If you’ve ever traveled by car from Madrid to the coast, you must have seen that very “empty Spain”, lots of fields, small settlements and long roads. The explanation for this is very simple: there are no activities to support these populations, and this in turn makes people continue to leave for the most populated areas with more developed services.
Cities in the central regions survive only through agriculture and livestock farming, but these activities no longer require large numbers of people.
Overexploitation of livestock production is very dangerous and leads to serious environmental problems. For example, in Aragon‘s large number of pig farms has already led to an alarming degree of waste pollution.
Therefore, only other activities can attract more people, such as industry or tourism.
But there are no conditions for all this. There is no stable cell phone service or internet in much of Spanish territory. Thousands of towns don’t even have supermarkets, bank offices or any stores. There are no trains to get to more populated areas.
It is thus a vicious circle that can only develop by encouraging investment and innovation. People living in a devastated Spain lack understanding from politicians and some economic support, which could well be provided by paying lower taxes.
As a foreigner, it is possible to benefit from such regions: the cost of real estate will be lower, investments for starting a business will be lower, etc. If you are interested in investing in any region of Spain or starting a business, please contact Broadway Consulting for a consultation!