The 17 Best Cities in Spain

Hey guys,

Well the results are in; actually they've been in for quite a while. But in any case, I have the list of the 17 best cities to live in, in Spain. This list is based on a poll that was undertaken in 2007 by the OCU (Organización de Consumidores y Usarios).

Polling more 10,000 people in total and selecting the largest city in each of Spain's 17 autonomous communities, the OCU was able to conclude which cities' citizens think most highly of their own place of residence. In addition, the OCU used a list of 11 criteria, by which they were able to determine, which factors are most important for citizens in each of these cities. The criteria they used and which they asked citizens to rate included the following: their home, sanitary services, education, environment, crime rate/safety, local business and services, public transportation and mobility, urban landscape, labor market, culture, entertainment, and sports, and finally city administration and management.

So here's how the list turned out:

1. Pamplona
2. Bilbao
3. Gijón
4. Logroño
5. Albacete
6. Barcelona
7. Santander
8. Murcia
9. Zaragoza
10. Palma de Mallorca
11. Valladolid
12. Valencia
13. Badajoz
14. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
15. Madrid
16. Vigo
17. Sevilla

So what do the residents in each of these cities like or dislike about where they live? Well first off, the criteria were not weighted equally, meaning that the criteria most important for the respondents in determining quality of life included crime rate/safety (18%), followed by the labor market ( 15%), home (13%), sanitary services (12%), and transportation and public services (10%). The factors least weighted by respondents in determining quality of life included business and services, urban landscape, and historic patrimony (culture), although the exact figures for these last factors were not given.

So again, what do residents in each city like or dislike about where they live? Not surprisingly, the residents in Madrid and Barcelona enjoy the availability of nightlife and entertainment. In Albacete, Badajoz, Murcia, and Palma de Mallorca, residents are pleased with the size of their homes, while in Pamplona residents are satisfied with the sanitary services available. In Gijón and Santander residents are pleased with their hospitals and health centers, along with medical specialty centers.

With respect to transportation, citizens in Badajoz are quite pleased with the level of public transportation available and in Palma de Mallorca, citizens enjoy the ease of freely commuting around during the weekend and being able to find a place to park their vehicle. Also, in Albecete citizens here enjoy easy access in and around the city, with citizens in Barcelona, Gijón, and Valencia boasting about the ease of commuting around the city by bicycle.

As one might imagine, urban landscape is a factor, which the citizens of Barcelona, Bilbao, and Pamplona hold to be quit important, with Sevillans particularly proud of their cultural and historical patrimony. The bets cities in Spain to find and land a job include Logroño, Madrid, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, and Zaragoza. And citizens in Albacete, Bilbao, Santander, Valladolid, Logroño, and Pamplona report less drug related problems compared with other cities in the list.

Some factors, which citizens do not particularly enjoy include the extreme summer time temperatures in Badajoz, Madrid, Murcia, Sevilla, and Valencia, as well as too much noise and lack of parking in Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and Vigo. The worst cities in which to find and land a job include Badajoz, Gijón, Santander, and Sevilla.

If you would like to review any of the results in greater detail, then please click here. Also, do you feel that this list accurately reflects the best cities in Spain? Do you have a suggestion for a city not mentioned on the list? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you personally find some of the results surprising or not truly accurate.

Until next time, thanks for reading...