March 29, 2019
Ghost Villages Are for Sale in Spain
Some abandoned countryside hamlets are going for as little as $96,000.
By Charlie Devereux
March 29, 2019, 12:00 AM CDT Updated on March 29, 2019, 9:41 AM CDT
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-29/ghost-villages-for-sale-as-spain-
fights-rural-desertification
This is a specialty item, and probably except for curiosity, only a few will put up with
what follows to get the article I will describe. Not your delight ? You won't need to take
the time to read this or kick the tires at over a thousand of them for sale. Also, I have
not QC my spelling and grammar. In a hurry now and much to write about referring to an
article on the subject... buying a hamlet in Spain.
BLOOMBERG.com is one of the financial pages I go to daily. It can be a little funky. Not
surprisingly this article will remain on its site for only a day or two. As seen above, it
appeared Mar 29, 2019. Over time since appearing, the link I provided above may not work.
It has a search window to find articles, but you must essentially type the title of the
article. Many fresh Bloomberg articles that disappeared from its home page can be found on
the web....(I can't speak to being able to find it much later on the web.) Just type in the
title or the operative words like Ghost Villages Spain. The very best is to copy the
article (copy and paste) but good luck if you see this post within the first few days of
its Bloomberg posting which will take you to May 1, 2019.
If all fails, you can subscribe to Bloomberg, and "hope" that help to a subscriber is alive
and well finding this article and sending you the link. Again, provide the exact title.
I did copy the article, but for copyright reasons, I won't send it or post it. However, if
you want it from me, first talk to some one at Bloomberg about getting it from me, and if
being told that is ok, note the name (first and last OR first and initials), the person's
telephone number, and PM me on the Spain board. I will reach Bloomberg to assure I can
share the entirety of the article.
Outside of Bloomberg, look for alternative sources on the subject. The article itself
actually cites inside the federal government, I assume, a "commissioner for the government
on rural depopulation." Polish your Spanish and get in touch with the office. Hire someone
to do it for you. I get the notion from the article--and the name of the office--this is a
well known dynamic occurring, depopulation. The article cites approximately 1500 hamlets
exist in this category. The article states --from my impression-- with one example cited,
it is not giving these locations away for pocket change. You have to have a few amount of
shekles to buy a village. Very obtuse to the subject is an authority that will pay for a
roof if needed should you wish to move into a residence. No details at all, but my
apparently this is about locations still inhabited but declining in population. Indeed, the
article is generous in describing the dynamics of declining population, both in terms of
the economic scenario and Spain's demographics.
On a personal note, exactly 10 years ago, April 2009, wife and I drove the north coast
along the Bay of Biscay (actually a sea with the French coast visible to the north) from
the northwest corner, Santiago de Compostela (the pilgrims' destination), eastward through
the Basque country to the north east corner at San Sebastian, by the Pyrenees. We returned
in a loop driving weekdays, inland following the pilgrim's way (peregrinos) to our start
point, Santiago de Compostela. The highway was almost deserted of traffic (?) and extremely smooth
(constructed by Germans as part of the deal to get Spain into the European Union, a German
had told us in Santiago). It was an exceptionally beautiful drive thru small hills, and as
fortune had it, we had exceptional sunny weather for a month to include other trips
southward along the Atlantic coast (The weather in northern Spain is normally much like
the gray northwest U.S. in the winter.) So we wandered. The quaint "hamlets" are a joy to
behold. They take you back hundreds of years and are clean to drive through or by. They
reminded me of the same description my German grandfather explained his village as a child
and young adult. It was such an exceptional experience. Buy a hamlet ? Can I get a volume
discount ?
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