One room and 13 flatmates: rent eating up her pension in Spain

One room and 13 flatmates: her pension doesn't stretch to the end of the month

A 63-year-old woman lives in a room shared with thirteen other people in Madrid. She pays for that space and, according to a figure posted in the forum, in 2021 she was paying 600 euros for an entire two-bedroom flat. Now she has only 280 euros left to get through the month. The case has made it onto television and has laid bare an uncomfortable reality: a pension doesn't always cover the cost of living where you were born.

The ensuing discussion has broadened into a wider issue: why does a retiree insist on staying in a big city when cheaper alternatives exist? The answer isn't simple. Some argue that villages have neither cheap housing nor jobs, while others calculate that a personal loan would cost less than that shared room.

The price of a room versus a house in a village

The numbers laid on the table are stubborn. A personal loan to buy a flat in a mid-sized city like León, with a health centre, supermarkets and leisure options, would cost the same as renting that room in Madrid, according to a calculation making the rounds. In villages in Castilla y León, Extremadura or northern Castilla there are homes for 15,000 or 20,000 euros, ready to move into, according to some participants. The full calculation, broken down item by item, yields a surprising difference.

But theory clashes with practice. Villages have neither cheap houses nor jobs, least of all for someone no longer working. Emptied Spain offers peace and low prices, but also limited services and long distances. The city, by contrast, concentrates the services that attract people: healthcare, transport, commerce. That's the real reason many don't move, even if rent devours their pension.

Why don't retirees move to a cheaper village?

The question hangs over every conversation on the topic. The most common answer is that not everyone is cut out for village life. Some people would rather live with fourteen others in a big city than alone in a house in the countryside. It's unusual, but it happens. Unwanted loneliness weighs more heavily than the price of rent.

Others point to the lack of services as the main deterrent. A small city or a large village may have a health centre and supermarkets, but there isn't always frequent public transport, medical specialists or cultural activities. The city offers all that, and that's why people pay for it. The question is how much one is willing to pay.

The room rental business

The phenomenon of renting by the room isn't new, but it has intensified. Landlords divide flats and rent each room separately, multiplying their returns. A room in Madrid can cost 600 euros, while the whole flat rented for that price a few years ago. Rent inflation has turned what used to be a standard contract into a luxury.

This 63-year-old woman's situation is not an isolated case. It reflects a structural problem: pensions haven't grown at the same pace as housing costs. And meanwhile, the property market continues on its own path, indifferent to the purchasing power of those with the least.

Life in the villages: solution or mirage?

The proposal to move to a village has its supporters and detractors. The former argue there is life beyond Madrid and Barcelona, and that prices are incomparably lower. The latter point out that many villages have neither cheap houses nor jobs, and that depopulation has closed schools and medical offices.

The reality is that emptied Spain is not a magic solution. It requires adaptation, and not everyone is willing to make it. But for those seeking peace and quiet on a tight pension, it could be a lifeline. The question remains: is it fair that someone who has worked their whole life should have to choose between sharing a flat at 63 or leaving their city?

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The discussion about this case has made one thing clear: the problem isn't just one woman's, but that of a system that has failed to adapt. While some calculate how much they would save in a village, others remind us that loneliness and the lack of services also carry a price. And no one quite answers what happens when a pension isn't even enough for a shared room.