Moving to Colombia: the financial fantasy that reveals despair
The story of an investor closing his bank account to move to Colombia reflects growing distrust in Spain's financial system, amid taxes and rising living costs.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Moving to Colombia on dividends: the fantasy that betrays financial despair
An investor recounts how he went to his bank branch to close his account and invest everything in dividends, with a plan to retire to Colombia. The story, deliberately exaggerated, captures a real unease: the feeling that in Spain savings are not safe and the cost of living keeps rising without wages keeping up.
Full terraces, empty pockets
While it is said that "the terraces are still full even though prices keep climbing", savers watch their deposits lose purchasing power. Inflation gives no respite, and Spain's wealth tax (a levy on net assets above certain thresholds) threatens even the stockpiled tins of tuna – as the joke goes, "tins of tuna don't count for the tax". For many, the State is broke, and it is only a matter of time before someone shouts that the emperor has no clothes.
The Colombian mirage
The idea of moving to Colombia appears as an escape: there, on dividends, you can live without "rowing against the current". Critics, however, point out that Colombia is neither a tax haven nor a model of stability, and that the fantasy is as unreal as the story that spawned it. What matters is not whether Colombia is viable, but that professionals with savings are considering any way out to escape the system.
The sense of suffocation keeps growing. Between fiction and reality, the fact is that distrust in Spain's financial and tax system has reached levels that make fleeing to Colombia no longer sound like a joke to everyone.
An investor recounts how he went to his bank branch to close his account and invest everything in dividends, with a plan to retire to Colombia. The story, deliberately exaggerated, captures a real unease: the feeling that in Spain savings are not safe and the cost of living keeps rising without wages keeping up.
Full terraces, empty pockets
While it is said that "the terraces are still full even though prices keep climbing", savers watch their deposits lose purchasing power. Inflation gives no respite, and Spain's wealth tax (a levy on net assets above certain thresholds) threatens even the stockpiled tins of tuna – as the joke goes, "tins of tuna don't count for the tax". For many, the State is broke, and it is only a matter of time before someone shouts that the emperor has no clothes.
The Colombian mirage
The idea of moving to Colombia appears as an escape: there, on dividends, you can live without "rowing against the current". Critics, however, point out that Colombia is neither a tax haven nor a model of stability, and that the fantasy is as unreal as the story that spawned it. What matters is not whether Colombia is viable, but that professionals with savings are considering any way out to escape the system.
The sense of suffocation keeps growing. Between fiction and reality, the fact is that distrust in Spain's financial and tax system has reached levels that make fleeing to Colombia no longer sound like a joke to everyone.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (79 replies).
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