Spanish Islands
Mar 3rd 2008, 7:06 pm
#16
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 35,082
Re: Spanish Islands
Mar 3rd 2008, 7:11 pm
#17
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: West Lothian
Posts: 685
Re: Spanish Islands
All the Canary islands are quite close to each other, so you have Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura all a relatively short ferry trip away. Cost of living and housing is somewhat more expensive than mainland Spain, also flights to and from are much more expensive as there are, to date, none of the 'low cost' airlines flying there, those airlines that do are all holiday charter flights. Cost of living is higher because the vast majority of food etc has to be flown in or come by boat. Have been to all except Tenerife, and they are all touristy as their main source of income is the tourist industry.
Mar 4th 2008, 7:44 am
#18
UK Bound
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Tenerife
Posts: 54
Re: Spanish Islands
Me and my husband have lived in Tenerife for 16 years now, and the only reason we plan to move back to the UK is that we are missing the family. Our granddaughter is 5 now, and we feel we are missing out on her growing up.
As for safety, well we have never felt threatened at all, and the cost of living is still very reasonable. The island is lovely - especially in the north, where Mount Teide is. It is obviously barren in places due to the hot weather, but if it is sun and sea you are looking for you couldn't do much better than Tenerife (in my opinion). The cost of property is not too expensive, depends on what you want, and how near to the coast you want to be.
Any other questions, feel free to ask....
Theresa
As for safety, well we have never felt threatened at all, and the cost of living is still very reasonable. The island is lovely - especially in the north, where Mount Teide is. It is obviously barren in places due to the hot weather, but if it is sun and sea you are looking for you couldn't do much better than Tenerife (in my opinion). The cost of property is not too expensive, depends on what you want, and how near to the coast you want to be.
Any other questions, feel free to ask....
Theresa
Mar 4th 2008, 1:54 pm
#19
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 90
Re: Spanish Islands
Me and my husband have lived in Tenerife for 16 years now, and the only reason we plan to move back to the UK is that we are missing the family. Our granddaughter is 5 now, and we feel we are missing out on her growing up.
As for safety, well we have never felt threatened at all, and the cost of living is still very reasonable. The island is lovely - especially in the north, where Mount Teide is. It is obviously barren in places due to the hot weather, but if it is sun and sea you are looking for you couldn't do much better than Tenerife (in my opinion). The cost of property is not too expensive, depends on what you want, and how near to the coast you want to be.
Any other questions, feel free to ask....
Theresa
As for safety, well we have never felt threatened at all, and the cost of living is still very reasonable. The island is lovely - especially in the north, where Mount Teide is. It is obviously barren in places due to the hot weather, but if it is sun and sea you are looking for you couldn't do much better than Tenerife (in my opinion). The cost of property is not too expensive, depends on what you want, and how near to the coast you want to be.
Any other questions, feel free to ask....
Theresa
U can never really leave England, can u! Could u give me an idea on budget-we would only want a holiday home, quite humble really-2/3 beds nothing fancy.
what is the temperature between Nov-April? I think its quite good!
how far by air is it from the UK (hours flying)?
Can u catch a plane from Luton?
what is the airfares?
Mar 4th 2008, 3:04 pm
#20
UK Bound
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Tenerife
Posts: 54
Re: Spanish Islands
Thanks Theresa-great about the safety issue.
U can never really leave England, can u! Could u give me an idea on budget-we would only want a holiday home, quite humble really-2/3 beds nothing fancy.
what is the temperature between Nov-April? I think its quite good!
how far by air is it from the UK (hours flying)?
Can u catch a plane from Luton?
what is the airfares?
U can never really leave England, can u! Could u give me an idea on budget-we would only want a holiday home, quite humble really-2/3 beds nothing fancy.
what is the temperature between Nov-April? I think its quite good!
how far by air is it from the UK (hours flying)?
Can u catch a plane from Luton?
what is the airfares?
The temperature for Nov-April is usually good, but as it is also our winter the sun can appear for only part of the day (usually mornings) although it is still nice and warm. You need a light jacket and trousers for the evenings sometimes too. Xmas and New Year here are fabulous - weatherwise and fiesta-wise, with great firework displays on NY Eve. Again, I have seen very little trouble at these events, even though people are shoulder to shoulder a lot of the time !
It takes between 3 and a half to 4 hours to get here, depending on wind.
Yes, you can get here from Luton, and Stansted, and most other UK airports.
It's very difficult to say what sort of fares you would pay, but again, look at the websites for a good idea. They are more than mainland Spain most of the time though, although you can still grab a bargain from time to time. Just book well in advance.
Hope this helps,
Theresa
Mar 4th 2008, 6:00 pm
#21
Happy in my bubble
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Rochdale LANCASHIRE
Posts: 4,538
Re: Spanish Islands
Got to agree with you about Menorca - went on hols there a few years ago - loved it loads - really enjoyed Mallorca as well but Menorca did it for me x
Mar 5th 2008, 12:03 am
#22
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 90
Re: Spanish Islands
The prices of apartments (I presume you would want an apartment) vary a bit according to where you want to live. I would suggest you look at the various Tenerife Estate Agency websites to get a few ideas.
The temperature for Nov-April is usually good, but as it is also our winter the sun can appear for only part of the day (usually mornings) although it is still nice and warm. You need a light jacket and trousers for the evenings sometimes too. Xmas and New Year here are fabulous - weatherwise and fiesta-wise, with great firework displays on NY Eve. Again, I have seen very little trouble at these events, even though people are shoulder to shoulder a lot of the time !
It takes between 3 and a half to 4 hours to get here, depending on wind.
Yes, you can get here from Luton, and Stansted, and most other UK airports.
It's very difficult to say what sort of fares you would pay, but again, look at the websites for a good idea. They are more than mainland Spain most of the time though, although you can still grab a bargain from time to time. Just book well in advance.
Hope this helps,
Theresa
The temperature for Nov-April is usually good, but as it is also our winter the sun can appear for only part of the day (usually mornings) although it is still nice and warm. You need a light jacket and trousers for the evenings sometimes too. Xmas and New Year here are fabulous - weatherwise and fiesta-wise, with great firework displays on NY Eve. Again, I have seen very little trouble at these events, even though people are shoulder to shoulder a lot of the time !
It takes between 3 and a half to 4 hours to get here, depending on wind.
Yes, you can get here from Luton, and Stansted, and most other UK airports.
It's very difficult to say what sort of fares you would pay, but again, look at the websites for a good idea. They are more than mainland Spain most of the time though, although you can still grab a bargain from time to time. Just book well in advance.
Hope this helps,
Theresa
Mar 5th 2008, 7:52 am
#23
UK Bound
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Tenerife
Posts: 54
Re: Spanish Islands
I think a lot of people had the same idea a while ago and it pushed the prices up quite a bit. Although you could still get one at a fair price if you are prepared to go further away from the coast. The further away the cheaper the property. The only way is to come to Tenerife and take a look for yourselves really. As I said before, look at the Agencies on their websites
Good Luck, Theresa
Mar 6th 2008, 8:48 am
#24
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Ibiza, Spain (For now...)
Posts: 8
Re: Spanish Islands
I was looking for something else when I stumbled upon this website (on the off chance, anyone know if the Liverpool/Newcastle game is on TVE2 this weekend?
).
Over the past 3 years, my wife and I have lived on both Ibiza and Tenerife, arguably two of the most famous of the islands in the two groups.
Tenerife: It is sunny all year round and the locals are fairly friendly and nice - plus there is a strong Latin community. And Santa Cruz is very pretty up in the North, along with the new tram system installed. In fairness, those are the few nice things I can think to say about the place.
It wasn't my favorite place to live, given that the entire south coast is a bit tacky and run down - a cockroach infested hole, in fact. To their credit, the local government is starting to put money into the place again, redeveloping (finally) Las Americas and trying to spruce the place up, but it's just the land of cheap 18-30's resorts and huge "posh" hotels that fill up with people who think they are a cut above the rest because they're staying in a four star hotel - even though it's a four star hotel in Tenerife. I worked in the hotels, so I do know from first hand experience what I'm talking about.
Obviously not everyone is like this, but it seems the vast majority of people you'll meet in the street will be. I didn't come into much contact with Expats out there, but the ones I met were nice!
If you do go out there, avoid Playa Paraiso (which, if anything, should be shut down under the trades description act) and pretty much all of the tourist resorts. I really liked the north end of the island, around Santa Cruz, as it feels more like a proper life - large shops, places to eat that DON'T always have numbered pictures of their food outside in place of menus, the port etc - but the weather is by no means as nice. Still, we're English, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem Also, you HAVE to see the Loro Parque - it may be advertised on everything from buses to hats, but it really is worth seeing.
I spent a little time in Lanzarote and Gran Canaria too. Lanzarote is a huge dump from what I've seen, while Gran Canaria at least has some nice mountains to look at...
Ibiza - I've worked on the White Isle now for two summers (this will be my third and hopefully last) and spent this winter here too. We are all well aware of its reputation as a crazy party island, and if that is what you are looking for then you wont be disappointed. But for every stoned clubber I've met here, there have been 50 nice "normal" people in their place.
Ibiza is a beautiful island, with stunning "quiet" beaches like Aguas Blancas, Cala d'hort and Can Benirras as well as the packed but equally pretty Playa D'en Bossa, Santa Eulalia and Portinax - not to mention countless others. San Antonio is a lovely town as well, if you avoid the West End (unless you are looking for the night life, in which case that is the place to be - my stag night was organized in San An, and it was a hell of a night...).
Ibiza Town is a collection of little streets and even littler shops. It has nice places, such as the port, the Vara de Rey and the old castle, but it's really a place to spend a couple of hours people watching and nothing more. Don't get me wrong, I'm really not a clubbing kind of person - my wife and I go out for a quiet drink from time to time, but thats about it - but I love Ibiza: it has a special vibe of its own that makes it a wonderful place to visit.
During the winter there are no direct flights to the UK, always the need for changes in Valencia, Barça or Madrid, which of course increases the time and cost. Obviously you DO get a discount as an island resident, but that doesn't take back the hours you lose in departure lounges around Spain.
The entire island is run by a mafia like family called Matutes, who own pretty much EVERYTHING (majority of the land, hotels, shops, councils, estate agents - literally most of the businesses). As they are also represented on the planning comity, Ibiza is devoid of the usual shops which make life easier, such as Mercadona, Ikea, El Corte Ingles - the bigger names you'd find anywhere else around Spain are noticeable here only by their absence. As such, shop to shop competition is pretty much no existent (they're all owned by the same guy) so things are EXPENSIVE. There are only three supermarket chains allowed on Ibiza- Spar, Eroski (a watered down Mercadona/TESCO style thing, with inflated prices) and a Lidl which somehow slipped through the net. Lidl is always packed as its the only low price food place around.
The locals are, almost to a man, nasty people. They have no time for anyone - especially the ones with even the tiniest bit of power (police, office workers, waitresses) and will make you feel stupid if they can't understand your attempt at Spanish. This is not helped by the fact that everything official is written in Catalan, often not translated into Castellano. The nice Ibicencas are hard to find, but when you do uncover one, for God sake make sure you get their phone number and keep them close. There are lots of nice Spanish people on the island, but most of them have moved there from other places.
Most of the ex pats I've met here have been lovey-darling types, who all drive huge 4X4's and have peculiar, a-symmetrical haircuts. It may come as a surprise to hear that I am only 23, but the yuppies and club lovers who flock here are a but annoying.
Ibiza is a wonderful place to come on holiday, and I personally think it should be on everyones list of places to see. There are some stunning views and things to see here; for two weeks (maybe every year) it's heaven, even with all the tourists. But for living purposes, unless you happen to be very rich, related to Matutes or happy to starve, I wouldn't consider it.
We are hoping to move to Valencia next winter, once this summer season is over. We've spent some time there and it appears to have everything that we've come to expect NOT to have by living on Ibiza - shops, drinking water, friendly people on the streets, helpful police, things to do, entertainment etc. Having tried island life, I would beg anyone thinking of moving to Spain to consider the main land - if nothing else, getting back to see your family is a lot easier. Plus you'll get trains, motorways and everything else associated with living somewhere where they don't have to import EVERYTHING apart from bananas and almonds.
Hope this helps.
).Over the past 3 years, my wife and I have lived on both Ibiza and Tenerife, arguably two of the most famous of the islands in the two groups.
Tenerife: It is sunny all year round and the locals are fairly friendly and nice - plus there is a strong Latin community. And Santa Cruz is very pretty up in the North, along with the new tram system installed. In fairness, those are the few nice things I can think to say about the place.
It wasn't my favorite place to live, given that the entire south coast is a bit tacky and run down - a cockroach infested hole, in fact. To their credit, the local government is starting to put money into the place again, redeveloping (finally) Las Americas and trying to spruce the place up, but it's just the land of cheap 18-30's resorts and huge "posh" hotels that fill up with people who think they are a cut above the rest because they're staying in a four star hotel - even though it's a four star hotel in Tenerife. I worked in the hotels, so I do know from first hand experience what I'm talking about.
Obviously not everyone is like this, but it seems the vast majority of people you'll meet in the street will be. I didn't come into much contact with Expats out there, but the ones I met were nice!
If you do go out there, avoid Playa Paraiso (which, if anything, should be shut down under the trades description act) and pretty much all of the tourist resorts. I really liked the north end of the island, around Santa Cruz, as it feels more like a proper life - large shops, places to eat that DON'T always have numbered pictures of their food outside in place of menus, the port etc - but the weather is by no means as nice. Still, we're English, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem
Also, you HAVE to see the Loro Parque - it may be advertised on everything from buses to hats, but it really is worth seeing.I spent a little time in Lanzarote and Gran Canaria too. Lanzarote is a huge dump from what I've seen, while Gran Canaria at least has some nice mountains to look at...
Ibiza - I've worked on the White Isle now for two summers (this will be my third and hopefully last) and spent this winter here too. We are all well aware of its reputation as a crazy party island, and if that is what you are looking for then you wont be disappointed. But for every stoned clubber I've met here, there have been 50 nice "normal" people in their place.
Ibiza is a beautiful island, with stunning "quiet" beaches like Aguas Blancas, Cala d'hort and Can Benirras as well as the packed but equally pretty Playa D'en Bossa, Santa Eulalia and Portinax - not to mention countless others. San Antonio is a lovely town as well, if you avoid the West End (unless you are looking for the night life, in which case that is the place to be - my stag night was organized in San An, and it was a hell of a night...).
Ibiza Town is a collection of little streets and even littler shops. It has nice places, such as the port, the Vara de Rey and the old castle, but it's really a place to spend a couple of hours people watching and nothing more. Don't get me wrong, I'm really not a clubbing kind of person - my wife and I go out for a quiet drink from time to time, but thats about it - but I love Ibiza: it has a special vibe of its own that makes it a wonderful place to visit.
During the winter there are no direct flights to the UK, always the need for changes in Valencia, Barça or Madrid, which of course increases the time and cost. Obviously you DO get a discount as an island resident, but that doesn't take back the hours you lose in departure lounges around Spain.
The entire island is run by a mafia like family called Matutes, who own pretty much EVERYTHING (majority of the land, hotels, shops, councils, estate agents - literally most of the businesses). As they are also represented on the planning comity, Ibiza is devoid of the usual shops which make life easier, such as Mercadona, Ikea, El Corte Ingles - the bigger names you'd find anywhere else around Spain are noticeable here only by their absence. As such, shop to shop competition is pretty much no existent (they're all owned by the same guy) so things are EXPENSIVE. There are only three supermarket chains allowed on Ibiza- Spar, Eroski (a watered down Mercadona/TESCO style thing, with inflated prices) and a Lidl which somehow slipped through the net. Lidl is always packed as its the only low price food place around.
The locals are, almost to a man, nasty people. They have no time for anyone - especially the ones with even the tiniest bit of power (police, office workers, waitresses) and will make you feel stupid if they can't understand your attempt at Spanish. This is not helped by the fact that everything official is written in Catalan, often not translated into Castellano. The nice Ibicencas are hard to find, but when you do uncover one, for God sake make sure you get their phone number and keep them close. There are lots of nice Spanish people on the island, but most of them have moved there from other places.
Most of the ex pats I've met here have been lovey-darling types, who all drive huge 4X4's and have peculiar, a-symmetrical haircuts. It may come as a surprise to hear that I am only 23, but the yuppies and club lovers who flock here are a but annoying.
Ibiza is a wonderful place to come on holiday, and I personally think it should be on everyones list of places to see. There are some stunning views and things to see here; for two weeks (maybe every year) it's heaven, even with all the tourists. But for living purposes, unless you happen to be very rich, related to Matutes or happy to starve, I wouldn't consider it.
We are hoping to move to Valencia next winter, once this summer season is over. We've spent some time there and it appears to have everything that we've come to expect NOT to have by living on Ibiza - shops, drinking water, friendly people on the streets, helpful police, things to do, entertainment etc. Having tried island life, I would beg anyone thinking of moving to Spain to consider the main land - if nothing else, getting back to see your family is a lot easier. Plus you'll get trains, motorways and everything else associated with living somewhere where they don't have to import EVERYTHING apart from bananas and almonds.
Hope this helps.
Mar 6th 2008, 9:22 am
#25
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Leeds/Castalla
Posts: 81
Re: Spanish Islands
Hi SaintMic
Welcome!! Great 1st post, very informative and interesting especially the bit on Ibiza and "La familia"
Sorry can't help you with the football, which team do you support?
Welcome!! Great 1st post, very informative and interesting especially the bit on Ibiza and "La familia"
Sorry can't help you with the football, which team do you support?
Mar 6th 2008, 9:51 am
#26
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Ibiza, Spain (For now...)
Posts: 8
Re: Spanish Islands
Thanks for the welcome, I just wanted to impart what little wisdom I have to give...
I'm a Liverpool fan (presumably I did something wrong in a past life), and I only found out TVE2 shows the Premiership last weekend, so fingers crossed!
Where abouts are you living now then?
Mar 6th 2008, 3:11 pm
#27
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Leeds/Castalla
Posts: 81
Re: Spanish Islands
Hi Cafeconleche
Thanks for the welcome, I just wanted to impart what little wisdom I have to give...
I'm a Liverpool fan (presumably I did something wrong in a past life), and I only found out TVE2 shows the Premiership last weekend, so fingers crossed!
Where abouts are you living now then?
Thanks for the welcome, I just wanted to impart what little wisdom I have to give...
I'm a Liverpool fan (presumably I did something wrong in a past life), and I only found out TVE2 shows the Premiership last weekend, so fingers crossed!
Where abouts are you living now then?
but have a place in Castalla which is inland from Alicante. It's just a holiday place at the moment but we love it. We are considering making a more permanent move to Spain but are taking our time and thinking through our options. What do you do in Ibiza? I've been on holiday a couple of times and agree it's lovely but I wouldn't want to be there full time.
Mar 6th 2008, 3:41 pm
#28
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Ibiza, Spain (For now...)
Posts: 8
Re: Spanish Islands
I just wondered coz I know one of the Newcastle players, although he seems to be on the bench a lot at the moment!! I live in Leeds....so don't talk to me about football but have a place in Castalla which is inland from Alicante. It's just a holiday place at the moment but we love it. We are considering making a more permanent move to Spain but are taking our time and thinking through our options.
What do you do in Ibiza? I've been on holiday a couple of times and agree it's lovely but I wouldn't want to be there full time.
but have a place in Castalla which is inland from Alicante. It's just a holiday place at the moment but we love it. We are considering making a more permanent move to Spain but are taking our time and thinking through our options. What do you do in Ibiza? I've been on holiday a couple of times and agree it's lovely but I wouldn't want to be there full time.
Please pass on my condolences to your Newcastle friend, plaing for the Magpies must be bad enough at the best of times, but at the moment, well, words fail me...
And I'm sorry about Leeds, at least they're starting to improve again now.I work in the hotels on Ibiza, entertainment. I'm based in Playa D'en Bossa (on the east coast, near the airport) and spend my days organizing football matches, teaching people how to shoot rifles and putting on shows in the night times. It's good fun, but I don't want to do it for much longer: time to get a proper job soon. The season doesnt kick off until next month, and I've spent the winter writing a book - something I've always wanted to do, but it took a while to get the right inspiriation.
How about you, what do you do?
Mar 6th 2008, 10:33 pm
#29
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Leeds/Castalla
Posts: 81
Re: Spanish Islands
Funny you should ask that - It is exactly what we have done !! We bought a near derelict property with loads of land and have spent 10 years restoring it (my husband is a builder). The result is wonderful, take a look at our property for sale in the Classifieds Section for proof.
I think a lot of people had the same idea a while ago and it pushed the prices up quite a bit. Although you could still get one at a fair price if you are prepared to go further away from the coast. The further away the cheaper the property. The only way is to come to Tenerife and take a look for yourselves really. As I said before, look at the Agencies on their websites
Good Luck, Theresa
I think a lot of people had the same idea a while ago and it pushed the prices up quite a bit. Although you could still get one at a fair price if you are prepared to go further away from the coast. The further away the cheaper the property. The only way is to come to Tenerife and take a look for yourselves really. As I said before, look at the Agencies on their websites
Good Luck, Theresa
Mar 6th 2008, 10:39 pm
#30
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Leeds/Castalla
Posts: 81
Re: Spanish Islands
Taking your time is without doubt the right thing to do - theres no point rushing in and making a mess of it. My wife and I sort of left the UK in a bit of a hurry and, although we seem to be getting sorted now (fingers crossed), it's taken us a while.
Please pass on my condolences to your Newcastle friend, plaing for the Magpies must be bad enough at the best of times, but at the moment, well, words fail me... And I'm sorry about Leeds, at least they're starting to improve again now.
I work in the hotels on Ibiza, entertainment. I'm based in Playa D'en Bossa (on the east coast, near the airport) and spend my days organizing football matches, teaching people how to shoot rifles and putting on shows in the night times. It's good fun, but I don't want to do it for much longer: time to get a proper job soon. The season doesnt kick off until next month, and I've spent the winter writing a book - something I've always wanted to do, but it took a while to get the right inspiriation.
How about you, what do you do?
Please pass on my condolences to your Newcastle friend, plaing for the Magpies must be bad enough at the best of times, but at the moment, well, words fail me...
And I'm sorry about Leeds, at least they're starting to improve again now.I work in the hotels on Ibiza, entertainment. I'm based in Playa D'en Bossa (on the east coast, near the airport) and spend my days organizing football matches, teaching people how to shoot rifles and putting on shows in the night times. It's good fun, but I don't want to do it for much longer: time to get a proper job soon. The season doesnt kick off until next month, and I've spent the winter writing a book - something I've always wanted to do, but it took a while to get the right inspiriation.
How about you, what do you do?