# Valencia insights



## DanW (May 30, 2016)

I am looking at retiring to Spain and have found Valencia very attractive in many ways. That said, I would like to get any insights into living in that area , both pro and con. I have a 3 week trip planned for later this year as a first scouting trip to get a feel for lifestyle and costs. I appreciate anyone that takes time to give any and all views. thank you all


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Do you mean the region or the city?


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## DanW (May 30, 2016)

*Valencia*

I am asking for opinions on the city of Valencia in particular, but any input on the area is also welcome.


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## maenessa (Apr 2, 2012)

*Valencia Feedback*

Wondering how things worked out for you and any feedback and insight that you may have from your trip to Valencia. My wife and I will be traveling to Valencia in April also as a scouting trip for our permanent move in January 2018.


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## rpbalbis2 (Nov 2, 2014)

DanW said:


> I am looking at retiring to Spain and have found Valencia very attractive in many ways. That said, I would like to get any insights into living in that area , both pro and con. I have a 3 week trip planned for later this year as a first scouting trip to get a feel for lifestyle and costs. I appreciate anyone that takes time to give any and all views. thank you all


Same situation as you, but my exploratory three-week long trip starts at the end of this week. I'l be glad to share my findings. Good luck to you.


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## maenessa (Apr 2, 2012)

Thanks! I would greatly appreciate it.

Have a great trip!


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## CharlieMCFC (Jan 27, 2016)

I have lived in Valencia for a year now and I think it's an amazing place to live. I love it. It's a very compact city, almost everything I want or need - supermarkets, markets, cinema, park, shops, language school, cafes, restaurants, dentist, train station etc etc - is a walk away. The beach is a 20 minute cycle ride away (there are of course buses and trams too, although the cycle path network is very good) but in such a beautiful city, surrounded by a beautiful park, you won't go there that often. Downsides? Very hot and humid in August. The pavements are generally very crowded. If you sit outside to eat or drink, you will probably get hassled (for money or to buy stuff) about once every 20 minutes, but maybe that's true in most parts of Spain. Finally, few people speak English here (but I want to learn Spanish, so to me that's an advantage).


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

CharlieMCFC said:


> I have lived in Valencia for a year now and I think it's an amazing place to live. I love it. It's a very compact city, almost everything I want or need - supermarkets, markets, cinema, park, shops, language school, cafes, restaurants, dentist, train station etc etc - is a walk away. The beach is a 20 minute cycle ride away (there are of course buses and trams too, although the cycle path network is very good) but in such a beautiful city, surrounded by a beautiful park, you won't go there that often. Downsides? Very hot and humid in August. The pavements are generally very crowded. If you sit outside to eat or drink, you will probably get hassled (for money or to buy stuff) about once every 20 minutes, but maybe that's true in most parts of Spain. Finally, few people speak English here (but I want to learn Spanish, so to me that's an advantage).


And do you find that most people speak Valencian, Spanish or you can't tell the difference yet?


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## Roland_O (Oct 17, 2016)

Pesky Wesky said:


> And do you find that most people speak Valencian, Spanish or you can't tell the difference yet?




As far as I can tell, people speak Valencian to family and friends, but castellano at work, or to strangers. Everyone seems to be able to speak Spanish. I have also noticed some of the surrounding villages default to valencian, while others stick to Spanish. People seemed chilled about it, unlike what I hear about Catalonia. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## CharlieMCFC (Jan 27, 2016)

In the city, it's almost exclusively Spanish. I go to a language intercambio once a week and there are people there - born and raised in the city - who can only speak Spanish. For me, that was one of the reasons I chose Valencia over Barcelona. I have no interest in learning Catalan (Valenciana is essentially Catalan).


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Roland_O said:


> As far as I can tell, people speak Valencian to family and friends, but castellano at work, or to strangers. Everyone seems to be able to speak Spanish. I have also noticed some of the surrounding villages default to valencian, while others stick to Spanish. People seemed chilled about it, unlike what I hear about Catalonia.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk





CharlieMCFC said:


> In the city, it's almost exclusively Spanish. I go to a language intercambio once a week and there are people there - born and raised in the city - who can only speak Spanish. For me, that was one of the reasons I chose Valencia over Barcelona. I have no interest in learning Catalan (Valenciana is essentially Catalan).


I'm surprised that people who have been raised in the city can't speak Valenciano, after all it's not like Euskera which is completely different to Spanish (and to all other languages apparently). Could they possibly be making a statement by preferring to use Spanish?
However it is true that Rita Barberá was PP mayor for more than 20 years and she never learnt the language!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Barberá


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I'm surprised that people who have been raised in the city can't speak Valenciano, after all it's not like Euskera which is completely different to Spanish (and to all other languages apparently). Could they possibly be making a statement by preferring to use Spanish?
> However it is true that Rita Barberá was PP mayor for more than 20 years and she never learnt the language!
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Barberá


But Castillian was previously spoken throughout Valencia, although some certainly spoke Valencian. So I guess it may depend when those folks were born and raised. Also, Valencia has long attracted Spaniards from elsewhere, so sometimes the language spoken at home will not be Valencian and the default may well be Castillian. Just my opinion.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

EverHopeful said:


> But Castillian was previously spoken throughout Valencia, although some certainly spoke Valencian. So I guess it may depend when those folks were born and raised. Also, Valencia has long attracted Spaniards from elsewhere, so sometimes the language spoken at home will not be Valencian and the default may well be Castillian. Just my opinion.


Castillian *is* spoken throughout Valencia.
Valencian is on the rise not the wane due to the education system. The only time it wasn't spoken so widely was during Franco's reign possibly, but the people that that affected are what, 45+? People under that age have had opportunities to communicate in Valencian if they want to, haven't they?


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## CharlieMCFC (Jan 27, 2016)

No, they're not making a statement, that's what the Catalans seem to use language for! They speak perfect English (hence no misunderstanding on my part and it also means that they clearly have an interest in languages) and we've spoken quite a bit about Catalan as it's an interesting topic. Catalan is rarely spoken in the city, hence the only way you will learn it properly is if it's spoken at home and that doesn't seem to happen that often. It's taught in schools, so everyone knows some, but of course that doesn't mean much (as my schoolboy French will testify!)


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

CharlieMCFC said:


> No, they're not making a statement, that's what the Catalans seem to use language for! They speak perfect English (hence no misunderstanding on my part and it also means that they clearly have an interest in languages) and we've spoken quite a bit about Catalan as it's an interesting topic. Catalan is rarely spoken in the city, hence the only way you will learn it properly is if it's spoken at home and that doesn't seem to happen that often. It's taught in schools, so everyone knows some, but of course that doesn't mean much (as my schoolboy French will testify!)


I think you mixed up Catalan and Valencian...


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## CharlieMCFC (Jan 27, 2016)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I think you mixed up Catalan and Valencian...


No, I don't think so. Valenciano and Catalan are essentially the same language, or so my Spanish teacher tells me.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

My Spanish friends in Xabia have told me the same but also advised me not to insist it is the case in the face of any resistance! 

My experience in Valencia has been that Castillian is welcome, they really don't seem to care.

I do wonder if it will always be that way. I'd hate for it to become the issue it is up in Barcelona but I think it might in the future.


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

CharlieMCFC said:


> No, they're not making a statement, that's what the Catalans seem to use language for! They speak perfect English (hence no misunderstanding on my part and it also means that they clearly have an interest in languages) and we've spoken quite a bit about Catalan as it's an interesting topic. Catalan is rarely spoken in the city, hence the only way you will learn it properly is if it's spoken at home and that doesn't seem to happen that often. It's taught in schools, so everyone knows some, but of course that doesn't mean much (as my schoolboy French will testify!)


This is a good illustration of why most of people in Catalonia, regardless of their political thinking, are frustrated when it comes to discussing this issue; lack of respect, sensitivity or knowledge about identity, culture, history or relevance of its institutions. 

I don't think you know or understand Catalans or their history very well. You are talking about a language that has survived only thanks to the great determination of many people. 300 years of oppression, sometimes forcibly, hasn't deterred them. Being told you're Spanish doesn't mean you are Spanish. So why should Catalans feel Spanish? Would anyone want to try to call a Scotsman English? I'm sure most if not all would be insulted.

As for speaking Spanish, Catalans do and will willingly, almost without exception, and at a level better than a lot of Spanish people. I've lived here nearly three years plus another eight years part time, and I've never met a native Catalan who doesn't speak Spanish and won't speak Spanish. In fact more often they switch to Spanish with anyone once they realise they aren't Catalan, out of courtesy. The courteous thing would be the outsider to learn some Catalan, not the other way round.

There is a lot of cr*p in the Spanish media and people believe it. Spain is scared that a lot of money will be lost once Catalonia breaks free.


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## CharlieMCFC (Jan 27, 2016)

I said that Catalans use language to make a statement. I did not say what about. I don't know enough about their culture or history to know why this language is so important to them, I just know that it is. You seem to have decided what I meant, then judged me on what you have decided I was saying. In doing so, you have undermined whatever point it was you were trying to make.

I would also say that I too have never had any issues with people in Barcelona (the only part of Catalonia that I've visited) speaking Castellano with me although, unlike you, I am not in a position to determine whether their Spanish is at a better level than a lot of Spanish people. However, like you (I assume) I am not Spanish and hence, as a foreigner, I might get a different reaction to a Spanish person who can't speak Catalan. Neither you nor I are in a position to assume that Spanish people who speak Castellano get the same level of courtesy. From the stories I've been told, they most certainly do not.

Someone asked about Valencia, I replied. I do not need this language flame war cr*p.


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## mono (Jan 22, 2016)

Yeah, lets get back on topic


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## mickbcn (Feb 4, 2013)

EverHopeful said:


> But Castillian was previously spoken throughout Valencia, although some certainly spoke Valencian. So I guess it may depend when those folks were born and raised. Also, Valencia has long attracted Spaniards from elsewhere, so sometimes the language spoken at home will not be Valencian and the default may well be Castillian. Just my opinion.


After the liberation of Valencia and the expulsion of the arabs for the troops of Jaume I in the XIII century Valencia was repoblate for catalan people and some people from Aragon,the catalan who repoblate Valencia where from the province of Lleida for this reason the Valencians speak the language similar in pronunciation like the people from Lleida, this mean that nobody speak spanish in this times in this area, and after 800 years still feel the diference of valenciano and catalan., maybe this explanation help you to understand the history of the valencian language.


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## bisonburgher (Apr 6, 2016)

*Housing market?*

Can anyone comment on the current (January 2017) housing market in Valencia? Barcelona province is getting pretty competitive these days and I'm wondering how difficult it would be to find a 3-bedroom casa adosada/pareada or an atico near -- not necessarily in the center of -- Valencia city, on a one-year lease, for ~1,200€ per month. 

Related, for an expat with C2 Spanish and a fistful of Euros but no local contacts, would it be possible to access the "local" rental market in Valencia for properties that we might not be seeing on the "international" websites like Idealista, Pisos.com and Engel & Voelkers? Are there local agents who specialize in doing that?

Not saying we want to avoid paying 21% IVA :eek2: but does anyone have experience in renting directly from a property owner in Valencia? How did you connect with that person, was there a written contract, how did it work out, etc.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

> Originally Posted by EverHopeful View Post
> 
> But Castillian was previously spoken throughout Valencia, although some certainly spoke Valencian. So I guess it may depend when those folks were born and raised. Also, Valencia has long attracted Spaniards from elsewhere, so sometimes the language spoken at home will not be Valencian and the default may well be Castillian. Just my opinion.





mickbcn said:


> After the liberation of Valencia and the expulsion of the arabs for the troops of Jaume I in the XIII century Valencia was repoblate for catalan people and some people from Aragon,the catalan who repoblate Valencia where from the province of Lleida for this reason the Valencians speak the language similar in pronunciation like the people from Lleida, this mean that nobody speak spanish in this times in this area, and after 800 years still feel the diference of valenciano and catalan., maybe this explanation help you to understand the history of the valencian language.


However I was talking about far more recent history.


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