British emigrants leave the “English ghetto” of the Costa del Sol to live in the “real Spain”.

Friends in Seville thought Gemma Boys was crazy when she told them she wanted to move to Valladolid, an old-fashioned city far from all the popular southern Spanish cities, but that didn’t stop her.

“I fell for it [Valladolid] because it is a real Spanish city. I never liked Costa. I love the people and the culture,” says the British language teacher.

“I would never go to the Costa del Sol because all I see is a small English ghetto and they don’t care about culture. They just want the weather to suit their lifestyle.”

Hailing from Preston in Lancashire, Mrs Boys is one of a growing wave of Britons who have turned their backs on Spain’s Mediterranean coast and headed north into a country more for its wine, plains and pig than for its sun, and the sun known as southern sands.

“For me, this is a real identity. It is small enough for you to know the people here. I wanted to be part of the local community, so it was important for me to work in local schools,” says Ms Boyes, 39, head of The Country Cottage language school.

Brexit was another turning point for Ms Boyce, who decided to move to Spain a year after the 2016 vote.

“The Brexit vote took place and I was shocked by what happened. It was sad. People here don’t understand what Brexit is for,” she said.

As real estate prices rise on the Costas, more and more foreigners are buying up houses or entire abandoned villages in Castile and León, Galicia, La Rioja, Navarre and other previously outdated regions.

Climate change is being blamed for pushing temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in parts of southern Spain last summer, making the Mediterranean coast less attractive to heat-stricken northern Europeans.

Since the pandemic, more foreigners have been able to work from home in rural Spanish towns while earning foreign wages.

Britons and other foreigners are attracted by the Golden Mile of Castile and León’s large wineries and the lush greenery of the countryside.

This is the land of Ribera del Duero, a wine that is growing in popularity in Britain but has yet to challenge Rioja’s dominance.

One of them is Protos, whose winery in the shape of three giant wine barrels in the beautiful village of Peñafiel was designed by the late British architect Richard Rogers.

Along with cheaper housing, house help and wine, one of the factors driving Britons and other expats is the cost of living crisis: Cheaper housing outside of Spain’s hotspots like Madrid, Barcelona, ​​the Balearic Islands and Marbella is becoming increasingly important, say real estate agents. say.

Foreigners bought 14% of all property in Spain last year, according to the National Statistical Institute (INE), an increase not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.

According to INE, despite Brexit, the British remain the largest buyers by nationality, with 10.87% of all homes bought by foreigners. They are followed by Germans (9.23%), French (6.44%), Belgians (4.91%), Italians (4.85%) and Dutch (4.64%).

The Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the Valencia region, which includes the Costa Blanca, remain the most popular areas for foreign buyers.

However, according to data compiled Cinco Diaz, business newspaper. Castile and León accounted for 2.64% of overseas purchases.

Colm Mullen, 39, who moved to Valladolid from Ireland 19 years ago, said: “Spain is much more than sand and sun, like the south. This region is rich in culture. This is the cradle of the Spanish language. This is old Spain.

Luis Corral, CEO of Foro Consultores Inmobiliarios, a real estate agency, said Britons and other expats are showing increasing interest in inland Spain.

“Nature, space and prices – that’s what attracts. These places are well connected and have a good lifestyle,” he said. I.