Which is Spain’s BEST City Valencia or Malaga 2024

today me and Adventure Elliott who is in Malaga will take on the challenging task to compare two not only gorgeous but also very desirable cities in Spain Valencia and Malaga good morning from the beautiful city of Malaga now my name is Ellie and I'm an American from Wisconsin living here in Malaga and I truly love this city and I make content on YouTube I had the opportunity to meet antoaneta on her visit to Mala but I didn't get a chance to record with them because we were just too busy so I'm going to go around Mala and help her hit some of these points on the comparisons between Valencia and Mala for xath so let's go it's about to get more expensive malan people admit that they're pigs broken there's rubbish everywhere dog crap personally speaking I like Mala more because I like Valencia because it's a really cool Vibe here man I got a talk qu here this is our beautiful BMP like look at this view look how nice it is like we're in Valencia with the oranges when we arrived in Malaga I could not believe how clean the streets are it was insane I mean even here it's the morning it's a week day look at the streets all the corners spotless let's talk about cleanliness now if you were just to come to the historic Center of Malaga you would notice that it is a fairly clean City but that is only in the historic Center which is quite small especially compared to Valencia like I said it's very clean here the street cleaners clean it every night we have nice uh marble flooring for the Holy Week when the candles uh have the wax that melts or the horse poop if there's horses in the center Etc so it is a clean uh easily accessible and uh nice city to walk across in a matter of 1 or two days now as soon as you get to the outskirts of Mala you'll notice that there's always a lot are rubbish the bins are always full dogs crap everywhere people don't pick the dog crap up migan people themselves will even admit that they're cachinos now cachinos means pigs kind of dirty and it's kind of like a running joke honestly Andalucia isn't the cleanest place and one of my first impressions of Malaga when I came in on a bus was that the outskirt neighborhoods looked very dodgy they look run down it was a bit chungo chungo means dodgy or ugly Etc and it is true outside of the historic Center Mala is to clean a city now I'm not so sure about Valencia but I will say that yeah and luian cities Malaga in particular could do a much better job cleaning up the city don't get me wrong Valencia is a very clean City especially considering it's the third largest city and comparing it to America or to any other big populated city it is great overall it is clean there is no extra trash so they're keeping things clean but Malaga really and we were in a very Central Area I think Malaga beats Valencia because literally I didn't see any trash on the street everything was spotless aliot you maybe disagree broken there's rubbish everywhere do crap but I think I'll give a point to Malaga for that of course even even here if you go to some of the outskirts of Valencia you're going to find not very well-maintained not very hygienic places but I'm talking about the main areas so Valencia is a clean City but Malaga beats it at least from what I saw so let's talk about cost of living and prices of things like food here in the city of Malaga now this city is rapidly growing and things are becoming expensive very quick and that's because the city is now basically discovered there's an international airport nearby there's a great train system connected to places like Sevilla in Madrid so of course yeah it is growing rapidly I think it's definitely growing faster than Valencia at this point but L was of course discovered before Malaga anyways basically here in the historic Center malagan local people basically don't live here anymore I wouldn't be surprised if like a nice one-bedroom around here would be going for around €1,500 or even more maybe a little less I'm not exactly sure cuz things are changing so rapidly now I live about 10 minutes outside of the city center in a very humble uh blue collar neighborhood now I'm leaving the historic Center behind and I'm going into the bario the neighborhood uh where I live it's called lad and there's a very emblematic Church there called el civo and I was lucky to find a one-bedroom a small apartment around 60 square m last year with my girlfriend for €600 now I can guarantee you there will be none of that available for the same price anymore if I had to move to even a neighborhood further out it would probably be more like 800 to ,000 for a one-bedroom the cheapest for a three-bedroom and I'm talking kind of not a great place would be like € 1,200 now again if you're coming from the United States or northern Europe that's going to be cheap but just keep in mind what the locals are living on here they're living on € 1,200 a month maybe, 1500 a month if there's two people working in the house they're living on around 22,500 3,000 and people from North America you know we think that €3,000 a month is quite low so keep in mind about that and if you do want to integrate into local culture then historic City Center is no longer full of Spanish people so uh just know that that's going on here um but again uh as long as you're responsible you know what you're doing and you do want to integrate the local businesses here and food are still relatively affordable for example the classic dish in Malaga are sardines which are called espetos and you know usually they sell a skewer of five espetos on the grill on the beach uh for two or three EUR if you get them in the outskirts but here in the city center there'll be like 5 so things here are still very affordable foodwise but this city is growing uh things are very affordable here I do not need a car I take the train to the airport for like two EUR whenever I need to catch a flight it's pretty nice it's pretty nice I would say that Malaga is a little bit cheaper than Valencia but things are rapidly changing especially here with inflation post pandemic in regards to cost of living both cities are pretty close but uh is a little bit cheaper than Valencia maybe because people are just finding out about it and it's uh it's about to get more expensive but here in rusafa let's say we rented years ago was like 875 for like three-bedroom apartment small rooms but three-bedroom apartment right now you can't get anything under 1,500 bigger places go to even 2500 so it is not and it's very desirable place to live so Malaga is winning here in regards to cost of living I think the food restaurants are very comparable so not much of a difference there Malaga is cheaper but nothing not a huge difference I'm going to be honest you guys the city of Malika is not that great for urban parks and green spaces now perhaps I'm a bit biased because I did live in Madrid before I came to Malad and Madrid is just a prime example of a good City for urban parks and green spaces there are beautiful green Parks basically anywh where you go accessible by foot now this is one of the nicer parks in Malaga this is called par Malaga it's sort of tropical subtropical it's pretty biodiverse however there are two roads that are quite noisy on each side and the truth is is that malig isn't that great I can only count a handful of parks uh in green spaces where you can actually sort of get away and Escape one of them is this one uh the alkaaba and the castle nearby also is a decent place but when you get to the periphery of the city a lot of the parks are sort of broken there's rubbish everywhere dog crap just isn't a lot of space to build in the city we have the port and the Sea on one side and beaches and just tons of developments and then we have the mountains of Malaga on the back side so there just isn't a lot of space the population density is very high now I will say that if you do have a car and you want to get away there are amazing mountains and hiking trails nearby maybe 15 20 minutes outside of the city so Malaga does have that going for it but I think that Valencia in general probably has a better Park system now this uh is a river that they're starting to develop in Mala it's kind of uh dodgy looking a bit ugly but they are starting to implement some new Futures like putting in a walking trail they're trying to put plants in here so Valencia gets the nod in the [Music] Parks you can sit down read some books I think people go here and they talk and somebody sits here and listens oh by the way they had this in height Park I remember when I was in London everybody can just uh get on a stand and do their speech poetry or bit about politics or whatever that's actually very comfortable wow it's kind an artsy corner you can read books play some music [Music] green spaces and urban Parks I'm just on one of the bridges here in Valencia over T Park and no comparison here Valencia it's much Greener nothing can beat toura Gardens it is so massive and it has so many different parts it feels not only like a park but as if if you want to it feels like you're out and about you can do all kinds of sports here you can ride your bicycle yoga picnic in the city in the center of the city going throughout the whole city they call it the lungs of Valencia I wouldn't substitute this for anything if this park was not in Valencia maybe I'll think about it but yes and we have so many more we have the uh Central Park we have other little spaces in the city that are so green and and also large that you're not going to miss being inside nature even though you're in the city I mean look at this this is not even a park and it's quite large it goes all the way from here down to the center and I love spaces like this because they're in between the buildings and they give such a nature feel even if you're living in a concrete building like right here and and still feel like you're not in a sterile Urban environment like a hardcore environment and if you truly want to experience Valencia like a locco I have created The Ultimate Guide to Valencia which I'll link in the description the next thing I want to touch on is cultural events and festivities and parties Etc now again this is probably a tossup or a tie both cities are absolutely amazing I was just recently in the FAS of Valencia and wow I was totally Blown Away by just the size the magnitude and just the energy and effort put into that party I never never seen anything like it it was honestly the biggest Street party and one of the most fun things I've ever done in Spain and I've been all over the country uh to all these festivals both big and small um but I can't really say much more about the festivals but I can't really say much more about the festivals in Valencia I know that all over Spain they got things going on all year round and basically there's always an excuse to party to get out to socialize to drink to eat to have fun and I can speak on Malaga now Malaga has what's called the FIA of which is an andalan festivity which is amazing it's here in the month of August it's a massive party a street party for 7 Days people are getting wasted drinking eating food listening to typical Andalusian Flamingo music Etc um but I would say that the F of Valencia is actually more impressive than that then Malaga also has things like sanana Santa Holy Week which basically is the most amazing Catholic procession event and it kind of shocks Americans if they see it but it is amazing and it goes on for a week long and basically Andalucia is the capital SVA and Malaga Etc are two of the most renowned places for things like holy week and it doesn't have to be religious you can see it while visiting here but it does get overwhelming it's huge it's massive and we got other events like the F deos which is a big Fair of different Spanish-speaking cultures that all meet up in F hirola again amazing event I've got a video there it's a massive party I would say that both cities always got something going on whether it's Carnival whether it's F whether it's Holy Week and it just is amazing if you're a local or if you're an exat or if you're someone who's trying to integrate into the culture there's always the best way to describe it is it's very inclusive and everyone's invited everyone's welcome and the Spanish people love when foreigners uh basically show appreciation for their cultural events both ofi these are great if you're wondering what's the most essential thing you need for fire boom this is it ear plugs with cultural festivals I think both cities are pretty close there is always something happening here in Valencia if we talk about fires this is one of the biggest festivals um in Europe and maybe in the world of that scale Valencia it's uh it's pretty impressive with that and there are also little festivals and things happening in between that you don't need to plan for they're just in the city at all times throughout the whole year so let me tell you you're not going to be bored here so is Malika too visited are there too many tourists well have a look this is a Tuesday afternoon here in the plaza de la conit and I would say that it is it doesn't have too many tourists isn't it isn't overflooded I would only say that with two exceptions though during the Holy Week you cannot walk anywhere around the city this is basically all blocked off there are thousands tens of thousands of people it is just overwhelming if you come here during the fair of Malaga this area is also filled up with uh the music and the flamingo it is just overwhelming there's so many people um but if you come here Monday through Friday basically all all year round particularly in the winter months it is a very pleasant City to visit and it's not overly touristic of course it is made for tourists but I would say places like Madrid I have more tourists or vaness or Barcelona nothing compar this is nothing compared to those cities it is very pleasant to visit all year round and living here man walking through here on a Monday evening a Tuesday evening a Wednesday evening and the offseason is great I basically have the whole city to myself and if you live here it would be the same for you so definitely uh come enjoy Malaga year round outside of the faia of Malaga and the Holy Week of Malaga [Music] in regards to tourists and how densely packed the city is I think Malaga has more people or at least people that are congested in one place that's my impression maybe that's because of the proximity of the beach to the center of the city there are a lot of cruise ships that that stop there and they drop a lot of tourists it felt like the city is full with visitors a lot of visitors and by the way there were many tourists I noticed at least last night it was what Wednesday night not a weekend or anything a lot of tourists but spotless restaurants cute clean there's no trashness and even though everything is still catered to the tourist it was it's just like that I I like how clean it is these are my first impressions sure Valencia it's also a very visited city I mean if you walk in the center you're going to see so many tourists but the way the whole city is lay out Valencia it seems just more open more spread out so I think it gets distributed a little more evenly if I can say that um I don't know it just feels there's more air more air here less people and of course I'm not talking about like when fires are happening or some major event it's happening and it's in in one spot in the center but just overall like on a daily basis because if you're trying to pick a city that you're going to call home you need to know how the life is here on everyday base so you know besides like couple spots in the center the whole city it's pretty pretty easy to walk through and um and maneuver they're not too many people if you guys are true Spain fans you know that the entire country is like a massive open air museum which is truly incredible the famous Cathedral and this is called La Manita the short or cut off Tower you see that to finished there and interestingly enough this has American history right Cuban American American Revolutionary War history I'll let you guys find out why on your visit here that's all I'm going to say now which city has better museums Valencia or Malaga well the truth is is sort of subjective both cities have Rich cultural history archaeology and museums modern and old however I would say that Valencia has definitely invested more money in their Museum system and it makes sense because they are the third largest city in the country of Spain however Malaga is certainly catching up they've made great efforts and again it's subjective if you like someone like Pablo Picasso perhaps you're going to like Malaga better if you like modern museums with great architecture great scenery modern and old art then maybe Valencia is better so it really just depends what your taste is what you're looking for and what I know is here in Malaga we have a nice museum here right next to the most amazing [Music] port and if you want to visit some museums Valencia has a lot to offer Valencia has the Fine Art Museum which holds a lot of the valencian and also Flemish art works it has the Arts and Science Museum ceramic museum contemporary art museum so there are plenty of spots cultural spots and and galleries you can you can see I'm sure Malaga has its share but again this is a city that Beats beat Malaga in that regard I mean if you just take this into consideration one of the oldest Bridges I'm standing on here in Valencia over Tia Park you're just surrounded by by history everywhere you go Malaga is also a very historic City this is just right outside our window I can't deny that there's so much history and and things you can see there they have a lot of open historic sites you can uh you can visit but I think there's more variety of museums and galleries here in Valencia now let's talk about the beaches and this is a Nob brand you guys the beaches of Valencia are far better than Malaga the beaches here in Malaga are actually artificial up until the city started to develop the city was just basically full of Shanny towns and just like rocks right it was just a rocky Beach and so they pumped in a lot of sand and I will admit that if you come from Madrid or you don't live in a place where there's beaches and then you see the Mediterranean SE for the first time you're just going to be pleasantly surprised and you'll say wow it looks so beautiful especially on a sunny day that is true and it is true that when I want I can walk 15 20 minutes and I'm at a beach I can play volleyball I can dip my feet in the sand dip my feet in the water it is amazing but yeah when you've seen the beaches of Valencia Navar Roa the white sand beaches to the north and to the South there really is no comparison or if you've been to the places or if you've been to a place like cadii Spain and you see the Atlantic Ocean and just how beautiful the s Dunes are and the white sand beaches there are there really is no comparison now the closest uh Beach that is pretty nice is the city of nerha which is in the province of Malaga and then as he move further east to get to Al Maria which does have a lot of nice beaches but honestly the beaches the urban beaches of Malaga have no comparison they shouldn't even be spoken with in the same way as you talk about the beaches of Valencia so beaches of Valencia far better than the beaches of Malaga it's just the truth speaking of the beach this is a tough one I actually disagree with you Elliot because again this is a personal opinion Valencia has an amazing Beach it is very wide look how wide it is it's beautiful it's uh it's wide open very spacious restaurants all across on the boardwalk it is very nice beach however the thing I like about Malaga is that even though maybe some parts are man-made as you say but I think Malaga has a more Charming I'm driven to smaller more beautiful crafted things so to me Malaga has this picturesque and it's almost like out of a painting kind of beach line and I do like the the southern coast more than the valencian side here on the mid part of the coast of Spain it it just I just think it's more beautiful the way it's laid out the little breaks in the in the sea and then you have this little um not shingos but where they do the fish outside where they Grill the open grill fish places on the plus side it's good that it's almost like part of the of the city it's much closer to the center and the minus is that it's uh it's bringing more tourists so that's not good once they arrive there they're just like right in the city but also valencian Beach takes longer to get to yeah so that's that's my opinion our beach here in Valencia it's it's very nice it's beautiful it's more like California beach White open the sand is really nice it's very warm very pleasant very clean but on the more beautiful on the athetic side I think Malaga beats [Music] it and personally speaking I like Malaga more I prefer to live here because it's a place where the locals are extremely welcoming if you want to integrate into Spanish culture but also maintain your expat bubble you can do that all here and also be one with the local culture and as long as you try to learn Spanish and you're aware of these situations and these circumstances that the locals face you will be welcomed with open arms and that's basically my life now I'm welcome with open arms um this is a great place to live such a lively place the waiters are screaming what whatever they're bringing to the tables there are musicians everywhere it's a really cool Vibe here I love my life here I love living with the locals um so yeah I'll see you guys on the next video thank you to antoaneta for allowing me to help with this video do we even do we even order or they just uh bring everything that's uh fresh and you just claim it and thank you Eliot for giving your very honest perspective on the city of Malaga because because you spend more time there than I have and recommending so many good spots to us it's so cool it really brings a a different vibe to the whole place makes it really Lively and very very fun thanks Elliot I got to go add a lots of videos you guys lots of adventures coming my way take care everyone we're not the only ones filming the competition is right here man I got to talk qu here why I chose Valencia I think I think it's obvious I do like the city better uh because it checks a lot of points for me I like the architecture better versus Malaga the food is better the green spaces everything that I've listed checks the boxes that are important to me and again it's a very subjective matter this is so good so when you decide when you're trying to decide between the two cities look at all the points objectively and really see which parts you Vibe with which which things are more suited to your lifestyle because the bottom line it's like we're all different we like different things we're just grabbing things this is a city that I enjoy living in it's a great home [Applause] base USA that was the shout out for the people [Music]

Channel: ANTOANETTA NOW

Views: 24,549

Keywords: antoanetta, female traveler, living in valencia spain, living the dream in europe, Valencia vs Malaga 2024, best cities in Spain for expats, Turia Gardens Valencia, Malaga beaches, living in Malaga costs, expat life in Valencia, move to Spain guide, Malaga or Valencia for retirement, Valencia City of Arts and Sciences, expat city comparison Spain, Malaga historic center, Valencia culinary scene, retire in Spain, Malaga vs Valencia for families, Spain best expat cities

Id: 8O28D3wInfE

Length: 25min 35sec (1535 seconds)

Published: Sat May 11 2024