Living in a motorhome due to soaring housing prices in Madrid: I got used to it quickly, but I don't idealize it'

"The taxi driver got the wrong impression last night. In the middle of one of those wide, deserted avenues in a typical new residential area on the outskirts of Madrid, Antonio asked the driver to stop the cab in front of a large supermarket. Before collecting the fare, the man stuck his head out the window and peeked at the top floor of a modern, 10-story building next to it."

"Apartments here must cost a fortune, right? he asked, sounding impressed. Antonio shrugged and chuckled to himself. The taxi left, and Antonio swerved away from the building, where only 20-square-meter (215 sq ft) studios remain available for sale at a price of 210,000 ($244,000). In this neighborhood to the north of the Spanish capital, a one-bedroom apartment costs around 600,000 (close to $700,000). Antonio headed towards a discreet, sandy parking lot surrounded by vegetation where he currently has his home."

"It is the cheapest housing in this area, and possibly in the entire city: a 2003 Fiat Ducato Carioca camper van that he bought secondhand in 2019 for 22,000 ($25,500). There, as he does every night, he slept soundly. Antonio Domenech, 37, was born in Alcoy, in the Mediterranean province of Alicante. He has been a public school worker since he passed the last round of competitive examinations for primary school teachers held in the Madrid region in 2024."

Antonio Domenech, 37, lives in a 2003 Fiat Ducato Carioca camper van parked in a sandy lot north of Madrid because nearby apartments are prohibitively expensive. He bought the van secondhand in 2019 for 22,000 ($25,500) and sleeps there nightly while commuting by electric scooter to his public school job. He passed the competitive examinations and secured a permanent teaching position in 2024 but still lacks a definitive school assignment. He keeps his living situation hidden from colleagues at a school with more than 1,000 students for security and privacy. Local studio and one-bedroom prices range from 210,000 to around 600,000.

Read at english.elpais.com