# Porto or Valencia - which city to live in long-term?



## flamboya (Jun 19, 2021)

25M software developer working remotely. Interested in moving to southern Europe, particularly near the water and/or nature. I currently am struggling to decide between Valencia (Spain) and Porto (Portugal). I've also considered Santander (Spain) in the mix, but the former 2 are what seem to be recommended most because they're more popular.

Anyways, could you please tell me which city (Valencia or Porto) wins in each category? (If anyone wants to include Santander in their reply, please be my guest):

Real estate: the ability to own a house with a garden - which city is cheaper for this? which one has more houses on offer in general?
Transit: usefulness/efficiency of public transport? what about bike friendliness?
Weather: don't really mind snow or rain. what I do mind is being drenched in sweat and needing to shower after a walk to the grocery store in the summer
Leisure/entertainment: in terms of activites to do (including nature)
Shopping: retail options, product availability, including popular brands
Healthcare: quality of hospitals (well equipped, clean facilities) and doctors? medicine availability in pharmacies?
Education (for future children): quality of schools and universities? availability of an English-speaking or bilingual curriculum?
Social life: are the people friendly? is it easy to make friends? what about the dating experience? will i be treated like a citizen if I integrate well or will i still be considered a "foreigner/immigrant/expat"? (i am a white arab if that makes any difference).

I guess that's all for now. Thanks for reading. Looking forward to your replies and help


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## Tellus (Nov 24, 2013)

A German professional footballer once said Milan or Madrid the main thing is that it is Italy...


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

I lived in Valencia and worked in the marine bit offshore but now I don't so am somewhere else.
Only you can decide by going to places and experiencing the life there. No amount of pointless wibble on interwebs will trump your time spent somewhere. Can you converse in Spanish or Portuguese?


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