We're hopefully moving out to Tenerife in next few months

[stuart8404]

hi my wife 5 year old daughter and myself are looking to move over totenerife or lanzarote in the near future. now i know the bad parts 37% unemployment etc but i have a few questions. we have recently sold our house so the money side of being able to live for a while until we find jobs is not a problem. i am stuck on two counts i am 50 now and feel that i need one last career change first do i stay over here in a country that is quickly going downhill or try to make a better life for ourselves. we need your views on two business ideas. first of all if we buy as bar over there what is trade like ? i dont expect a bar to be full every night im not that naive but i need to know if a business like that is financially viable. I have bar work experience my wife is a trained chef. i see there are a few bars for sale on the island so really i am asking any ex pat bar owners , if they had their time again would they still buy a bar and what they would do differently if they could. my second option is buying a place to rent for holidays and renting a place for ourselves to live that way we could do all the cleaning maintenance of the rental property etc. any advise off the forum re downfalls etc would be greatly appreciated.

[JaBBa]

Welcome to the forum Stuart,

Think most will say do your homework first before you go over,there are plenty of same posts in this thread below your post, all similar and not so similar to you, which will help and might give you other ideas, also I noticed you have a five year old daughter so schooling a big factor here which has been covered in depth, especially by our female members on here...

Anyway to start have a read of the stickie above your post done by CIM its like a bible on here, I will add a link below just incase

http://www.tenerifeforum.org/tenerife-forum/showthread.php?334-My-Tenerife-survival-guide-for-new-and-wannabe-expats (http://www.tenerifeforum.org/tenerife-forum/showthread.php?334-My-Tenerife-survival-guide-for-new-and-wann9abe-expats)

Good Luck

[LUCKY]

Welcome to the Forum stuart
Please have a read of the following
:flatcap::feret::feret::feret::feret:

http://tenerifeestateagents.net/bars-for-sale-in-tenerife-warning/

[Tom & Sharon]

Hi Stuart and welcome to the forum.

You need to think very carefully before you make such a rash decision.

I think the overwhelming answer to your question should you buy a bar, will be a deafening no! Sure, there are lots of bars for sale on the island, thousands in fact! Why? Read the links above, and digest. Don't think you will be the only one to buck the trend, because you won't!

You've also answered your own question on employment. 37% unemployment. You've said you're 50. What are your jobs in the UK? There are very few jobs in the UK which are transferable to Tenerife. Yes, chefing is one, but pay and conditions will be far worse than they are in the UK. Job security will be non-existent. What are your employment/earning expectations?

Your other idea of buying a place for holiday rentals is a non-starter. You need to read up on the letting laws in Tenerife. It is illegal to rent out a residential property for tourist letting, and if it is a touristic property, all lets have to go through the official letting agent. You won't be able to do it yourself. Fines are hefty for breaking the law.

You ask should you stay in a country which is "quickly going downhill" or move and "try to make a better life". Think about this. In what way is the UK going quickly downhill? It's not really, and most definitely not compared to Spain! OK, the weather's not brilliant lots of the time, and you might think of maybe immigration problems, and all the stories of people arriving from other countries claiming benefits and things like that. Very annoying I know, but going downhill? The UK is one of the largest economies in the world. We enjoy good healthcare and education. We are safe compared to most of the world. You're not likely to get shot or stabbed on the way to the supermarket. We are civilised. We " do things properly" . Health and safety laws may be very annoying at times, but you know that if you fall down a hole in the road, you will have recourse of action. When it goes dark at night, you don't have to wonder whether the street lights will come on or not. You just know they will. You don't have to wonder any day if the water will randomly go off, or if you turn all the appliances on in your kitchen will the electricity supply stand it. We have shops stocked full of the best products that the world has to offer. If it exists, you can buy it. And easily. We have strict employment laws, and we enjoy job security and good conditions. You always know that you will be fairly treated, you will be paid a fair wage, you will have a contract of employment, you will be properly trained, and you won't turn up at work one day for your job just to be gone. Just like that, with a shrug of the shoulders, and no compensation. The UK isn't really going downhill, it's just that familiarity really does breed contempt.

Added to that, we don't have the bureaucratic paperwork nightmare of Spain. Just try it for a bit and you'll see what I mean.

Tenerife isn't utopia. It's far from it. Yes, the sun shines all year round, but after a while, that can get on your nerves. You want to see my Facebook page all summer long, with everyone moaning about how hot it is, can't sleep etc.

There are an awful lot of drawbacks to what you may view as an idyllic life in the sunshine. Think long and hard about it.

Personally, if I were you, I'd buy another property in the UK with my money. Rent it out, and come over to Tenerife for a few months and live off my rental income. That way you'll be able to suss out properly if it really is for you, and you won't have lost the money you've probably worked all your life for, chasing a dream that may just turn into a nightnmare!

[golf birdie]

almost every bar is for sale here. The ones that are not are the ones you would need to buy. As someone wrote on here a while back after buying a bar;

I would of been better off buying a boat and sailing back to the UK throwing a 50€ note over the side every mile''.

[primrose]

Perfect post Sharon, summed up life in Tenerife perfectly,nothing else to say except take no notice of the people that tell you go for it "better to regret something you have done than spend the rest of your life regretting something you haven't done" it's bull****, ask the people that have invested all their savings in buying a business over here and gone back home with nothing.There are thousands of Bars for sale that are changing hands every few months and the only people making any money are the Landlords who get thousands selling the Trespasso every time somebody gives the keys back and another sucker pays thousands to take over a Bar that will never make any money. The successful bars are not for sale.

[CIM]

Look at investing your money into BTL property in or near where you live. There are decent yields and in many parts a lot of optimism over house prices.
The bar route - not good for you, your marriage, your finances or your daughter. It´s a non-starter and you will be had for as much as they can take from you.
Keep your daughter in the UK education system and enjoy some great holidays where you can actually afford to enjoy Tenerife over the next 10 years. Then take a look at your options.

- - - - - - - - - - merged double post - - - - - - - - - -

The replies on this thread really are all the information you need.

[stuart8404]

really appreciate all your posts and thank you all will have to think hard regarding your replies. one last question what has made you all stay even though it is not all roses is it that you have businesses or just decided to retire etc as i do eventually want to get over there at some stage even if it is not now

[primrose]

really appreciate all your posts and thank you all will have to think hard regarding your replies. one last question what has made you all stay even though it is not all roses is it that you have businesses or just decided to retire etc as i do eventually want to get over there at some stage even if it is not now

We are now retired so have a regular income and we have stayed because of my OH health problems, if I thought he could cope with the cold weather in England I would definitely go back.

[stuart8404]

thanks for that primrose just wanted my daughter to try and have a better life in a warm climate where there is hopefully less stress and love the canaries and could not think of a better place to end up.

[Hepa]

I don't actually live on the island of Tenerife, I'm 75 miles to the south west on El Hierro. Life here is absolutely fantastic, far cheaper than the U.K., no heating bills, no crime, a wonderful place for children to grow up.

However two things are imperative, income and language skills, otherwise it would be impossible.

[primrose]

thanks for that primrose just wanted my daughter to try and have a better life in a warm climate where there is hopefully less stress and love the canaries and could not think of a better place to end up.

I can understand how you feel about your daughter but if you buy a Bar it will be really hard work for you, you would be working 6/7 days a week from early morning till late at night, your daughter would either spend most of her life hanging round the Bar or with a child minder which would be another expense, and I know it is a while off her leaving school or University but there are no jobs for young people here.Nobody can tell you what to do but please think very carefully before you do anything.We came here 9 years ago and most of the people that came around the same time as us have gone back home and a lot of them have gone back with nothing.Just remember that a lot of the Hotels have gone over to AI and a lot of Holiday makers never even leave the hotel.When you read the Forum and you read about people sat on their Balcony's with a glass of wine watching the sunset they are mostly holidaymakers and as nice as it sounds that wouldn't be the kind of life you would have.The life of somebody on Holiday couldn't be more different than somebody that lives here and has to earn a living.Read Sharons post again and that is the reality.

[Tom & Sharon]

We bought our apartment 5 years ago next week. We are the same age as you. We did initially buy it with thoughts of moving permanently to Tenerife, and in fact I did live there mostly for a while with our youngest son while Tom was working in various locations around the UK.

We were just always that little bit unsure of completely jumping in with both feet. We'd been to Tenerife a couple of times a year on holiday for 25 years. We thought we knew it really well. We didn't! We knew the side that holiday makers see. Beaches, hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and a few trips round the island. We actually knew nothing at all about what it's like to actually live there. It's a long learning curve, and it's nothing at all like being on holiday.

In those 5 years, I have witnessed much hardship amongst the residents of Tenerife. I have seen many people come and go in that short space of time. I know of people who've lost their whole life savings, and their marriages in much less than 12 months, and returned home with nothing.

Even on this forum, a lot of people have come and gone from it over the 5 years. Countless people who've come on, said they're moving to Tenerife in 2 months time, lock, stock and barrel. They've not listened to advice, they've been "prepared to work hard, do anything, a quick learner, going to Spanish lessons" ......etc. most stories are the same. Most have the same end result. They go home penniless, and someone else is arriving on the next plane, making exactly the same mistake.

People who've stayed have stayed for many reasons. Some have successful businesses, but not many. Some have married Canarians and have children born there. Some stay because they've got nothing to go back to, or can't because they left debt/personal problems behind which will catch up with them. Some arrived 20 years ago in the good times, when you could make a new life easily. Not now.

I also think some stay, even though they're skint, because they've lost sight of what they went for in the first place. Nobody wakes up one morning and thinks "let's go and live a life on the breadline in Tenerife". Everybody comes because they think they'll live a better life in the sun. They arrive with money and dreams. All too often, the ideas they came with don't materialise. But they've still got a bit of money left, so they settle for something a bit different, a bit less. The 3 bed villa they came out to rent when they had money, soon becomes a 2 bed apartment, then a 1 bed, then they can't really afford the rent on that either. They've got a job they hate, they're poorly paid and they never have time for the beach, and they can't afford to eat in those nice restaurants either. But they stay. They compromise. After all, they're still living in Tenerife aren't they? They must be doing something right? And all their friends on Facebook are dead envious when they see the photographs they put on. They're not at all living the life they came for, but they lost sight of that a long time ago. And they stay. After all " it's better to be skint in the sun". Isn't it?

If you're retired and have a private income, or have health issues which are better in a warm climate, then it's a great place to live. Having said that though, now we're the wrong side of 50, I'm starting to see that with different eyes. There's not actually that much to do. Most retirees seem to play a bit of golf or bowls, and the rest of the time take the dog for a walk. It's quite literally an island full of retired ex-pats out walking. It's starting to look to me like they're all just out going for a walk until they die, and it's frightening the hell out of me! Rather than enjoy the laid back lifestyle, I'm finding the hustle and bustle of the UK far more appealing. It feels much more alive!

I don't regret buying our apartment. We love being there, and we are there a lot of the year, me more than Tom. But I'm so glad we never completely jumped ship, because I know we would have regretted it by now.

We're lucky, because we have the best of both worlds, and two lovely homes. But if I had to choose Tenerife full time, doing a rubbish job for 5/6€ an hour, or UK with a decent job and all of its benefits, and just be able to have 2 very good holidays in Tenerife every year, I'd choose UK every time.

But I wouldn't have said that 5 years ago if you'd asked me the same question. As they say, hindsight is 20/20 vision!

[stuart8404]

thank you sharon for that fantastic reply really do appreciate your advice certainly gives us a lot of points to explore first .

[golf birdie]

It's quite literally an island full of retired ex-pats out walking. It's starting to look to me like they're all just out going for a walk until they die, and it's frightening the hell out of me!


:lol::lol: we were only saying yesterday that David Attenborough should come and make a documentry about this strange behavior:lol: