Reasons for living in Tenerife

[Ecky Thump]

Just to get a balance of opinions and a aid to people thinking of relocating from another country to Tenerife, could folk give us your reasons for choosing their move to Tenerife and why they have stayed. :-)

[YOUNG GOLFER]

Here is a Facebook page with a lot of positives on Tenerife well worth a look.

Some great photos of Palm Mar taken only last night.

https://www.facebook.com/ILoveTenerife

[DJ Dangerous]

Some of the fundamentals of life here are very different, or I found them to be, at least.

From an employment point of view, there are too many two-bit con-artists playing business-person in the sun. Combine that with boat-loads of refugees arriving from Ireland and the UK every summer, and your labour is suddenly under-valued. The language is the key to crawling out of that barrel.

Aesthetically, I found the lack of purely residential areas strange to get used-to at first. Every apartment building (or almost every one) has its bottom floor filled with commercial units. There is no clear distinction between residential and commercial. It seems normal now, though.

Healthcare here is amazing. I have never in my life experienced such good health care. You don't feel right, you phone 012 and make an appointment with your medico de cabezero, and (s)he consults with you, recommends specialists, urgent visits, blood tests etc. before I moved here, "cholesterol" was a word that old people used when they saw me eat, holding no meaning at all. Now, I know exactly what levels of each cholesterol I have, what they should be, and if I need to take any steps. And, it's all completely free!

Paperwork here is daunting at times, but the more you do it, the less unusual it seems. Getting a Spanish driving licence was easy and fast, and carrying it negates the legal requirement to carry un-folded Residencia and passport etc. Gestoria's are great for when it gets too heavy, and those based in the north seem to charge prices around half that of those in the south.

People in general seem so much more open, or helpful, or just more willing to talk, than they did back in Dublin. Only yesterday, I took a trip to a desguace with a list of parts that I wanted. they said that they'd phone me this morning, and sure enough, I received a call at half ten this morning, telling me that they had tracked down half the stuff, and would call me if they got hold of the rest. Another call from them at half three to confirm that they'd found the rest, and by half six, they'd delivered the lot to my mechanic. Breakers were a nightmare to deal with before moving here.

The scenery here is beautiful. I will admit that there is some amazing terrain around Connemara, and the west coast is beautiful, but I find the contrasts here even more amazing. You want sun, you can have it, you want cloud, you can have it, you want green, you can have it, you want grey, you can have it, you want forest, you can have it.

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2012-01-09%20Anaga/IMGP4053_zps4edb6382.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2012-01-09%20Anaga/IMGP4053_zps4edb6382.jpg.html)

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2012-01-09%20Anaga/IMGP3967_zpsfa40daa2.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2012-01-09%20Anaga/IMGP3967_zpsfa40daa2.jpg.html)

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2012-01-09%20Anaga/IMGP4006_zpscacbf484.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2012-01-09%20Anaga/IMGP4006_zpscacbf484.jpg.html)

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2013-11-17%20Teide%20Tenerife/IMGP0132_zpsf291194c.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2013-11-17%20Teide%20Tenerife/IMGP0132_zpsf291194c.jpg.html)

At the end of the day, even if somebody has moved here and found it not to be what they thought it would, they can at least say on their deathbed that they tried, instead of spending the remainder of their life wondering.

Lastly, the Meth must be great to keep trolls like 9PLUS clinging on...

[DJ Dangerous]

You want to see snow on Christmas day, you have to look for it, but it IS there...

:)



http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2013-12-25%20Christmas%20Day/IMG-20131225-00755_zps49f79a24.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2013-12-25%20Christmas%20Day/IMG-20131225-00755_zps49f79a24.jpg.html)



And if you want cold? You can find cold!



http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2014-02-22%20Teide%20Night%20Walk%20with%20Snow/IMGP0662_zps212c67e2.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2014-02-22%20Teide%20Night%20Walk%20with%20Snow/IMGP0662_zps212c67e2.jpg.html)

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2013-12-06%20Teide%20Cable%20Car/IMG-20131206-00353_zpsebef808b.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2013-12-06%20Teide%20Cable%20Car/IMG-20131206-00353_zpsebef808b.jpg.html)

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2013-12-06%20Teide%20Cable%20Car/IMG-20131206-00333_zps814d02f2.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2013-12-06%20Teide%20Cable%20Car/IMG-20131206-00333_zps814d02f2.jpg.html)



You want rally cars? No problem - there's a rally, hill-climb or slalom almost every second weekend in Tenerife, and often two per weekend if you include the other islands.



http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2014-04-05%20Rally%20Adeje/CIMG8740_zps5dfc83db.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2014-04-05%20Rally%20Adeje/CIMG8740_zps5dfc83db.jpg.html)

http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x451/djdangerous1/2014-04-05%20Rally%20Adeje/CIMG8686_zpsc0a0d502.jpg (http://s1182.photobucket.com/user/djdangerous1/media/2014-04-05%20Rally%20Adeje/CIMG8686_zpsc0a0d502.jpg.html)

[LUCKY]

Just to get a balance of opinions and a aid to people thinking of relocating from another country to Tenerife, could folk give us your reasons for choosing their move to Tenerife and why they have stayed. :-)

Its peridice ................paradice................. paradise ........ lovely ( must get a spill check ):flatcap:

[TenerifeTeddy]

I have lived now for 9 years in Callao Salvaje. I have gone back to the UK a dozen times in that period, visiting family members and friends. I come from South London originally, but most of my family now lives near Crawley. One of the things I can point to is the friendliness of the people here and the lack of threat. By that I mean, people looking you in the eye, the greetings, the sense of belonging. In London and in Crawley, walking around, everyone avoids eye contact. Stop a stranger and ask them a question, they are likely to think you want to rob them!. There is something gone seriously wrong in the UK.

Now I don't go wandering on my own near Veronicas or down dark alleys at 2 in the morning, but I have never felt that threat where I live in Tenerife, indeed it is almost impossible to walk from my home to my shop without being greeted or stopped for a chat. What a difference.

Sometimes I miss the greenness and beauty of the UK, the smells and feel of walking through ancient woodland, but Tenerife has it's own beauty, often rugged, but get into the hills and the scenery is stunning, as DJ Dangerous showed in his photos.

It is still cheaper to live here than in the UK, though prices have risen. We have a better quality of life here than we would have for the same income in the UK.

Healthcare here is outstanding, as DJ said. Cholesterol was a word I had only heard in the UK, I had certainly never been tested for it. How often do you hear of people getting secondary infections from the hospital here. Very rare. In the UK my mother was in and out of hospital repeatedly for the last 5 years or so, and almost invariably she caught a secondary infection whilst she was there. She died last week after two months in hospital following a fall and getting gastroenteritis in hospital, which she never had the strength to recover from.

Of course it is not all roses, but for us the good far outweighs the bad. Tenerife is our home now , and perhaps that is also a psychological difference. We lived for the bulk of our lives in the UK and I served in the RAF for 23 years, so I certainly believe in Queen and Country. However Tenerife for us is just a nicer place to live.

[DJ Dangerous]

it is almost impossible to walk from my home to my shop without being greeted or stopped for a chat.

Or beeped and shouted at by the occupants of a passing van...

[TenerifeTeddy]

Or beeped and shouted at by the occupants of a passing van...
Every place has it's yobboes :)

[golf birdie]

Now I don't go wandering on my own near Veronicas or down dark alleys at 2 in the morning, but I have never felt that threat where I live in Tenerife, indeed it is almost impossible to walk from my home to my shop without being greeted or stopped for a chat. What a difference.

.



would that be any different if you moved to most small villages in the UK?

[DJ Dangerous]

would that be any different if you moved to most small villages in the UK?

Hell yes!!

[slodgedad]

I moved here 20 years ago for the obvious reasons then; work, quality of life and a need to have my daughter educated away from the UK.

I'm glad my daughter had a better education than she would have had in a comprehensive in the UK. The quality of life, especially healthcare, is outstanding but work is hard to come by now.

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[Ecky Thump]

would that be any different if you moved to most small villages in the UK?

I have found that people who live in small villages in the UK can be far more unfriendly than folk who live in towns & cities, and I have lived in several cities Glasgow - London - Birmingham - York - Wolverhampton and also villages in Hertfordshire - Staffordshire and now back in Ayrshire.

[bonitatime]

I spend a lot of time in Santa Cruz and feel very safe there

[kingbaker]

I spend a lot of time in Santa Cruz and feel very safe there

Me tooooo, always feel safe there and also feel safe in Brum at nite but deffo not in Dublin. ;)

[Ecky Thump]

Me tooooo, always feel safe there and also feel safe in Brum at nite but deffo not in Dublin. ;)

You've obviously not been in Handsworth, Aston, Winson Green, Lozells areas at night!!:whistle:

[kingbaker]

I moved here 20 years ago for the obvious reasons then; work, quality of life and a need to have my daughter educated away from the UK.

I'm glad my daughter had a better education than she would have had in a comprehensive in the UK. The quality of life, especially healthcare, is outstanding but work is hard to come by now.

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Oi Slodgedad...wotts wrong with the education system in the Uk? Good job I didnt say that or a pile of Jock'd be dancing a hornpipe on me 'ead!!:tiphat::tiphat:

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You've obviously not been in Handsworth, Aston, Winson Green, Lozells areas at night!!:whistle:

I lived a few yards away from Winson Green, been to Lozells at night and all are much safer than areas of Dublin at night. I've only been to Handsworth during the day and only been in Aston University, during the day also. :tiphat:

[Ecky Thump]

I lived a few yards away from Winson Green, been to Lozells at night and all are much safer than areas of Dublin at night. I've only been to Handsworth during the day and only been in Aston University, during the day also. :tiphat:

Hmm - A few yards away from Winston Green, that's HM Prison!!:crylaughing:

[kingbaker]

Hmm - A few yards away from Winston Green, that's HM Prison!!:crylaughing:
No just up City Rd. Maybe 200 meters.:laugh::laugh::laugh::tiphat:

[kingbaker]

Brum is lovely!! Would enjoy living there again. :p:p:D:cool:

[macdonald5]

Brum is lovely!! Would enjoy living there again. :p:p:D:cool:
So what's stopping you ??

[kingbaker]

So what's stopping you ??

Not an option at the mo, but maybe in the future. I love their funny accents!! Ha!! Ha!!:p:p;):(:p:cool::p:(;)

Would live in Tenerife in a heartbeat......if they had the economy sorted out...maybe in the future. :p:(:cool::p:(:cool::p:p:p