Peter1969

I am new to this site and was hoping that people that have made the brave move to retire abroad in the canaries would give me some advice about moving and also what it's like to be there.
We have been many times on holiday to Gran Canaria (Maspalomas & Puerto Mogan) and really enjoy the pace of life, weather and the people of course.
But this is only a holiday and you are in holiday mode,so I would love to hear from people in not only Gran Canaria but from the other islands as well.
The sort of information and experiences I would like are;
Did you rent for a period before buying a property.
Cost of living.
Buying a property, easy or complex.
Year round weather and temperatures.
The banking system, same as UK?
Are utilities more expensive, cheaper or the same.
Language barrier, how did you cope.

I am still working at the moment but retirement gets ever closer and I hope with your knowledge of the islands it will make me a little more 'streetwise' to our decision in the future.

We are going back to Puerto Mogan again later this year so will look forward to that.

As this is my first post I hope I not asking to much and look forward to a few replies and some much needed help.

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst myself and BEVS moderate Europe. Please read the Site Rules Site Rules | British Expatriate Community adhere to them so that the site runs smoothly. Moderators are there to ensure that the rules of BE are maintained. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Moses2013

Not retired and not in the Canaries but everyone here will advise to rent before buying. Unless of course you have plenty of cash and already lived on an island for a longer period, I would certainly try it first before selling up. While some people love smaller islands (well not that small:-), it's also not for everyone and island fever is no myth. I'm sure others will be able to help but have you looked at other locations in Spain or other islands? Apart from the holidays and weather, what makes the place better than let's say other locations etc.

Pulaski

If you're not able to relocate and establish residence before early 2019 then Brexit will happen and that will throw up issues and obstacles the range of which is unknowable at the present time - such as health insurance, the indexation of your UK state pension, capital requirements (are you rich enough?) to be allowed to retire in Spain, etc.

Peter1969

First of all,thank you for your most valuable and sensible comments to my post.
I think if I'm honest with myself,although we have holidayed in Gran Canaria we would look at retiring to any of the islands and even south of the spainish mainland as its the all year round climate that we would be looking for.
I totally agree with the suggestion to rent before you buy and if we were to go ahead and buy abroad I think we would downsize in England to provide the funds and also it would provide a place in England close to the family.
All in all we are looking to live in a climate where you don't have to be wrapped up and shut away for 3 or 4 months a year.

FranE

I know EXACTLY what you mean about UK winters. I used to say I didn't want to spend my retirement "stuck indoors hugging the fire for 6 months of the year".


However, my experience of Spain so far, and of Malta when we holidayed there a lot, and indeed Australia, is that many people who live in hot climates regard the summer pretty much as we do the winter here. The heat in summer can be as limiting as the winters are here. I knew an elderly Maltese woman who dreaded the onset of summer. I know a young Australian mother who just gets sick to death of the summer heat and can't wait for Autumn. Even as far north up the Mediterranean coast as we are, in July and August we can't spend too much time outside before retiring back in the house, strip off, have a shower and sit in front of the fan with the telly on!! My Zumba classes shut down in July and August, it's just too hot.


I'm not trying to put you off, just adding this to the mix. I'd rather be in Spain than Devon at ANY time of year. In Spain we need our wood burner going for most of the winter, but we don't get grey skies, drizzle, wind and biting cold for days or weeks on end like we do in the UK. We still have blue skies (mostly) and sunshine and can go for a walk most days. It's fair to say however that the heat limits our activities somewhat, and in the height of the summer we have to spend more time indoors.

FranE

PS. In answer to your other queries:


Rent first is the sensible option. (We bought, but we had already visited many parts of Spain over 30 years, and had been spending holidays in Peniscola for about 9 years, so we knew the area well and knew we wanted to be there). Keeping a place in the UK is also highly sensible IMO, even when you buy in Spain. We have. A lot of people on here will advise you not to "burn your bridges". Moving anywhere in retirement is a big step and you never know what's around the corner.


I don't think buying a house is a complex procedure, the various checks, searches, and the basic procedure is not much different from the UK. But you MUST get a solicitor (English speaking) who actually knows what they're doing! Our solicitor was hopeless and being a former solicitor myself, I knew what questions to ask and found I was often prompting HIM as to what he needed to do next! On reflection I don't think he was actually a conveyancing solicitor at all and was just "fronting" the operation because he spoke English).


I personally find the cost of living much cheaper in Spain. Food, petrol/diesel and clothes I find cheaper. We are off grid so don't pay for water or electricity, only bottled gas and logs for the burner. Our annual council tax is less than I pay monthly in the UK. Furniture is expensive (and often nasty). Road tax for the car is a little cheaper.


Because we don't have any utility bills to pay, we don't have a Spanish bank account. We did have one but closed it. It was a non-resident account which was expensive, quarterly charge for the account and for a card. But you don't pay those charges for a resident account and from all I hear the banking system in Spain is the same or better than in the UK.


As for the language, I think it depends on whether you're good at languages or not. I am, my husband isn't. We did 3 years of evening classes before buying (and I did the GCSE), and although my husband has pretty much got nowhere with the language, I get better and better every time we go out (which we do for 3 months at a time). Although I think we could manage here with no Spanish (charming helpful people and translator app on your phone), I just wouldn't be comfortable living in a foreign country without speaking their language.


I'm obviously not in the Canaries, but I hope it's of some help to you.

Moses2013

And one other big problem living in certain places are the tourists during summer. After a while it just gets annoying and one reason why we did not buy an apartment directly on coast (apart from price) was that I kind of like the idea to have a garden you can escape to when the crowds arrive. Not retired yet but to be honest the late spring and summer in Ireland is so pleasant (temps and long bright days) that I don't even want to be in Spain at that time of the year. Ideally we'd rather spend the winter months if possible in Spain but you never know. The thing is that so far we also don't pay for water here, property tax is very low and obviously don't need air con in summer LOL

johnnyone

The Spanish mainland can get quite cold in winter. If you are looking for a year round climate stick with the Canaries.

Moses2013

Be careful though. While it might not be as cold during night in winter the days are not always warmer or let's say sunnier than certain parts of mainland Spain. You have various micro climates and it can often be grey and wet too if it's a bother for someone.

Boseley

I live and have done so for some years on the island of El Hierro. We visited most of the Canary Islands before choosing this island, we also knew the peninsular, my father lived there and we frequently visited there.

The cost of living on El Hierro, is dearer than the other islands, that is because of our isolation, noticeably vehicle fuel, runs at 86 cents per litre on G.C. over a euro here. Other costs are cheaper, well heating and air conditioning are not needed, so no charge there. Food, when I infrequently visit the U.K., I am shocked at the prices, Spain I find more expensive than here, drinks are cheaper here too. Much of the food is produced here or on other islands and we also grow our own fruits and veg.

The coastal temperatures here rarely go below 16ºC and because of the trade winds we only get a few days of hot weather in the summer, however the higher you go the colder it gets in winter and the hotter it can get in summer.

Banking is not the same as in the U.K., but it is very similar and you soon get used to their methods.

Buying property here was fairly straight forward, however this island is probably unique. Other islands it is more complicated and a lawyer would be advised.

I am informed by the Boss that utilities are far cheaper here than the U.K. also that council rate charges are cheaper, road tax on the car is cheaper. Water, our drinking water is free, most of our other water falls infrequently from the sky and is collected in huge deposits, called Aljibes. Piped water to the house is charged on what we use.

Language, here English is hardly used at all, the U.K. residents are under 10 on the entire island, so we speak the local version of Castellano.

One other thing, once you become resident, huge discounts can be obtained on Ferry and air fares throughout Spanish territories.

Brexit, we have been granted Spanish nationality.

Wish you well with your venture.

Peter1969

Thank you all for your most valuable information on the various questions I raised in my initial post,you have provided me with a wealth of information, which has been a fascinating read from the very people who are living the dream which gives it more creditability than reading a brochure or various websites.
I'm not quite sure where El Hierro is but I will do some research and find out.
Would love to hear more views from other people and also the process of residency, how long do you need to live there(canaries and mainland) before you can apply and is it a straightforward process, probably a silly statement there as nothing easy when it comes to governments!!
Anyway thanks for your time and reading this post.

Peter1969

My thanks goes out to all the people that took time to reply to my initial post a little while ago and I think I am now getting a good idea of the pro's and con's of moving abroad to mainland Spain and the Canary Isles.

It has been very enlighten to read posts on so many different subjects, some of which I never even considered, but would effect me if I did move in the future.

As the Canary Isles are probably the place we would prefer to move too I would love to hear from anyone who has moved to any of the islands and their experiences of moving and their life now that they are residents or even if you rent for several months a year(our winter)!!

Thanks for reading.