Are you thinking about changing your life? The business association of Cuenca, Soria and Teruel has set out to convince the population by providing data and analysis that Moving to these provinces can be “a luxury.” Grouped in the network of Sparsely Populated Areas of Southern Europe (SSPA), the businessmen presented this Tuesday a report that compares 17 parameters to demonstrate their thesis that it is a “luxury” to live and work in places with low population density.
Since 2016, the network has been demanding measures from governments to reverse the demographic crisis in areas of Spain and, now, with this campaign, it proposes debunk a series of established myths and convey the idea that these territories, with a population density below 12.5 inhabitants per square kilometer, are places full of opportunities.
At the presentation of the report, at the CEOE headquarters, David Peña, president of the Cuenca businessmen, explained that luxury can have different concepts for people: materials, great comforts or greater access to consumption, but the idea that they defend Luxury is what is linked to quality of life, with the availability of time, with quality education and healthcare, in short “that which improves the life of the citizen.”
Your studio highlights the popular belief that areas with few inhabitants have limitations in services demonstrating that this is not always the case and positioning these places as perfect areas for social, family, work or business development. At the same time they highlight attractive such as the proximity of nature and the feeling that in these three provinces “the clock stretches the hours.”
As a complement to a report full of data, a group of inhabitants from the three provinces has recorded a video in which they provide their reasons to defend the luxury of living in the rural and urban environments of Basin, Soria and Teruel. They list, among others: fresh air, tranquility, going to work on foot or by bike, without danger or traffic jams, personalized education, reconciliation with ease and without haste, safety in the streets, buying in local stores and products local, a culture close to home and at an affordable price, or that with an average salary it is possible to reside in the center of a city.
These are the 17 parameters that have compared pra defend the quality of life in their provinces, among others, housing or employment.
Health: a long-lived population
In terms of health, the report maintains that the ratio of provisions per inhabitant is higher than in more populated provinces. It also highlights a smaller number of patients, which results in more time spent per patient and more personalized follow-up. They argue that this would explain, in part, “the high longevity of the population”, with a percentage of centenarians between two and three times higher than the Spanish average.
Education: better ratios
The report highlights that in the three most uninhabited provinces the student ratio by teacher are lower than the average (15 students per class in Teruel and 17 in Soria and Cuenca, when the national average is 21 and Madrid is 22), that the three provinces have higher education and a diversity of university offerings “unthinkable a few years ago decades”, as well as up to 19 families of Vocational Training.
Larger and more affordable home
It also combats the myth that there is no housing available. It says that the average number of homes per inhabitant in Spain is 0.6, while in areas like Madrid it is 0.4 and, however, in towns like Cuenca, Soria and Teruel this ratio rises to 0.8. Furthermore, the houses are usually bigger. The average in Spain is 86 square meters and, in large cities like Madrid, it does not reach 80. In its area it exceeds 100 square meters. He price It also has its space in this study that takes as reference an 80-meter house that, on a national scale, exceeds 170,000 euros. A figure that in large cities reaches 275,000 euros, but in Cuenca, Soria or Teruel they are less than 92,500. A similar pattern occurs in rent. The average income for a home of 80 square meters nationwide is around one thousand euros, in Madrid it far exceeds 1,400 euros, while in Soria it is 624 euros, Cuenca, 552 and Teruel is 536 euros.
Employment: Job opportunities
The data from the business network reveal that in these provinces with low population density the unemployment rate is below the national average and the industrial sector is usually the one that, in proportion, brings together the greatest work activity. Cuenca, Soria and Teruel show unemployment figures that are currently several percentage points below the national average. And, furthermore, in the specific case of Soria its data is far below that of large cities like Madrid.
Income consistent with a cheaper life
The report recognizes that the figures of income per person They slightly exceed the Spanish average but cannot reach the level of the most populated cities. Although they highlight that in their towns and cities life is noticeably cheaper and they defend that the possibility of saving is easier. The average income in Soria is 14,385, 13,134 in Teruel and 11,550 in Cuenca. The national one is at 13,008 and that of Madrid at 16,146.
community life
Businessmen from these areas, some less populated than Siberia, argue that life in these three provinces “continues to be marked by close relationships on a human scale,” and they claim that The community element contributes to the quality of life. The collated studies tell them that the advantages of neighborhood relationships result in having more time, independence, fewer problems in the adolescent stage or greater ease in conciliation. Without forgetting that there are nuances, such as there may be problems of coexistence, lack of caregivers for the elderly, of social life for young people and lack of generational renewal, which leads to one of the solutions being immigration.
Work-life balance
The physical proximity between the workplace and home translates into shorter trips. Surveys carried out on time use in autonomous communities reflect that general trips last less time in rural provinces, translating into a saving of 25 minutes a day, which annually represents 6.3 daysand up to €1,600 per year with respect to urban areas such as Madrid. This parameter is important because it implies being able to better distribute day-to-day time: conciliation, work, leisure, family life… The savings derived from quality of life is “3,000 or 4,000 euros per year” compared to more densely populated areas such as Madrid, defend their authors.
Security, environment and nature
With data from a fewer violations per inhabitant, and mostly against heritage, they defend a less violent environment. They also claim environmental settings, clean air and proximity to nature among their assets.
Commerce, culture and sport
The businessmen of Cuenca, Soria and Teruel defend that there is specialized local trade and access to digital commerce. Also top-level equipment and “vibrant” cultural agendas. As well as sports activities and numerous leisure opportunities. “In Cuenca, Soria and Teruel, the provision per thousand inhabitants of sports spaces is multiplied by ten compared to that of densely populated areas.”
Location and entrepreneurship
In the network of sparsely populated areas in southern Europe, they also want to highlight that their provinces are located in a key triangle for logistics: the one formed by Madrid, Zaragoza and Valencia. Also, since 2023, Cuenca, Soria and Teruel are the only three Spanish provinces to enjoy by law a series of incentives that, under the name of Operating Aid, are aimed at companies based in the three provinces and have bonuses for fee for contingencies common to Social Security that range between 5% and 20%.
Lower taxation and notable industrial fabric
The tax burdens that households and companies must assume (ICIO – Construction, Installation and Works Tax, etc.) are similar in the various areas, says the report, while taxes derived from economic activities or vehicles are slightly lower in these rural areas. To all this, we must add the possibility of acquiring land more advantageously in the latter. It is notable that, in the three provinces studied, each company has an average of four properties while the Spanish average is one and that of Madrid does not reach 0.6 properties per company. Besides, There is still “abundant” free land in industrial estates.
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