Spain is a country to stir the soul with its mix of intense flavours, deep colours, fierce dancing, tumultuous emotions, dust clouds, to-the-death football fans, wild landscapes and vibrant cities. Which explains why it has the world's second largest tourism industry, and why people continue to relocate to Spain.
It ranks high for quality of life - compared to many other European countries the cost of living is low and it's the least densely populated country in Europe (after Scandinavia).
3 Things to Know Before Relocating to Spain
1. Rabbits
Spain's name derives from the word "Ispania", meaning the "Land of Rabbits". It may go some way to explaining the reason behind the fierceness of Flamenco dancing, the Running of the Bulls festival and the persistence of bull-fighting.
2. Beach-full
With almost 5,000 kilometres (almost 3,100 mi) of coastline and 8000 km (4970.97 mi) of beaches, you would think that finding space to spread your towel out during the summer months would be easy. Spain's beaches are notoriously crowded, particularly during August.
3. ¡HOLA!
The official language is Spanish, but Catalan, Basque, Galician and Occitan are also recognised regional languages. "Hola" meaning "Hi!", however, is the same for these languages and an important greeting to know.