Discover the Mysterious EMPTY Streets of Rural Spain!

[@leeyoung9469]

My wife and I moved to a small village in Jaén in 2004. We stayed for 15-years and experienced a reduction in population as folk died and some left. Looking on Google today there are around 200 residents, some not full-timers. The majority of the population are pensioners with no young children. When we left around 5-years ago there was no shop, no health centre, no bar. It’s living on borrowed time unless the authorities come up with a plan. We enjoyed our time there but wisely moved to a bigger pueblo with all essential services and on the flat. Interesting vlog.

[@shinyshinythings]

Some of these towns are offering cash to fully remote workers to move there, provided they’ll stay five years. Younger women who plan to have children in the village can get more, and of course people who can start and maintain some kind of business are also valued. So definitely there are some local initiatives.

[@timshimmin3468]

Very interesting video. Visited many quiet,small rural towns like this one and I really liked them all. Lets hope with the rise of internet working that life will return and the communities will grow. Long live Spain,its culture,foods,wildlife and its wonderful people.

[@donaldbutler6257]

or will more internet working kill more local life off?

[@123seanaway]

For a small population they have a lot. Bakery, butcher, pharmacy.... doing well by many standards. Great video..brilliant to see two young people realise what small town life has to offer... have you ever thought of interviewing some of the people you meet? I'd love to hear their story about the cheese business idea..

[@stephenesser5375]

very interesting to see the polar opposite of holiday resort Spain, thank you

[@erikamartin-wallace5991]

The incredible plain meseta so typical of Castilla!!! I was more on the Palecia-Valladolid area... but I still miss those incredible views of the meseta.

[@battlemorph]

The rural roads are amazing for motorcyclists too 👌

[@janethaver3375]

Nice little children’s park and seating area - well maintained too

[@dwdei8815]

Doing the Camino from Madrid I passed through so many small villages where you could feel the abandonment (it misses Toro by something like 20-30km at a guess). Having a Camino (although one not much trodden) pass through them keeps a strand of "streetlife" trickling on, so those would be more fortunate in that regard. That Quesaría: when they have very restricted opening times and then a mobile number for other days, it means the opposite of "closed". I came across it quite a lot and giving them "un toque" is as effective as if you just walked in the door - they always popped up within moments and served you. Just means they're in the back looking after the goats or whatnot. And, while you scoffed at the electric vehicle plug-in stations, I bet you a caña the Madrid couple who opened the quesaría have an EV. It could be an integral part of the local mayor trying to attract city folk in. Some people who visit will have EVs too - you can't have them running out of juice. If they had installed the charge-points AND taken away the petrol stations, your grumble would carry more weight.

[@shinyshinythings]

At 8:56, the white house with the For Sale sign on it is currently listed on Idealista for 28K€ … for a 129 sq meter 3-bedroom house, I’d say that’s a super deal. :)

[@ash9x9]

and what about the renovations? approx idea?

[@edl7454]

@@ash9x9 figure on 200k and it will be worth less in 5 years

[@AlexMontgomery-i7s]

I was born in a tiny rural town. Me and twin girls on the same night. I’m surprised a memorial wasn’t built. Most remarkable event in its history 😂. The population declined from the late 19th century. I could never live in such a place anywhere in the world. Glad you visited and showed us around Stu.

[@janethaver3375]

Interesting video. Thank you Stuart!

[@juvenalsdad4175]

I'm guessing the cheese people are mostly supplying shops in more populated towns. A short interview with them with a look at their products, and how they make it work, might have been fun, were they willing.

[@johnz4860]

I visited this town back in 1990 and I found It eerie, the place was empty. I drove there with a friend whose parents had moved to the Basque Country in seach of a job in one of the country's most industrilised áreas. Appsrently, moving out in the 50s and 60s is what most people did, hence It is not surprising to see It is basically a ghost town.

[@pbohearn]

Living in Lisbon, I’ve enjoyed many road trips from Portugal into Spain; last summer I drove the entire perimeter of the Iberian Peninsula that was a test of friendship lol but I really enjoyed just driving into the interior of Spain and picking a small town to stop in for a lunch or just a break and really often being delighted by these beautiful historical towns. I do believe one of them was Zamora. I’ve also really liked the towns of the extremadura..

[@designedtogoslow]

Great to know we can charge our campervan there! However... we have seen many chargers installed in Spain but couldn't charge anyway because they were not (yet?) connected to the grid...

[@johnallright6847]

Still a very well kept town with no litter , very few white lines on the road and no yellow lines or red or blue lines and no street signs and no entry signs every five mts, very peacefull and quiet and not thousands of cars and you can hear birds tweeting. Good video .

[@spainspeaks]

Hi, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! It really is nice to see a town that maintains its charm and tranquility.

[@seanflewin9803]

Cheers for that, interesting. Lovely dark skies for stargazing I reckon

[@stevenhombrados1530]

Thank you Stu! Lovely place!

[@MarI-Posa]

I've been to some pueblitos but never anywhere as rundown and empty as that. Very interesting

[@blackvulcan100]

That place is quite depressing. Lots and lots of small Spanish towns are very beautiful.

[@ash9x9]

Ideal to lose your sanity I guess?

[@almaknack9543]

Would have liked to know what the bus services were at the bus stop.

[@erikamartin-wallace5991]

What find sad is the I'd the speed at which these villages are losing their population and only the retirees are left to finish their days in loneliness!

[@edl7454]

Thats everywhere in rural Spain. Lot of empty villages in Galicia.

[@leeyoung9469]

Piscina here.

[@edl7454]

@@leeyoung9469 Thats how it is spelled, how is it pronounced correctly?

[@ph5056]

Yes , the young are gone and nothing is returning to them , they will be abandoned and forgotten about , same going on in Portugal , Italy , etc , sad !

[@montsealonsodublin.1789]

How amazing, lost in a small village in my province of Zamora, the churches are full in summer.❤😂😂

[@houseofroos]

Electric vehicle chargers. Chicken and egg problem. But I’m glad they’re present. If you were a resident and wanted to buy an EV you’d certainly be turned off if there were zero chargers in your area. Also visitors with EVs may not come if there’s no charger in town.

[@Jatchina]

Catral looks like a nice place to live

[@DerekKenny-l2u]

Thanks Stuart

[@daviddoyle5291]

Love the Extremadura region as it is so so empty of ppl and very very easy to get around.

[@ohyeh845]

Our Town is very quiet most days, apart from the bustling Sunday Market, the locals organise many open air concerts and the whole place is then rocking. "Jesus Pobre " near Denia

[@cristinaalonso2223]

Todas esas instaciones que ves se usan fundamentalmente en verano que es cuando las personas que emigraron en los años 60 y 70 sobre todo al Pais Vasco, vuelven y pasan en el pueblo parte de sus vacaciones de verano. Las pintadas o graffiti que ves son de los" quintos" del pueblo, esto es, los jovenes que cumplen 18 años en el año en curso,y celebran su fiseta. Esa tradición de las pintadas se produce en otras zonas de España y es bastante antigua. Se hacía cuando los muchachos tenian que ir a la "mili" o servicio militar que era obligatorio antes y aunque ya no existe, los jóvenes y las jóvenes ahora siguen celebrando su mayoría de edad.

[@GT380man]

What a super tradition. Thank you for telling us about it!

[@yanassi]

Good selection of meat? I wondered about such things a while back. When i saw little street traffic, not many people shopping, if fresh the groceries could be found. Good to learn you faired well.

[@anacasanova7350]

El queso zamorano es buenísimo , marca....el que cuida las ovejas, shepard en español 😅

[@rhianhead6744]

Very interesting to see these small villages, thank you. Perhaps the electric charging point is part of a strategy to improve the network of charging points across Spain to aid travellers - it could even encourage travellers to visit the town and spend money while they wait for their cars to cars up?

[@MarkSeeley-o9f]

No! Keep rural Spain peaceful and tourist free.

[@az_spain]

Hi Stu, cool video, quite a relaxing way to explore :) I had a question, curiosity related to the adds that appear, do you have any control over which these are? like for example AirBnB does appear quite often, is that a parameter that you control or is is just however the algorythm works it out? I'm just curios ;) thanks! Hasta la pronto! Hasta la próxima!

[@spainspeaks]

Hi @az_spain, no, no control at my end.

[@douglasgreen437]

Spooky...

[@jonniesantos]

…a bus stop with less than 400 people feels odd. If they could attract a large company, maybe manufacturing, then that would be a start. I don’t know. It’s like a real life scenario of the game Sim City.

[@jw1548]

How long before access to safe water, affordable electricity, ends there?

[@charliethechaste]

My dream is to settle in a small town like that...but they're not going to tempt me into buying an electric car so easily!

[@leeyoung9469]

@@charliethechaste careful what you wish for. We all need at least basic services at some point in life.

[@edl7454]

@@leeyoung9469 I have property in Galicia I can move into rather easily but that pueblo esta Muerto.

[@michaeljones3774]

I have lost count how many empty villages , i have passed through between Bilbao and Valencia.

[@andrescasado5975]

El juez de paz es la primera instancia donde acuden los que tienen intención de interponer una querella o mejor aún llegar a un consenso para evitar un juicio

[@welshtoro3256]

I've been to countless places like this in Spain. I visit them because there's usually a wonderful historic site such as a church or square but they are dying. Those empty and decaying buildings for sale are everywhere. They are ruins and nobody will ever buy them. You have to knock on local doors to see if anyone has a key to the church or another place of interest. Some places are so run down that even that is impossible. Anyone can see that this place is vanishing without any future in Spain's demographic crisis. What chance is there for any business in a place like this? My own village on the Malaga coast has only one pharmacy and a local shop open till 3:00 pm. Nothing else. This place is pretty big compared to some. The reality is that that this ancient world of Spain is dying and will be gone in the next decade.

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Looks better than a Aussie ghost town and very poetic writing people too

[@digger360]

Sadly these small rural towns are slowly dying all over Spain as the youth move away to the larger provincial towns to seek other employment outside of agriculture

[@cdkmonkey2699]

Looks good to me ,

[@saltaireorangebicyclechopp8555]

I often cycle tour in Spain, in places like Valladolid province or Extramadura, l often go in Supermarkets just to see a real human & have some social interaction. 😂

[@anacasanova7350]

Brihuega pueblo cerca de Madrid, en Guadalajara, es parecido a la campiña francesa.

[@Penros0]

If the ex-pats bought houses in 'empty Spain' like they do in rural France there wouldn't be any tourism protests. Problem is these Spanish towns look nothing like as attractive as the French countryside.

[@anacasanova7350]

Lo siento , Zamora no es la campiña francesa. Es tierra de cereales, vinos, quesos y ganado. El mejor queso que el francés. En España hay muchas campiñas francesas, como la zona del champán español, cava, en la Anoia, Cataluña . Pero claro ahí las casas son muuucho más caras.😊

[@mrn13]

@@anacasanova7350 Queso francés? De que region? Que tipo?

[@tomm5228]

Graffiti on the floors looks better than over walls, might aswell have a landing spot for aliens 👽 😊

[@neilbarton7216]

The pretty empty towns of Spain are in the north. Middle Spain is as boring as anything except for one or two places mostly the big cities or towns. Speaking from thirty years of having lived in Andalucia, Ibiza and Galicia

[@Kerbeygrip]

Startling in its message.

[@mirmir9806]

LoL.😁 18-wheeler trucking through maybe a tad too fast .

[@PaulCousins-ko3jd]

👏🏾🥰

[@jw1548]

I bet it's a huge distance to any kind of hardware store or construction material store. Thanks for showing population shrinking.

[@CMEAGAIN]

1 Thing missing from this town.......Disco

[@mariatajes9054]

My cousin and I drove to zamora on our way to Salamanca and joked that if something happened to us,they wouldn't find us in years.

[@bundiburundi581]

The new Silent Hill in Spain, we need a little bit of fog. That's empty Spain, maybe that town is like 300 years old

[@AlejandroPRGH]

300 years? Very few Spanish towns are as new as that. The church seems to be from the 1500's and the town is probably older, even if the current houses are only about 100 years old on average.

[@pbohearn]

A ghost town. So depressing.

[@123seanaway]

Can't give you a thumbs up Stu for some reason..

[@robertjsmith]

I would only live where there are trees

[@thepanamahat]

if only all "graffiti" was as pleasant as that message ......

[@shemdickson4445]

SAY, STUART, WHAT ‘A NEARLY LOST TOWN [ZAMORA, SPAIN]’; “HAY PUEBLO, POR FAVOR HAYUDAMOS!” 😹😹

[@Moliere1000]

It looks like Montgomery, Alabama.

[@edl7454]

Montgomery alabama, are you serious? At least you are not risking life and limb going to certain areas in Zamora as Montgomery.

[@Moliere1000]

@ Fair enough. Zamora village much safer.

[@edl7454]

Stuart, it is pronounced Pecina not Pistina . Great Video by the way as always.

[@mtm4a]

At 14:02 I must admit that what Stuart says a couple of times sounds a bit like 'Pistina', but on listening again, I feel that he does actually say 'Piscina'. In fact I have no doubt that Stuart did pronounce it correctly, because he speaks fluent Spanish, and he is a teacher! 😃

[@georgefarrington895]

@@mtm4ahe was 100% correct.

[@espanola2008]

Goggled the age of the church…it started to being built in, 1729 in the site to previous existing church went to ruin. Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Cuesta.

[@shinyshinythings]

@@espanola2008 Nice sleuthing! It definitely looked older than 1907. And I’ll bet the church that it replaced in 1729 was probably started in the 12th Century, there seems to have been a big wave of cathedral-building at that time.

[@FrederickBowdler]

Please don't leave you will reduce the population by one quarter of a percent. Buy a house with at least one tree 🌲. Thanks.The town definitely looks agricultural who is running the farms ?

[@catherinemori4496]

Broken window: evidence of some young man?! Or did the dogs do it?

[@Jatchina]

Thats such an ugly town, go to Otos in Valencia, Its small about 500 inhabitants but pretty and has many dial clocks on the walls. Lots of tourists visit.

[@michaeltravers6109]

Where are the people?, it's a ghost town, with no atmosphere.

[@hamishlovesit4731]

Name and bit of history ? 😂 You don't seem to have much information mate ...