# Rural, rural Spain



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Interesting short video about the area of Spain with the lowest birth rate and therefore the biggest problem of abandoned villages, although it's a problem in all parts of rural Spain
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191001-the-village-with-more-wolves-than-children
Video with lots of Spanish, but subtitles so good for practising language skills too


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Interesting short video about the area of Spain with the lowest birth rate and therefore the biggest problem of abandoned villages, although it's a problem in all parts of rural Spain
> https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191001-the-village-with-more-wolves-than-children
> Video with lots of Spanish, but subtitles so good for practising language skills too


That’s was very interesting, thanks for sharing


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Thanks for that Pesky, very interesting but also a bit sad to see.

Steve


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## fortrose52 (Nov 29, 2018)

Yes quite sad


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I agree that it's a bit sad - sorry.
I loved the bit with the ladies singing, poignant I think is the word.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

If anyone's interested here are some offers of complete towns or houses in villages that are abandoned or semi abandoned
https://www.aldeasabandonadas.com/v...-valle-del-eo-lugo-202m2-exclusiva-54500.html


https://www.idealista.com/en/inmueble/83590942/


https://lospueblosfantasmas.blogspot.com/p/esblada-querol-tarragona.html


140 pueblos están a la venta en España - RTVE.es


Am I inspiring anyone?


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## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

Have a look on this site.type Spain in the search box,there are quite a lot of video's on of how it used to be and not a mobile phone in sight.
Results

Results


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

It's a tricky topic. How to keep younger people in the rural areas... But in general Spain does little to encourage industry to set up outside of the main urban areas. You'd never get Telefonica to move to a small town like Vodafone when they set up in Newbury for example.

The video reminded me of the events in Fraguas last year, here is an English report for those that may not have heard about it.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...oned-village-fraguas-occupation-six-face-jail

I'd be interested to hear opinions on this as I am in two minds...


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Overandout said:


> It's a tricky topic. How to keep younger people in the rural areas... But in general Spain does little to encourage industry to set up outside of the main urban areas. You'd never get Telefonica to move to a small town like Vodafone when they set up in Newbury for example.
> 
> The video reminded me of the events in Fraguas last year, here is an English report for those that may not have heard about it.
> 
> ...


Newbury isn't exactly a small town - it's in the M4 corridor so virtually part of London.

I think the Fraguas situation was handled appallingly by the authorities. They should have worked with these people, not criminalised them.

Our town (pop 5,200, down from 12,000 in 1960) is a classic example of rural depopulation. The local businesses are strongly linked to the environment (arable farming, goats' cheese, cattle, organic pork products, cork, charcoal production etc) but only employ a few hundred people, much of it seasonal. Various attempts have been made to attract manufacturing industry over the years, but the council are finally waking up to the realisation that its "rurality" is its biggest asset - a prime spot for eco-tourism. 

There are new ventures to promote activities in the Parque Natural like birdwatching, gastronomy tours, mountain-biking etc - and of course hunting, which has always gone on. People are coming in increasing numbers because of its idyllic natural setting, buying derelict houses and converting them into holiday homes or (like myself) retiring here; not just foreigners but Spanish city-dwellers as well, looking to escape the urban rat-race. 

There are so few places left in Europe where these attractions are so plentiful and accessible. I realise not everywhere is as blessed with natural resources as Alcalá and still can't believe my luck that I ended up living here!


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