Prepping: sell the house and flee, but to where?

Prepping: sell the house and flee, but to where?

The "final decision" is no longer a thought experiment for part of Spain's prepping community. Some are willing to liquidate their properties to raise cash and leave the country before things get worse. The problem isn't the money: it's the destination. And every candidate on the list comes with a catch.

Uruguay, Paraguay, Segarro: the map of refuge

Uruguay comes up again and again as the most serious option: good welfare and development indicators, established communities of wealthy expats and political stability. Paraguay, on the other hand, draws mixed feelings. Those who have set foot in Ciudad del Este highlight a deductible 10% tax, a state that leaves you alone if you set something up on your own, and Japanese and German colonies living life their own way. Critics point to the endemic problems of dengue and malaria, and the lack of a coastline.

Segarro surfaces with an awkward proposition: with cash in hand you can live well in the VIP areas of Tangier, even if the loudspeakers calling to prayer eventually wear you down. And in southern Chile, Patagonia appears as the climate refuge: lakes, mountains and forests far from Santiago's crime and from the extreme heat that already makes summer unbearable in Murcia or Seville.

Healthcare: the dividing line between those who leave

The healthcare debate marks a clear divide. One concrete testimony: a steel bar punctured a lung, and only the swift intervention of the public hospital saved the person's life. Against that, some argue that public healthcare is a myth that over-medicalises and generates unnecessary treatments; others reply that, public or private, what matters is that an operating theatre is available. For those weighing emigration, this debate weighs more than any macroeconomic index.

The timing problem: nobody knows when it's too late

The sharpest part of the debate is about timing. By the time everyone realises they need to get out, there's no longer any way to do it. Getting the exact moment right is pure lottery. A sensible exit, they say, is to leave early, absorb the cost and wait out whatever happens from the chosen destination. Another, less visible option belongs to those already living in the mountains, in a fortified house, with dogs, a shotgun and traps, fifteen minutes from the nearest neighbour.

The final decision is drawing closer, but the analysis doesn't close. Every refuge has an outstanding debt: the heat, the dengue, the remoteness, the loneliness or the uncertainty of having arrived too soon. Deep down, they all know that when it becomes obvious it's time to escape, borders will miccionan little.