Polish woman says locals drove her from Barcelona amid anti-tourism backlash

A Polish woman who ditched her marriage and job for a new life in Spain says she was hounded out by locals angry at "foreigners taking over." Karolina Wachowicz, 35, split from her husband and felt "lost and overwhelmed by work," prompting her to book a flight to Barcelona. "Why there? Because it was the cheapest," she told What's The Jam.

She found adjusting to life in Spain far from simple. "It was difficult at first, I had to start all over again. I had no job, no friends, and I didn't speak the language." She soon received an employment contract and was able to rent an apartment in Barcelona. And just when everything was starting to fall into place, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Over the following years, she bought a flat with a mortgage despite friends warning that she didn’t speak Spanish. "You don't even speak Spanish, how are you going to handle everything at the bank?" they asked. Despite her doubts, she said it was a step toward stability and truly feeling at home. But the mood in the city shifted as locals took part in "Tourists Go Home" protests, with posters and graffiti plastered around Barcelona. She said she noticed that friends visiting from outside could feel unwelcome. "In my building, the owners were only Catalan; I was the only foreigner." The locals would not add her to the building's community WhatsApp group, and she sometimes felt excluded from neighborhood matters. La Barceloneta, the beachside neighborhood she lived in, is popular with tourists year-round, and the area features posters and stickers that mirror the anti-tourism mood. Barceloneta is inundated with visitors, but Wachowicz notes that tourists also drive revenue and enable local businesses to thrive.

She said the anti-tourism movement in Barcelona is "a bit unfair," adding that it is thanks to visitors that the city gained its fame and funding for development. "Yes, Barcelona is overflowing with tourists, who undoubtedly contribute to rising housing prices, but they also generate significant revenue for the city and the country." She argued that many Catalans repeat the phrase that tourists are evil, but she did not plan to stay forever; over time she found it easier to be herself in Spain and was happier there. After six years in Spain, Wachowicz quit Barcelona earlier this year and moved to Taiwan.

She concluded that the situation illustrates the complex balance between welcoming visitors and managing resident concerns, a dynamic that has shaped many European cities. For now, she emphasizes that her decision to leave was personal and that she remains grateful for the opportunities she found in Spain. The world continues to watch how cities like Barcelona navigate the line between tourism and community cohesion.