Follow-up to "where are richer/poorer areas in Spain?" question

Yep, it was me, I dumped the post, it seemed like it was too much effort to get it worded in a way that didn't cause controversy. What I was trying to get at, is that Spain has so many very amazing cities with old towns. I was wondering who was able to live in these city centers and if locals were "priced out" of the neighborhoods. I was especially curious about Girona and some of the white villages in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I thought maybe there was a possibility that these were Airbnb rentals and vacationers from larger Spanish cities. However, in Arcos's historic center, we noted that there were families that did not appear to be living comfortably. I may have also commented that I knew that by U.S. standards, unemployment was quite high in Spain. What did surprise us was that when we dug deeper we saw that the rate was even higher in Andalusia, which one would think would greatly benefit by the high volume of tourism.

@Nick If we want to get technical, in most of the 17 regions of Spain there are also regional newspapers, however there are also 3 main "National" Newspapers with national distribution; El Pais, El Mundo, and ABC. The regionals will mostly outsell the national papers in their respective regions. But as the national titles are sold universally in Spain, they reach much higher circulation. El Pais is currently number one in Spain and also has international branches throughout the Spanish speaking world.

who is @Nick?

@Jules, ah I see what you mean now...
Yes in some of the more sought-after neighborhoods in the popular cities in Spain, most notably my hometown of Barcelona, one finds that some residents are being pushed out by the rising cost, spurred on by the various short-term rental schemes, like Air BnB. Our mayor, Ada Colau, has tried to encourage a more sustainable rental market while reigning in the power of some of these rental schemes.

one would think would greatly benefit by the high volume of tourism.

Interestingly, volume of tourism is not such a big indicator of a healthy local economy in Spain. Andalucia is around 25% unemployment, but Aragon, which is probably one the least touristy regions in Spain is at 11.6%. In comparison Extremadura, which is also off the international tourist radar, has an unemployment rate of 26%. List of Spanish autonomous communities by unemployment rate

It really has to do with the amount of regional industrialization. Catalonia, Navarre, the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon (all in the north) profited greatly from the rapid industrialization of the "Spanish Miracle" during the 1960s-70s.

Hi Nigel - I was answering a question Nick, a fellow contributor, had about Spanish newspapers, but it appears his comment is no longer there.

Thanks Carlos, interesting background. So beyond the scope of this forum's intent, but could one say that a reason that Catalunya does so well economically is the federal supports via the "Spanish Miracle"? Your response also prompted me to review an initiative from the same time in Minnesota, the Minnesota Miracle, which aimed to equalize funds available for public education. Interestingly, there seem to be a number of "Minnesota miracles", now, including a couple related to the football and baseball teams and another when the U.S. hockey team won the Olympic gold medal in 1980. The majority of the team was from Minnesota as well as the head coach.

Hi Jules, yes one could say that why Catalunya (and some other northern regions too) do so well now is partly due to the economical invigoration of this "Spanish Miracle" time period. Particularity in Catalunya there was a major development of textiles, cars, and petrochemicals industries, which in turn led to mass immigration from other parts of Spain, particularly from Andalucía, to Catalunya.

Yes, I've also heard about the U.S. hockey team win during 1980 Olympics, against the Soviets right? I recall an American movie was made about it?

Yes, Carlos, there was a movie, "Miracle on Ice". The coach, Herb Brooks, is a legend in Minnesota. I was in college in 1980, and when they beat the Soviets, there was a roar over the whole campus at the end of the game. The Soviets had been the clear favorites.

Even watching that game on TV was highly emotional.