# Quality of life in Majorca or Spain in general ?



## alethea2000 (Jul 6, 2008)

Hi

If you live in Majorca or in spain in general can you let me kow how you find your quality of life compared to England. We love England but looking for better weather most of the year and a more active lifestyle. 

We are in our forties with a nine year old gorgeous daughter and dithering between Devon and Majorca. We at least want to give something a go and if it doesn't work we can come back. 

Would love to hear your thoughts  lane:


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

alethea2000 said:


> Hi
> 
> If you live in Majorca or in spain in general can you let me kow how you find your quality of life compared to England. We love England but looking for better weather most of the year and a more active lifestyle.
> 
> ...


:welcome:

life is wonderful unless you need to earn a living

then, if you're lucky enough to have a job/established business, it's still better than what I remember of the UK

but without a good income it's dreadful - for the 6 million & counting unemployed here in Spain 


I'm lucky in that I fit into the second category - but I have to work longer hours here than I ever did in the UK to keep the wolf from the door


----------



## alethea2000 (Jul 6, 2008)

*Thank you*

Thanks for replying We work very long hours in the UK and feel trapped in four walls most of the year even though we try and get out And about. We are lucky to have friends in Majorca who can help us. The plan is to keep house in the uk and use the savings to try a business like an ice cream parlour/cafe. My husband has a job where he can work from home so would need to go back to England every other week for a couple of days

If it didn't work out we would lose money but still have a house to go back to and at least we have tried 

My friend says her job is so stressful but the fact she can close the laptop and swin n the sea most of the year round makes it worth while. 

Would love to hear more peoples views and more from you


----------



## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

More active lifestyle lol Open your eyes and you can be as active as you want in the UK, there is so much going on, you really have no excuse for feeling trapped in the UK if your prepared to put the effort in your choice of hobbies and pastimes are as good here as anywhere.

Move to Spain and work seven days a week for little or no return and see how trapped you feel. If you need to work to generate income Spain is not a good option. Work hard in the UK and take and enjoy your holidays in Spain (but get off your ass in the UK and take up a hobby or three  )


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Can't answer for Mallorca but where we live in Andalucía, the pace and quality of life is much much better. We are more relaxed, foodstuffs are cheaper, fresher and much better quality. and, in general, for us, the cost of living is much lower. We fit in the 'retired' category (I am, but SWMBO still gives classes in English and French) We have no mortgage nor rent and it costs us roughly €600 per month to cover everything including diesel for the car - 'us' is three adults two small dogs and a canary! We usually manage a ten day holiday each year with maybe another weekend away at some time during the year.


----------



## alethea2000 (Jul 6, 2008)

Hi we do a good job of doing what we can to be active where we live but do need to move to have a more direct access to getting out and about. We do a lot of camping canoeing and cycling. We love England hence Devon, cornwall and river Thames being on the short list. We live in an area with no paths at all and although gorgeous I would be happy with taking Ella cycling or running on the roads as they are so narrow. Ella has had a great lifestyle here but will now need more so we are looking to moving ether somewhere imnuk with direct access to water and paths ! Just not sure where Yet . It makes me laugh how being pick up the negative on a post ie open your eyes to what is available in the UK. I would have to write an essay for people to understand us as people and why I feel stuck in four walls but don't want to bore people. I've been working 18 hour days and know if we lived in a better location in the uk or abroad we would get a better life style. all your experiences of Spain really welcome. I find it so interesting


----------



## jonmlb748 (Oct 30, 2011)

twenty five years here in Mallorca and still content .i couldn't return and contemplate living in the uk.work is tough and hard to find ,pretty much the same the world over in these tough times.hot busy summers for those in work are tempered by beautiful autumn and spring time ,ideal for the outdoor pursuits you have in mind.winters are ok ,but as in much of Spain older properties where not built to retain heat ,.
there is work here but much is seasonal .there is much unemployment tho the Spanish cannot seem to grasp the importance of learning English,they bicker and fight over learning Catalan or castellaño while perfect English speaking east Europeans come here to work and fill the seasonal vacancies.
one of my major gripes is suffering from rock fever.its not as easy as the peninsula to just hop in your car and explore ie visiting the picos,weekend skiing ,etc tho residents do get a healthy 50% off internal flights and ferries.
a nine year old might struggle with the languages taught,if so a private school would have to be considered.
all in all big decisions to think about but would you regret in years time not giving it a try in your position?


----------



## 111KAB (Aug 3, 2012)

Out in Mallorca as well (but retired) - ice cream parlour will be seasonal here and will probably function from May until end September and you will need to be based in one of the resorts. A café is more likely to be all year round but again will be quieter in the cooler months. Very few businesses which cater for tourists operate all year round particularly at full capacity. You need to be geared up for a (very) quiet cooler month trade or close altogether and if good at your job - busy summer months. I'm in the north (Puerto Pollensa) and I guess around 10 or so places selling ice cream cones/tubs however a lot of the self catering tourists just buy from the supermarket.


----------



## JaneyO (Sep 24, 2012)

Active is great but it's been 39 in the shade the past few days with humidity from hell. The pool's too hot to swim in and there's jellyfish in the sea! Active is getting off the sofa and drowning in sweat from the exertion. Beware of summer, but the other seasons are great, I'd never go back to the UK!


----------



## HarryB (Jan 17, 2013)

I have to agree with Bob Bob. It isn't that difficult to get out and about in the UK and find things to do even in bad weather. We moved our family to CDS also to try another lifestyle and for the experience, but we came home to Scotland after about 18 months. My hubby is in Merchant Navy so he came to Spain on his leave periods. It was just me and the two kids. Both went to state school. It was lovely during the summer months, but the winter was cold, wet and pretty gloomy. Try walking to school over a flooded Fereria ground with mud up your Wellies! Our balcony flooded with the torrential rain a few days before Christmas and we were mopping water from around the tree at 3am. At that point I thought to myself, I could be back in Scotland, yes it's freezing, but my house has central heating, carpets, double glazing and there is no mould!!!! The secondary school my daughter attended was full of ex pat children who were rude and clearly didnt want to learn, it was horrendous. The primary school was very good though that my little one attended. I soon realised that the day to day life was pretty much the same wherever you are. School run, shopping, cleaning, working if you can find work and its mostly linked to selling holiday lets etc around CDS. Spain's economy has become a lot worse since we returned home and my friends still living are Spain are struggling. I love Spain and hope to return one day, but it will be once I have retired and the kids have left home. Until then we will continue to spend long holidays in Spain. I don't think you realise until you live elsewhere how good the UK is, it really isn't as bad as you think, especially if you have a well paid job. If you do decide to move to Spain, be prepared, don't sell your uk house, and probably best to put older kids into international school. Good luck.


----------



## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Well I'm not from Mallorca and haven't been in Spain long but for what it's worth I'll give some impressions.

Family life is/will always be the same wherever you go. The house is still a mess, the kids are still crazy, there are no laundry elves etc... It's the same run of the mill home life as before. In theory it could be even more work with bigger homes, gardens and pools. Granted the kids can play outside more without the worry of rain but in general it's very similar in some respects.
Although the kids tend to have more trouble sleeping here, whether or not that's a transition thing or them growing up but it does eat into your relaxing time at night.

As for the other part about there being as much to do in the UK or in my case Belgium, well you could make that argument but everyone puts different values on what "quality of life" actually means. Sure you can go camping, fishing, play golf, cycling or whatever tickles your fancy anywhere you are but there is a marked difference between doing everything soaking wet or just in the cold than doing all these activities in a more stable climate.
No matter which way you try an spin it taking your 2yo to the beach for the first time in April is going to be a far more pleasant experience in the Med as opposed to the North Sea.
Like you said though, plenty of people do make the most of it and some even enjoy it more, then again you don't tend to see those people wanting to move elsewhere.

Why put more effort in to a hobby or past time when it's not necessary? 
In fact I can say in the one month I have been here I have already been able to nearly match the entire of last years and the first six months of this years total time spent enjoying my major past time. 
I even am getting images I could never of dreamed of from my backyard before, certainly not without hours spent editing afterwards. Here it's -too easy.
So if your major hobby is weather dependent then no way in this world can you tell me I could spend the same amount of time enjoying it if you just put a bit more effort into it. It's impossible.

You can't change the weather and the weather up North the last couple of years has been shockingly dull, and as much as people will rightly say that the weather is not always great in Spain I would much rather have 80 days of rain/clouds a year as opposed to 250.

Plus my kids don't need to take vitamin D anymore.


----------



## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

If you read between the lines, you may realise that all is not well in Spain. By asking a question like how is your lifestyle in Spain compared with the UK do you seriously think that someone is going to say. - it is rubbish here, we hate it and wish we had never moved. And yet a number of people have mentioned the difficulties that there are at present. Don't be misled by baldilocks who is living the dream on €600 a month and from his postings surviving on handouts of food from his Spanish neighbours. Holidays are different to living in a country. If you really fancy it, hire somewhere for a month or two. Let your husband try commuting back to the UK every other week and see how time and money consuming this can be. Only you can decide whether it will suit you.


----------



## HarryB (Jan 17, 2013)

111KAB said:


> Out in Mallorca as well (but retired) - ice cream parlour will be seasonal here and will probably function from May until end September and you will need to be based in one of the resorts. A café is more likely to be all year round but again will be quieter in the cooler months. Very few businesses which cater for tourists operate all year round particularly at full capacity. You need to be geared up for a (very) quiet cooler month trade or close altogether and if good at your job - busy summer months. I'm in the north (Puerto Pollensa) and I guess around 10 or so places selling ice cream cones/tubs however a lot of the self catering tourists just buy from the supermarket.


Hi 111KAB
We are just back from 2 weeks in Puerto Pollensa! I found it a lovely place, but wondered what it was like out of the summer months, ie October and Christmas time. It was more touristy than I had thought, but does this settle down. My hubby thought with the bustling marina that it was probably pretty much busy all year round? We would be interested in returning in the cooler months when we could explore more. The hotel we stayed at was awful, but we did enjoy the beach and marina. I would be grateful for your input. Many thanks.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Imo your quality of life is what you make it, wherever you are.


----------



## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

bob_bob said:


> More active lifestyle lol Open your eyes and you can be as active as you want in the UK, there is so much going on, you really have no excuse for feeling trapped in the UK if your prepared to put the effort in your choice of hobbies and pastimes are as good here as anywhere.
> 
> Move to Spain and work seven days a week for little or no return and see how trapped you feel. If you need to work to generate income Spain is not a good option. Work hard in the UK and take and enjoy your holidays in Spain (but get off your ass in the UK and take up a hobby or three  )


I'll add something to this.

This summer has actually been half decent, and for British standards, the best summer in over 30 years.

So the sun is out and stays out for more than 4 hours, this means I can plan a day outside. Great! But wait a minute...now that the sun is out, I don't know where to go. There's no cafe's outside. I can't go downtown with my dog because dogs aren't allowed in shops and whatever cafe' has tables and chairs outside they are probably stock full with people already. It's not easy to have a day out in the sun in the UK because the country was built with rain in mind!

Also, hobbies: It's great to have hobbies. But if you have a hobby, you better be ready to practice it on your own, because everyone else will be down at the pub.

And that's why I want to leave the UK *bows*


One more thing: Nobody here has yet mentioned the hurdle of overcoming the Spanish language, the Spanish bureaucracy, the Spanish themselves, the Spanish driving, the Spanish housing. Am I missing anything else?


----------



## 111KAB (Aug 3, 2012)

HarryB said:


> Hi 111KAB
> We are just back from 2 weeks in Puerto Pollensa! I found it a lovely place, but wondered what it was like out of the summer months, ie October and Christmas time. It was more touristy than I had thought, but does this settle down. My hubby thought with the bustling marina that it was probably pretty much busy all year round? We would be interested in returning in the cooler months when we could explore more. The hotel we stayed at was awful, but we did enjoy the beach and marina. I would be grateful for your input. Many thanks.


Well we tend to move out in July and August (back to UK) and swop houses with our children who come out and use our place as a holiday home! To be honest we get a bit fed up with tourists! Spring and Autumn are great though, November, December and January are quiet and things 'pick up' at February half term. We are a 15 minute walk from the Port (Llenaire) and in December we have walked in and not seen anyone during the there and back 30 minute stroll.
If you come out again I would highly recommend self-catering as there are some great restaurants catering for all budgets/tastes with the popular (good) ones being open all year round. May and September are great months (usually) to visit - not as hot as June/July/August but still warm which will allow you to explore. We have two local websites which are worth a look - particularly the forums .... bonygraph.com and puertopollensa.com.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Sirtravelot said:


> I'll add something to this.
> 
> This summer has actually been half decent, and for British standards, the best summer in over 30 years.
> 
> ...


Tbh, I don't recognise your description of the UK although I'm not doubting what you say. It wasn't like that for us, we had a great life, although work took up much of OH's time. A lot depends on lifestyle and location.

As for the language....not a hurdle for everyone. I taught MFL in the UK and abroad so I found it fairly easy to speak Spanish fluently albeit ungrammatically. Bureaucracy: nothing compared to that in the Czech Republic where a hefty bribe was de rigeur to get anything from officialdom. Driving: again, compared to the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland....nothing out of the ordinary. The only country that has superb driving standards is imo Germany.
Housing: again, can't see a problem, although our house is admittedly a tad chilly in deepest winter, but never cold.
You are spot-on about UK weather, though...
But again, it's 40C in the shade here today...after a couple of weeks that can begin to be a little excessive.


----------



## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

alethea2000 said:


> Hi we do a good job of doing what we can to be active where we live but do need to move to have a more direct access to getting out and about. We do a lot of camping canoeing and cycling. We love England hence Devon, cornwall and river Thames being on the short list. We live in an area with no paths at all and although gorgeous I would be happy with taking Ella cycling or running on the roads as they are so narrow. Ella has had a great lifestyle here but will now need more so we are looking to moving ether somewhere imnuk with direct access to water and paths ! Just not sure where Yet . It makes me laugh how being pick up the negative on a post ie open your eyes to what is available in the UK. I would have to write an essay for people to understand us as people and why I feel stuck in four walls but don't want to bore people. I've been working 18 hour days and know if we lived in a better location in the uk or abroad we would get a better life style. all your experiences of Spain really welcome. I find it so interesting


Move down to South Wales, Brecon Beacons, lots and lots of opportunities for walks and canoeing. First thing you need to do is cut back your working day wherever you are.


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Calas felices said:


> Don't be misled by baldilocks who is living the dream on €600 a month and from his postings* surviving on handouts of food* from his Spanish neighbours.


"Surviving on handouts of food"? We can manage very well without the contributions to our larder from neighbours who have surplus produce. In return they are "surviving on handouts of cakes and fruit loaves" from us and, in fact, returning the gifts in kind costs more than the produce is worth when you take into account the cost of sugar, flour, eggs, fat and gas. BUT the value of the cementing of warm, friendly, neighbourly relations is worth every centimo hundred, thousands of times over.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Green peppers, aubergines and tomatos feature regularly -very regularly- in our diet in summer months especially as well as cherries and oranges and lemons according to season. We've had artichokes, chestnuts and walnuts too.
All very gratefully received thanks to our friends Juan and Meri who live next door but have a finca near Ubrique.


----------



## HarryB (Jan 17, 2013)

Thank you for your info. We will definitely try again out of the hot summer months. We ate out every night as the hotel food was awful! And yes we found some lovely restaurants.


----------

