Why Malaga is The Silicon Valley of Europe: Could it be The Next Hot Digital Nomad Hub

Malaga is a mid-sized city in the south of Spain, nestled along the Costa Del Sol, aka Sunny Coast. It obviously gets its name from having amazing weather all year round that allows its inhabitants to enjoy the beach 12 months a year. In recent months, I started hearing people call Malaga “The silicon valley of europe” because many tech companies have moved their headquarters here, and innovations centres have started popping up in the city, making it an attractive hub for digital nomads and remote workers alike, who seem to have started flocking to Malaga creating a lovely community of young internationals. 

Malaga The silicon valley of europe 

A few of the reasons why I’m loving Malaga: the weather, needless to say; the fact that there is an international airport 20 minutes away from the city; the amazing food scene, with fresh and affordable seafood at every corner; and the friendliness of the people, both locals and foreigners. Let me dive into all of these and more in the next paragraphs!

Living in Málaga: A Digital Nomad-Friendly Guide

Malaga is a mid-sized city (which I love), so it’s a perfect destination for those who want to stay somewhere for the medium term: while it doesn’t take more than 15 minutes to go from one place to another, you’re sure to have plenty of options for stuff to do, people to meet, and places to eat and work from for a good while. It offers a great compromise between a big bustling city with lots of new places popping up all the time, and a quiet village on the coast that offers relaxation and calm.

Malaga Neighbourhoods Guide: Where to Live for Different Needs

While it is generally a laid-back city throughout, different neighborhoods offer solutions to different needs. From those who are all about the beach life, to those who are looking for the convenience the city has to offer, in Malaga you are sure to find the right spot for you. 

• Centro (Old Town): this is where most of the landmarks are located, and with that goes that the centre is the busiest part of the city, with restaurants, shops, museums and all sorts of businesses filled with people, both locals and tourists. I believe like most cities not many people reside in the centre, unless they are very old residents or very affluent people. 
• Soho: Just next to the centre, it’s a tad bit more residential, very safe and has all you need at walkable distance: transportation, grocery shops, gyms, coworking spaces and the local bars and restaurants. I’m biased because I live here, but it’s a great place to stay as it really offers everything one may need. 
• La Malagueta: the part of Malaga city that sits right behind the Malagueta Beach, it’s quite an affluent neighborhood with more modern buildings and amenities. The main perk is that it’s not as busy as the centre, and the beach is literally a stone throw away! If you’re lucky, you might get a beach view apartment and I’d be slightly jealous of you! 
• Pedregalejo: it’s a bit farther out from the centre (it takes about 20-30 minutes by bus to reach) so it’s certainly more quiet, and it has that quaint village feeling that makes you forget that you’re still in a city that counts half a million people. And again, as it only extends a couple of streets up from the beach, you’re likely to spend each lunchbreak sunbathing. 

Coworking Spaces in Malaga

As digital nomads and remote workers started moving here, coworking spaces have started to appear around the city, with a concentration in the city centre. 

• Work Café by Santander: right along the main street in the centre, it’s offered by Santander bank and is free for all. Santander clients get a good discount on coffee and pastries at the coworking, but anyone is welcome to grab a seat. Calle Marqués de Larios nº 10-12. 29005 Málaga.
• La Aduana Coworking: As they sit in taller buildings facing the sea, they offer plenty of natural light and great views. There is both an open space as well as offices for rent. They currently have two coworking spaces, one in Centro near the gardens, and one in Malagueta by Muelle Uno. 
• Innovation Campus: Choose between an elegant converted old palace in the centre or a terraced building near the beach: Innovation Campus, a project created in collaboration with the European Union, offers both! With a variety of plans, from day passes to longer memberships, to flexible plans especially for digital nomads!

Public transport in Malaga

While popular apps like Uber, Lime and Cabify are available to hire private cars and scooters, Malaga and the surrounding cities and towns along the coast offer a great and very affordable network of trains (Cercanìas), buses (autobuses) and metro. The distances are not huge, so from early in the morning to about midnight, public transports are a guaranteed and safe option for local routes. 

A great tip that not many are aware of is that Malaga offers a transport card (Tarjeta de Transporte) that grants great discounts: the card itself costs 1.5€ and can be purchased at any Estanco or Tabacos, the minimum top up value (recarga) is 5€, and by tapping the transport card instead of your own credit card you get a great discount on transport fare. For example, a bus ride costs ~50 cents vs the standard 1.40€ route. And if you give the card back when you leave Malaga, they return the initial 1.5€! 

Cost Breakdown of Living in Malaga

Being in Spain, and more specifically in the South of Spain, Malaga is definitely an affordable city to live in. 

The following are rough costs for a single person on a regular budget: 

• Rent: expect to pay ~600€ per room per month near the centre. I have seen ads for rooms going for as low as 250€ per month for those who are happy to compromise on location or room size. 
• Transport: an Uber from the airport to the centre costs about 15€ for a 20 minute ride. A train from the airport to the centre costs about 2€. A bus from the centre to the beach costs 1.4€ (or only about 0.5€ if you get a Tarjeta de Transporte, read below)
• Grocery Shopping: expect to spend about 150€ per month on grocery shopping, with produce and raw ingredients being on the cheaper side, with lots of white label products available in most supermarkets. 
• Eating out: expect to spend about 25€ on a tapas dinner out, with a beer costing less than 2.5€. A seafood meal in Pedregalejo will cost you between 20-30€. 
• Going out: most parties have a list, so if you ask around and network a bit you will meet PRs who will invite you often for free, sometimes including one drink for free too. Sunset parties (tardeos) that you will have to pay a cover for will cost about 15€ with one drink included, and clubbing will cost 20-30€ depending on any special guests or type of venue. 

Life After Work

Malaga benefits from long days filled with brightness, with the sun going down around 6 PM in December and 9.30 PM in July. The only downside is that Malaga faces East, so the sun never sets in the water. If beach sunsets are what you’re after, consider the Atlantic coast of Spain, with cities like Tarifa and Cadiz, famous for all sorts of water sports due to the strong winds that hit them all year round. 

Beach Evenings 

Malaga was built right on the Mediterranean coast, While the sand is quite dark, the water is almost always extremely clear – but freezing cold. Which comes in handy during the hot summer months. It’s also generally flat when the weather is good. 

• Malagueta: it’s an amazing city beach (the equivalent of what Barceloneta is to Barcelona!), just east of the port, and can be reached in just 15 minutes walking from the centre. It’s lined with a few fancy-ish chiriguitos (beach bars), a couple of beach clubs that offer beach chairs and parasol for about 20€ per day, and a few beach vendors offering mojitos and massages. It manages to be pretty clean and chill for a city beach.
• Pedregalejo: I’d describe it as a bit more hipster, as it’s a series of 5 or 6 small beaches, one after the other, along the inhabited coast just outside the city centre, made special by the fact that there are tens of beach bars and restaurants, which can’t be found anywhere else in Malaga. Make sure to make a reservation as tables fill up quickly and you risk ending up on an empty stomach… Learn from my mistakes! You absolutely can’t miss the espeto de sardinas, THE most typical dish here, a fresh sardines skewer that costs 2-6€ only. 
• Huelin: A lot quieter than the previous two, with fewer businesses and activities, and more beach volley fields and running lanes along the road.
• Peñol del Cuervo: I haven’t had the chance to visit yet as it’s located towards El Palo, at the easternmost point of the city, is a quiet beach that can be reached with a short walk through some rocks after getting there by bus or Uber. As it’s quite secluded and definitely farther from the city, it’s a lot quieter and feels more natural. 

A City Filled With Art

Don’t talk to me about art if you haven’t come to Malaga. – Pablo Picasso (source)

Pablo Picasso, one of the most famous painters of recent times, was born in Malaga and spent his childhood here, so it’s natural that the city retained this artsy vibe. 

Apart from Picasso’s House museum, you can visit Picasso’s Museum, that hosts some of his original art. However, it’s said that since his most famous paintings are hosted elsewhere, this is not really worth visiting after all.

On the other hand, I have visited the Gianni Versace Retrospective exhibition in front of the Cathedral, and found it to be really great value for money, considering the 3€ ticket includes a guided tour of the over 500 original pieces made by the Italian fashion icon, extremely well conserved and grouped by inspiration period, making the visit very visually impacting. A must visit if it’s still on when you’re reading! 

Finding Your Community and Making New Friends In Malaga

Locals are extremely friendly and it’s not unlikely to strike up a conversation with a stranger on the bus or while sitting on a bench in the City Gardens, if you speak Spanish. For those who are on the shy side, or simply don’t master their Spanish yet, Malaga offers plenty of opportunities and meetups to mingle and make new friends. 

Some of the communities I have joined are: 

• Girl Coffee – Malaga: a community for girls in Malaga. They organise weekly meetups in the centre on Fridays, but the group is regularly filled with girls organising their own things and posting about it in the Whatsapp group you will find the account’s bio. This group should be every girl’s starting point to meet new friends in the city! 
• Malaga International: a community for internationals living in Malaga. They have subgroups divided by activity, so you can join whichever you are most interested in to meet like-minded people that share your same interests.  
  • Beach Volley
  • Karaoke
  • Cycling

They have plenty more (Padel, Digital Nomads, Language Exchange, …), so be sure to check out their page! 

• Elligned and Gaby: Yoga communities that organise weekly yoga classes on the beach or in the Park, you can join regardless of your practice level, and whether you have your own mat or not! 

Is Malaga The Right Spot For Your Next Digital Nomad Stay?

If you’re looking for a walkable city on the beach, with a bustling centre that offers a variety of restaurants and nightlife spots, with secluded beaches nearby and a growing community of remote workers and digital nomads, then Malaga is definitely for you! What are you waiting for? 

WHERE TO NEXT?

Are you still trying to decide where to go for your next monthly plus nomad destination? Spain is a hot spot and it is a great place to explore so book that ticket and stop over thinking it, the worst that can happen is your will learn something new and that is gold. If you are looking for community check out these, and remember the coworking spaces are the best for events and community. Over and out!

By Guest blogger Ilaria Pellegrini

Bio: I’ve always craved freedom, and for the first 7 years of my career I regularly used all my time off and money to travel as far as I could, from Latin America to Asia; then, about 2 years ago, I took the leap and quit my job without really having a plan, only knowing I didn’t want someone to tell me where to be and what to do. I wanted to be in charge of my life. Fast forward to now, I am a freelance SEO consultant at maars marketing, working from my laptop, currently living in the city nicknamed the Silicon Valley of Europe, Malaga, in the south of Spain. Hi, my name is Ilaria, welcome to my city guide!