# Canary Islands



## Feraya (Sep 22, 2014)

We have a holiday home in the Malaga province but spend only Spring and Autumn there because I can't stand extremes in the weather. We are now thinking of trying the Canary islands (perhaps Lanzarote). Would anyone who lives on any of the Canary islands kindly give us a brief idea of what it's like to live there?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I live on El Hierro, here we do not have the extremes of weather that the European parts of Spain suffer. Coastal temperatures here rarely go below 16ºc and the summer temperatures are mid twenties to low thirties, however there are odd occasions when we get the hot summer air from the Sahara and that is not at all nice.

The higher you go on the islands the cooler it gets in winter and the hotter it gets in summer, yes I know that last statement is illogical but that is the way it is.

Air conditioning and heating we do not need.

The IGC is 7%, so most things are far cheaper than the U.K. or the other part of Spain. Canary island residents get discounted air fares within Spanish territories

The Canary Islanders are extremely friendly and accommodating, especially if you can speak their language. The islands have their own culture, cuisine, and charm. Spain is a long way from here geographically so we tend to be forgotten by the regime in Madrid.

The only disadvantage is that to get to this unique archipelago from northern Europe and the U.K., flights are sometimes over 4 hours.

Photos below of the Meridian Isle of El Hierro. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask.


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## Feraya (Sep 22, 2014)

Hi Hepa,
Thanks a lot for your helpful info on El Hierro and for the photos. It sounds like a lovely place to live. What amenities do you have? What's the healthcare like?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Feraya said:


> Hi Hepa,
> Thanks a lot for your helpful info on El Hierro and for the photos. It sounds like a lovely place to live. What amenities do you have? What's the healthcare like?



Electricity, flush toilets  seriously we have everything apart from cinema, theatre, art gallery and orchestra. 

We have a new hospital, specialists that are not here permanently, fly in from other islands, a helicopter or small plane is on standby for emergencies. Should you require non urgent specialised treatment, one has to fly to Tenerife, the fare is free. In England I needed a Doppler scan on my neck, I waited 18 months, here I needed a scan on my aorta, the waiting time was 15 minutes and the lady who scanned me gave me the results there and then.

The airport and Ferryport are new, we have an unreliable ferry six days a week, when I was a lad we sailed in all weathers, not so here slight swell and they stay in port.

The airport is for inter island flights only, at the moment three flights daily to Tenerife and one to Gran Canaria, it takes 45 to 50 minutes to either island. However if it is a very strong cross wind the planes cannot land here, doesn't happen very often though.

There is a distinct lack of large shopping centres and large stores, so twice a year we either fly to Gran Canaria, or take the car to Tenerife to stock up on Tea Bags , pork pies, proper bacon, shirts and socks, but day to day shopping is more than well catered for.

Also there are only four English residents, and maybe a Scot. The English language is hardly used, not one single Yorkshire pudding full English breakfast, Bisto gravy, West Ham V Spurs, establishment on the entire island.

However here is home and this is where we now belong, so much so that we have both applied for Spanish nationality.


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## titania (Jan 3, 2013)

Hi,

Well, in the Canary Islands I've tried Tenerife... and I am looking foward to leaving and trying Malaga some time in the spring.

Yes the locals are indeed very very nice. The weather temperature does not have such extremes as mainland Spain, but... 

This is what I found:

- I live in the North of the Island, and it's cloudy mostly all the time, the temperature is some average 3°C less than in the South, the humidity I can feel. There are beautiful flowers all the year round, less in winter more in summer, the South looks arid and dry but it's warmer and sunnier.

- Geography: Tenerife has many micro-climates. North is lost in the clouds, humid and colder. Best climate in the North is Puerto de la Cruz. Next is La Orotava and Los Realejos. The coldest is La Laguna. There's an astonishing difference between being down the coast, or up a few hundred meters on the flanks of the mountain. Best warmth is in the South and starts at Guïmar right around the South up to Los Gigantes and Puerto Santiago. Best of best is between Los Cristianos and Fañabé. Beware of the windy area in Costa del Silencio near the South airport. The island is not really geared towards anyone with mobility problems apart from the very touristy area next to the sea in the South. The buildings and roads are constrained by the lava flows and therefore roads are mostly up and down, and up and down.

- The island is geared towards tourism only. After you have done the obligatory tourist haunts, there's hardly anything to do apart from walks exploring the mountains or, in the South, getting drunk in touristy bars with other expats.

- The rents for a decent property for rent are higher than in the stretch between Malaga and Gibraltar. The quality of construction is lower for mid-range properties, whether for sale or for rent.

- If you love cooking and diversity in food, what you will find in supermarkets is the basic. Any fancy cut of meat they don't have. Fresh fish from the island can hardly be found, it comes from Morocco or Mauritania. Trying to find lamb is a heroic expedition, you'll only get frozen New Zealand 2nd choice lamb chops and leg. Beef mainly comes from Uruguay, and you need good teeth... Corral chicken is hiding and to discover it is a highlight of the day.

- On the other hand, any type of shrimp, big or small, are fabulous. Some frozen fish are good. Papaya is wonderful, so are local oranges and avocadoes. Peppers and mushrooms are expensive, local tomatoes, zucchini/courgettes have no taste. Shallots are extremely difficult to find (I brought 3 kilos from France). Local potatoes are good, pineapples from el Hierro are OK.

- Finding the right caster sugar at first was difficult, bring your own baking powder. Any exotic spices such as real Indian or Asian curries can be found at times, but you're best off bringing them from an ethnic shop in UK.

- Restaurants (in the North because I haven't tried many in the South) are mostly expensive and revolve around the Canarian chicken (a small beast that must have been raised on an uphill chicken farm as it's quite lean) and local potatoes. There are a very few restaurants where you can get a decent well-cooked menu of the day for around 9-12 euros, but if you eat out a lot, count on 16 euros for a 3 meal course, coffee and beer. The better restaurants in Puerto de la Cruz where I live will cost 25 euros, and that is - to a French like myself - just average fare compared to what I get in my local French restaurants in France.

- Household goods: As expensive as in France for the bigger items, a bit less for smaller items.

- If you're looking to buy or rent unfurnished, rather than bring your car and register it here which is expensive and time-consuming, bring your washing machine, clothes dryer, fridge freezer, electric cooking plates and oven, hoover, Nespresso, toaster, kettle, juicer and smaller kitchen robots, oil-filled radiators (for cold nights at 14°C), any mobile air-conditioning units. Crockery is lack-lustre and very ordinary, real quality crockery non existent. Some kitchen tools may be difficult to come by such as jar openers and garlic crusher (brought mine from France), bring good quality ceramic and steel knives. Good quality pots and pans you're better off bringing your own, they are expensive here.

- Home furnishings: Bed linen beware, not the same sizes for pillows or beds. Good quality (but expensive even if reduced) at El Corte Inglés. Better bring your own if you have high quality back home, and adaptable sizes (double beds here are 150cm). Bath linen is OK and slightly cheaper. You'll need a duvet and pajamas for winter as temperatures drop at night as far down as 12°C in the North.

- Shopping: my weekly haunt revolves around Lidl (very very good shop compared to the Continent), Hyperdino, El Campo, the local Chinese cheap household ware. Mercadona occasionally. For the rest, Ikea for furniture, Leroy-Merlin (expensive) for DIY stuff. Bring power tools with you (drill, saw, sander, etc.) as the makes are not the same and rather expensive.

- I brought my car over from France and had to get it repaired, that was very inexpensive and the work well done. I'll get it completely sorted out and then will bring it back to mainland Spain. I might register it or else leave it in France - not sure yet.

- Papers - a nightmare, I've given up. I'll do them when in Mainland Spain.

- Internet - beware, not all the island can be connected with ADSL and decent speeds, never mind what the providers say. Ask the locals. Even in the South where most expats live, some properties cannot be connected, or only with a slow line. I've seen various queries on Facebook for satellite connections as land just does not deliver. Do not - I repeat - do not try to get a mobile phone with a contract with Orange - I'm still not able to have the phone working after 2 months, they've blocked it because they can't read my papers although I already have a landline with them.

- Beaches. In the North, sandy and rocky black beaches, very nice to look at the first time, but rather somber to look at all the time, extremely hot under the feet in summer. In the South, choose between Los Cristianos and Fañabe, golden sand invaded with tourists. I don't know how it is on the artificial sandy beach near Santa Cruz as it was reported damaged after a storm and didn't feel like going to test.

- Driving. Very nice slow, courteous, patient and generally safe except: roundabouts, joining the motorway, very narrow and frightening roads in the mountains. If, like me, you suffer from vertigo / fear of heights, don't drive in the mainland, only use the motorway. If you do drive on these narrow roads, use a small car with lots of ooomph and really good brakes and hand-brake as the slopes can be up to 10% or more. Don't use a large car as you'll be crossing buses and coaches with hardly any visibility in bends where the road is too narrow to pass with two vehicles abreast. A few mad drivers but not many. Practise parallel parking on slopes. Practise reverse parking in car parks as here it's the norm.

- Accidents: had a small touchy while parking, we got the insurance sorted out very nicely, no screaming, no problems.

- Health: I don't know about general care as I have not had to use the system yet, but was able to register as blood donor very easily, no fuss - you need your NIE for this.

- Hairdressing: many many salons for normal hairdressing, but I was not able to find an Afro hairdresser, have to fly back to France to get my hair done with plaiting and weaves. This is astonishing considering the proximity to Africa, but in the few months I've been here, I've seen only about a dozen or so Senegalese people.

- Travel: I understand one can get reduced rates for flying to Spain, but was not able to use this as it's just too complicated to do the paperwork, I gave up. There are easy flights to most of Europe. One run I will do again before I leave is to go to Marrakech in Morocco, to get cheap Frenchy type of household goods (crockery, pans) and spices and good food.

- Local population: as I said, very nice people, very obliging and helpful. But you don't get to see that many, as the island is covered with tourists. Average age of tourists in Puerto de la Cruz is probably 75-ish, with carts and wheelchairs or healthy and walking the trails. Nationalities in the North are Finns and other Scandinavian people, Germans and Dutch. Few Brits, some French. The South has the Brits, Russians and other Slavs, many Germans and Dutch too.

- Language: The brand of Spanish spoken here is much easier to understand than on the mainland - it's derived from South American speech, slower and easier, owing to a past large Venezuelian immigration.

- Culture: How do you spell the word "culture" as in theatre, concerts, museums, history...? Well there's a little, nothing like on mainland Spain

So all in all, my take is:

- Good for holidays or an extended stay during winter to escape Europe and find mellow weather for a few weeks or 2-3 months, but very boring and difficult to manage for any longer than that. And I speak Spanish which made it easier for me.


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## Feraya (Sep 22, 2014)

Hi Titania,
Wow, thanks so much for your time and the extensive information. I've visited Tenerife twice for a holiday but what you've told me has been really helpful.


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## Feraya (Sep 22, 2014)

Hi Hepa, thanks a lot for all that information, esp. the medical care which sounds brilliant. Cheers!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Thanks be to the gods, that I live on the Meridian isle


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## Anciana (Jul 14, 2014)

Hepa said:


> Also there are only four English residents, and maybe a Scot. The English language is hardly used



That sounds very tempting, Hepa. Imagine, I could bring three new nationalities in one person (as I am an ethnic mix), if I decided to move there, and a few new languages. 

But, how is it to move around without a car in there?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Anciana said:


> That sounds very tempting, Hepa. Imagine, I could bring three new nationalities in one person (as I am an ethnic mix), if I decided to move there, and a few new languages.
> 
> But, how is it to move around without a car in there?


Walk, the island is criss crossed with ancient foot paths.

There is a limited but very inexpensive public transport service.

Many just use the thumb.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Further to the last post, without a car you would be better placed on one of the larger islands, Tenerife excellent public transport system, or Gran Canaria boasts a marvelous bus service. 

Both of these islands can offer a diverse life style to suit most normal persons needs, however I must admit I have a strong leaning to Gran Canaria, having first arrived there in my youth.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

I am in Tenerife, great infrastructure, great scenery, great weather, friendly people, cheap fuel, nearly 1 million people live here. Most people live in a 5 mile bubble wherever they live from home to work and so on, here is no different but you have the weather and beaches.


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## barnes (Apr 9, 2015)

titania said:


> Hi,
> 
> Well, in the Canary Islands I've tried Tenerife... and I am looking foward to leaving and trying Malaga some time in the spring.
> 
> ...


thank you for interesting and helpful information specially home furnishing.bed linen products always time taking selection with quality .


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