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The Spanish villages that want remote workers

With the news that Spain will be introducing a digital nomad visa and tax incentives for startups, several places in Spain are already trying to attract remote workers. Here are some of the villages that want remote workers and what they offer.

Published: 16 August 2021 12:15 CEST
Updated: 21 August 2021 07:33 CEST
The Spanish villages that want remote workers
Tolox in Málaga province is among the villages in Spain that want remote workers. Image: Pxfuel

The rise of remote working means that many jobs can be done from anywhere that has an internet connection, and Spanish regions that have struggled with depopulation due to a lack of job opportunities are seizing upon this trend.

A total of 30 towns and villages across Spain have joined the association of Red Nacional de Pueblos Acogedores or the National Network of Welcoming Villages, aiming to attract digital nomads (people who travel while continuing to work remotely) and remote workers (who settle full time in one place and work remotely for a company or companies in another town or even another country) to their communities.

These towns and villages are spread throughout the regions of Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, Aragón, Andalusia, Navarra and the Basque Country.

Among other services, most of them offer coworking spaces and high-speed internet. 

READ ALSO: Tax cuts and special visas: Spain’s new law to attract foreign startups and digital nomads

Andalusia

Benarrabá
A tiny village of just 460 inhabitants, Benarrabá is located in the province of Malaga. It’s a charming and picturesque village, where the cost of living is €392 per person per week, according to RNPA. It offers a coworking space, plus a library to work from.

Photo: Albertoac1990/Wikipedia

Tolox
The village of Tolox is a gorgeous white village set in the Sierra de las Nieves, just west of Malaga. It has a total of 2,250 inhabitants and the cost of living is €150 per person per week. It’s ideal for nature lovers, with access to the nearby Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve. There’s no coworking space, but there is a public library to work from. 

The village of Tolox is welcoming remote workers. Photo: jacqueline macou / Pixabay 

Basque Country

Kuartango
Located in the Basque province of Álava, just west of the capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Kuartango has just 430 inhabitants and a cost of living of €310 per person per week. It’s ideal for those who want to explore the nearby Gorbeia Natural Park and all the excellent culinary offerings in Vitoria-Gasteiz. It also offers a library, an education centre and a coworking space. 

Photo: Asier Sarasua Garmendia/Wikipedia

La Rioja

San Vicente de La Sonsierra
The cute town of San Vicente de La Sonsierra sits on a hilltop surrounded by vineyards and topped with a castle and a church. You can even see snow-capped mountains in the distance. It has a population of 1,030 and a cost of living of €205 per person per week. As well as its cultural offerings, it has a coworking space and library.

Photo: Josep Renalias/Wikipedia

Canary Islands

Tejeda 
Tejeda is located on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, surrounded by mountains and ancient volcanoes on all sides. While it may be located in the interior of the island, it’s just a one-and-half-hour drive from the coast. The village has a population of 1,020 and the cost of living is €205 per person per week. It’s ideal for those who don’t like cold weather, with an average yearly temperature of 19C. It also boasts a public library and is on the island’s bus network. 

Tejeda in Gran Canaria wants remote workers. Photo: Vladimír Ješko / Pixabay 

Aragón

Oliete
The small village of Oliete lies just south of the city of Zaragoza and is just a two and half hour drive from the Catalan coastline and the Natural Park of the Delta del Ebro. With a population of just 343, it’s quiet and compact but offers a coworking centre and a library from which to work. The cost of living is €314 per person per week and there’s plenty of opportunities to explore the nearby natural and gastronomic attractions. 

Photo: B25es/Wikipedia

Castilla y León

Covarrubias
Located in the province of Burgos, along the Arlanza River, Covarrubias is an attractive little town of 541 people. Filled with half-timbered houses, it’s known as the ‘Cradle of Castilla’ because it was once the capital of one of the most important monastic manors. History buffs will love Covarrubias, because of the sheer number of historic sites and buildings in such as small place. The cost of living is €405 per person per week and there’s a public library, as well as several other facilities. 

Photo: Ecelan/Wikipedia

El Burgo de Osma
One of the largest towns on the list with a population of 5,035, El Burgo de Osma is located in the province of Soria and was declared a Town of Touristic Interest and of Historic and Artistic Importance. Filled with honey-coloured architecture and a plethora of historic sites, there’s plenty to do here. Sitting somewhere in the middle of Valladolid, Zaragoza and Madrid, it’s also ideally situated to reach various transport hubs. The town offers a coworking space and a library and has a cost of living of just €169 per person per week.  

El Burgo de Osma is welcoming remote workers. Photo: Andrés Corredor / Pixabay 

Santa Colomba de Somoza 
A 20-minute drive from the city of Astorga, Santa Colomba de Somoza lies in prime position for travel to nearby León and Ponferrada too. It has a population of 520 inhabitants and is known for tourism and gastronomy. You’ll always find foreigners travelling through here, as it’s located along the famed Camino de Santiago route. It’s home to a coworking space, as well as lots of other facilities, including bus service. The cost of living here is €310 per person per week.

Photo: Jim Anzalone/Flickr

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MOVING TO SPAIN

How to find a self-storage space for your belongings in Spain

If you need to temporarily store some of your stuff because you’re moving home, refurbishing, temporarily leaving Spain or running out of space at your property, this is what you need to know about available storage options.

Published: 9 April 2024 12:42 CEST
How to find a self-storage space for your belongings in Spain

As you’re probably aware of already, Spanish homes are usually not very spacious, around 97m2 on average, according to appraisal company TecniTasa.

Sometimes, Spanish apartment blocks have a trastero, a box or storage room for each unit, located on the rooftop, in the garage area underground or somewhere in the building.  

This is where tenants and homeowners can pile up all the belongings they’re not using.

However, if you’re leaving your home permanently or temporarily and need to store some if not all of your kitchen appliances, furniture and other belongings, you won’t necessarily have access to such a trastero. And if you don’t have another place to ship your stuff to, this can be pretty challenging. 

Perhaps you’re not moving but you’re running out of space at your Spanish home and need to declutter. Maybe you’re refurbishing your home and need to put your stuff somewhere else for a while.

So what storage options are there in Spain? There are plenty. 

Storage space is a booming business in Spain (up 68 percent in the past five years), with only France and the UK surpassing Spain in the amount of storage space available for rent. 

According to the Spanish Association of Self Storage), in cities such as Seville, Barcelona, Málaga and Madrid, there’s one storage space available for at least every 20 inhabitants, so you’re likely to be spoilt for choice.   

Rent a trastero from a private owner

If you visit Idealista, Fotocasa or any other of Spain’s main property websites, you’ll find listings from private owners looking to rent out their storage room. 

Depending on their size, location and other factors, you can expect to pay anything from €30 to €200 a month. 

Before renting, you will need proof that they actually own the trastero, and you should make sure you ask all the pertinent questions regarding security, mould, insect infestations and other conditions that could damage your belongings.  

Rent a storage space from a company

Companies specialising in storage space are often called guardamuebles (furniture storers) in Spain, although many people refer to them as trasteros as well.

There are hundreds of companies that now specialise in this in Spain, so a Google search with guardamuebles and the name of your town or city should produce several useful results. 

The benefits of using a professional company over an individual lessor is that they offer more range of storage sizes tailored to your needs, and they’re likely to have facilities which are properly protected from the elements and break-ins.

It’s impossible to give an exact price for a standard of €5 per m³. So for an 8 m³ furniture storage unit, the cost could be €40 per month, and for a 30 m³ storage unit, the cost is €150 per month.

Zebrabox, Oh My Box!, Guardatodo, Homebox, Bluespace are some of the more famous names but don’t forget to shop around for good prices and offers, and to read reviews if possible.

Use a moving company to store your belongings

If you want to kill two birds with one stone and entrust the same company that will eventually move your belongings to your new home to store your stuff for a period of time, you’re in luck, because many of these mudanza companies offer such services.

Amygo, SIT, AGS Movers and Casa Rojals are some of the most well-known moving companies in Spain that also offer storage space.

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