The Pros and Cons of Living in Andorra
- elizabethhelenpier
- Dec 29, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Feb 19
Andorra offers a quality of life incomparable to most places in the world, however it does not come without its drawbacks as with anywhere. The pros and cons of living in Andorra may not be obvious at first glance or on your first visit. While you can appreciate the sunny skies (unless visiting in Spring), the nature, and the low taxes, you may not be able to see the disadvantages without having lived here. To help you, we list below what we consider the pros and cons of living in Andorra.
Pros
Weather and Climate
Beginning with the obvious, we are blessed with over 300 days of sunshine a year. Unlike northern countries, when the forecast says it will be overcast, it will likely be sunny with very little cloud. Most days you can get at least a little direct sunlight to your face. The summers are very warm but fresh and the winters are dry and sunny with breaks in between of snow or occasional rain. Seeing as Andorra is located on the Southern side of the Pyrenees, we have a very mild climate compared with the Alps for example. The climate is also very dry, which means you can always escape from the heat or the cold. This is unlike Barcelona where in summer you will be stifling hot whether you are in the sun or the shade. In winter, despite relatively cold temperatures, with such low humidity levels, you will not experience the cold to the bones sensation as you would by the seaside.
Relaxed life
The Mediterranean influence and abundance of nature means life in Andorra runs at a slower pace than in larger cities or other western countries. Work continues but we live in a country where people value family time, take their due holidays and do a lot of sport, which reflects a nonchalant attitude flowing into the everyday life of Andorran residents.
Nature with convenience
Geographically speaking, Andorra is located in quite a spectacular position. Settled in the Pyrenees mountains, it enjoys what any alpine town or in this case country should; skiing, cycling/biking, climbing, hiking, and nature, and an abundance of it. You can be in the middle of wilderness at a 30-minute drive from the capital city. You are also very close to basic conveniences such as the hospital or care centers, supermarkets and schools that you would only normally find in larger towns or cities. Most resorts or towns at this altitude across Europe are precisely that, just small towns. The reasons for this are because we are lucky to have such an abundance of tourism which means that our resources are prepped for a million people and not our 85,000 population. We have thousands of restaurants and bars, a cinema, bowling alleys, music concerts, ice rinks, cultural events etc. i.e. real-life conveniences along with forests, lakes and mile after mile of open mountain.
Schools
We have placed schools in both the pro and con group. Looking at it with tinted glasses, the school system is fantastic. We have access to three free different school systems and 2 private systems. Children born and brought up here, often end up becoming trilingual if not quadrilingual. There is an abundance of choice so your child can find the exact school that suits them and their needs. Free education begins at age 2-3 here, and previous you will only pay 400-500€ a month for a 12 hour a day 5 day a week nursery place.
Safety
According to a pole done in Numbeo, Andorra is the safest country in the world. Even if this pole is not correct, we can confirm that safety is incredibly high in Andorra. Front doors are often left open, children walk themselves to school from very young ages, phones are left on tables at bars, people leave babies in cars at petrol stations, and women walk the streets alone in the middle of the night without risk. It is not due to naivety; it is simply a world where crime is almost nonexistent, and people live without the weight of worry.
Cost of living
Another pro and simultaneous con of Andorra is the cost of living. Compared with other western nations such as Australia, Canada or Scandinavia, the cost of the living here is minute. If you are coming from a more expensive country, the food, travel, childcare and even housing can appear immensely affordable. If you continue working online in a more expensive economy while simultaneously residing in Andorra, you will live a life of luxury in Andorra compared with back home.
Proximity to the seaside
We might live in the mountains, but much like the southern resorts of the alps or the Californian Sierra Nevada, you are only a stone’s throw away from some beautiful coastline and beaches. The Costa Brava, taking prime position for beauty, is a short 3-4 hour drive away and offers hot sunny Mediterranean beach days from April until October. Barcelona is our closest city, and then some hours’ drive more and you will find yourself in the delights of the French Riviera or even as far South as Andalusia in Spain.
Pollution levels
We benefit from optimum air quality 9 out of 10 days of the year in Andorra. Some strange events such as winter inversion can flip the air quality on its head but for the most part Andorra enjoys mostly excellent air quality figures throughout the year.
Taxes
An obvious advantage of Andorra is our low tax rate. Maximum income tax rates reach 10%, with 0% and 5% thresholds before arriving at this figure. There is no doubt that this is one of the biggest incentives for new residents entering Andorra. While most of the world is gradually increasing tax rates, Andorra remains stable with their low tax structure. Once a tax haven but no longer the case, Andorra enjoys all the benefits of a green lit country in the EU and western world, with the advantages of low taxes added.
Healthcare
Our healthcare system much like the rest of the country is prepped for a million-person floating population instead of a 85,000 populated town. We have a large major hospital, hundreds of doctors, specialists of all types and many health centers. As part of the social health cover, you have included private health insurance in both Spain, France and Portugal, meaning you can often access doctors in France and Spain quicker than natives of those countries can. Waiting times are minimal for most specialists and testing. Rooms at the hospital are all individual outside of the emergency department. Furthermore, as part of our healthcare package, you can access some mental health resources and basic dentistry free of cost.
Cons
Distance to airports
Being so beautifully placed in the middle of the Pyrenees Mountain range has a major drawback when it comes to international travel. We are a 2h30 drive at minimum to the nearest major airport. For those who travel a number of times a year this does not cause many difficulties but for those who jet off for business or pleasure on a regular basis, it can make Andorra too remote.
High mountains
The Andorran mountains offer nature, sports and health, but they also block out the sunlight for much of the year. Sunrises and sunsets can happen 2 hours before or after to what you get at the coastline. This lack of direct sunlight in winter means mental health issues are much more prevalent here than in Spain for example.
Work ethics
In the same way you can expect a much more relaxed pace of life in Andorra compared with most western cities, you should also expect a more relaxed approach to work ethic and customer service. Frustrations will arise when dealing with a lot of businesses or commercial services in Andorra. Expect delays and lots of them, expect people to close office because they feel like it, expect a massive amount of bureaucracy and a lack of technology, and do not expect a return phone call or any above and beyond service.
Lack of city life
Despite our capital city being prepped for a large floating population, the services and size are still not comparable to a large city. Importantly neither is the job or industry market. There is simply not enough buildable land in Andorra to have large industry come in waves here. With lack of industry and lack of size, the resources we have are fantastic for a large town but lacking when compared with neighbouring Barcelona or Toulouse for example.
Schools
As we mention above, depending on which side of the coin you are looking at, the school system can appear both fantastic and lacking. It is possibly the paradox of choice but none of our school systems seems to quite cut it. The French system is very traditional with a massive lack of funding in infrastructure in the last 30 years. The Andorran system is lacking on math and science education, nor guarantees fluency in French despite it being bilingual. One of the private schools is tiny and very remote and has no possibility of growth due to land planning issues. Our other private school is also lacking on funding and has not had a good track record for some years now. A lot of the issues behind education is due to the schools being owned by foreign states or foreign companies meaning what goes on in Andorra is often forgotten about. It also has to do with the real estate crisis and lack of land available in the country. Lastly it has to do with an extremely low birth rate of 5.4% in Andorra (under 1.5 children per female) meaning a lack of necessity in funding or interest in future investment.
Economy
By all appearances Andorra seems a very economically stable country and to the most extent it is. The reality is also that it has a fairly low GDP per capita for a wealthy western nation. The disparity between rich and poor is increasing at an exponential speed, and tourism is still a large part of the economy despite the future of its ski resorts under threat (due to lack of snow). Another large section of its economy is real estate, and the real estate market in Andorra is not up to western standards neither from the construction standpoint in many cases nor from the real estate business standpoint.
Politics
No country in the world has a perfect political system. There is no such thing as perfect policies and a government without an ounce of corruption. Andorra is no different. The issues that occur here have to do with a very small and closed mindset. Up until 30 years ago, Andorra really was a very small isolated town in the middle of the mountains with bad road networks. The politicians are still spanning from the same few families as back then, but the game has changed massively. Both the economy and the Andorran population has quadrupled in size and the international links with the EU have now taken forefront in political decisions. It is, as if, Andorra became a fully-fledged country only 30 years ago (despite the country being around since the early 800s) and they are still figuring out what kind of country they want to be. The lack of leadership, common sense and closed mentality are causing negative economic and social consequences.
Cost of living
From a western standpoint, as we mention in the pros section, the cost of living in Andorra is very cheap compared with many other European or western destinations. Nonetheless, from the standpoint of the average Andorran employee who earns a 2,000€ wage (minimum net wage is currently just under €1,300) the rents are now unaffordable. Furthermore, the cost of food and necessities is higher than in neighbouring Spain despite our low taxes, and the high property prices mean there is no way to get on the property ladder anymore with a regular Andorran wage. The consequence of this is a rapid change in the demographics of the country, meaning a massive increase in south American nationals coming to live here and a decrease in the rate of growth of the Spanish and Portuguese population who were classically the working force of Andorra.
