Thinking of buying in Tenerife
Discussion
In my 60s now and I realise that I could never afford to retire here in the UK and I hate being cold.
I spent 5 weeks over Christmas living in a very Canarian town in the North of the island where no one spoke English and I really enjoyed it.
Eating out was really cheap and so was drink. Bottle of nice Rosé in Lidl was €1.99 and a beer in a bar €1.10.
I have some savings which should be bolstered with more from an imminent house sale. Ex wife gets a majority of that money but that's another story
I'm 3 years into learning Spanish and enjoying it
so another advantage.
Doing the maths quickly I could buy a cheap house/apartment outright and have a bit of money to live on if careful.
A job would be nice, even if just shifts in a bar, but I realise that many of the locals are desperate for work.
I have an Irish passport which is a tremendous help so could settle there once I have applied for residency which any Euro passport holder has to do if you stay longer than 3 months. At this point I will also have to pay for Spanish medical cover.
So my question is what are the costs involved in buying, council tax, electricity bills, broadband etc.
I have recently bought a new motorcycle and a car but I guess it would be better/easier to sell and start again. Same with furniture and other belongings.
Going back at the end of June and will try to look at a few places.
Did see quite a big townhouse just outside Puerto de la Cruz with 3 beds, a roof terrace and a subterranean garage.
Yes! you go underground from the street and there are rows of garage doors. Park your car/bike in yours and walk up the stairs into your entrance hall. €215,000, stretches my budget quite a bit but gives you an idea what you can get for your money if you keep away from the Tourist areas.
So has anyone else done this? any advice plus tell me about the pitfalls?
Cheers.
I spent 5 weeks over Christmas living in a very Canarian town in the North of the island where no one spoke English and I really enjoyed it.
Eating out was really cheap and so was drink. Bottle of nice Rosé in Lidl was €1.99 and a beer in a bar €1.10.
I have some savings which should be bolstered with more from an imminent house sale. Ex wife gets a majority of that money but that's another story
I'm 3 years into learning Spanish and enjoying it
so another advantage.Doing the maths quickly I could buy a cheap house/apartment outright and have a bit of money to live on if careful.
A job would be nice, even if just shifts in a bar, but I realise that many of the locals are desperate for work.
I have an Irish passport which is a tremendous help so could settle there once I have applied for residency which any Euro passport holder has to do if you stay longer than 3 months. At this point I will also have to pay for Spanish medical cover.
So my question is what are the costs involved in buying, council tax, electricity bills, broadband etc.
I have recently bought a new motorcycle and a car but I guess it would be better/easier to sell and start again. Same with furniture and other belongings.
Going back at the end of June and will try to look at a few places.
Did see quite a big townhouse just outside Puerto de la Cruz with 3 beds, a roof terrace and a subterranean garage.
Yes! you go underground from the street and there are rows of garage doors. Park your car/bike in yours and walk up the stairs into your entrance hall. €215,000, stretches my budget quite a bit but gives you an idea what you can get for your money if you keep away from the Tourist areas.
So has anyone else done this? any advice plus tell me about the pitfalls?
Cheers.
Personally I can’t see the attraction of living on an island that is a 4 hour flight from civilisation all year round. Great for short term stays but not permanently.
There are plenty of other places in France and Spain that are relatively cheap with plenty of scope for easy travel within Europe or to drive back to the UK to see your kids.
There are plenty of other places in France and Spain that are relatively cheap with plenty of scope for easy travel within Europe or to drive back to the UK to see your kids.
Your kids are at an age where they don’t fully appreciate family. That time will come eventually.
I suppose the other question is should you decide to proceed, will you be in a position financially to return to the UK if things didn’t work out? That is, can you be assured that you won’t lose too much of any money you put into a property.
I suppose the other question is should you decide to proceed, will you be in a position financially to return to the UK if things didn’t work out? That is, can you be assured that you won’t lose too much of any money you put into a property.
MYOB said:
Personally I can’t see the attraction of living on an island that is a 4 hour flight from civilisation all year round. Great for short term stays but not permanently.
There are plenty of other places in France and Spain that are relatively cheap with plenty of scope for easy travel within Europe or to drive back to the UK to see your kids.
This. It’s an island, and a bit bleak too. I’ve been to canaries several times over the years and yes, ok for a week or so.. living there wouldn’t be for me. The mainland gives you lots more options for exploration and further travel (hop on a train or drive to other places/countries) and facilities. You should be able to find something if your budget is around 220k. Of course having a house is always nicer than an apartment, but for example this is €210 in Vera, almeria province. There are plenty of other places in France and Spain that are relatively cheap with plenty of scope for easy travel within Europe or to drive back to the UK to see your kids.
Three beds, two baths and acceptable distance from the coast, they say 400meters.
https://www.green-acres.es/en/properties/house/ver...
There are cheaper ones on that complex too there will be a monthly maintainence fee to consider.. Just an example .. fyi I’m a brit living in Portugal.
languagetimothy said:
This. It’s an island, and a bit bleak too. I’ve been to canaries several times over the years and yes, ok for a week or so.. living there wouldn’t be for me. The mainland gives you lots more options for exploration and further travel (hop on a train or drive to other places/countries) and facilities. You should be able to find something if your budget is around 220k. Of course having a house is always nicer than an apartment, but for example this is €210 in Vera, almeria province.
Three beds, two baths and acceptable distance from the coast, they say 400meters.
https://www.green-acres.es/en/properties/house/ver...
There are cheaper ones on that complex too there will be a monthly maintainence fee to consider.. Just an example .. fyi I’m a brit living in Portugal.
that is very nice!Three beds, two baths and acceptable distance from the coast, they say 400meters.
https://www.green-acres.es/en/properties/house/ver...
There are cheaper ones on that complex too there will be a monthly maintainence fee to consider.. Just an example .. fyi I’m a brit living in Portugal.
MYOB said:
Personally I can’t see the attraction of living on an island that is a 4 hour flight from civilisation all year round. Great for short term stays but not permanently.
There are plenty of other places in France and Spain that are relatively cheap with plenty of scope for easy travel within Europe or to drive back to the UK to see your kids.
On the flipside, I have an ex-colleague who has a place in Lanzarote and loves it. There are plenty of other places in France and Spain that are relatively cheap with plenty of scope for easy travel within Europe or to drive back to the UK to see your kids.
They currently spend several weeks a year there, combining a couple of weeks working 'from home' in the villa, then a couple of weeks holiday.
They fully intend to retire there at a suitable age.
The key, they tell me, is to speak the local language (which you are on the way to, OP) and to integrate with people there - make friends and not just ex-pats.
One half of the couple I know enjoys fishing so has integrated with a group of retired chaps who go out on a boat regularly. None of them speak a word of English, so he's had to sharpen up his Spanish further, therefore he's also killing two birds with one stone on the lingo front.
Suggest spending some more time out there, especially in winter, before committing to a property. Once you're out there, regardless of whether you like it, it would be difficult to come back I'd imagine.
I found the North great for hiking and exploring and being more Spanish I actually enjoyed being away from the Brits.
In fact if there were Brits on the table next to me in a restaurant I would just converse with the Waitress in Spanish hoping that I'd stay incognito
The thing is I would have to live on next to nothing and eventually just the UK pension which the Spanish will tax at 20% I believe, so being on the mainland somewhere would be pointless as I couldn't just jump on a train or drive 100s of miles.
All I want is a roof over my head, somewhere to cook, go for a walk everyday in warm sunny weather, stop at a bar for a cheap beer.
I'd do that here but it's so damn expensive. A mate persuaded me to have a quick drink after work. Not been in a pub in ages.
2 pints and 2 bags of crisps.....£21.50
Fekin ridiculous. No enjoyment at all. Plus the weather here is miserable, I did mention that I feel the cold.
I do appreciate the other suggestions (not France, waste of me learning Spanish
) but any advice about additional costs when buying would be great.
In fact if there were Brits on the table next to me in a restaurant I would just converse with the Waitress in Spanish hoping that I'd stay incognito
The thing is I would have to live on next to nothing and eventually just the UK pension which the Spanish will tax at 20% I believe, so being on the mainland somewhere would be pointless as I couldn't just jump on a train or drive 100s of miles.
All I want is a roof over my head, somewhere to cook, go for a walk everyday in warm sunny weather, stop at a bar for a cheap beer.
I'd do that here but it's so damn expensive. A mate persuaded me to have a quick drink after work. Not been in a pub in ages.
2 pints and 2 bags of crisps.....£21.50
Fekin ridiculous. No enjoyment at all. Plus the weather here is miserable, I did mention that I feel the cold.
I do appreciate the other suggestions (not France, waste of me learning Spanish
) but any advice about additional costs when buying would be great.Good grief £21.50 for two beers n two packets of crisps! Was that in the city? Madness…
My local serves up a very generous glass of red for EUR 1.80. Tho currently watching tenis on TV (Roland garros) with a bottle that cost 3.99.
Haven’t been back to UK for about eight months…maybe I’ll stay put..
My local serves up a very generous glass of red for EUR 1.80. Tho currently watching tenis on TV (Roland garros) with a bottle that cost 3.99.
Haven’t been back to UK for about eight months…maybe I’ll stay put..
I had a nice villa with a pool in Mellieha, Malta for several years, the people are great, 95% speak English, they drive on the same side of the road and the weather is lovely in Summer, however it can be a bit cold and wet between December-March, but Tenerife is a lot further south.
The weather in England is crap 60% of the time, but on a lovely summer's day they are few better places.
Go for it, but do your research first.
There have been many horror stories about The English buying Spanish property, go in it with your eyes open.
Sounds like there's not a lot here for you, with one thing and another,
Onwards and upwards
The weather in England is crap 60% of the time, but on a lovely summer's day they are few better places.
Go for it, but do your research first.
There have been many horror stories about The English buying Spanish property, go in it with your eyes open.
Sounds like there's not a lot here for you, with one thing and another,
Onwards and upwards
A chap I knew through cycling bought a townhouse in a Spanish town in the hills about 40 minutes from Malaga. Cost him about €80k. Seems to enjoy his life up there, there’s a couple of other Brits too but majority are Spanish.
Either way, you NEED to get away from London. It will ruin you financially.
Either way, you NEED to get away from London. It will ruin you financially.
The issue is your health.
When you get to the point where you need a few tablets a day, monthly examinations for new issue etc and with no support network on the island - what will you do, return in say 8years? To what?
I'd say it would be great if you are in your 30/40s etc but now?
When you get to the point where you need a few tablets a day, monthly examinations for new issue etc and with no support network on the island - what will you do, return in say 8years? To what?
I'd say it would be great if you are in your 30/40s etc but now?
GT03ROB said:
Check out the Buying an apartment in Spain thread.
The other thing to keep in mind is getting to stay in Spain with residency is not as easy as it used to be pre-BREXIT. A UK state pension won't cut it.
Though if you have access to an EU passport not such an issue
Cheers will do. Luckily I have an Irish passport.The other thing to keep in mind is getting to stay in Spain with residency is not as easy as it used to be pre-BREXIT. A UK state pension won't cut it.
Though if you have access to an EU passport not such an issue
As mentioned, looking ahead health issues can become a factor. Plus your view of the sunny idyl may change. I have family in Mallorca. They live very comfortably, basically live the holiday lifestyle surrounded by a big community of friends and their immediate familes. One has been there for 50+ years, the other 10+ and both are ready to come back to the UK. Too hot is one complaint, returning for routine health treatments on the NHS etc. All factors.
Phooey said:
regarding health insurance - which is 100% needed - I'm guessing the older you get and the more health issues you have, the more expensive health insurance becomes. Can it get to crazy premiums? If so this would be a big stumbling block for anyone on a budget.
Health cover. If you are in receipt of a UK old age pension you can apply for an S1 which gives you cover to access the Spanish Health Service. If not, first year you need private cover, however after 12 months residence you can register for the conveneo especial which is linked into the health system and costs at the mo just under 60€ per month until 65 then just under 160€ per month till you get your S1if you will be eligible for the UK pension.Rushjob said:
Health cover. If you are in receipt of a UK old age pension you can apply for an S1 which gives you cover to access the Spanish Health Service. If not, first year you need private cover, however after 12 months residence you can register for the conveneo especial which is linked into the health system and costs at the mo just under 60€ per month until 65 then just under 160€ per month till you get your S1if you will be eligible for the UK pension.
That’s interesting to know, thank you Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff