Healthier climate, lower property prices, less stressful lifestyle!These are just some of the reasons why Britons are pouring into Spain at an unprecedented rate.
According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (National Statistics Institute), 30,000 Brits are choosing to take advantage of the higher standard of living that Spain affords each year.
If this incredible influx continues, the INE estimate that the number of foreigners living in Spain is set to double by the year 2010, constituting at least ten per cent of the national population.
Most of the foreign residents head for the big blue skies of Andalucia, and the Costa del Sol in particular. Over 178,000 foreign residents now live in this region. That’s a group of people equivalent to the population of the city of York – and that’s only taking into account the residents that have registered. Most local authorities estimate that non-residents outnumber those registered by two to one.
The INE puts this mass migration down to the fact that most Western European immigrants come to Spain to maximise their income and take advantage of the lower prices.
The average age of those who move to Spain is 44, four years older than the Spanish national average – a sure indication that more and more working families are choosing Viva España over the stresses and strains of UK life.