Weather is 'top attraction for expats'

A recent survey has revealed that the majority of expatriates moving to the continent are most likely to go for the weather, according to Alliance & Leicester.

Other popular factors that swayed people into hopping onto the ferry and relocating were the better quality of life, a higher standard of living and a lower crime rate.

Australia and New Zealand were among the most popular destinations, although the drawback was the distance from the family - making European countries much more popular.

The bank continued: "Spain also fared extremely well, with 92 per cent putting weather at the top of the list, while 85 per cent appreciated the slower pace of living as well as feeling safer in Spain than in the UK."

Many expats-to-be hoping to relocate to Spain may be interested in Barcelona, which provides a lot of "artistic genius" that only a select handful of cities could hope to rival, according to Lonely Planet.

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13 January 2009