Some general questions for an Irish/Italian couple moving to Tenerife

[Olcán]

Hi folks,

I'm Irish and my girlfriend is Italian.. we're currently living in Ireland but I've just accepted a position at the University of La Laguna which I'll be starting in August. We have some questions we were hoping you may be able to help us with. Apologies if you've seen these all a thousand times before (we did search through older posts but couldn't really find the answers we were looking for) :)

Anyway... we won't have a car initially, so we were wondering what areas would be practical to rent in considering I will have to be in the University 5-days a week. Would we have to stay in La Laguna or would it be possible to commute from other towns nearby with public transport? Anywhere you could recommend?

My gf speaks Italian and fluent English, and we'll both be taking Spanish lessons.. but in the beginning, do you think it could be very difficult for her to find work? Is there any particular kinds of work that you think English/Italian could be useful for or is Spanish absolutely necessary?

Thanks :)

[LUCKY]

For public transport go to the http://www.titsa.com/index.php?idioma=1 website. hope this helps and by the way welcome to the Forum. :flatcap::feret::feret::feret::feret:

[Megaloo]

La Laguna is a very nice Town

[Olcán]

Thanks :)

I was just looking at the link you sent... it does seem it would be feasible to commute to Laguna from Santa Cruz, and maybe even Puerto de la Cruz.

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Yeah by all accounts La Laguna sounds like a great place. For the moment, we're just trying to get an idea of how far we can extend our search!

[doncarlos]

It really depends on which Campus you’ll be working at. La Laguna is centric and easy to get to and from surrounding places via the Tranvia (http://metrotenerife.com/)and/or buses. La Cuesta and S/C would be other suitable places but Puerto is just a bit far to commute to La Laguna on a regular basis but people do it.

[timmylish]

Hi folks,

I'm Irish and my girlfriend is Italian.. we're currently living in Ireland but I've just accepted a position at the University of La Laguna which I'll be starting in August. We have some questions we were hoping you may be able to help us with. Apologies if you've seen these all a thousand times before (we did search through older posts but couldn't really find the answers we were looking for) :)

Anyway... we won't have a car initially, so we were wondering what areas would be practical to rent in considering I will have to be in the University 5-days a week. Would we have to stay in La Laguna or would it be possible to commute from other towns nearby with public transport? Anywhere you could recommend?

My gf speaks Italian and fluent English, and we'll both be taking Spanish lessons.. but in the beginning, do you think it could be very difficult for her to find work? Is there any particular kinds of work that you think English/Italian could be useful for or is Spanish absolutely necessary?

Thanks :)

Let me take your second question first, for a change and explain that a bog standard answer to your enquiry would be along the lines of don,t bother coming here as there is massive unemployment here (about 33% at the last count) so naturally whenever jobs come up the locals get first notice and take up these positions and off course near perfect Spanish is needed. However, your circumstances are unique in that you,ve already got as job at the Uni. which, in itself will open doors for your other half to find employment more easily but her Spanish wil still need to be fairly good.
Now, as to commuting then most people, like myself who have resided here for 27 yrs we would tend to advise you to get local accommodation, La Laguna/Santa Cruz. However its bloody freezing up there in winter and I would therefor suggest going a little further to Peurto de la Cruz. Now why I say most here will suggest Laguna/Sta.Cruz is we are long in the tooth and forget how far people travel to work in N. Europe/UK/Ire. etc so this distance is probably 30km or so ea.way. Hardly a lot methinks! That 20 min. travel time drops you near enough 1000 mtrs. in altitude so the climate is much warmer. For me a no brainer. Warm against cold every day of the week!

[canarybird]

As you're coming in August when it will be hot, I would suggest looking for a place in La Laguna or Sta. Cruz where it's near to your work.
It's a university town so there should be plenty of short term student-type accommodation there, (that's just a guess, but it would seem logical....especially in summer when the main student body is on holiday.)

This would give you enough time to get settled, find your way around and decide if you would prefer to change your apartment or live further away.

Regarding a job for your girlfriend....it's true that unemployment is high here and many locals have been without steady work for months or even years. Speaking Spanish is a necessity in nearly every position. Having a second language is an advantage but it would also depend on other skills and openings available when you arrive.

Good luck!

[Olcán]

I'm glad to have found this forum , thanks very much for your replies, all very helpful :)

Would you recommend that we enlist the help of a Spanish speaker in order to set up bank accounts/utilities etc. or are there any companies that can cater to English speakers also?

[Megaloo]

Banco Sabadell have English German speaking staff and maybe other Banks have to