Leaving the city for the country in Spain
Photo Canva.com, ANP, Cristina Quicler
Christian Life
More young people in Spain are heading to the countryside, Jorge Ruiz Ortiz notices. Amid the ongoing trend, what should Christians do?
Although no official statistics or data have been published, the phenomenon of urban-dwelling young adults in Spain moving to the countryside has gained momentum in recent years.
Spain, in truth, has long been a land of agriculture, where, since the nineteenth century, the industry has mainly concentrated around the two sole arteries of swift commerce that link the peninsula to Europe —those of Catalonia and the Basque Country. Yet it was after the Civil War (1936-1939), and especially from the decade of the 1950s onwards, that the great "rural exodus" began, that is, the mass flight of the population from fields to cities.
The land itself proves the country's centuries-long importance, as 84 per cent of the territory remains rural, containing 78 per cent of Spain's municipalities. However, only 15 per cent of the population currently reside in these areas, while 85 per cent live in cities.
Furthermore, 45 per cent of the total population lives in cities greater than 200,000. Around these large cities, there is usually a constellation of other medium-sized municipalities of up to 50-70 thousand inhabitants.
Those who fled the country in the 1940s did so chiefly to escape the hunger of the post-war years. By the 1950s, they were rather in search of prosperity and opportunities that could only be found in cities.
Causes
In previous times, it would be unthinkable for people of my generation to return to the country from where their fathers had fled. Frankly, this would be the last thing that we would have wanted to do in our lives. However, the press has spoken of this underground but constant population movement in recent years.
In contrast, young urbanites, often parents with small children, seek a new life in rural areas. By "rural areas," one must also understand small residential zones, significantly distant from the big cities where people work.
What can be the causes of this interesting shift in population? We might list several.
The exorbitant cost of dwellings within the city. Since the economic crisis of 2008, the conditions for young couples to access homeownership have become increasingly difficult. But in recent years, renting a house has become out of reach in large cities, even for couples in which both partners work.
The great lockdowns of 2020. Many experienced the truly traumatic experience of being locked in their small apartments with their children for weeks. When they returned to normality, the first thing many did was look for housing in the country.
The development of working from a distance. Ironically, it was born precisely during the confinements of the lockdowns. Now, working from home via satellite internet is possible, even in remote areas.
The search for agricultural activity occurs without job prospects in a declining economy or the predominant service sector — mainly in the hotel and catering industries.
The attractiveness and peace of living in the countryside, in close contact with nature.
The best conditions for “homeschooling” are in the country. Homeschooling is something sought after by groups of young evangelical Christians, among others.
Reflection
Unlike many other current social trends, this growing movement from the city to the country has no moral dimension. It is simply a fact unfolding in God's providence, which is perfectly understandable given the conditions of life in the cities. However, it invites us to reflect upon 1) its long-term viability concerning children's education and 2) how it might impact the church.
On the first point, we have nothing against homeschooling — quite the contrary! However, parents who opt for homeschooling in Spain must also contemplate returning to the conventional system in adolescence to allow their children to study at university.
There is nothing dishonourable, of course, in one's children taking up the trades or vocational work in the country. However, one has to consider what it would mean if the children of young, educated urban Christians, who are often the most serious and committed to the faith, were to end up on the margins of society's positions of responsibility. This would be no small loss, not only for society but also, I think, for the church as a whole.
Quite simply, the so-called “cultural war” –a most unfortunate expression, I think– will not be won by podcasts or YouTube channels alone, however powerful these tools may be. It must be done from the university and the places of responsibility that it subsequently opens up in society – while maintaining, of course, a consistently Christian mentality and life.
Regarding the second point, this movement from the city to the country represents challenges and opportunities. The challenge is that it makes it more difficult to congregate in churches, which are still mainly in the cities in Spain.
Opportunities, because, if crystallised, it could favour what has proved so difficult in the long run, namely evangelisation and church planting in rural areas.
Regarding my own family, we left the “big city” (Barcelona area) to live in a small provincial town in the interior of Spain. This was in the early 2000s.
For the last three years of our service there, we ended up living in a tiny mountain village in north Castile. And we have been homeschooling for fifteen years with all our children. We feel that all this has been a critical and necessary stage in our life as a family. But, in our case, we are again back in the city.
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