As celebrities and nightlife-loving revelers flock to the Spanish island of Ibiza, it’s slowly become unaffordable for the locals.
“I miss the basic things that make life comfortable, like being able to stand up in your own home, being able to cook properly, or even open a drawer and pull out some socks,” César Nebrera, a chef who’s been living out of an old green Kia the last three years, told BBC News.
“Those are the kinds of things that you miss out on when you live in a car.”
Nebrara is part of a growing group of Ibicencos for whom apartment living has become too expensive as they are priced out by the wealthy.
“In Ibiza, accommodation is very expensive, and it’s getting more and more expensive,” the chef explained.
“And the cost of renting is completely out of kilter with what you earn. So living like this is an alternative. It’s less comfortable, but it allows me to keep living on the island.”
Others have resorted to living in tents, BBC News reported.
Home sales are down on Ibiza, creating a higher demand for rentable living spaces.
Meanwhile, apartment rental prices on the island, which received 4 million visitors in 2023, soared by 40- to 50-percent within the last year.
Experts worry the housing crisis on Ibiza will have a negative impact on tourism, which largely created the crisis.
“Anyone who lives here keeps saying the same thing: something has to give because the prices keep going up,” said George McBlain, who runs O Beach, an Ibiza disco and restaurant.
“Obviously, salaries go up a little bit, but not enough,” he continued.
“I’ve got friends here and their rents have jumped up by double in the space of a year. And if that continues, what you’re going to see — and it’s already happening — is that workers coming to the island are going to pick elsewhere.”
