The Spanish idea of offering low cost holidays to Spanish citizens is a great thing but I did not know about the low cost flights for the Canaries helps the local population maybe not feel so isolated. As for a winter (nothing like winters in most parts of Europe) but after living in Australia I enjoy the change in temps and seasonal changes having weather which is warm all year round would fry my brain (what’s left of it anyway lol), we did holiday for Christmas once in North Tenerife and we had not so great weather, this year we are going to spend Christmas and New Year in Fuerteventura (one of the last Canary Islands we have not visited) so looking forward to that very much.

I was in the Gold Coast so no extreme weather there, but a short drive up to Brisbane and it was an entirely different story when it comes to heat & humidity. Of course places like Melbourne or Adelaide can go completely off the rails, being way hotter than the GC during summer and way colder in winter.

The Canaries are the closest thing I have found to the GC climate anywhere in the world. Anywhere habitable/liveable that is. December to May are perfectly fine up north (20-22C) but if I was coming for a holiday then I'd prefer the slightly warmer and often sunnier south during those months. Same goes for Tenerife. Fuerteventura should be nice, I only spent a couple of days there but the landscapes are incredible and I've only seen a small part of the island!

Weather is changing anyway so nobody knows which way it will go. The downside is that everywhere you go, more and more nature is being destroyed and with hot weather anything natural is seen as a fire risk so the little that's left is cut and with fewer trees, the flooding increases. Another example would be butterflies and unfortunately declining every year on the islands.

In Ireland I keep a large section of the garden wild and the last few years have seen an increase but now it's too warm and dry. Haven't had a drop of rain for weeks and looking like the next 2 weeks similar. This is the problem and while tourists and pensioners all seek the perfect climate, more visitors mean the balance is lost and less space for nature that is already struggling with a changing climate.

Looking at the exploitative nature of (some) humans in their quest to deliver maximum profits 'here and now' over any other considerations I think we're spiralling towards a world our predecessors would be ashamed of. And there might not be much left for the next generation.

If Ireland's heating up then we might as well be looking towards Iceland or Greenland for a property purchase. Luckily solar and wind energy are constantly attracting new investments, and electric/hydrogen cars are bound to replace archaic vehicles sooner or later...

We probably won't notice the huge changes in our lifetime but I do fear that many people seem to look away and joke about it. No doubt we'll get rain again, what worries me here and in the UK is that people are so uneducated when it comes to fire prevention, or let's say the longer dry conditions mean more idiots have success starting wildfires deliberately. I was reading that wildfires in the UK have increased and what I notice here is that when people hear the word water shortages, they get annoyed.

At least in Spain, the local population seem to be more aware of the challenges. Even Menorca had terrible floods last summer.

Evening everyone,

Is there anyone on here that has moved from Australia to Spain ?? - reason for asking is the Spanish Consulates down here in Australia are absolutely awful - never answer their phones. I've tried, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra - no-one answers. You email them and get an automated reply with no follow up... I'm told if you just turn up at the consulate they are not keen to see you either without an appointment. Seriously frustrated but more concerned at how on earth am I supposed to submit my paperwork if I can't get through to them to book an appointment....

Any ideas welcomed or pm me if you prefer.

Thanks

It says you have to mail it? https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consul...lucrativa.aspx

I only Googled for Sydney, not sure about the other consulates.

Not unique to Australia - three consulates in UK are similar. In UK a third party company BLS handle the initial application and you request an appointment online. I know that doesn’t help with AUS though.