Moving to Spain from Romania
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Romania to Spain — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Romania to Spain, you would find that Spain is 62.0% more expensive than Romania overall. A RON360,000 salary in Romania would need to be roughly €109,000 in Spain to maintain the same lifestyle, and you’d need to navigate life in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Spanish.
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How your spending power changes when you relocate from Romania to Spain.
What does your salary buy?
RON360,000 → €109,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Spain
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 49.9% more
Groceries
pay 55.9% more
Transportation
pay 26.9% more
Housing
pay 2.3 times more
Childcare
pay 12.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.5% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Spain cost about 52% more than cities in Romania.
Compare cities head-to-head
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Who Else Is Making This Move?
Real numbers on people moving from Romania to Spain, and how the trend has changed.
Key Indicator Comparison
How Romania and Spain stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
per 100,000 people per year
per 100,000 people per year
Spain performs significantly better than Romania across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
annual government + private spending per person
affects wait times and access to care
WHO index from 0–100 measuring essential service access
share of adults with obesity
per 100,000 people — a proxy for mental health support
Spain generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Romania leads in healthcare spending per person.
What about the environment?
deaths attributable to air pollution per 100k people
tonnes of CO₂ emitted per person per year
Romania generally does better on environment, though Spain leads in air pollution deaths.
Will I have good infrastructure?
fixed broadband subscriptions — key for remote work
higher means greater strain on freshwater supply
annual consumption — reflects grid capacity
share of households with internet
Spain generally does better on infrastructure, though Romania leads in water stress level.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
the highest marginal rate on personal income
share of people below the poverty line
Romania generally does better on employment & economy, though Spain leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
deaths per 1,000 live births — lower is better
government spending on education as % of GDP
percentage of adults who can read and write
Spain performs significantly better than Romania across all family life metrics.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) (2016), Agencia Tributaria, Spain (2016). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Bucharest | Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 44°/27°F (7°/-3°C) | 55°/40°F (13°/4°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/49°F (23°/9°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/57°F (28°/14°C) | 86°/64°F (30°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/34°F (10°/1°C) | 58°/44°F (14°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Bucharest | Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37°/23°F (2.8°/-4.8°C) | 50°/37°F (9.8°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 42°/25°F (5.5°/-4.0°C) | 54°/39°F (12.0°/3.7°C) |
| Mar | 53°/32°F (11.4°/0.1°C) | 61°/43°F (16.3°/6.2°C) |
| Apr | 64°/41°F (18.0°/4.9°C) | 65°/46°F (18.2°/7.7°C) |
| May | 75°/49°F (24.0°/9.6°C) | 72°/52°F (22.2°/11.3°C) |
| Jun | 82°/56°F (27.7°/13.6°C) | 83°/61°F (28.2°/16.1°C) |
| Jul | 86°/60°F (29.8°/15.4°C) | 90°/66°F (32.1°/19.0°C) |
| Aug | 86°/59°F (29.8°/14.9°C) | 88°/66°F (31.3°/18.8°C) |
| Sep | 76°/51°F (24.6°/10.5°C) | 80°/60°F (26.4°/15.4°C) |
| Oct | 64°/42°F (17.9°/5.4°C) | 67°/51°F (19.4°/10.7°C) |
| Nov | 50°/33°F (9.8°/0.6°C) | 56°/43°F (13.5°/6.2°C) |
| Dec | 39°/26°F (3.8°/-3.4°C) | 50°/38°F (10.0°/3.6°C) |
Data:
National Meteorological Administration,
Agencia Estatal de Meteorología
Visitor Visa Requirements
Short-stay tourist visa rules between Romania and Spain. To live, work, or study long-term in Spain, you'll need a separate residence or work visa — check Spain's immigration authority.
Romania passport holder visiting Spain
Visa Free
Spain passport holder visiting Romania
Visa FreeData: Henley Passport Index. Check with the destination country's embassy for the most current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Spain than Romania?
Day-to-day costs in Spain run about 62% higher than Romania on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Spain?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a RON360,000 comparable salary, that's around €27,250 in Spain for everyday spending, before flights, shipping, a rental deposit, and visa fees.
Can I work remotely from Spain?
With 39.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Spain can support video calls in major cities. The hard part is paperwork — visa category, employer policy on overseas staff, and tax residency in Romania and Spain.
Is Spain safe for expats?
Spain performs significantly better than Romania across all safety metrics. The homicide rate in Spain is 0.7 per 100,000 people, compared to 1.1 in Romania.
How is healthcare in Spain compared to Romania?
Spain generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Romania leads in healthcare spending per person. There are 42.9 doctors per 10,000 people in Spain, compared to 36.2 in Romania. Spain scores 85 on the WHO universal health coverage index (Romania: 78).
What's the weather like in Spain compared to Romania?
The average high temperature in Madrid is 68°F, compared to 63°F in Bucharest. Madrid receives around 16.6 in of rainfall per year, while Bucharest gets 23.4 in.
What language do they speak in Spain?
The official languages in Spain are Basque, Catalan, Galician and Spanish. In Romania, the official language is Romanian.
