Dreaming of a Spanish life?

Have you ever considered moving to Spain? Well, it's not actually as tricky as you might think! And furthermore several local authorities are crying out for new inhabitants in local villages where an authentic Spanish life can truly be had!

One such example is the town of Castelnou, once a thriving village near the city of Zaragoza and half way in between Valencia and Barcelona. This town has become almost empty with young people moving away to a city life and the number of inhabitants now stand at 109, whilst the average age is 53, making this town a sixth of its size fifty years ago!

So why would you want to move to a place like this? Well the local government are offering a number of perks to those considering relocating here including cheap houses, free land, an exemption from local taxes as well as a local babysitter as an enticement for those with children. Furthermore the promise of an economy comes with new settlers, and so not only are newcomers helping the village life by repopulating it, but also the village aims to create many new jobs because of the hoped influx of people, something very important for a country where one in five people are unemployed.

The state of the town currently however leaves something to be desired; the current school closed in January because of a lack of pupils, whilst the ancient but dilapidated church has not opened since early this year. And the temperature, well as to be expected more centrally in Spain is that of extremes; dangerously hot summers with freezing winters…

But hey, anyone who's up for a challenge, this certainly would be a way to have an authentic Spanish experience!