4 Reasons Why Valencia Spain Makes Us Happy

Jul 23, 2019 @ 11:20 AM

plaza ayutamento valencia fountain
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I have been dying to show you a glimpse of Valencia, Spain for a couple of weeks. From the previous post, you know we had been considering making Cullera, a suburb of Valencia our next home because of its lovely beaches. Upon visiting, we decided against it. Valencia, the city itself is now in the running as our next home. I’m sure there are a lot more reasons to move there, but because we have only spent a total of 6 days there now (we just got back from another visit late last night), I am only going to list 4 of the reasons why Valencia makes us very happy so far.

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4 reasons why Valencia Spain makes us happy:

Beauty:

neptune statue fountain Valencia
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One of the many little plazas in Valencia..so much to discover.
plaza in Valencia Spain
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Outside the Valencia Cathedral with the model. The tablet is still in Arabic.

I can not underestimate the beauty of Valencia and the role it plays in my happiness. As you know, I love Seville and have been happy here for the two years. Our decision to move is more of a desire to experience even more beauty which l have found in abundance in Valencia. If someone were to tell you that you were in the 2nd Arrondissement of Paris for instance in some places, such as the first image, you would totally believe it. It is old and new at the same time if that makes any sense :-).

Sevilla is old and historical and reflects it with the colors of the buildings. Valencia on the other hand, has more muted colors giving it a newness that really intrigues me. It blends so nicely that you forget there is an amazing history behind it too. They didn’t look “Old”.

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iglesia de st joan valencia nextbiteoflife
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One of the many churches we ran into. Iglesia de St. Joan

 


old run down bld in valencia
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There are still parts of the city that looks old and we love that too. There is a lot of remodeling going on everywhere which is cool.
gritty building in valencia
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Gritty graffiti coexisting with the newer parts.

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Food in Valencia:

4 reasons why valencia makes us happy ham
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With over 1000 stalls in the market, you can find fresh food tout suite!
el mercat valencia entrance
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The entrance of the mercado central.

I actually asked a friend if it was crazy to want to move somewhere because of food 🙂 . While there are traditional tapas like we have in Seville, there seems to be a daring spin on their tapas and it delights my pallet to put it mildly. I am so curious to try more of the food. Valencia is the home of the paella, that savory dish with rice and seafood. The traditional paella Valenciana is made with duck and chicken, but they also have the ones with seafood. There is also quite the variety of International cuisine to be experienced. We had great Chinese, Japanese and Indian food.

The central market is absolutely humongous and sells everything type of meat and seafood imaginable. We had a great time just walking around and feasting our eyes. Sevilla has one too, but this just has more of everything, especially giant lobsters and crab legs. Valencia is also world famous for its oranges and nothing beats a fresh squeezed glass of the good stuff. The region produces great wine too and are reasonably priced, even in the restaurants we paid no more than $2 a glass.

el mercat valencia exterior merchant
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I want to learn how to make authentic paella.. the pans weren’t too high priced either.

 

plate of pasta in valencia spain
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We found the most amazing authentic Italian food at “Osteria” cucina in the Ruzafa neighborhood run by a Sicilian family. Molto bene! and that’s saying a lot coming from Federico.

 

paccheri pasta with lamb ragu in valencia spain
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Paccheri pasta with white lamb ragu. Fantastic!

Green and wide open spaces :

me in front of city of arts and sciences valencia
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How cool is the City of Arts and Sciences? I want to discover more. That is the Hemispheric to the left, a Laserium among other things.

 

turia park valencia
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This is the Turia park. Trails go on for over 9 km winding through the city below street level.

Valencia is a green city. It has numerous parks, including the Turia Gardens, an absolutely spectacular setting with playgrounds, mazes and the sunken and totally gorgeous City of Arts and Sciences and the Palau de la Musica which is affiliated with the Berkeley School of Music in Boston. We visited the city and it was so cool seeing everyone enjoying the grounds, people walking their dogs, picnicking even with the cold (crazy!) and biking along the trails. With over 120 km of cycle paths, we won’t get bored easily and it is a compact city really.

palau de la musica valencia spain
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This is the Palau de la Musica. How futuristic is this? Beam me up Scotty! 🙂

Metro:

metro line valencia spain nextbiteoflife
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Love using the metro again!

Sometimes l forget how wonderful it is to just pop underground and not worry about driving. I am the worst backseat driver ever. Ever! I have turned into my mother, and Federico hates it. It is stressful for both of us. It was so great to just walk to the nearest metro stop. With  6 metro lines running through the city and suburbs, it’s a breeze to get around. Seville has only one (the city ran out of money before completing the others) which makes things a bit difficult. Cabs were also surprisingly cheap. We were checking out apartments for rent and took cabs a lot. Just once was the fare $7 (rush hour). Most of the time it was $4.10 (rounded up as that was the minimum fare 🙂 ), sometimes $5. The only time Federico hasn’t complained about the “river of money” spent on cabs.

You might like: 17 reasons to skip Valencia!

bridge at city of arts and sciences valencia spain
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I want to live in one of those flats with this awesome view of the park and City of Arts and Sciences so much :-).

What is this all leading up to you ask? My mind is all but made up that Valencia will be our next home. We unfortunately did not find a place we liked and so no rental contract came back with us, I will keep searching online. It’s much better now because l have narrowed down the areas l would like to be to 3 and if it comes down to it, we might rent through AirBnB for a month and search with boots on the ground. Federico is 98% there. He absolutely loves the place but just wonders if we can make it happen without stress. I have to keep reminding him that l made U.S to Malta happen solely through the computer. This is a walk in the park compared to that, especially with the dogs! :-).

I’m not ready to leave Spain yet. While there are obvious similarities to Seville, I am very intrigued by life in the city now for a bit. One other bit that l liked about Valencia was that l saw more people of colour, not just immigrants selling goods. While l am used to being in the minority here, it was a welcome sight for me to see black people going about their business. If you’re looking to book a trip to Valencia or anywhere else, please consider using our affiliate link here to search for flights and hotels. As an alternative you can use our Hotelscombined link which will search all other sites so you can compare.

Update 2019:

You may or may not know that we ended up falling in love with Valencia. So much so, that we decided on purchasing an apartment of our very own in the city. We have been here now two years and love it more each day. You can find the house buying post links below.

Buying a flat in Valencia

Remodeling our Valencia flat

Our finished flat in Valencia

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Have you visited Valencia before? If yes, how did you like it? If not, does it look good to you? Have you ever moved for the love of food?

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72 thoughts on “4 Reasons Why Valencia Spain Makes Us Happy”

  1. A beautiful place indeed! At first, I also thought that moving to a different city when you’re having such a great time in Sevilla doesn’t really make sense… but it actually does. You’ve been there for a while now and there are other areas of the country to explore and much more to see. If the food is better, that’s an added bonus 🙂 I hope that the apartment hunting went well and you were able to find one with the view you wanted!

    Reply
    • Yes, very beautiful. It makes sense to me too to move there as opposed to out of the country. My mindset is still here, wanting to learn more Spanish and move a bit closer to the city and actually use the metro again like in the old days. Eat slightly different food and see more modern things. We have also flown to pretty much every destination that the budget airlines do from here and want newer selections. Even knowing that the international flights will still be out of Madrid, it’s a shorter train ride from Valencia. We didn’t find one the second time either (he says it’s a sign 😉 ). I’m just undecided between the old city walls or closer to the City of Sciences. It will work out :-).

      Reply
    • Thanks Rachel. We love food so much, I’m okay with moving for food for sure. The seafood offering at the market looks so good. Federico is itching to try his new non stick pan..haha! :-).

      Reply
  2. I’ve never been to Valencia but I can understand the need to explore, especially if you still have a love affair with Spain! Valencia sounds like just the ticket with a mixture of old and new, near but far enough to not feel too involved with city living!

    I’ve never moved abroad just for the food, but I’ve certainly visited a foreign destination because of it. India comes to mind… As does France! ‘Hope you find a new place soon. And you will. 🙂 🙂

    Reply
    • I hope we do too. I really, really liked the city. I like it better than Barcelona for sure, and maybe more than Madrid too. It feels like the right size and l am looking forward to exploring there and the surrounding areas. I would totally move to France just for the food, the language will just have to take a backseat :-). I wouldn’t move to India much as l love the food :-).

      Reply
  3. Yay Valencia! I remember thinking ‘I could live here’ when I visited and it sounds like you are already thinking that as well. I loved how close the beach was and was amazed at how clean the water was (but maybe I’m a little jaded due to the beaches in NYC). I wholeheartedly support moving to a place for food; it’s one of my main criteria when choosing places to travel. After all, it’s something we must do everyday to survive, no? 🙂

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    • I totally felt it very strongly as soon as we got there. The vibe was really cool and l felt l could spend some serious time there. The beach really is close by, enough that we don’t want a pool like we do now. I feel you on the beaches, I never once went into the water in L.A, yucky! We do need food to survive daily don’t we? so it must take priority :-).

      Reply
  4. Is it just me or does the Hemispheric and Palau de la Musica remind you of the Sydney Opera House? I know it may sound a bit selfish, but it’s nice to be around others that look like you. In addition to the other perks of the city, I’m with your husband on the decision to move there. It’s beautiful.

    Reply
    • The first thing we both said upon seeing it was that it reminded us of the Sydney Opera House..haha! So for sure there’s some truth to it :-). It is a beautiful city, and l was really happy to be with people that looked like me, I didn’t feel like such an oddity. Now the search can commence for real :-).

      Reply
  5. What a beautiful city! The food sounds amazing, who wouldn’t want to move there? I’ve never been, but I’d love to travel there one day.

    Reply
  6. Looks nice, though a bit more ‘big city’ thank Seville. And you mention the metro – that for sure is an advantage, Seville is much harder to get around.
    Some really great modern architecture as well.
    One thing for sure, you won’t get bored living in the city versus outside!

    Frank (bbqboy)

    Reply
    • Yes, it’s slightly bigger than Seville but not too unmanageable 🙂 . The metro is a huge thing for me right now and l am ready for modern. We’ll see how it goes :-).

      Reply
  7. Valencia sounds amazing! Food is a very logical reason to move IMO but it seems there are other things that can be of good reason in case you get sick of the food. Lol. But who does that??

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  8. I can’t wait to see/hear what kind of place you end up with there! Or, if it ends up not being there–wherever! Living through you right now. Ha! That pasta looks so much better than anything I’ve ever eaten here. Ever. I like the size that Valencia is. We traveled through it once. I’m not a big fan of huge cities, except for an overnight for a great restaurant and a show.—Terri

    Reply
    • I can’t wait either to tell the truth :-). Kind of hard doing it online but on a wing and a prayer, we’ll find something without having to do AirBnB. I’m almost there with the area and narrowing down the neighborhoods. The pasta was terrific and Federico has been hunting for lamb since we came back, but they have none at the market (just frozen shanks) ..he is dying to make it. Glad you liked Valencia, it makes me even happier with the decision.

      Reply
      • Good luck! I never saw the house I’m living in before I moved in. But at least my husband did! He didn’t like it, but it had the most of the checkpoints out of my list of things we needed/wanted. So it was a go. It’s fine. Just fine. Good luck!—Terri

        Reply
        • Oh that makes me feel better, especially if we end up getting something site unseen. As long as l like it, it’s all good..haha! He just needs a great kitchen more than anything :-). I’m the choosy one.

          Reply
    • It really is beautiful there l have to say…and the food that we ate was divine. Sevilla has great food too, but the variety is a bit more l think over there :-).

      Reply
  9. After this post, I can definitely picture you guys living in the heart of the city, enjoying the city, its vibe and diversity. It looks amazing, from the historic old buildings to the newer grittier parts of the city and I can understand your excitement to move there. The food scene and markets sound amazing but I also love the thought of exploring the city on foot and by metro. Sounds like a place where you could live for months/years and still find something new! Great choice and I’m crossing my fingers that you end up there so we can come over for a visit!

    Reply
    • The metro and on foot is really enticing to me. I am still torn between being close to the City of Arts and Sciences and being right in the thick of things. Once l figure that out, we can drill down and find something. The city is really pretty cool and it feels like a good size, compact. The seafood choice looks really great and l think it is a big factor. I could see myself there for a while, l really felt a kinship to it. Federico liked it, but he doesn’t feel it as much a l do…Yet! :-). It would be cool for you guys to visit, not too much of a difference in trip time from Lagos.

      Reply
    • I think you would too. Little A. would love it too, so much space and so many parks. I didn’t realize how much l missed the metro. That was one of the best things about Boston, being able to move around quickly. I used to like driving, but not so much anymore. Food is number one!!! 🙂

      Reply
  10. I love the fact that you are experiencing the world on your own terms. Your post makes me want to visit Spain…ASAP. I’m sure it will make me happy too. The images you share are magnificent. Thanks for telling your story!

    Reply
    • We are certainly trying :-). I think you would like Spain, so many different personalities to it, so you would find something to like…and yeah..it would make you happy. Thanks for the compliment :-).

      Reply
    • Thanks for the compliment :-). Food really is important isn’t it? I like all kinds of food and l think l will enjoy the variety here, including more jamon. Spain is really beautiful :-).

      Reply
  11. This looks absolutely gorgeous!! Great photos! I love to see the differences in different cultures and I just love the look of the historical buildings! Keep traveling, it’s so awesome to see the different places you explored.

    Reply
    • Traveling is something that makes us happy indeed and we definitely intend on doing it for as long as we’re able to, age be damned ;-). I love the buildings too, especially the elegant one. I’m hoping we end up in one of those. Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  12. A little late in getting a note on this but it sounds and looks like a great city choice. The ease of getting around on the Metro makes things so much easier. The food, parks and architecture also sound very appealing. So when is the big date and did you find your first flat yet? Cheers, Tim & Anne

    Reply
    • I am so looking forward to the Metro even though the cab fares were really reasonable. Way cheaper than Seville for sure :-). Our lease is up in a month. At this point, we’re just gonna get there, stay at an Airbnb and find someplace. I’m still undecided between right in the city or close to the City of Arts and Sciences. With the metro, it’s not as big of a deal as it could be though :-).

      Reply
  13. Oh my! I was thinking of visiting Spain, now I definitely have to stop at this place if I end up going there!
    And, kemkem I’m a person who love to explore different cuisine so, I’ll definitely agree with your decision to move to a place because of food.

    Reply
    • Yeah!!! a food lover! :-). You definitely have to consider Valencia if and when you make it here. The international food scene is quite good in addition to the traditional Valenciana cuisine. Food is life..so yep! One should be able to move for food :-). Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
    • Thanks. It’s funny we had never considered Valencia before. We wouldn’t have considered it either till after experiencing the “real” summer in Seville and wished to be closer to the water. We definitely fell in love at first sight and hope it will be a long lasting relationship :-).

      Reply
  14. Hey there!
    Great post, thank you.
    I’m orchestrating my move to Valencia within the next year or so and would love to hear your opinion re: areas.
    I’d like to find somewhere nice and quiet, charming and close to nature, yet within easy reach of the city, like El Puig or Gilet. Have you been?
    Either that or somewhere by the sea, although seems El Cabanyal has gotten really expensive and El Saler is out of my reach.
    Are there any areas that you love that may fit the bill? Do you know the Horta Nord area much?
    I’m getting there end of October to but a place.
    Thanks in advance and hope you guys are enjoying Valencia!

    Reply
    • Thanks Carina. How nice to hear you’re moving. Valencia is cool from what little we have seen. I’ve heard of El Puig, but have never been. When we were looking for an apartment, we had wanted to be close to the sea as well. We didn’t consider El Cabanyal from what we had heard from others (not being too safe at night even though it’s changing). We basically thought along the metro lines so as to cut down on driving or eliminate it. We thought about Massamagrell (Horta Nord) or anywhere along metro line 3 but riding the metro to go visit, we didn’t like the looks and feel at all. We didn’t feel like we were in Valencia and there are just fields between one village and the next. It depressed me because it totally wasn’t what l was expecting. The underground portion is only in the city, then it’s over ground and l felt like l was in rural Texas, then it stops, you see a little village like Museros, then more fields till the next one. We are in La Petxina area and we love it. We’ve got Turia Park, grocery stores close, pretty much everything and 10 minutes walk to the Old Center and a short 10 minute bus ride to the other end of the center (Ayutamento) if one doesn’t feel like walking the 40 minutes or so. The mall is 10 minutes walk, and l walk slowly. The movie theater 5 mins walk. We have driven the car like 2 times in 5 months! Most people ride bikes along the Turia bike route straight to the beach and l think it’s about 4.5 miles (we haven’t done that yet, but it’s nice to know). You might consider Benimaclet. A lot of people seem to love it and it’s on the 3 line which goes to the beach and it’s close to the center of town too. We went there too, it’s okay but l didn’t really feel it, reminded me of Malaga (been there..done that 🙂 ). Hope this helps a little.

      Reply
    • Thanks for reading Arun. I can’t believe it’s been 1.5 years already in Valencia for us. Our 3rd city in Spain to live is the right fit. No more Goldilocks :-). I hope you get to visit this beautiful place soon.

      Reply
  15. Thanks for this fantastic post, Kemkem. What interests me most about your post is that you’ve lived in Seville – a city that we absolutely adore! We’ve visited it four times now and every time we fall a little more in love with it. The only problem is that we couldn’t imagine living there all year round as the Spanish don’t call that region ‘the frying pan’ for nothing! The fact that you enjoyed Seville so much but have found it easy to adapt to life in Valencia comes as great news to us.

    We plan to move to Spain from the UK at the end of September, taking a slow road trip down from Bilbao to Valencia. We first visited Valencia in April on the recommendation of a friend and it was love at first sight. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to secure a rental apartment yet. Searching online is so frustrating! We were considering booking an Airbnb for the first month, figuring that it should be much easier to find a place when we’re in a position to scour all of the agents, investigate neighbourhoods and view places before making a firm commitment. La Petxina sounds like an interesting option, particularly since it’s so close to the Turia Gardens so thanks for that recommendation. I hope to do a course at Lenguas Vivas, which is in that neighbourhood so it could be a good fit for us. One of our concerns is parking since we’ll be bringing a car with us and we know that parking is in very short supply in the city. I’m wondering if it might be possible to rent a garage.
    We’re in the city for a week in the middle of August to have another scout around and we’re staying at a penthouse apartment in La Roqueta so while we’re there, we’ll definitely be trying out the Italian restaurant that you recommended. Ruzafa is where we stayed last time we were in Valencia so we’ll also be heading back to Enchilame for sensational tacos and ribs and stopping by some of our favourite coffee shops to fuel our apartment search.

    Reply
    • Thanks for reading Sue. Seville is definitely very easy to love..but ay yah yay.. it is hot hot hot in the summer and unless you can be like the locals who desert the place and head for their family homes, then it’s like a slow moist roast..haha! Frying pan is a great way to describe it. We are definitely enjoying Valencia and as you probably read in the last few posts, we have purchased a flat here.

      We are hoping to check out Bilbao too. For the food mostly as l’ve heard it’s insanely good and for some reason or the other, we still have to make our way there, hopefully soon. So glad you liked Valencia, it really is a great combination of everything. It feels just right. I think your plan to rent an AirBnB is a good one. You might have read this kind of tongue in cheek post of mine already but it’s true. It sucks trying to find a flat here, especially with dogs. You will be able to find something within a month for sure come September, more likely in less time than that, but better safe than sorry.

      La Petxina is a really nice neighbourhood and quite a few of the places have underground parking (ours did) so l think you would get something. We currently don’t have one now, but it’s not too bad finding street parking. There are also garages where you can rent space in La Petxina. Your penthouse sounds lovely and that is an area we considered too when searching and ended up finding one in the Angel Guimera section and we liked it very much there too. It’s hard to go wrong really as far as where to live in Valencia.

      Did you find Ruzafa noisy? I like visiting, but at the end of the day, I prefer a little less stimulation so on a daily basis almost, I thank God that the flat we had wanted originally when we first got here fell through :-).

      Reply
  16. Thanks for the information re parking in the area around La Petxina, Kemkem. That sounds really promising and it’s reassuring to know that it’s possible to rent parking spaces in the vicinity if we’re not able to find accommodation that comes with a parking space included. My boyfriend is also really keen to find somewhere with a terrace, but of course, that makes the search even more challenging. He just loves being outdoors, especially in the early evening. When we stayed in Ruzafa, we rented an apartment on Carrer Sueca and there was a bit of noise but nothing too excessive. It was perfect for a short stay because we were able to walk just a block or two to dozens of great bakeries, cafés, restaurants and bars but I agree that it might get a bit wearing if you’re there long term. Even in April it was pretty busy and I imagine it gets absolutely mobbed in the summer months.

    I’m so pleased that things have worked out so well for you and that you’ve found a place you can call home in the city. Finding the right area to live is so important because it has such a huge impact on the impressions and memories you make when you’re new in town. It sounds as though you guys are pretty much settled in for the long haul now. Mind you, it seems to me that Valencia is a fantastic base for anyone who wants to travel on a regular basis so you can have a home there but still indulge your wanderlust. Now isn’t that just the best of both worlds?

    Reply
    • No worries. Problem with a terrace is that it means you are either on the first floor (as they are mostly the ones with outside space) or penthouses and you pay a premium. If you’re lucky to find a first floor in a quiet building with older people, then you’re bound to have an often humongous terrace. Just make sure the building door is not one of those that closes with a slam otherwise it’s a nightmare, it sounds silly, but check that it’s a spring close so you have peace.

      Yep! We are settled for the long haul, but it’s not going to stop us from traveling like we used to. We just like having a home base for us and the dogs. Nope!..the wanderlust is not quelled at all. It is indeed the best of both worlds.

      Reply

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