Southern Europe - a great place to live

The south of Europe – especially Portugal, Spain and the Mediterranean part of France are very pleasant regions not only for vacation, but also for living. I know this because the offer of my company Crystal House often includes properties located in these three countries. Their owners tell me they had lived in wonderful places and why assure me it is definitely good to spend at least some time in the warmer parts of our continent.

That is why in my today’s post I would like to present a subjective list of my three favourite countries where it is great not only to rest, but also to stay for good.

Portugal

Much smaller than Spain, Portugal is in no way inferior to its bigger sister on the Iberian Peninsula. It is a small but proud country, which you can find out by talking to the Portuguese who have no complexes towards the Spaniards.

This approach should come as no surprise – Portugal has a history as long as Spain’s, as well as beautiful monuments, breathtaking landscapes, excellent food and even better wine. And the sea, basically the ocean – over 830 km of beautiful coast with sandy beaches.

Although Portugal joined the EEC (the predecessor of the EU) nearly 35 years ago, it is not a rich country. The country’s economic situation is slightly worse than in Spain, and the recent crisis has left its mark on the Portuguese economy. Perhaps for this reason there are really few immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe.

From my point of view, the best thing about Portugal are the people who live here – open, smiling, friendly and welcoming. But at the same time, they have a certain tendency to melancholy (which is most fully manifested in fado music), which is dear to us Poles.

Spain

Among these three countries, Spain is my favourite. Perhaps because I speak Spanish and I often visit the land of Cervantes. What I like most about Spain is its incredible diversity – the hot and dry south of the Iberian Peninsula has nothing to do with the green and rainy north.

If I had to choose the best places to live in my opinion, it would be the coast of Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia. These regions on the Mediterranean Sea have a warm and mild climate, lots of sunshine a year and beautiful landscapes. I do not even mention food and wine, because it is obvious – seafood, excellent meats, juicy fruit and vegetables. It is not without reason that the Mediterranean diet is considered one of the best in the world.

Of course, the Spanish economy has been going through a difficult time in recent years – this is the result of the crisis from a decade ago. It hit the real estate sector very hard, which resulted in prices falling sharply in recent years. This means that many very attractive apartments and houses can now be bought at a good price.

France

Last but not least, there is France. In fact, its south, i.e. the entire Cote d’Azur, and further south-west towards Catalonia. To all the good qualities of Portugal and Spain, I could add the best cuisine in the world, the best wines in the world and the best cheeses in the world.

Even though the French have self-righteous opinions, I only have good experiences with them. They are very nice and open-minded people. The only problem is not knowing their language, but there is also a way around it. You just have to learn French 😉

These are my types, and what are yours? Where would you like a home if you could choose? Would it be any of the countries I have mentioned? Write in the comments, I’m very curious.