stuboy

Good morning all

As I approach semi retirement I am considering purchasing an apartment or small town house in either Tenerife or Gran Canaria. I have only visited these places a couple of times and it really was a long time ago. My needs are quite different now. I would like to purchase somewhere for use only in the winter months as my work commitments increase in the UK during the summer months.
But where to start the search? My criteria is as follows in order of priority;

A reasonably flat terrain, the flatter the better.
Reasonable access to a beach
A fair selection of bars, restaurants,supermarkets etc.
A town rather than a village.
A town that does not become too deserted in the winter

Does such a Utopia exist?

Stuboy

lolapenate

Hi Stuboy

I'm native to Gran Canaria but I think the answer in both cases will depend if you want to live in an area with mostly tourists, other expats or natives. Do you speak Spanish or will you be willing to learn?

Learning the language would be a good thing to do and I could recommend nice towns in Gran Canaria such as Playa de Arinaga which fits your criteria. It has a small expat community, friendly locals, a nice beach, good weather though windy in the Summer.

Let me know if I can advise better. I would be interested to know if you will learn Spanish.

stuboy

Thanks lolapenate for your reply, I will have a look at your suggestion. I am continuing to learn Spanish. I read it quite well and can easily write a few paragraphs but my listening skills and pronunciation are not very good. I suppose a mix of tourists, expats and natives would be ideal. I would not want to live in a totally expat dominated community. What do you think of 'puerto mogan'?

lolapenate

Hi Stu, happy to help.

Puerto Mogan is a really, really nice town but I don't recommend you live there as it's the furthest point of the island from the city, Las Palmas, at around 80 kms.

For some diversity, culture and shopping I recommend you to be on the east coast where you can be in the city in 30 minutes while avoiding the clouds which form more often in the North of the island, even in the summer.

While Mogan is also the southernmost and thus sunniest part of the island, you'll probably enjoy the cooler weather in the 'winter' further north. Believe me, constant year round sun, almost every day of your life sounds good but it really gets to be too much.

Most of the local people here don't really go to the beach so much in the winter, the ocean is pretty cold and not so nice to swim and any wind feels quite cool once you become used to the climate.

I was going to also recommend San Augustin which is nice but it is more on the hilly side.

Ask me any more questions you need.

Dick Dasterdly

Las Galletas or Costa Silencio or even Golf del Sur, in the extreme South of Tenerife may fit the bill, beside the coast, fairly level and convenient for both the airport and the bigger resorts.
There are a couple of other Spanish towns just slightly inland from there, but still on the lower ground.
For lots more specific info. check the Tenerife forum.