Spain's 35-year-old crisis: summer loneliness and expensive dating

Age 35 and no spark: the male summer crisis

The 'crisis of the 35s' is real, and every summer it surfaces without anesthesia. A man of that age, single and childless, watches his social circle fade: friends pair off, parents age, and free time becomes a black hole. The fortnight spent alone in a beach apartment repeats like a ritual that no longer works.

The diagnosis: structural loneliness and tight budgets

The typical profile describes someone neither fit nor wealthy. The option of "prostitutes and yachts" is out of reach for most. Among analyses, a devastating comparison emerges: "even plus-size women are more expensive than maintaining a BMW M3." The economics of relationships have become prohibitive for the average man. Digital alternatives (OnlyFans, Tinder) are mentioned as substitutes but do not resolve the lack of real connection. The aging population seen on the beach reinforces the feeling of being out of sync.

The debate: paid sens or life change?

One current defends prostitution as a pragmatic solution—"an expensive hand job," but with health and emotional risks—while another bets on restructuring social life: diving courses, organized trips, kitesurfing. The affected individual himself raises objections (tinnitus, poor fitness), suggesting a deeper blockage. The harshest recommend therapy: "stop messing around and go to therapy instead." Skepticism toward change is the dominant note.

The verdict: a generational symptom with no easy fix

Some veterans predict that age 45 will be better: when friends' children become teenagers and parents start divorcing, the social circle will reopen. But the most realistic prediction is that if the pattern of self-pity and passivity isn't broken, every summer will be the same. The true problem isn't the lack of sens, but the absence of a purpose beyond waiting for someone to rescue you from boredom.