Why Spain? 9 Good Reasons and 5 Honest Downsides

In short: In favour of Spain: around 2,900 hours of sunshine a year, the highest life expectancy compared with Germany and Austria, lower prices and almost universal fibre. Against it: lower salaries, high unemployment, rising housing prices and hot summers. If you bring your income with you, you get the advantages almost without the drawbacks.

Spain, Germany and Austria in numbers

Feelings matter when you move abroad, but they don’t pay the rent. So first the numbers, all from official statistics by Eurostat, the Spanish statistics office INE and the Ministry for Digital Transformation.

On paper, the Spanish price level is therefore around 17 % below the German one and around 24 % below the Austrian one. These are averages for the whole country; Eurostat doesn’t publish regional values for Andalusia or the Canary Islands.

The Spanish values are long-term averages from the AEMET weather service (1981 to 2010), the German ones come from the Deutscher Wetterdienst (German weather service, 1991 to 2020). So the periods aren’t identical, but the gap of more than 1,000 hours is clear all the same.

9 good reasons for Spain

Not every reason counts equally for everyone. Pick out the three that make the difference for your life.

1. Sunshine and light. In Andalusia and on the Canary Islands the sun shines around 2,800 to 2,900 hours a year, in Hamburg 1,617. That changes everyday life: you’re outside, even in January.
2. Mild winters. On the Canary Islands the January average is around 18 °C. On the Andalusian coast you’ll often sit in a café in a T-shirt at lunchtime in winter.
3. High life expectancy. At 84.0 years, Spain is well above the EU average of 81.5 years. The region with the highest value in the whole EU is Madrid, at 85.7 years.
4. Lower prices. Eating out in particular is cheap: restaurants and hotels cost around a quarter less in Spain than in Germany. You can work out how this affects your budget in Cost of living in Spain.
5. Fast internet almost everywhere. Fibre reaches 95.92 % of households, 5G 99.27 % of the population. According to the European Commission, all of Spain’s digital infrastructure indicators are above the EU average. The old copper network has been switched off since May 2025.
6. Easy access as an EU citizen. You don’t need a visa or a work permit. Your pension is paid to Spain, and as a pensioner you take your health insurance with you using the S1 form.
7. You’re not alone. 131,830 people with German nationality live in Spain (as of 1 January 2025), compared with 128,049 a year earlier. In total, more than 7.4 million of the almost 50 million inhabitants hold a foreign passport.
8. Lots of choice in a small area. Big city, mountain village, Atlantic beach or volcanic island: Andalusia and the Canary Islands cover almost every idea. You’ll find the comparison in Where in Spain?
9. Workers’ rights and free time. The law guarantees at least 30 calendar days of holiday a year, plus up to 14 public holidays.

And what no statistic shows

The reasons for Spain are rarely tables: many people want to experience something new and want sunshine. They stay because of the ease of everyday life and because people here take their time.

5 honest downsides

Spain isn’t paradise with better weather. You should know these five points before you hand in your notice.

1. The job market is difficult

The unemployment rate in the 2nd quarter of 2026 was 9.87 % nationwide. At 14.56 %, Andalusia has the highest rate of all Spanish regions. Without good Spanish, the choice of jobs is even smaller. The routes that still exist are shown in Working in Spain.

2. Salaries are lower

The average full-time salary in Spain in 2024 was around 33,600 € a year, in Germany 53,791 € (EU: 39,800 €). The statutory minimum wage in 2026 is 1,221 € gross in 14 payments, which means 17,094 € a year. The lower prices don’t make up for this gap.

3. Housing is quickly getting more expensive

Purchase prices for homes rose by 12.2 % year on year in the 2nd quarter of 2026, by 11.9 % in Andalusia and by 11.0 % on the Canary Islands. Asking rents are also going up: by 5.2 % in Andalusia and by 4.3 % on the Canary Islands compared with the previous year (Idealista, September 2026).

4. Summer heat and little water

In July and August, the average daily maximum temperature in Seville is around 36 °C and in Granada just under 35 °C, with some days well above that. On the coast (Málaga around 31 °C) and on the Canary Islands (27 to 29 °C) it’s milder. On top of that there’s little rain: 365 mm a year in Granada, 226 mm in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 151 mm at Gran Canaria airport.

5. Bureaucracy and language

There’s no reliable figure for this, but everyone who has moved here knows it: appointments are scarce, forms are only available in Spanish and hardly anyone at the counter speaks English. With the right order of steps it gets much easier. You’ll find it in the guide Moving to Spain step by step.

Who is Spain especially worthwhile for?

The downsides mainly affect people who have to earn their income on the Spanish job market. If you bring your money with you, you get the advantages with almost no compromises.

• Retirees: pension from Germany or Austria, lower prices, mild climate. Details in Retiring to Spain.
• Remote workers and the self-employed: income from back home, fast internet. The rules are in Moving to Spain as a digital nomad.
• Skilled workers with a contract: if you come with an employment contract or a posting, you skip the job search. More in Moving to Spain as an expat.
• Families: lots of time outdoors, free preschool from the age of three. School and nursery are explained in Moving with your family.

How do you find out if it suits you?

A holiday doesn’t answer the question; a trial month is more likely to. Rent a place in your chosen spot for one to three months and live an everyday life there: go shopping, work, make a doctor’s appointment, visit a public office. Ideally once in high summer and once in winter. If you still want to stay after that, you know more than any comparison could tell you.

Frequently asked questions

Cover photo: Martin Haisch · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0