The 7 Best Places to Live in Europe for American Expats
Last Verified: April 2026
Europe gets flattened into a single idea in most American expat conversations — old-world charm, expensive cities, complicated bureaucracy. Two of those are sometimes true. The third is where this list pushes back.
These seven countries have made genuine cases for themselves. Not on aesthetics, though they have those. On the things that actually determine whether someone stays: cost of living that makes sense against a real budget, a transition process that does not require a law degree, and a culture that treats you like a neighbor rather than a tourist who overstayed. This is the map. Each country gets a dedicated deep-dive post. Start here, and follow the ones that pull at you.
1. Portugal
Portugal is well-known enough to be credible and affordable enough to be real. The D7 Passive Income Visa is one of the most straightforward entry points Europe offers — proof of income, your documentation in order, a consulate appointment. Done. English is widely spoken in Lisbon and Porto. Less so in the interior, which is where the cost of living drops and the authentic version of the country opens up.
Lisbon and Porto have gotten more expensive over the past five years — that is real. A two-bedroom in central Lisbon runs €1,200–1,800/month. Drive 40 minutes and that number looks completely different. The culture is warm without being performative about it. Portuguese hospitality does not announce itself. It just shows up. The math still works if you are looking at it clearly — and the full post will show you exactly how to look at it.
2. Spain
Spain solves the lifestyle problem. It does not solve the language problem — Spanish is necessary here in a way that English is not in Portugal's expat centers — but it solves nearly everything else. The Non-Lucrative Visa is the most common entry point for Americans without a job offer in hand. The Digital Nomad Visa has made it easier for remote workers to formalize their situation without the friction that used to define this process.
The expat infrastructure in Málaga, Valencia, and the Balearics is substantial enough that the transition does not feel like starting from scratch. Cost varies wildly by region. Barcelona and Madrid are full European capital prices. Valencia runs 30–40% cheaper. Málaga is what Barcelona looked like before everyone figured it out. That window is not closed, but it is moving. The dedicated post will cover where the real value lives right now.
3. Bulgaria
Here is where this list earns its keep. Bulgaria does not get written about enough, which is precisely why it should move up your research list. It is an EU member state with a 10% flat income tax — one of the lowest in the union. Sofia has a functioning international airport, a real expat community, an underrated food scene, and rents that will genuinely surprise you. A furnished apartment in a good Sofia neighborhood runs €400–700/month. The Black Sea coast is an entirely different case that deserves its own column.
English is widely spoken among the educated and professional class. The bureaucracy exists — as it does everywhere in Europe — but it is navigable. If cost of living is the deciding variable in your equation, Bulgaria makes a case that most of the content you have already read has not made for it. A full post is coming. This is the preview. Bookmark it.
4. Croatia
Croatia made itself relevant to the international remote work conversation early, launching one of Europe's first dedicated digital nomad visas. It is fully in the EU and Schengen now, which simplifies a significant amount. Zagreb — the capital — is underrated in a way that suggests it will not stay that way for long. English is nearly universal among Croatians under 45, which makes the transition measurably smoother than in countries where you are working harder just to communicate.
The Adriatic coast is the postcard version — Split, Dubrovnik, Hvar — but those carry tourist-season prices. The interior and Zagreb are where the daily life math works. Rents in Zagreb's solid neighborhoods start around €600–900/month for a two-bedroom. Add real healthcare access, a food culture worth taking seriously, and a country that has been normalizing international residents for years. Croatia is further along than most people's mental model of it.
5. Greece
Greece had a difficult decade economically, and that difficulty made it — paradoxically — one of the more interesting relocation options in Europe right now. The Golden Visa program is the most visible entry point, but it is not the only one. Long-term residence permits exist for non-EU nationals with passive income or documented remote work arrangements, and the government has been actively improving those pathways.
Cost of living outside Athens runs low in a way that consistently surprises people doing the numbers for the first time. A full month of real life in a non-tourist Greek city can cost less than a weekend in Santorini — and the month version includes food that tastes like it was grown 20 minutes away, because it was. English is widely available in expat-dense areas. The culture is genuinely warm. The dedicated post will cover the visa options, the real cost figures, and which parts of the country make the most sense for which kind of mover.
6. Hungary
Budapest is one of the great underrated capitals of Europe, and the expat community there has known it for years while the broader conversation has not caught up. The cost of living is genuinely low for a Central European city with this level of infrastructure, architecture, and cultural density. A two-bedroom in a good Budapest neighborhood runs €600–1,000/month. The food is exceptional. The coffee culture would embarrass cities that think they have one.
Hungarian is famously difficult — one of the harder languages in Europe — which sounds like a barrier until you find that the Budapest expat scene functions almost entirely in English. Hungary's political environment has drawn commentary over the past several years, and that is worth researching separately before making a decision. The livability data is strong. The context matters and deserves a real treatment. The post will cover both sides without pulling either punch.
7. Malta
Malta is the smallest country on this list and arguably the easiest transition for an English-speaking American. English is an official language — one of only two EU member states where that is true — which removes the most consistent friction point in international relocation before you even start packing. The infrastructure is modern, the Mediterranean climate is real and not a marketing construct, and the island's position between southern Europe and North Africa gives it a character that does not feel like anywhere else.
It is more expensive than Bulgaria or Hungary, and the island's small size is either charming or claustrophobic depending on who you are — worth knowing about yourself before you commit. The Global Residence Programme is the most common formal entry point for Americans. The expat community has been growing steadily for two decades and is well-established. For someone who wants EU life without the language learning curve, Malta makes an unusually clear case. The deeper post will give you the numbers and the trade-offs.
Table of Contents
TL;DR
- Portugal and Spain are the known quantities — they still earn their spots, and the deeper posts will show why.
- Bulgaria is the best cost-of-living case in the EU that most people have not looked at yet.
- Croatia and Greece both had difficult decades and came out with better value than their reputations currently suggest.
- Budapest is a great city doing a poor job of advertising itself to Americans.
- Malta is the English-speaker's shortcut to EU life — and more affordable than most people assume going in.
Summary
Seven European countries, one consistent pattern: the places that are easiest to land in and most affordable to stay in are not always the ones that get the most coverage. Portugal and Spain carry the name recognition. Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, and Malta carry the value. Greece is the one worth watching most closely right now — and all seven have dedicated posts coming with the numbers, the visa paths, and the real on-the-ground picture.
Sources
- Numbeo — Cost of Living Index, Q1 2026 — numbeo.com
- InterNations — Expat Insider Report 2025 — internations.org
- European Commission — Residence Permit Statistics, 2024 — ec.europa.eu
- OECD — Better Life Index, 2025 — oecdbetterlifeindex.org
