The Cost of Staying

I have been seeing more and more conversations about how difficult it has become to find work. Recently, a UK creator living in Spain voiced something that many people here quietly know but rarely say out loud: do not move to Spain if you need to work for someone else. If you already have money, yes, come. If you are opening a business, maybe. But if you are planning to live off a salary, just do not do it.

The system has been built in a way that benefits business owners. They can pay minimum wage, and many do. At the same time, living expenses have climbed so high that surviving on that income is nearly impossible. When salaries stay flat and prices keep rising, people eventually run out of options. And when that happens, they move. What else can you do?

I do not mean relocating within Spain. I mean leaving the country entirely. Leaving for other parts of Europe.

One thing that feels almost surreal right now is what is happening in Finland. There is a real estate crisis, and prices have been falling steadily for years. In smaller towns, you can buy a house for a price that feels almost impossible here. Compare that to the Costa del Sol, where even modest small house can easily cost 500,000 euros, while the average yearly salary hovers around 15,000 euros before taxes. You do not need advanced math to see the problem. You cannot get a loan. You cannot build a future.

If you want a family, or simply a life beyond a tiny studio apartment (140K), you eventually have to look elsewhere.

The Costa del Sol is suffering from what I call the Marbella phenomenon. Wealthy foreigners, especially millionaires, are flooding in and driving prices up at a staggering pace. The impact is visible everywhere. Locals no longer have the money to eat out. Restaurants are often half empty in the evenings. Cafes, however, are full. A coffee is still affordable. A meal is not.

So people drink their coffee, go home, and cook. Groceries are expensive, but still cheaper than eating out every day. Salaries simply do not allow that lifestyle anymore. Times are changing. Culture is changing.

Another thing is that more and more companies are replacing jobs with AI. In my opinion, it is not the fault of AI itself. It is the fault of greedy companies. This will lead to higher unemployment. And what do you do when you cannot find work anymore? You relocate.

This time it is not about rich people driving prices up, but about everyday life becoming unsustainable. And if you happen to live somewhere where you cannot see any kind of future, you will move. Maybe all of this is going to lead to something unprecedented.

I genuinely believe this will result in massive waves of movement across Europe. If you hold a European passport, you can relocate freely, and suddenly that freedom matters more than ever. There are still cheaper regions and countries where life is not entirely designed for the wealthy.

Even moving to a small Finnish town starts to look like a realistic option. A house with a bit of land. Growing some of your own food. Keeping chickens. Going to the forest to pick berries and mushrooms and selling them tax free. Keeping bees and selling honey without heavy bureaucracy. That is more than what many people can realistically do here.

The world is changing at a speed that is honestly astonishing. The next ten years are going to look nothing like the past ten. I am certain of that.