Spain a sensible choice for would-be expats, study shows

Spain offers competitive wages, generous leave and low living costs – a good recipe for expats.

Credit comparison website TotallyMoney.com has gathered together data from all over Europe to assess which countries offer Brits a viable and attractive place to live – with Spain scoring highly across the board.

The website has produced an infograph based on comparing various metrics of the top ten most popular European countries with Brits seeking a life overseas…

The study looked at salary, average hours worked per week, and paid leave. And while Germany came out on top – scoring highly in terms of salary and average hours worked per week – Spain was rated as the third-best destination, slightly behind France.

According to the infograph, Spain’s average annual salary of €27,000 is equal to that of the UK, and while Spaniards work slightly longer than Brits (32.5 hours a week compared to 32) and have fewer paid leave days (22 compared to 28), the cost of living index in Spain is far superior, ranking a mere 73 out of 100 (where the UK is 100).

Throw into this mix the fact that Spaniards also enjoy a handful more public holidays a year than Brits, and the country becomes an even more attractive emigration destination.

As part of the study, TotallyMoney.com also surveyed Brits to find out what their chief motivations for emigrating are, with one third feeling overworked and over half feeling underpaid.

And while wages in Spain won’t necessarily be any higher, the cost of living is much lower, leaving more disposable income to enjoy the excellent lifestyle that Spain offers.