Gran Canaria holidays? Bliss. We all enjoy holidays to Gran Canaria but what’s it like actually living here?
Photo By Szeke
There are pros and cons to living anywhere and many people who come to Gran Canaria or any of the Canary Islands on holiday and fantasise about living here one day. You can break the group down into:
- Young people in their teens and early twenties who dream about working in a bar (with free alcohol thrown in, of course) at night and laying on the beach all day.
- Slightly older people who want to buy a bar or restaurant in the sun.
- Older people who want to retire in the sun.
Photo By Saimens
Unfortunately it’s not quite that easy. People say to me all the time, “oh you’re so lucky living here” but luck has nothing to do with it! I decided to move over, sold my possessions and moved over. It had nothing to do with luck.
Holidays in Gran Canaria vs. Actually Living Here
If you want beach holidays Gran Canaria is a great resort. If you want to live here permanently, you won’t be laying on the beach all day. Well, maybe you will if you have enough money to buy a property and live without working. If not, you will have to work for up to nine hours a day for an average of thirty six euros. It’s like being back in Blighty but with nicer weather! I’m not being cynical – that’s just the way it is. You have to pay rent and bills and you have to work. The wages are lower than back home but rent is about the same. Expect to pay 450 euros upwards for a one bedroom apartment or 600 euros upwards for a two bedroom place.
This is a good job search website: http://www.canaryinfo.com/4/en/1/Search_a_job_Canary_Islands_Spain
Photo By Vlokkie
Life for an Ex-Pat
For some people, living here is a dream come true. You get the sun every day (almost) and a relaxed pace of life.
For others, they make the decision to go home after a few months or a few years. The pace of life being “relaxed” isn’t always a good thing. I had to wait six months for a phoneline to be installed. The post office doesn’t deliver half my mail. Smaller shops open when they feel like it rather than when it says in their window. The place comes to a complete halt between four and seven o’clock, when it is “siesta” time. If you live here, you can adjust to all that, but it does take time!
Photo By ShanePapaDiesel
How to Find Work
The first thing to do is to look for cheap holidays to Gran Canaria. When you come over, remember that you need at least enough money to pay several month’s rent. Don’t assume you will find work immediately. If you can get a cheap package holiday or a last minute deal to Gran Canaria, you won’t have to get an apartment right away and you have your return ticket in case you decide not to stay after all.
If you have a trade (mechanic, builder etc) it will be very difficult to find work without speaking Spanish. The staff speak English in most of the restaurants, bars and shops in the resort areas but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try to learn a few phrases.
If you have any questions about living in Gran Canaria, just reply to this post and I’ll get back to you!
11 responses so far ↓
1 Paul // Aug 25, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I totaly agree with the above.
But if you are seriously thinking of coming to live here permanently. It really is a lovely life , as you settle in with the canarian community here.
You will not get much of a life living in a tourist apartment, (if purchasing) with tourists coming and going all the time. Noise all night long, worry about your belongings (with so many strangers about) No permanent friendships made daily. You really need to think about living like you do in the country you are leaving. A NORMAL EVERYDAY LIFE. You can do that here if you purchase within a canarian village,/urbanisation.Many english irish, german scandinavian people do this and have lovely lives/permanent friendships made here.
There are NEW properties being built, away from the tourist complexes. In Playa Mogan but easily accesible to go out and have some fun also.
You do not also have to be stuck up in the hills either.
For instance Playa Mogan, has a valley further on which is very flat and only two minutes from the Playa and port by car. (You can even walk it.) There are a few new build affordable from 205.000 euros 3 bed duplexes for sale there at the moment complete with fitted kitchens, all electrical appliances, dishwashers, even washing machine included. Nestling amongst the fruit fincas and local canarian houses, and just past the local garden centre.
It is best to sell everything up and not bring anything with you, and buy new here. (furniture ,electricals etc)
Many people are now renting and buying in the countryside here. To experience the true Canarian way of life.
There is even RENT TO BUY scheme where as the rent you have already paid, is then used as the deposit to purchase your property.(basicaly you get all the rent you have paid back, on purchasing the property.) after the 6 months rental agreement expires. It is a less stressfree way of buying and settling in and finding your bearings.And gives you time to settle things up properly, from the country you are leaving.
2 Victoria // Aug 27, 2008 at 7:16 am
Thanks Paul, there’s some good advice in there.
3 Paul // Nov 3, 2008 at 4:06 pm
If you are a true country loving person and wish to mix and live amongst the locals completely,thier way of life.
You could really do that in Aldea San nicolas, it really is remote for now until they build the motorway from there to Agaete, many germans and norweigens have settled there over the years. Its a lovely town with everything you could want in it. with the beach 2 mins away by car. The beach is still original, with only 3 restraunts there. the town has many restraunts and bars all with very cheap, but fresh good food. (the spanish are very funny where they eat, they will only eat good anywhere).
Mainly the work there is picking tomatoes and fruit.
many of the men are construction workers and travel out for work. But it is a thriving town, with lots going for it and a true spanish way of life.Thier own medical centre 24/7 and everything you need there
There is a bed and breakfast place just off the town square. And a new hotel just outside of the town.
4 julia whatley // May 28, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I think I know mosdt of what paul has said but I hate the English tourist’s in canaries I am looking for a finca for a month after the w.o.m.a.d. festival has finished, or w.w.o.o.f.ing work!
5 Victoria // May 28, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Well some of them are fine, Julia, but the loud, tattooed drunk variety of Brit you find staggering along the seafront clutching a tin of lager in the summer months isn’t my idea of relaxation either
Do you know how to find a finca for rent, do you already have one or do you want me to see if I can find out where you can find one?
6 kevin // Aug 18, 2009 at 4:51 am
great site….
7 Victoria // Aug 18, 2009 at 5:04 am
Thanks Kevin!
8 Tricia // Dec 2, 2009 at 2:45 pm
What is the cost of living like there? I have just applied for a teaching post in La Higuierita and would like to know about the area, biils electricity water council tax tax system, do you get family allowance? My hubby and I both have excellent spanish. What is the construction industry like? could my hubby trade independently as a tiler??? please respond asap much appreciated quick decisions to make?
9 Victoria // Dec 2, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Hi Tricia, the cost of living depends on the area. If you are renting you will probably pay at least 600 euros a month for a 3 bedrooms place (I’m assuming you have 1 or 2 kids), you don’t pay council tax. Electric is cheaper than the UK because you won’t be using heating. Water for me (there are 2 of us living here) is about 30 euros a month and electricity is about 50 euros a month. It depends how much you use, of course. I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as family allowance.
Knowing Spanish helps (of course). The construction industry seems to be doing pretty well. There are more hotels than tourists to fill them at the moment! Your husband could apply for “autonomo” which means self-employed but it’s quite expensive – 1000 euros a month regardless of how much he earns. At least that’s how much it was when my ex did it for a few months.
The credit crisis is as evident in the Canaries as it is in the UK. Your knowledge of Spanish does help of course but there is unemployment throughout Spain just as there is elsewhere.
A friend of mine has a refurbishment business and they do tiling, decorating, building etc and they are pretty busy. I think he has 2 or 3 people working with him. There are a lot of older Scandinavians and Germans living in the south, who have money to spend doing up their retirement homes in the sun, which is where my friend does well because he and his partners speak those languages. They get most of their work via word of mouth – obviously starting up is the hardest part.
I’ve never heard of La Higuierita and I’ve been living here 10 years. Is it in the north? My modem is rather temperamental tonight and Google doesn’t want to cooperate! I’ll have another look in a bit.
Good luck with your plans!
Victoria
10 michael // Feb 25, 2010 at 11:42 am
hello guys. im 42 yrs old and am a massage practitioner. have been to gran canaria 5 times in last 3 yrs and wood love to move out permanantly. i want to be legal in my massage work, in a clinic or on the coastal areas. how difficult is it to become a resident and work legally in gran canaria,. any help on these matters would be really great thanks. respect michael
11 Victoria // Mar 5, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Hi Michael, becoming a resident is not difficult but you will either need to speak Spanish or have the money to set up your own massage business. If you are a British or European resident setting in GC is fairly straightforward but there are limited places recruiting massage practitioners, especially with the credit crunch and recent hard times everywhere. The best bet might be to learn Spanish and find some other kind of work to keep you going until you find a massage job to make use of your skills. Working legally in GC is easy since when you find a job the company will sort out most of your paperwork, like they do at home. If you want to be self-employed this can be costly and time consuming to set up (and again Spanish will help!)
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