Valencia vs. Alicante as an Expat - Honest Comparison

I have called both of these cities in Spanish Costa Blanca my home, and in this article I want to give you a nice overview of the vibe, lifestyle and costs of both. 

After reading this article, it should help you choose which Mediterranean city sounds more like you (,if either?!).

Although Valencia and Alicante are both located in the Valencian community, with just 186 km apart, I feel like the energy of these two places is quite different.

It’s not to say one is worse and another better, just different - let me explain.

I moved to Valencia right after Covid, during which I was living in Finnish countryside. After all the social isolation and nature, Valencia felt like a big city to me. And to be honest, it is. 

Valencia Metropolitan Area’s population is 841 000.

The city is a great combination of a historical old town, modern and cool architecture at the Science and Arts Centre, a long Turia park going through the city, and a long beach 5 km from the centre. 

This awesome combination makes this city popular among other expats as well. 

There are loads of weekly international events to join, new people to meet and new activities and cafeterias to try. 

The sudden popularity among expats from the Netherlands, Romania, the US, and other countries has made rents quite expensive.

Another thing to consider before moving to Valencia is that they speak Valenciana, instead of the “typical Spanish”, aka Castellano. 

Although the city is quite well-connected, and there are even city bikes (Valenbici), the city felt too wide and big for me. You kind of need to choose do you want to live near the city or the beach. 

I will share more details of the city below, but let me tell you the overview of why I chose Alicante as my home base instead.

Alicante is located 186 km south of Valencia, and it’s quite a bit smaller. Alicante’s population is around 380 000 people. 

The city is smaller and more compact, but also older, with its buildings. In Alicante you can walk everywhere; the centre, the beach, old town, shopping malls and nature spots nearby. Personally, I love this. 

People speak Castellano (=Spanish) instead of Valenciana and for some reason, as an expat, I just felt more welcome in Alicante. This may also be because I am from a small place, big cities don’t really resonate with me, or I feel a bit like I don’t belong. 

On the other hand, some areas in Alicante are dirtier and people don’t seem that ambitious, but more of a “mañana mañana”, laid-back vibe is the thing. 

Both Valencia and Alicante get annually lot of tourists, but Alicante gives more of a holiday-like feeling with its beach bars, restaurants and tapas bars. Not to say you don’t have those in Valencia, but in a bigger city like Valencia, they just drown into the big city. 

Although the rental costs have skyrocketed in both Alicante and Valencia, Alicante is still cheaper to rent in. 

However, this is always dependent on the area you want to rent in and the kind of place you are looking to rent, rather than the city. 

As for purchasing an apartment, Alicante is still much more reachable even without enormous savings, whereas in Valencia, apartment prices are much higher. 

This is, of course, generally the case when comparing a bigger city to a smaller town. 

To give you an estimate, to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Valencia centre vs. Alicante centre

Valencia 1 month rent from 1-bedroom in the centre: 1000-2000€/month

Alicante 1 month rent from 1-bedroom in the centre: 660-1000€/month

Please note this is just a rough estimate, and you can find cheaper and much more expensive options in both.

Best platforms to look for a rental place in both cities are Facebook groups and  https://www.idealista.com/

(My full personal story of buying an apartment in Alicante here)

Generally speaking, the difference is not as huge as in rents. I still think eating out, going for a nice coffee, and public transportation is cheaper in Alicante. 

In Valencia, you have of course, more variety and options, but in cool and trendy neighbourhoods like Ruzafa, eating out is pricier. 

But the differences are not huge, as in big cities you also have lots of options. 

As mentioned, Valencia attracts quite a lot of expats, and it’s got a big international community and lots of events in English. 

There are many people who are also digital nomads or entrepreneurs, and I find expats in Valencia quite ambitious. (Big generalisation, of course, so take it with a grain of salt). 

There are many co-working spaces and lots of options for different kinds of hobbies - I dare to say you can find a new hobby to try every day of the month. 

So in Valencia it’s definitely easy to meet new people and to start building your expat friends and community. 

Once again, the smaller city of the city makes events bit less frequent and circles smaller. 

There are anyhow many expats also living in Alicante, and for an introvert like me, I feel like seeing the same people in events is kind of better than meeting 30 new people every time you join an event. 

Alicante is not so much of an entrepreneurial hub, but it’s more the kinds of people who came to Spain to look for peace, sun and beach. 

There are fewer events and things are less structured, but you can definitely build a community and make friends in Alicante as well. 

If you are planning to work from home, but would also like to have the option to work from cafeterias and co-working spaces, Valencia is a great option. There are constantly more co-working spaces, as the digital nomad community is growing. 

Also, the “working from cafeteria” scene is good and constantly growing. Back in 2021-2022 when I lived in Valencia, there weren’t that many cafeterias nearby the beach where I was living, but now that I visited there at the end of 2025, there was a nice list of cafeterias to choose from. 

Although Alicante has also gotten some awesome new cafeterias lately, it’s still less of the vibe than in Valencia. In Alicante it’s harder to find cafeterias that have the holy trinity of an expat: wifi, silent enough to focus and reasonable prices. Most of the time, you can get 2 out of 3. 

However, there are co-working spaces also in Alicante, of which I have tried a few. To be honest, though, I have not found those places particularly inspiring. 

Valencia life is the combination of city life and beach life. You can visit world-class museums, choose from vast selection of weekly international events, and take a tram to the beach. 

You have lots of cool things to do, restaurants to try, people to meet and activities to test. 

This is for you if you are from a city, or want to live in a city. You like the options and opportunities, and don’t mind catching public transportation, making reservations to restaurants and queuing in public health services.

Alicante life is a relaxed combination of spontaneous beach time during city walk, popping by for a café with a friend you happen to see at your gym and joining to your weekly events. 

You don't have something new and awesome to try every week, but you have the sunniest weather in Europe, walking distance to all the best things to do and familiar faces after living for a while in the city. 

Alicante is for you if you are more of a small town girl who wants to walk, feel comfortable and safe and is not craving for a cosmopolitan city vibe every day.

Well, unfortunately, whichever Spanish city you choose to reside in, the Spanish bureaucracy remains.

You need to get NIE (=residency card), Empadronamiento (=official registration of your residence with the local town hall) and possibly a Digital Nomad Visa, depending where you are from. Additional things may be becoming entrepreneur in Spain (Autonomo or SL) and the paperwork (and mortgage) of buying an apartment.

I am not going to lie, figuring all of that is painful, so I recommend visiting first for a lengthened period of time, so you can be sure you are fine diving into the Spanish system head first.

None of this is impossible to figure, it just takes patience and work days off to be in all the offices etc. 

You can read more about obtaining NIE here

and about empadronamiento here.

Valencia: What I miss most from Valencia are the city bikes. The city is flat and there are bike lanes everywhere. It’s easy to grab a city bike and get around (this is probably why it attracts so many Dutch expats). Of course there are also buses, trams and metro to use, which is fine.

Alicante: In Alicante, most of the days I don’t need any transportation as everything is within walking distance. For me, this is a haven, as I hate waiting for public transportation. :D Alicante also has bus and tram network which works well and is cheap.

I think both cities are great and offer a good quality of life with sunny weather, beach, lovely restaurants and a community. My personal preference is a smaller, more intimate place, and that’s why I love Alicante more.

However, every time I visit Valencia, I remember why I fell in love with Valencia. Valencia is a beautiful and inspiring city to explore and live a vibrant life. 

If you still don’t know, why not come and try both?

The cities are only 186 km apart, and connected with train, highway and bus connections, so it’s easy to come to both in one trip and see which energy resonates with you more.

If you come for a visit, the easiest option to find the best public transportation options within Spain is via Omio.

Omio shows buses, flights and train connections all in one platform and you can buy the tickets straight from there.

Find transportation within Spain in Omio.

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