SPAIN has the happiest British expats in the world, according to a new study.

A Lloyds TSB International survey quizzed a thousand British residents living abroad about their quality of life.

Over 75 per cent of those living in Spain said that they were happier now than when they resided in the UK, with 80 per cent saying their cost of living was very low – this despite the current economic crisis.

Two weeks before Christmas, Andrew and Kelly Owen left their rented flat in Brighton, England, for the last time. Having met family and friends the night before for an early festive celebration, the couple, both aged 33, headed for Gatwick airport: destination Malaga and a new life together.
“When Andrew was made redundant in July, we began thinking about moving to Spain seriously. It had always been a dream to relocate to the Costa del Sol after having spent every holiday in the last eight years at Andrew’s parents’ apartment in Estepona – an area of the coast we’d fallen in love with,” says Kelly.
“As we were now both freelancer graphic designers, we felt we could, in effect, work anywhere, so we took the plunge,” Kelly explains.
The couple’s story is a familiar one. But in recent years, the weak pound, rising living costs, plummeting property prices, and crippling unemployment levels have put off many would-be expatriates from coming to Spain in search of that much-lauded idyllic new life in the sun.
However, despite the depressing economic outlook, it appears that there remains a great number of people, like the Owens, who are still keen to pursue the dream.
Indeed, a recent survey carried out by The Post Office says that more than a third of Britons under 34 years old are considering leaving the UK.
Similarly, research published in the Daily Mail says that 75 per cent of Britons have considered moving abroad, with Spain remaining a popular relocation choice.
These findings are supported by figures from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics, which reports that in the first nine months of 2011, a total of 14,506 additional foreign nationals, the vast majority from the EU, arrived in Malaga province. This only reflects those who have registered.