Catalan moves to Asturias and finds there are no jobs
A man from Catalonia relocates to Asturias in northern Spain seeking a better life and ends up unemployed. We look at the forum debate on why the exodus north is a deadly trap.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The myth of the bucolic life: Catalan moves to Asturias and crashes into reality
The latest trend of leaving big cities behind in search of an idyllic life in northern Spain has ended in a head-on collision with reality for a man from Catalonia who, after moving to Asturias, has run into an absolute jobs desert. The forum thread analysing his case has become a hotbed of criticism aimed at the naivety of those who believe remote work or rural life are magic solutions without a network of contacts or a guaranteed income beforehand.
The trap of the urban exodus
The forum debate goes beyond one individual's bad luck and dissects the economic decline of Spain's northern coast. While some users argue the problem is the lack of a real productive base, others point out that the Spanish job market is, at its core, a wasteland where only civil servants, early retirees and those with long-established family names in the area manage to survive. The prevailing thesis is clear: moving without a job contract in hand is recklessness that usually ends in the precarity of temp agencies or dependence on state benefits.
Is Asturias a wasteland or a misunderstood paradise?
The discussion has become polarised between those who see Asturias as an ageing place with no future and a climate that drives people away, and those who argue the real problem is the lack of professionalisation. The contrast with Madrid or Barcelona is constant; for forum users, these cities are the only places where you can still scrape something together, even at the cost of living in a cramped flat. The conclusion hanging over the thread is bitter: Spain has become a country where geographic mobility, far from being an opportunity, is often a headless flight with no destination.
In the end, the story of the Catalan in Asturias is merely a symptom of a larger illness: the lack of real opportunities and the idealisation of an emptied-out Spain that is, in fact, full of people waiting for something to happen that never does.
Related forum debates
The latest trend of leaving big cities behind in search of an idyllic life in northern Spain has ended in a head-on collision with reality for a man from Catalonia who, after moving to Asturias, has run into an absolute jobs desert. The forum thread analysing his case has become a hotbed of criticism aimed at the naivety of those who believe remote work or rural life are magic solutions without a network of contacts or a guaranteed income beforehand.
The trap of the urban exodus
The forum debate goes beyond one individual's bad luck and dissects the economic decline of Spain's northern coast. While some users argue the problem is the lack of a real productive base, others point out that the Spanish job market is, at its core, a wasteland where only civil servants, early retirees and those with long-established family names in the area manage to survive. The prevailing thesis is clear: moving without a job contract in hand is recklessness that usually ends in the precarity of temp agencies or dependence on state benefits.
Is Asturias a wasteland or a misunderstood paradise?
The discussion has become polarised between those who see Asturias as an ageing place with no future and a climate that drives people away, and those who argue the real problem is the lack of professionalisation. The contrast with Madrid or Barcelona is constant; for forum users, these cities are the only places where you can still scrape something together, even at the cost of living in a cramped flat. The conclusion hanging over the thread is bitter: Spain has become a country where geographic mobility, far from being an opportunity, is often a headless flight with no destination.
In the end, the story of the Catalan in Asturias is merely a symptom of a larger illness: the lack of real opportunities and the idealisation of an emptied-out Spain that is, in fact, full of people waiting for something to happen that never does.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (75 replies).
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