Valencia has long been celebrated as one of Europe's most progressive and welcoming cities, but what does daily life actually look like for LGBTQ+ residents? We get asked this question all the time and the truth is It's a question we always feel slightly uncomfortable answering, as no matter what we say or how much we believe Valencia to be a progressive, tolerant and safe place, at the end of the day it's always in the back of our collective minds - how would we really know?
So we decided to ask some of our clients if they wouldn't mind sharing with us what their experiences of Valencia have been. This is truly valuable information for those from the LGBTQ+ community wanting to move to Valencia - the experiences of those who have done it. We spoke with several couples who have made Valencia and the surrounding areas their home, and their experiences paint a picture of a city and a region where authenticity isn't just accepted, it's embraced.
Acceptance as Standard
The overwhelming sentiment from gay clients who have joined our community is one of genuine welcome and comfort. Michael and Tony, who spend significant time in L'Eliana, put it beautifully: "We can honestly say that we haven't experienced a single moment of discomfort—much less discrimination—as gay men living in the area. In fact, we've really never given much thought to being gay men in Valencia because it's such a non-issue."
This sentiment echoes across others' experiences throughout the region. David and Patrick, who relocated permanently from Seattle, noted: "From the very beginning it was clear that there was no hesitation or difficulty with us or our relationship. Our relationship is usually not a topic of conversation". This highlights how naturally integrated LGBTQ+ residents are into the broader community fabric in the city.
Safety and Freedom
Perhaps one of the most telling indicators of this acceptance is the freedom residents feel in public spaces. Tony and Brian, who moved from Australia to the trendy Ruzafa neighbourhood, share: "We feel totally comfortable walking down the street holding hands, which we didn't in our home state in Australia."
Ira, who moved with his husband Alexey from the Big Apple, emphasised the safety aspect: "We enjoy being able to walk in the Turia at 1AM without a care in the world—not something I would recommend in New York's Central Park!"
Liz told us "I'm a middle aged, middle class trans woman from Philadelphia. My wife, son and I moved here just a month ago, and while we are still super new we expect to be here long term, and like many wonder why we didn't do this sooner. Our reasons for moving here were the same as many others, when Trump was reelected we worried about the erosion of our rights as well as the emboldening of his voters to do and be worse and worse, and every day we've been here watching the news back in the US we feel more and more grateful to have the privilege to have left."
Building Community
The social aspect of Valencia's LGBTQ+ scene appears particularly vibrant. Paul and Chris, who relocated from Holland, describe their experience: "Every weekend we go to one of the gay bars here and in one year we have a lot of gay friends now. Sometimes we have a paella party and pool party...it's lovely in the sun."
Beyond the specifically LGBTQ+ venues, residents speak of broader social integration. David and Patrick highlight: "We quickly made friends with Spanish, immigrant, and expat people who have enriched our lives as they come and go."
The Valencia Advantage
What made Valencia particularly appealing extended beyond social acceptance to encompass the quality of life the city offers. Tony and Brian listed some of these compelling features for them:
- Exceptional weather and a perfectly flat city ideal for cycling
- The magnificent Turia Park, arts and science precinct, and beautiful coastal beaches
- Outstanding café, bar, and restaurant scene
- Safe, friendly atmosphere with affordable cost of living
Ira added cultural richness to this list: "As a retired classical musician, I love living in a city with so much culture—we're a 15-minute walk from the fabulous opera house and a 5-minute walk from the concert hall."
A Broader Perspective
David offers a thoughtful insight into the Spanish approach to social relationships: "I have found the Spanish very good at managing a complex fabric of social relationships. Community is alive and well here and very in-person... the people I have come to know here in Spain seem to me very clear about minding their own business." Liz said "We’ve met a few other same sex immigrant families so far through our kid’s school and none report any additional difficulties with bureaucracy or schools or landlords, and in social settings no one seems to care"
This cultural characteristic—respecting privacy whilst maintaining warm community connections—appears to create an ideal environment for LGBTQ+ residents to live authentically without unwanted attention or scrutiny.
Practical Considerations
While the social acceptance is overwhelmingly positive, Valencia's new residents do mention practical aspects worth considering. Learning Spanish has proved beneficial for deeper integration, and some clients have specific considerations like Valencia's regional wealth tax. However, everyone consistently emphasised that local estate agents (That's us of course ;-)), solicitors, and expat communities provided excellent support in navigating the administrative requirements they came up against.
A Place to Call Home and Feel At Home
The stories here from our clients reveal Valencia as more than just a tolerant city—it's a place where LGBTQ+ residents genuinely thrive. As Ira summarises: "As a gay, black married man I sought a place where I would feel comfortable on all fronts and Valencia has proven to be the right choice."
Paul and Chris perhaps capture the sentiment best: "It's very, very good to be here, and we will never go back."
For LGBTQ+ individuals and couples considering a move to Spain, Valencia presents a compelling proposition: a city where acceptance is genuine, community is strong, quality of life is exceptional, and where you can simply be yourself whilst enjoying one of Europe's most dynamic and beautiful locations. Like everywhere, it doesn't come without it's challenges but when the worries of discrimination, gun violence, your place in the community and fears for your safety and future evaporate, then it's possible to take on those challenges and even look forward to some of them. Except the bureaucracy... there's always that. However Liz did say, "While the rumours of bureaucracy being difficult to navigate here are definitely true, so far our experiences navigating it as a two mom family have been straight forward. When we all went to register for our padrón, the clerk first told us that our son’s father needed to be there. We quickly explained that he had two moms, showed his birth certificate and everyone moved on and amazingly we got our padrón on the first attempt!!!" Equally this message from Liz is heartbreaking because this is what the Orange Shitgibbon and his cronies are making people do.
Here at Valencia Property as you can see we have extensive experience in helping clients find their perfect home in Valencia and the surrounding suburban areas. Contact us to discover how we can help you begin your new chapter in this wonderfully welcoming city.
The Gay Games 2026 in Valencia
Perhaps one of the things that emphasises the LGBTQ+ friendly nature of Valencia is that it was chosen to host the 2026 Gay Games. You can see the website here. The Gay Games is the world's largest LGBTQ+ sporting and cultural event, held every four years in different cities around the globe. Founded on the pillars of participation, inclusion and each participant's personal best, this is a competition open to anyone over 18 years old regardless of sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender identity, sex, religion, political beliefs, physical condition, artistic talent, age, different abilities or health.
Why Valencia Was Chosen
Valencia was selected as the host city in November 2021 in Brighton, beating other candidate cities after a record number of expressions of interest from cities worldwide. Valencia was chosen because it's located in Spain - which boasts some of the most progressive human rights laws in the World, especially for LGBTQ+ people. The city is small enough to be walkable, with all major venues close to each other, and offers incredible architecture, culture and nightlife, as well as an array of sports venues. Between the 27th of June and the 4th July 2026 Valencia becomes the centre of the World for gay sports. However, it's not just sport, there's also an allied choice of cultural events running alongside the games with concerts, pyrotechnics and a whole lot more. In fact it's probably best described as a week long Eurovision festival with sport thrown in too.
Impact on Valencia
This event represents a massive opportunity for Valencia to showcase itself once more as a truly inclusive, welcoming destination. Given that participants from previous Gay Games describe it as "life-changing" and expressed strong desire to participate again, particularly in Valencia 2026, the city can expect thousands of international visitors who will experience first hand what our clients above describe - Valencia's exceptional quality of life and genuine acceptance.
For the property market, this could be a significant catalyst, introducing many potential future residents to the city during what promises to be an unforgettable week of sport, culture, and celebration. We are looking forward to it. The timing couldn't be better to showcase Valencia as the inclusive, vibrant city that our clients have come to love especially with what is happening in certain other parts of the World currently! Welcome to Valencia.
What Percentage of Americans Return?
Now we've only been dealing with Americans for about the last ten years. Before that Valencia was really the hidden jewel of the Mediterranean for them. That's no longer true. And throughout those years almost every American we have dealt with has stayed on in Valencia after their purchase. However, last week I discovered a morass of Ai slop in an article claiming that the numbers of Americans returning to the States was a ridiculously high 73% after just two years. Pardon my French but that is unadulterated bullshit. So I had to write a rebuttal, of course I did, and I wrote this over on our substack. And I mention the fact that "I wrote it" to distinguish it from ChatGPT writing it. You can read the article with a link back to the Ai slop too here.
Just one thing to note though... our return percentage after ten years is around 2%. Yep 2%. Not 73%.
Villa Of The Week. L'Eliana 900k
There’s no such thing as the perfect property because your vision will always differ from what the other person’s idea of perfection was, but this house does its best to disprove that notion. Recently renovated and located on a gorgeous corner plot in one of the most desirable towns just a 20 min drive from Valencia city.
Easily walkable to the town centre so you can enjoy a few vinos with your din-dins and not have to worry about bringing the car, the metro stop that takes you directly to Valencia is literally just down the road as well. We bang the drum quite a bit about La Eliana but with good reason, it really does have everything you might need and more with a good foreign population mixed in with the locals.
The house itself comes with a manageable and well-maintained garden, huge pool and plenty areas for lounging about. The basement serves as a perfect rec room/man cave/woman burrow/kid hole, and you have direct access to outside from the sauna room so you can get your sweat on before taking a dip. As for the day to day living space, just check out the photos below and you will see a comfortable, spacious and modern home ready for you to move right into.
A fancy home with a fancy garden in a fancy town. Who doesn’t fancy that? Get on over to our listing page and take a look.
Stepping Stone Rental of the Week
Available only for long term seasonal and available now.
Not limited to but an especially high-point for our American clients will enjoy this home with it's ultra close proximity to one of Valencia's main shopping malls: the "Nuevo Centro", a massive Decathlon, and the Original Version Yelmo cinema.
A number of our team members live in Campanar and often talk about how nice it is. It's more modern in general, close to the Turia park and the Biopark (Zoo!), close to the various metro lines that run direct into the centre, the airport, and the beach. If you have a car you'll find it quick and easy to pop out of Valencia onto the highway.
Plenty of room for the family needing personal space - another challenge to find in Valencia.
The buzzing old-town district El Carmen is a stroll away. Spend the weekend at the University's greenhouses & botanical gardens, "Jardí Botànic" and pass underneath the twin gothic-style defensive towers that were built in the 1400s as part of Valencia's city wall, known as Torres de Quart and Torres de Serranos. Head on over to SSR to see all of the pictures and book your Valencia City Rental.
If You Liked This...
Then you'll probably enjoy more of our writing and podcasts about Valencia and your lifestyle here. Just click on the images below and make sure to follow us on our socials for much more about Valencia, property and how to improve the quality of your life.
Over On the Podcast
How to get your very own Valencia Property consultation call
Over On Our Substack
On Our Socials at Bluesky
We no longer use Twitter as it's a Fascist hellhole site, but you can find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Facebook, Threads and Instagram among others. Follow us on your favourite.
Very interesting property here, a large farmhouse (masia) for sale, surrounded by a beautiful landscape of vineyards, carob trees, and orange groves. It is located near the town of #Cheste, 30 minutes from #Valencia city and just 20 from the airport. buff.ly/6mHI1HK
— Graham Hunt (@grahunt.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:26 AM
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Back in the notary this morning. Paul explaining the bank details on the mortgage here
— Graham Hunt (@grahunt.bsky.social) September 15, 2025 at 12:02 PM
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