the case in Lisbon. I’m sure it has some impact psychologically on men whether consciously or subconsciously, so I thought I’d mention it as well.

Diversity

Both Lisbon and Barcelona are cosmopolitan cities, however, I would have to say that Barcelona is hands-down the winner in this regard. It is a bigger city that has managed to draw in a very big percentage of expats from all over the world. Lisbon, on the other hand, historically has drawn in immigrants from Portuguese-speaking territories (the biggest being by far Brazil) and the rest of the nationalities are a much more recent phenomenon. Portugal feels a bit more distant from mainland Europe, not least because of its geographic location and smaller size compared to Spain.

Safety

Lisbon wins this one without any doubt. Portugal is ranked as one of the safest countries in the world, with Spain being quite a way off in the rankings.

I would still consider Barcelona to be generally safe, but there are some important problems that have not been dealt with by the authorities and are becoming bigger and tarnishing the city’s reputation internationally. Pickpockets are everywhere, and I’ve yet to meet anyone who has spent any time in the city and not been a victim at some point. Violent robbery, while almost unheard of just a few years back, is now also a significant problem especially in the center of Barcelona.

We then have the problem of home break-ins and occupation, which is the terror of any tenant and owner. You can read this article if you want to learn more about this topic. It’s a huge problem and the blame for this lies squarely on the authorities for not taking action and in some cases even encouraging occupation (as in the case of Barcelona’s mayor).

Startups and Coworking spaces

Barcelona is a bigger city with a strong startup history, and it remains one of the leading cities for startups in Europe. There is no contest here, Barcelona wins by a wide margin. It seems that everyone wants to move to Barcelona, so attracting talent is not a problem. This ease of attracting talent, moderate wages and the fantastic weather and city serve to attract companies to relocate to Barcelona or startup there. On the other hand, Lisbon is still doing pretty well and improving every year. 365 million euros were invested in Portuguese startups in 2020. Check out the Portugal Startup Scene | 2020 Yearly Report. Also check out the Lisbon entrepreneurs’ community.

Coworking spaces have flourished over the past 4 years in Barcelona, and the city is now blessed by a multitude of big and comfortable spaces where you can focus on work while being served healthy food and even have the opportunity to train within the same complex. I haven’t seen anything that comes close to the Barcelona spaces over in Lisbon, but that can easily change in the future.

Online Shopping

The obvious winner here is Spain. Amazon is a big player in Spain and has driven everyone else to up their game in a significant way over the past ten years. It’s an online shopper’s paradise, with same-day delivery, free returns, etc. It’s really super easy to get stuff delivered and shop online for all kinds of stuff, including groceries and take-out meals. This benefit was especially apparent during the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, when many shops and restaurants were forced to close or citizens’ mobility was restricted.

Connections

I was thinking about sea and air connections when I came to this point, where Barcelona is the hands-down winner. However, it goes beyond that really. There are certain cities that make you feel like you’re in a buzzing place where things are happening and where people want to live. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve felt it in places like New York, London, and Berlin. Barcelona also gives me that feeling, in fact, I can’t imagine any other place that makes me feel so alive, and I’ve traveled a fair bit.

COVID Situation

As of May 2021, I found Lisbon to be way more relaxed about the whole COVID thing versus Barcelona. It is very common to see people not wearing masks outside, while inside everyone does wear them.

Your Thoughts?

What are your thoughts? As I said, my article merely reflects my current opinions based on my experience of the two cities so far, and this might very well change completely in the near future.

Barcelona and Lisbon are my two favorite cities in Europe, and I love them both. Lisbon seems to be on an uptrend while Barcelona, on the other hand, is passing through a rough patch and I’m not sure whether the near future will be any better.

Spain, in general, has been following a misguided tax policy that results in most entrepreneurs, investors and higher net worth individuals feeling persecuted, even if they have spent their whole lives following the tax code to the letter and paying very high taxes for the privilege of living in Spain. This has resulted in a drain of the country’s most talented local and expat people to other countries that treat them better. I am seeing this trend accelerate dramatically in the past two years. This leaves little doubt in my mind that Spain’s time is over, and Portugal is where the action will be in the coming years.

Lisbon seems to be attracting many American and British expats in particular. No doubt they’re attracted by the fact that they can speak English in a foreign country rather than having to learn Portuguese. Lots of people from the UAE are also making the move, given that it offers similar tax advantages but arguably a much nicer social environment, better geographical location in Europe and better weather.

I’d love to hear, especially, from people who have lived in both cities, or have moved from one to the other due to specific reasons (whether I mentioned those reasons here or otherwise).

In the meantime, I’ll update my article if I can think of anything else.