As overtourism continues and wealthy foreigners buy up property on the island, many residents are choosing to leave – and Catalonia’s coastline offers a perfect alternative
“Does it still feel like being on holiday?” We probably heard this question more than any after upping sticks from London to Mallorca almost 10 years ago. Arriving with an eight-month-old baby and all our worldly possessions in cardboard boxes to a cavernous, unfurnished flat in Palma’s Old Town, little about the move felt like a holiday.
Even back then, there were rumblings of disquiet surrounding the island’s tourism. It mostly manifested as anti-Airbnb sentiment sprayed on walls. For the first time, Palma residents were starting to feel the pinch from rising rents and a shortage of long-term housing. However, resentment soon shifted more towards “the tourist”, with graffiti such as “Tourist you are the terrorist” and “Tourism Go Home” appearing on the streets.
During all of this, it never occurred to me that we might be part of the problem. We weren’t just here on holiday, after all. But the year we arrived, the population of the island was just shy of 860,000. Recent data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) shows it has surged to almost a million, of which 28 per cent were born abroad.
As a likely consequence, property prices have roughly doubled over the past decade, according to Spanish real estate portal Idealista, with rents rising even more. It’s no surprise simmering resentment boiled over into a string of demonstrations last year, largely against mass tourism, but led with the slogan “Mallorca no es ven” (Mallorca is not for sale).
The reality is that today it is not tourism fuelling the housing crisis, but the influx of new residents. Estate agents increasingly market Mallorca to the wealthy (or wealthier) – mostly northern Europeans, but increasingly North Americans – seeking the Mallorcan Dream. The result? According to the second edition of the Housing Barometer, carried out by property insurance firm Grupo Mutua Propietarios, nearly six in 10 Balearic residents would prefer to move to another part of the country. And with little in the way of ties to the island, that’s what we chose to do.
The report highlighted Andalucia as the most popular destination. With its coastline, landscape and rich history, it’s easy to see why. However, with summer temperatures regularly peaking over 40°C, we decided against heading south.
My partner had twice holidayed in a town called Begur, on the Costa Brava, and it sounded like a good fit. We still wanted what drew us to Mallorca – beaches, pretty towns and countryside – just without what some critics call the feeling of living in a theme park. A short winter recce convinced us this could be our post-Balearic home.
It has been six months now, and we haven’t looked back. Located 45 minutes from Girona and under two hours’ drive from Barcelona, we can still get our fix of city bustle. The French border is just an hour away – we can just about see the snow-topped Pyrenees from our terrace. The beaches more than tick all the right boxes. The local community made integrating a breeze too; fiercely Catalan but welcoming to newcomers (compared to what can feel like a them-and-us divide on Mallorca).
Despite its string of eye-catching beaches, lushly-forested landscape and peppering of quaint medieval villages, Begur’s Baix Empordà municipality has managed to remain relatively under the radar. Highlights include the nearby town of Pals with its fairytale-like historic centre, while the iridescent waters and fine sands of Aiguablava (our local beach) make it as dreamy as any on Mallorca. Exploring the coast on foot can be done in dramatic fashion thanks to the Camí de Ronda, an ancient trail that skirts more than 25 miles of rugged Costa Brava shoreline – a few sections of which are quite challenging.
The summer population does swell, smaller coves get packed out, and Begur town centre fills with holidaymakers. However, there are no high-rise hotels, no roads clogged with hire cars, and no growing resentment among the locals that their home has been given over to visitors. At least, not for now.
The truth is, families like mine arriving in Mallorca only added to the demand that has priced many locals out. By leaving, we’ve found a home that suits us better – and maybe, in a small way, the island is better off too.