In the wake of vacation season and the return of classes, many young professionals and students pack up to start a fresh chapter far from home. But what destinations are at the top of their lists?
HousingAnywhere, one of Europe’s largest mid-term rental platforms, reveals the countries that spark the most enthusiasm among Spanish youth for studying or building a career abroad. The report also uncovers which nationalities show the strongest interest in moving to Spain. The figures reflect user behavior on the platform during the first half of 2024, compared with the same period a year earlier, with the majority of users being students and early-career professionals.
Spanish interest focuses on Europe
Within Spain, those seeking new opportunities that allow them to immerse in another culture while advancing their careers tend to stay close to home. Interest is concentrated primarily on European countries, led by Germany at 16.7 percent, followed by Italy at 15.6 percent. Over the past year, enthusiasm for these traditional destinations has softened in favor of others like France, which accounted for 11.4 percent of housing searches, placing it third with a year-over-year growth of 7.7 percent.
The proximity advantage is Spain’s biggest lure for European talent
Just as many Spaniards test their luck abroad, Spain remains a compelling destination for students and young professionals from other nations.
According to HousingAnywhere, housing searches in Spain originate mostly from Europe (64.9 percent), yet Spain also draws strong interest from the Americas, including the United States and countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. About 10.3 percent of searches come from Spanish-speaking countries.
The United States shows the strongest interest in living in Spain
While global searches are led by Europe, American young people stand out for their interest in relocating to Spain. With a year-over-year rise of 12.5 percent, Americans accounted for 13.8 percent of all foreign searches for housing in Spain. France followed with 11.6 percent and an 8.9 percent increase, while Italy registered 11.5 percent, up 2.3 percent.
Other trends include growing interest from residents of Australia and Poland, though neither group ranks among the top 10 nationalities for Spain yet. Australian searches rose 208.4 percent, and Polish searches rose 58.7 percent. Still, Australians represent about 1.9 percent and Poles about 3.3 percent of foreign seekers in Spain. Ukraine and Russia also show increased activity, up 118.3 percent and 43 percent respectively, though their combined share remains small at about 2 percent and 0.8 percent.
Methodology of HousingAnywhere’s analysis
HousingAnywhere analyzed the activity of 1,097,678 users located abroad who searched for housing in Spain on the platform during the first half of 2024 and 2023. The study also examined 506,247 users located in Spain who looked for housing abroad in the same period.
To simplify understanding, the analysis focused on the 30 countries with the strongest interest among Spanish users and the 30 countries from which most searches for housing in Spain originated. The data were drawn from anonymized IP addresses of users.
HousingAnywhere users are typically students or young professionals aged 18 to 35 who relocate to another city for study or career development.
About HousingAnywhere
HousingAnywhere is the largest European mid-term rental platform. Operating under the Kamernet and Studapart brands, it connects with three high-growth platforms that together attract over 30 million unique visitors annually, offer more than 160,000 properties, and support more than 100,000 tenants securing new homes. The platform serves young professionals and students, primarily ages 18 to 35, connecting them with housing providers. Through its advanced tech platform, tenants rent accommodations for 6 to 12 months outside their home country. Based in Rotterdam, HousingAnywhere operates across most European cities and recently expanded to key U.S. cities, now present in more than 125 cities. Fueled by a mission to empower people to live wherever and however they want, HousingAnywhere is a fast-growing tech scale-up employing hundreds of professionals worldwide.