LIVING

For those at the other end of the scale, Barcelona’s tireless economic boom is nothing to cheer about. The wave of tourists and economic surge only tightens the grip on their already meagre purse strings.

Across Catalunya, 17 percent of the population lives in poverty, a definition applied to those forced to survive on an income of €600 a month or less. Barcelona fares little better. Approximately 12 percent of the population is worse off still, scraping by on less than €375 per month, according to Ajuntament statistics. A majority of this group is made up of elderly and single women, single mothers and those made unemployed late in life.

With prices seemingly increasing on a daily basis it is little wonder that many of this number fail to cope altogether, eventually finding themselves ‘down and out in Barcelona’. While exact figures are hard to come by, it is estimated that some 2,000 people here are sense sostre (homeless).

“When I first moved here things were so much cheaper,” said Georgina Hoby who moved to Barcelona from London four years ago. “Even in this short time things have changed. Everything costs so much more. You can still find cheap places to eat and drink, but it is much harder now.”

Barcelona’s long-lasting property price boom has also taken its toll. For those at the bottom of the economic pile, finding a room, let alone a flat, is increasingly difficult. Recent statistics from the Ajuntament would appear to confirm this. Between 2001 and 2005 (the latest statistics available), the average sale price of dwellings in Barcelona increased by 80 percent (115 percent for new dwellings) while the minimum wage during this time rose by a mere 30 percent. Even for those with the luxury of a regular salary, such price increases can make it tough to reach the end of the month with any money.

Spain’s social welfare system also contributes to the problem. Though ostensibly generous to those with a history of employment, for those outside of official channels the situation is far less rosy. Once the maximum period of social welfare payments has been exhausted, a period which currently stands at a maximum of 24 months for those who have worked for six years or more, the final step is emergency relief. This equates to a level of just 75 percent of the minimum wage, currently set in Spain at just €570.60 per month.