I Found Spain’s MOST Underrated Cities to Live In

Another great video James. In Ireland our version of orbayu is “it’s a soft day” overcast, drizzly. Oviedo sounds very Irish ☘️ 😃

Zaragoza is wonderful and Easter season is extra special.

Sabes cual es la única ciudad del mundo que tiene cuatro declaraciones de patrimonio de la unesco????

I need to visit Oveido sometime, it seems amazing! Of the cities I've been to, my five underrated are: Zaragoza, Valladolid, Jaen, Badajoz and Burgos.

Two stories about two of these cities. First, after doing a semester at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, three friends and I (very early 20s at the time) rented a car to drive around the country. This was the first week of August and we had made no plans in advance. We could not find a hotel with rooms. Finally, at about 2am, we arrived in Oviedo and tried our luck at a very luxurious hotel (or so it seemed to us at the time). They had rooms, but they would not allow us (two boys and two girls) to stay in the same room - we had to get a boy room and a girl room. Nonetheless, they gave us a discount and allowed us to sleep in - we didn't have to check out until 2pm! Second, my husband and I have fallen in love with Northern Spain - we started with multiple trips to the Basque Country (Getaria is always our home base), but then we set out to explore Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia. We adored our day in Santander, visiting the Centro Botín and the Palacio de la Magdalena (we were big fans of "Gran Hotel"), followed by an absolutely wonderful lunch at Querida Margarita - only 28 euros for a 3-course meal!

Have not yet explored Northern Spain. Definitely on my list! I have been told that because it is so wet and damp that there is mold in the homes. Is this correct??

I live in El Puerto. This area is incredible.

Desde Zaragoza: he vuelto después de 28 años fuera de la ciudad por motivos familiares y ¡menos mal que vivo en una villa a 20 km lejos de la ciudad! Psss... Si se es activo, en 3 meses ya están muertos de aburrimiento. Eso sí: si se alejan 80 km alrededor de la ciudad encontrarán rincones/pueblos preciosos. Está ciudad se resume en "punto intermedio entre grandes núcleos de población, logística, vías de transporte" y chimpum. Por no hablar de los más de 30 grados de variación climática anual, el relieve plano y semidesértico, el cierzo, la niebla... "Ofu"

James! I gasped when Dénia showed up on your list- shhhhh!!! It’s been our goal to get to Dénia since 2023 and we are watching it (almost painfully, from abroad)grow and grow as an immigration destination. We need to get there soon or else it will become to expensive/unavailable! I am torn on that I want to see you do a video in Dénia but I also don’t want you to!😅

I went to the Cadiz carnival in 1999 as a college student and it was so festive and fun. I totally agree with the comparison of Cadiz to Havana. It definitely has that vibe!

'Ever been to Logroño?

I watch the video, check that my city is not on the list, and feel relieved. There's still some great stuff they don't know about...

As a Biscayan I gotta say it: Santander, cagar y volver.

Zaragoza is building data centers left and right.

Oviedo also has one of the highest lung cancer rates in Spain, you have a 40 percent higher chance developing lung cancer in and around Oviedo.

Love Oviedo since I’m a descendent of Asturiano’s.And I will hold dual citizenship in August.

We have visited all of these cities in our quest to choose a place. Each one surprised us and had its charms. The Gaditano dialect in Cadiz is not easy and many Spaniards tell me that they can't understand it, but I have never felt bad not mastering it. The people there are very friendly. Not many people speak English. The Carnaval is bonkers, so much going on. If you live in the old town, don't expect to sleep much. Basically from Navidad, Tres Reyes, Carnaval, and Semana Santa, it feels like there is alway something going on. BTW, I recognize the tortillitas de camerones from Casa Manteca, which are the best I have had so far. Thanks for the video.

Cadiz left me some impression of partly abandoned, city which prime was long ago

Te lo voy a escribir en castellano porque si vives aquí imagino que lo habalarás: por favor, para de animar a gente extranjera a venirse a vivir a España. No tengo nada en contra del turismo y de que la gente se quede en hoteles y venga de vacaciones a España, aunque ciertas zonas se masifiquen, lo veo una consecuencia casi inevitable. Pero otra cosa muy distinta es animar a extranjeros (normalmente jubilados del norte de Europa) que casi seguro vienen con la cartera llena de dinero a vivir aquí porque nos estáis arruinando la vida a los españoles. Al venir gente con un poder adquisitivo más alto que el nuestro a comprar casas estáis haciendo que el precio de la vivienda sea imposible para nosotros, Marbella, por ejemplo está imposible para vivir (no me refiero ya a las típicas mansiones cercanas a los campos de golf y ese tipo de lujo, digo un piso), Nerja igual y está llegando a la zona de la que provengo yo, Granada. La parte de Almuñecar se está poniendo a unos precios imposibles y ya la gente que quiere vivir porque tienen ahí su vida, trabajo, familia, etc. no puede ni comprarse un piso. Yo soy profesor y muchos compañeros se hacen todos los días más de 1h de viaje para ir a Málaga a trabajar porque les resulta imposible vivir allí y encima los municipios de alrededor (Rincón de la Victoria, Benalmádena...) también. Por favor, para de animar a extranjeros con dinero a vivir aquí, de verdad que a la gente, sobre todo joven, les estais amargando la vida.

Talavera de la Reina is another one, very pretty small city with a nature reserve, the capital of ceramics (intangable UNESCO world heritage), Roman walls and close to Madrid and Toledo. There are mountains and natural swimming pools close by. I'm British and moved here, very happy. Highly recommend 👌🏼👍🏼🧡🌿

If you move to Spain, even if you move to a big city (but don't, please, we have more than enough "expats"), learn some Spanish BEFORE. We don't care if you can't speak fluently but we appreciate if you make the effort. And please, do not end up in an "expat" bubble, it's not good for you and it's not good for the residents neither. Also, we do not like "expats", but if you consider yourself an immigrant we will be happy to help you integrate our culture.

I lived in Alicante for many years, Zaragoza is a lovely place. Denia is gorgeous, and just down the road from Alicante.

I often said, green spain is the best spain! I love all Galicia, Asturias and Basque country!

15:21 im mexican american and its takes me minute to get understand people from spain

What do you think about estapona?

I thought you made a common mistake. Usually there is just ONE cathedral in a city, because a cathedral is the seat (the cathedra) of a bishop. There is only one cathedral in Rome, and it is NOT st Peter's basilica in the vatican city.. But apparantly, in 1676, pope Clement X intervened in an ongoing dispute between the two churches that made BOTH the cathedral. This bull has never been rescinded. This is extremeley rare, the only other city I know with two cathedrals is Paris, but there are two different bishops there (one being a bishop of the armed forces). Fascinating.

Camisa de "El ganso" marca española

Cádiz tiene a media hora el aeropuerto de Jerez, para que ir a Sevilla 🙄. De tu lista, me quedo con Zaragoza para vivir. Para divertirme a tope, Cádiz ❤. Otras ciudades que yo viviría: Pamplona o Vitoria, Valladolid, Córdoba, Granada, Murcia, Elche, Sevilla

La agricultuea además de reducir la ingesta de vit D, también redujo el tamaño del cráneo humano (y el cerebro por supuesto). Lo confirman todos los fósiles previos y posteriores a la invención de la agricultura. Un 10% menos paulatinamente (no en una generación por supuesto, sino durante miles de generaciones a medida que adoptaban poco a poco cada vez más las técnicas agrícolas) Talvez por la disminución en la ingesta de vitaminas del grupo B (imprescindibles para el cerebro), D y A y menores cantidades de Zinc, yodo y hierro y menores cantidades de glicina, taurina, metionina, etc, al pasar de un tipo de dieta a otro.

Thanks, you’ve convinced me to check out Zaragoza this weekend!

There is a reason we don't go north: the RAIN, No one likes the RAIN. I went to Asturias for a month and it rained more days than not. I stayed in rainy Oviedo, cute city but too much rain. I went to Denia and Cadiz. I prefer Denia. sunny and relaxing.

What about Bilbao? Have all the trappings of a big city but smaller. Maybe a little bit pricier than the others you mention but still a great city.

I landed in Zaragoza. Oviedo, Asturias and Santander are too wet for my taste.

I’ve had the chance to spend some time in Burgos and have some friends in Logroño. Could you do a video on some of those areas? I absolutely do NOT like seafood. I tend to be drawn away from coastal towns/cities.

Rain will get you in Oviedo, rain and winter..Ufffff

I lived in Oviedo and the connections are not that great. I had to go to Barcelona or Madrid for my trips to Europe, etc. I did not like that. On top of it all, the winter dark, the rain all year long and the cold till May was terrible. I'm happier in Alicante.

Hideous weather the one in Oviedo! Being in northern Spain, it gets lots of rain, cold, and cloudy skies.

Hi, James. It would be really interesting for a lot of us if you would one day feel comfortable sharing your personal experience raising a bilingual child in Spain, focused more on the language acquisition method you used, expectations vs reality, what to watch out for and what you would have done differently. As an English teacher myself, raised in England and later moved back to Spain, my home country, I want to speak to my child in English but since my entire family is Spanish and we live in Spain ..... I feel a bit alone. I would really appreciate some tips, but I would understand if you choose to keep it private. I love your videos!

Oviedo and Santander are very nice cities, but in my opinion you could get a similar but better option in the southwest of Galicia, in cities like Vigo and Pontevedra. Coastal cities, with a little bit better weather and very nice beaches, better than the ones in Asturias and Cantabria in my opinion. Plenty of green hills everywhere, but not great mountain ranges like Picos de Europa nearby, though, but Portugal is very close.

Better live in Denia than live in Denial

James, I cannot wait to visit Cádiz and it’s been on my short list for a number of years. As someone with Spanish and Cuban family, perhaps, that’s why it appeals to me. I enjoyed your video re Cádiz very much.

I love your channel but hate it when my favorite places, hitherto untrammeled, get "discovered". Thank goodness for the drizzle that keeps the masses away.

Great video!!!!! You've gone native!!!! "Ese PERO" in 9:14