Spain top of the hotspots for Expats

Get jet, go to Spain – it's the plane favourite for thousands of expats

So yes, the weather outside is frightful, and despite the undisputed delightfulness of the fire inside, the allure of sunnier climes gets stronger with each wintry, windswept day.

But where should you head to permanently escape the gloom and greyness that typifies a typical British winter? Recent research by the Home Office and the Office of National Statistics has some revealing answers.

Sitting atop the chart marked Top 10 Destinations for UK Expats is Australia, closely followed by the USA. But hot on America’s heels is Spain – making it the top European destination for expats, and also the top non-English-speaking destination, with France coming in at a lowly sixth place.

The statistics are hardly surprising, and hard to argue with. Britain’s close cultural and linguistic ties with both Australia and the USA make them obvious options for the sun-starved Brit.

But even though the lifestyles and language might be similar, there are numerous drawbacks to flinging yourself so far. Time zones, flight costs, employment rights – all can derail the dream move and make life difficult for the uninitiated expat.

Spain, on the other hand, suffers from no such difficulties. Málaga airport is a mere two-hour flight from most UK airports; there is just one hour’s time difference, and as a member of the EU British citizens are free to work throughout the country or start a business.

What’s more, the climate in southern Spain is actually warmer and more reliable than most parts of the USA and Australia, and even the language barrier can be overcome with ease – the Costa del Sol has a brilliant expat network, which means that you don’t need much (if any) Spanish to begin with.

So what are you waiting for? Why not add to the ranks of the 808,000 Brits who have already made the move to Spain? You won’t regret it!