Sant Joan de les Abadesses is a village to live in. While it is true that it experiences rural exodus like the rest of the mountain regions, it is also true that more and more families from other parts of the country choose it to develop their life and professional projects. This page aims to be a first point of contact with the reality of the village, a starting point to get to know it and begin to decide if it is the place that can also allow you to do so.
If you have arrived here…
Si heu arribat aquí...
If you have arrived here, it is because you have received information about the "A Village to Live In" campaign. First of all, thank you for your interest. The videos and related content have had a much greater impact than we expected. They total nearly 200,000 views on the various platforms where they have appeared, with thousands of shares and positive reactions.
We have received around a hundred interested individuals, via telephone, email, or who have traveled to our village. From this group, we have worked with an initial group of 80 people representing diverse family units: retirees, families with children, young people living alone, those who can work remotely, and those who want to move their business... So far, we have managed to align the interests of these people with job and property offers in 10 cases, which is a success for us, considering that we have only been working on it for a few months. Everything has been thanks to a natural and organic reach, the result of the real stories told in the videos, and the interest that many people have in making a change in their lives.
However, we have also noticed that the original message we launched has been reinterpreted through word of mouth and media coverage, factors that we could not control because they did not depend on us. The objective of the campaign is for people who already had the intention of moving to a village to consider Sant Joan de les Abadesses, always bearing in mind that they are an active part of this change. The Town Hall and the regional entities that have supported the campaign offer support and attention when it comes to understanding the environment and the economic and labor context here, trying to connect all the interests of those who want to come with what we know they can find here. The success stories that have occurred precisely involve this group of people, who had a clear willingness to make the change and who are aware of everything involved in a change of this magnitude: finding work, the housing they seek schooling... In these cases, the campaign has been a catalyst for a personal situation that was already reasoned.
In no case, however, is it a quick or easy process, nor do we have all the tools to make it possible. Precisely, thanks to the campaign, we have discovered that we do not have all the types of housing that people demand, something that will allow us to work on it from an urban planning perspective in the coming years.
We believed it was interesting and necessary to make this reflection to avoid frustration so that we can work together to make your journey possible. Here you will find the minimum information to start researching and developing your project in Sant Joan de les Abadesses
After consulting this page, if you need more information, you can contact us at 972 720 100, ext 1.
Reception facilities
Families who register in Sant Joan de les Abadesses can enjoy the activities organized by the City Council for free. This initiative aims to promote socialization, which we understand is key to being able to settle in a new place. Among others, they will be able to attend outings and excursions, learn about the cultural heritage at the Comte Arnau Festival, meet the neighbors and restaurateurs at Atipa't de Tapas, and participate in the Carnival Festival, the Festa Major marquee, end of the year... When they are registered in the town and while they are there, they will receive a card with which they can get tickets and tickets for free for a year, so that they can know about all the festivities that take place in the town.
Infrastructures and connections
Sant Joan is well-connected by road, especially after the C17 split to Ripoll. By road, you can reach Vic in just over 40 minutes, and Barcelona in 1 hour and 40 m. Olot is 25 minutes away, Girona 1 hour away, and l'Escala, a place where a lot of Sant Joan residents spend their summers, 1 hour and 10 meters away. There is also a train to Ripoll, where the R3 arrives. You can go in the direction of Barcelona, or towards Puigcerdà. By bus, TEISA connects Sant Joan with the rest of the region and also with Barcelona, Olot and Girona. In terms of telecommunications, fiber optic arrived in mid-2018, and there is also good mobile phone connection, mostly with 4G. It also has a POST OFFICE and offices and tellers of several banks.How to get to Sant Joan.
Housing
Those people who come to our town with an entrepreneurial project, have a space to reconcile a business project with their private life through Vila Icària. It is a business incubator with different spaces, with a series of shared services. Above these workrooms, there are some homes for entrepreneurs. It is possible to just live there, just work there, or do both. It is an infrastructure of the Eduard Soler Foundation, which is built on a plot of land given by the City Council.
Other housing options, in addition to real estate, can be found in the regional housing stock which is managed by the Ripoll Municipal Housing Office.
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Education
The town has the Mestre Andreu School Institute, which allows students to study from Kindergarten to Secondary. In 2018, Secondary students opened a new center in La Coromina del Bac, and it is expected that the rest of the cycles will move there in the coming years. The building is new and has all the facilities and elements of a modern school. In addition, there is also the Municipal Children's Home El Molí Petit, for pre-school education.
Also since 2018, La Farga Foundation and Sant Joan de les Abadesses City Council have reached an agreement to create a call for scholarships to obtain official and unofficial higher studies aimed at students from Sant Joan de les Abadesses, with an endowment of 10,000 euros.
Sant Joan also hosts one of the two headquarters of the Escola Municipal de Música del Ripollès (ECMR). The ECMR was born in 2005 with the firm aim that the Ripollès region had quality musical education.
The town also has the Josep Picola Municipal Library which, in the coming years, will move and grow as a cultural center in the Mestre Andreu building, right in the middle of the town.
Health and well-being
It has a medical office that was inaugurated in 2014 and that has a pediatric service. Also, due to its strategic location, our town is the starting point for the Ripollès Rapid Intervention Vehicle, which does not transport patients but gives a quick response to the critically ill by attending to them on site, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. For a few years there has also been a veterinary clinic with equipment and top-level professionals.
Vida cultural i social
Sant Joan de les Abadesses has a rich and very active associative fabric. There are nearly 40 entities, a very high figure considering the population.
The Civic Centre, in the El Palmas building, is the focal point for accessing or communicating with the entities.
Many of these entities offer activities to the rest of the population and attract many visitors to our town, such as:
The Palau de l'Abadia is also an important cultural center. It is the starting point to discover our architectural and natural heritage, and all the places of interest. It also has the Espai Art l'Abadia, where different renowned artists exhibit regularly.
Equipment
The Civic Center is a facility for community dynamism and a space where the local organizations are located. It also houses the municipality's Youth Information Point, the Telecentre and several classrooms intended for various uses, such as training courses, meetings of entities and associations...
The town has a municipal station, La Veu, which has nearly 30 collaborators and which offers three hours of its own programming a day, and which is a catalyst for the town's cultural and social activity, as well as a tool of open and participatory communication. It broadcasts on 107.4FM and also on the internet, and on demand.
Sant Joan also has an outdoor municipal swimming pool, padel and tennis courts, a Municipal Sports Field where CE Abadessenc plays, and the Municipal Sports Pavilion, where you can practice different disciplines.
Work
The town has a number of companies, shops and businesses that make it possible to live day to day enjoying local commerce. There is also an industrial past, present and future, despite the natural environment that surrounds it. Currently, in addition to the estates of Cal Gat, Coromina del Bac and Colònia Llaudet, which is just being urbanized and which is becoming one of the points of attraction for new companies in the region. A good starting point to start learning about the employment situation in the region is to consult the services of the Ripollès Development Agency, and the Ripollès Intersectoral and Business Union. Both institutions manage job offers in the region. You can check them online here and here. You can also check current public administration job offers (Ripollès Regional Council and Town Councils)here.
Natura
The Iron and Carbon Route is a 12 km Greenway route. It follows the old route of the train track and the wagons that brought the coal from the Ogassa mines. It is ideal for families, by bike or on foot, due to its low difficulty.
Once in Sant Joan de les Abadesses you will realize, however, that the natural itineraries to enjoy the surroundings are inexhaustible. It is located in a gerda valley, covered with pastures and pine, oak or beech forests in the highest places. The influx of the Ter rivers and the Arçamala creek also give the area unique characteristics. In the Horta area, around where these two rivers meet, there is a space where there are the characteristic gardens of our town. You can rent a small piece of land to grow fruit and vegetables.
One way to come and discover nature in a guided way and with content is by approaching the Alt Ter Environmental Education Center, located in the old Arçamala flour mill.
Sant Joan also has a hill, Sant Antoni, which has tables and barbecues and where families from Sant Joan have the habit of having lunch when the weather is good. A hotel-restaurant will soon be opened in the house of the hermitage of Sant Antoni, with which this area will be provided with even more services.
Witnesses
La Mariona Vila:
La Gemma i l'Oriol:
En Fredi Tuset:
