Valencia

Spain’s third-largest city (after Madrid and Barcelona), with 790,000 people in the city limits and 1.6 million in its wider urban area, is Valencia. This is a vibrant, accessible, historically interesting, and culturally rich city with a beautiful coastline that, inexplicably, has been overlooked as a serious contender for retirement in the region.  

The weather is pleasant year-round (with an average daytime temperature of 70°F). It’s ideal for an active, healthy, and outdoors lifestyle, and this part of the western Mediterranean offers some of the finest beaches in southern Europe, including in the city of Valencia and to the north and south.  

To get a good sense of Valencian culture, take in its unique annual celebrations, including and especially the Fallas celebration every March. The name translates literally as “the fires,” and this annual fiesta has been called the best fireworks party in the world. Over these four days every March, this city is lit up by both fireworks and bonfires burning monstrous-sized satirical effigies. 

Many museums and other cultural and historic attractions in Valencia are free or offer entrance at a negligible cost (1 to 2 euros). An all-day, all-museum pass costs 6 euros. This is a city that is proud of its culture, its history, and its heritage and wants to make it as accessible as possible to residents and visitors. 

The cost of living in Valencia is one of its biggest attractions. A reasonable overall budget is US$1,500 per month. This means that Valencia offers the chance to embrace a cosmopolitan Continental lifestyle for less than the cost of living in most any other developed city in Europe today.