Madrid faces a paradox that sums up much of contemporary social unrest: its attractiveness and opportunities clash with the growing desire of many residents to pack their bags and leave. According to the II Housing Barometer ‘Planeta Propietario’, prepared by Grupo Mutua Propietarios, only 25% of Madrid residents say that they would not change their autonomous community if they could. Translated: 67% of the inhabitants of Madrid would like to move to another region, which places the capital as the community with the highest percentage of population willing to leave their territory behind to look for new horizons.
This percentage is especially striking when compared to the national average, where only half of the population is considering moving to another region. Moreover, the phenomenon is generational: young people between 18 and 24 years of age are the least attached, in a context where up to 41% of them would even consider emigrating abroad if conditions permit.
What are the causes of this new trend reflected in the data on Madrid?
Among the most frequent reasons why people want to leave the city are the prohibitive price of housing, a concern shared with the rest of the country according to the CIS, urban congestion, the accelerated pace of life or the search for better environmental quality and less stress. Large cities such as Madrid are hit even harder by the difficulty of accessing a home and the feeling of lack of roots, when in other communities the local attachment is much higher (such as Andalusia, where 59% do not consider moving).
The report reveals that the favorite destinations of Madrid residents who dream of moving are Andalusia, Asturias and Valencia, in search of a more affordable and quiet life.
Even so, Madrid continues to be a point of arrival for thousands of new residents, the internal migratory balance remains the highest in the country, according to the latest INE data from 2023. But the debate is open: will Madrid respond to this silent yearning for change or will the latent exodus of its own inhabitants continue?