Is Valencia a good place to live and raise a family?

Start with the old riverbed. Where the Turia was diverted decades ago, its former course is now a long, flat ribbon of park threading the whole city. Near one end sits Gulliver Park, a giant climbable Gulliver figure that children clamber over and slide down; at the other, the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències gathers the Museu de les Ciències science museum and the Oceanogràfic aquarium. Add the beaches a tram-ride east, the flat streets that make cycling ordinary rather than heroic, and a plaza culture that pushes daily life outdoors, and the weekend rhythm here looks less like sightseeing than like family life simply happening in the open air.

On schooling, Valencia gives international families room to move. Alongside the Spanish state and concertado systems there's an active international and bilingual scene — British, American, French and IB curricula are all represented — which is exactly why the city keeps drawing relocating households. Treat it as a shortlist exercise rather than a league table: pick three or four schools whose curriculum matches where your children might study next, then contact each one directly about places, admissions timing and fees. Private international schooling is a significant annual expense and fees vary widely from school to school, so confirm the real number per school rather than trusting a headline figure — and ask about waiting lists early, because the good places fill.

Here's how to choose well rather than worry. Flood exposure in Valencia is uneven and geographic: the historic core has long been shielded since the river was diverted south of the city — which is why the old bed is now parkland — while the risk concentrates on the low-lying southern plain. So this is an address-level decision, not a reason to hesitate on Valencia itself. Do three practical things before you sign: check the specific address against the official national and Júcar basin flood mapping; favour the protected central and higher-lying districts if flood is a priority; and where an area does carry exposure, weigh the building and the floor, and price in insurance. Do that homework and the risk becomes something you've navigated rather than inherited.