Where to live or buy
When people say they want to live or buy a property in Tenerife, I sometimes wonder whether they are fully aware of how many micro-environments the island has. It also has micro-climates, with the weather being notably different in different parts of Tenerife. The east coast is very breezy, hence it’s where the airport is, whereas the west coast is much more sheltered. One doesn’t have to go far inland (and therefore uphill), however, before it changes again, becoming colder in winter and sometimes much hotter than the coast in the summer – particularly at times of calima. The north coast is different yet again, being often much cloudier and with more rainfall (though it’s all relative, I know!): for this reason, it’s often several degrees cooler in the north, and much greener.
In terms of their specific requirements, moreover, many people’s are often contradictory, even though they don’t necessarily realize this to be the case. One particular couple, for example, said that they were hoping to move to Tenerife in a few years, and in the meantime wanted to buy a property to use for holidays, and then retire to the property. They wanted something near the coast; near public transport; not in a busy holiday area, such as Los Cristianos; preferably somewhere quiet with a bit of local culture; within walking distance of shops, bars, and restaurants; and not too windy.
As I said to them, although they’d be using the property for holidays in the first place, they would want to live in it permanently when they retired. These are not compatible requirements. The vast majority of the time, the sort of property one goes on holiday in is not the sort of property one could live permanently in. A complex, for example, is fine for holidays, but often people find that it drives them up the wall when they are faced with permanent living there. Holidaymakers rarely notice the problems (internal politics, problems with committees, budgets, noise, etc.) and long term residential tenants can move on if any given situation gets on their nerves, but buyers need to be much more careful.
Buying “near the coast” too can end up with buyers wishing to escape “up the hill” where it’s more residential, whether complexes or independent houses. When you live here permanently, the ebb and flow of different faces as people come and go (holidaymakers and tenants) can end up creating a very unsettled feeling. Sometimes, it’s just recenice to have the coast within view and an easy ten minute drive, but to live somewhere where it feels more stable.
Each area, too, is very different, and each has its pros and cons. What follows is an attempt at providing an evolving list of areas and the things that might usefully be taken into account when considering them. This is something I’ll be writing up over several weeks so it’s not a comprehensive list yet … far from it! If there’s an area you would like to know about that I’ve not written about yet, please let me know and I’ll add it straightaway.
Alcalá: Alcala is Playa san Juan’s much less well known neighbour, a typical south Tenerife town in that all the lovely stuff goes on unseen behind the main road that runs through it, making it look like a relatively unprepossessing place with, at times, a bit of a traffic problem. Take a side turning, however, and you’ll find a large plaza, shaded with great old trees where children play and elderly people sit in groups chatting on the benches, the whole thing surrounded by bars and restaurants … and a road down to one of the least known little harbours and beaches on the west coast. For those looking for somewhere to live, Alcalá offers peace and quiet, a good selection of shops, and easy access to other parts of the the west coast. For property investors, it is perhaps one of the best chances for profit in coming years, with the fairly new 5* Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora hotel on the edge of town getting an increasing world-level reputation, and with the new Fonsalía floating port for all ferry traffic to the western islands – and the new motorway spur to feed it – coming in the next few years.
Amarilla Golf: ten years ago or so I wouldn’t have considered this area as desirable. There were ongoing problems with legality, and at one point there was just one complex there that was actually legal. The golf course was pretty unattractive and the only way into the area was through the back end of the Las Chafiras industrial estate. Over the last decade, however, this area has been transformed, with many new and legal complexes, a new access road through the Golf del Sur, a new and beautiful marina, and the golf course is green and lush. In my opinion, this is in general terms one of a handful of a real success stories in south Tenerife in recent years.
Callao Salvaje and Playa Paraiso: These two urbanizations have spent many years in the doldrums, looking for all the world as though they were stuck in a 1970s time warp. Recently, however, they have been seriously updated, with a new 5* hotel and scuba diving centre in Playa Paraiso, and a really rather lovely brand new beach and jetty, and considerable coastal landscaping, in Callao Salvaje where there are a few good quality hotels already. There are also plans, which will be developed over the next several years, to join the pair with a cliff-top walkway. Moreover, both have finally been adopted by Adeje, so they are now able to enjoy municipal services from the Ayuntamiento after a couple of decades of being private developments with poor quality water supplies, a huge telecommunications problem, and a significant lack of road signs and lighting. These developments, very recent as of early 2012, mean that the future is looking very bright indeed for the area, and should see the two towns go from strength to strength, as well as consolidating their status as desirable holiday resorts, rather than a dumping ground for “allocation on arrival” holidaymakers.
Chayofa: Chayofa is a pretty residential area just 5 minutes up the road and across the motorway from Los Cristianos. Many consider it ideally located, being quiet but with excellent access to the motorway and literally on the doorstep of the main holiday areas. It wouldn’t be too wide of the mark to say it’s one of the nearest things we have in Tenerife to the British concept of suburbia. The area has grown considerably in recent years, and is a mix of independent and complex-based villas, townhouses, and apartments. It has a small number of bars and restaurants, and decent public transport links. It is also very near the new southern public hospital – whenever that might actually be up and running. One can also often see birds of prey flying freely overhead since the popular Jungle Park is in the immediate vicinity.
Costa del Silencio: not my favourite area, not least because it suffers from an acknowledged and fairly high crime rate, hence prices are often considerably lower than in other areas, but many residents say it has a really good community feel, and the local authorities have carried out a fair bit of public maintenance (lighting, street marking etc) over the last year or so.
El Médano: on the coast near the airport, so there is some noise from planes taking off, and it’s the world capital, it seems to me, for windsurfers, so is extremely windy at times. Like San Isidro, it is quite a way from other places, so being mobile is pretty essential. Having said all that, I think this is one of the nicest places on the island, with several beaches, one of which is a wonderful little town beach backed by the town square, some fantastic restaurants and cafés, and a cultural agenda that is among the best in Tenerife – there always seems to be something going on there. A downside is the ongoing argument over whether the iconic Hotel Médano is to be demolished (in whole or in part), and the Granadilla megaport, whose impact on the town is as yet unknown.
Golf del Sur: built in a ring around a golf course, some parts of the area now look a little dated, and there is a seemingly never to be finished hotel which is still hardly much more than a building site. Also, despite apparently good access to the TF1 at Las Chafiras, the main exit road can be a real bottleneck. It can be breezy and, for some, far too near the airport. And yet it is an eternally popular area, with a considerable number of British and Irish bars, and a fair selection of tourist-focused shops in the adjoining San Blas Commercial Centre. The plane noise in some parts is really not noticeable, and the golf course from which the urbanization takes its name also gives it a green and lush feel. There are also newer developments of apartments with some good hotels, as well as a lovely coastal path, and with the new San Blas environmental reserve and its luxury frontline hotel to one side, and the new marina on the other, the Golf del Sur has transformed itself from being in danger of becoming a very tired resort into a place that offers much both to residents and holidaymakers who want to stay somewhere quieter away from the main holiday areas.
La Caleta: An original fishing village at the “posh” end of the Costa Adeje, with a little beach and swimming area, fabulous restaurants, and on the doorstep to the beautiful Golf Costa Adeje. There really isn’t anything that can be said against La Caleta, and although there has been massive development in recent years beyond the old village heart, both design and construction have been sympathetic and sophisticated. Nearby, too, is an excellent international-level sports complex which is used by football clubs and Olympians, so the village even offers spot-the-celebrity for the starstruck. Add in a superb new road network, with 5-minute maximum access to the TF1, and you have something approaching a perfect location.
La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz: for those who think the south is just too hot, too touristic, too “British”, for them, and who want to live in north Tenerife, La Orotava would have to be among the top few choices on the list. It’s a very very pretty area with stunning views over the north coast, spreading out over a considerable distance in the hills above Puerto de la Cruz: indeed Puerto de la Cruz is La Orotava’s own port. This combination makes this pair of towns pretty unbeatable, with the original Tenerife holiday resort offering beaches, a lido and Loro Parque all combining with the bustling modern residential town of La Orotava. La Orotava also has, though, to its side, the old town, with its gardens and parks, beautiful basilica, museums, and House of the Balconies – the list goes on and on, and being preserved as a “conservation town”, it is one of the prettiest and most authentically “Spanish” places on the island.
Las Chafiras: this was billed as “luxury” accommodation when it first started to be developed, but it is in fact standard housing in various complexes behind the main Las Chafiras shopping areas. It has incredibly easy access to the motorway, to public transport, and the airport. Lots of shopping on the doorstep, and prices are affordable. There are continuous promises from the local authorities to “prettify” the area but further works seem haphazard.
Las Galletas: at first consideration, it’s not inspiring, sandwiched as it is between the Costa del Silencio and El Fraile, a town recognized to have several considerable immigrant communities, not all of which are legal. And yet Las Galletas is lovely, a typical south Tenerife Spanish town with pedestrianized streets with many and varied shops, cafés, bars, post office, banks, sports centre, schools, etc. It has good transport links, a lively area on the front for local fiestas, carnivals, concerts, etc., many frontline cafés overlooking the harbour, and a super and very pretty beach.
Los Abrigos: this is a in some respects a somewhat nondescript village but it’s based around a charming harbour with little boats bobbing up and down, and a pretty walkway lined with mainly tourist-focused restaurants (one is the Michelin rated Los Roques) and shops following its curve. The village has grown considerably over the past several years, with many of the new blocks of apartments built on a grid-style basis, but one can still believe nothing has changed when in the harbour area which is delightful. It has a good road up to the motorway, though it can be a real bottleneck at the TF1 end at times, and being a primarily Spanish area, its prices reflect the fact.
Los Cristianos: the original fishing village has long since been consumed and disappeared into the developed conglomeration that Los Cristianos now is, and yet at heart it still retains the feel of a real and established town. It has several different areas, some residential, some touristic, and at its centre is the old but completely renovated Church Square where, as well as in other plazas throughout the town, there are frequent cultural events. There is also a new southern auditorium in the centre of town which stages international standard concerts. The whole harbour area has been refurbished with a very pleasant promenade along its several beaches and the old port itself has been transformed by the installation of pleasure craft jetties. It has also recently been announced that later this year cruise liners will start to call into the town, bringing welcome business to the town’s shops and confirming Los Cristianos’ reputation as an established holiday town with a great deal to offer on many levels.
Los Gigantes: of course, regardless of any other consideration, Los Gigantes has THAT view! Those cliffs are staggering and beautiful, and it is impossible to escape them. To some the parking is nightmarish, to others the town is too hilly, to yet others it’s claustrophobic, and it’s true that it’s not flat, and it really has been intensively developed. There are, though, some very nice properties indeed there, and some superb quality shops, as well as a few good hotels, a pretty sports harbour, a lido … and then there’s that view …
Los Menores: a typical south Tenerife Spanish village, so with accessible prices, and peaceful and quiet. It has really good access to anywhere in the South, and public transport is good. There are a few bars and restaurants, and the local main town of Adeje can be reached easily in 5 minutes.
Palm Mar: a new purpose-built residential urbanization, but in many ways, far more successful than, say, Parque de la Reina. Palm Mar is reached by a single road which leads to a mix of complexes, semi-detached town-houses and villas, some 20 years old or so, others very new. Many are really very pretty. It has a lovely new promenade and there seems to be a prevailing light breeze in the summer which can be very welcome, and it doesn’t have the typical cloud cover in the winter often associated with the Golf del Sur. The beach is natural and rocky, though there were plans to develop this. These plans, however, are part and parcel of the one problem with Palm Mar: it has been for years, and remains, a “work in progress”. Some apartment complexes are unfinished, and with the builders now out of business it is difficult to know when they’ll be completed. There were also plans for an open-air leisure complex incorporating a public swimming pool along the front-line plots, but again these are not going to happen in the foreseeable future. There is a recently established bus service, but the area still awaits adoption by Arona municipality.
Parque de la Reina: essentially a development of apartment blocks running behind the motorway, offering very easy access to Las Chafiras and the airport as well as Los Cristianos, but to me, it’s uninspiring, and has been something of a local crime spot over the last year or so. This is reflected in the prices, of course, which are considerably lower than in other areas.
Playa de la Arena: In the same way that Los Gigantes has that view, Playa de la Arena has that beach. By 2011, it had won a blue flag for excellence in every respect for 24 consecutive years, and it is indeed one of the prettiest beaches in Tenerife, with its typical black sand covered with matting walkways and benefiting from the shelter provided by the curve of a very attractive cove. There are plenty of parking spaces lining the main road behind the beach, and cafés, bars and restaurants galore. All this, together with a very good hotel and good road access, make for a really rather idyllic holiday resort. The area has started to become built up with residential properties in recent years behind the main road, but it’s still an archetypally Tenerife holiday resort at heart, and a very good one too.
Playa Paraiso: see Callao Salvaje above.
Playa San Juan: a nice small coastal town on the west coast with a new beach and lots of cafés, bars and restaurants lining the sea front. Parts of it are quite Spanish but there is a increasingly sizable expatriate community who choose to live there. It offers easy access to the whole of the west coast, from the Costa Adeje area to Los Gigantes, and in the not too distant future, maybe a couple of years, will have easy access to the extended motorway; within five years it will be virtually at the end of the new branch motorway coming off the TF1 extension to feed the intended floating ferry port at nearby Fontsalia. Prices in this area should increase considerably as a result.
Puerto de la Cruz: see La Orotava above.
Puerto Santiago: Sandwiched between Los Gigantes and Playa de la Arena, it is sometimes difficult to know where one ends and another begins. The three, and particularly Los Gigantes and Puerto Santiago, seem to be one coastal area. Yet Puerto Santiago has its own little black sand beach, and a lovely promenade over a rocky coastline lined with cafés and shops. If Los Gigantes has that view, and Playa de la Arena has that beach, Puerto Santiago has the feel of a real village, with its own little fishing port, and is clearly a place where people live, as well as go on holiday.
San Isidro: a bustling Spanish town with lots of traditional shops, bars & restaurants, and just 5 minutes from the airport. It is straight up the hill from El Médano, again just 5 minutes or so away. A downside is that it is quite a way from other places, so being mobile is pretty essential: having said that it perhaps feels that it’s further away than it is because the main street, at certain times, has an horrendous traffic problem.
Janet, this is a really good idea for potential buyers to get an idea of the different areas but please don’t say that being away from the “vibrant tourist areas” is a downside! For a lot of people it’s an advantage! And that’s why they – like we do – chose to live a little bit further up the hill … Val (San Miguel)
Thank you … and fair comment too, but that’s not really what I said. I said it was a fair way away from other areas, which it is: I’ve had to get from San Isidro to Cristianos for a meeting and it took me 40 minutes one day. I’ll edit about the “vibrant tourist areas” though! The “40 minute to LC” journey also comprised 25 or so minutes just on the main road in San Isidro, so have put that in too.
Hello Janet
We are 65 and are coming to live on Tenerife in June
What do you thing about Palm Mar en Amarillo Golf?
I thank in advance for your advice
Kindly regards
Jeannette
Right, Palm Mar and Amarillo Golf next on the list! Have a look later today, I’ll have done them by then!
Nice idea Janet, and could be very informative for people not to familiar with Tenerife. One comment I would make, is to also inform, as to how the climate can be a lot cooler and breezier away from the West coast. As many people will only have knowledge of the main resorts on this coast.
Good idea, Del, thank you.
How about Chayofa?
Thank you, will do that next.
edit: done!
Hi, with reference to this I have lived in Tenerife for the last 20years.I am the same age and In my opinion Pal Mar is ghastly,the last place you want to consider.Way off the beaten track, with nothing much there at the moment like a ghost town.Everything is for sale and most of the shops have closed.The best place in the south is around the Costa Adeje area.If you want not to use your car all of the time.There are many places to walk, plenty going on and many restaurants.The weather is excellent all year around.Amarillo golf is by the airport under the flight path,avoid it if you can.
Sorry forgot to say my advice is to rent something for 6months and see if you like it here.It is not for everyone and you need plenty of things to do or you will go nuts!
Excellent rundown of the towns and villages, Janet. I really enjoyed reading it.
I relation to you talking about the couple with incompatable requirements, we think we’ve bought in the right area that we are planning to move to in a few years.
It may not suit everyone, but we feel we have bought somewhere that suits us wellin the meantime and will also be ideal for our retirement. We had our “list” of requirements, which I think suit both now and later. We stuck to our list and didn’t get distracted by falling in love with anything shown to us by the estate agent which didn’t meet them.
We’ve had quite a few holidays in the apartment since we’ve bought. (6 last year for me! I know I’m lucky to have been able to do so.)
I’ll go through your points.
They wanted something
*near the coast – got it;
*near public transport – close to the bus stop;
*not in a busy holiday area, such as Los Cristianos – got it. Busy enough, but not too touristy;
*preferably somewhere quiet with a bit of local culture – lots of local people live in an area close to us;
*within walking distance of shops, bars, and restaurants -yup;
* not too windy – yup. (El Medano met all our requirements apart from this.)
So where is this fabulous place? Puerto de Santiago.
We’re aware of the “internal politics” and how committees can have problems, but we’d have to be in a totally separate villa or village house before we’d get away from this. We feel the benefits of a complex (pools, gardens, etc) outweigh the disadvantages. We were very careful regarding noise, etc. We visited the apartment and area several times and at different times of day and night. The ever changing holidaymakers won’t bother me because I’m terrible with faces anyway! I make a few close friends wherever I am and hopefully I’ll be able to do the same when I retire.
We’ve gone into this with our eyes wide open – I hope! I’ll let you all know in a few years if we chose correctly!
I think in your case it suits your circumstances perfectly for now, and I do hope it continues to do so. Puerto Santiago does seem to have all the advantages of a “holiday” resort whilst retaining a residential feel!
Janet
I am a single over 50 year old woman and have just taken early retirement. I have been to Tenerife a number of times and would like to retire here eventually. How would it be for someone like me in golf del sur on my own. I love the area but just worried it might be too quiet for someone on their own!!
Well it’s difficult to interpret “quiet” of course, on someone else’s behalf, and it really depends what you want, but to me, the Golf del Sur would be just about perfect in terms of “quietness”. It’s not a frenetic holiday resort, but it’s not a little village either. There are bars, shops, restaurants, cafés, nightlife … but still a real sense of place and community with a real chance to make friends because there’s not the constant movement of people you’d get in a holiday resort. Before you make any final decision though, I’d give it 3-6 months or so actually living anywhere on a short-term contract and see what you think. If I was on my own, though, and didn’t want to be isolated, the Golf del Sur would definitely be on my own list of places to consider.
Dear Janet,
Hello again and thank you for all your useful tips. We still have plans to move to Tenerife in June /July and I was wondering if you can you recommend a good real state agent in the area of Pto de La Cruz or La Orotava. As a young couple, we think that that area would be good for us in terms of public transportation and proximity to eventual work places. Any suggestions?
Best,
Matías
Hi Matías, you could try Zenit (link HERE). It’s not a personal recommendation because I haven’t dealt with them for some years, but I don’t know anything negative about them. Good luck!
Hi
Do you have any info on Alcala region. I am trying to find property on the west coast away from tourist areas and this looks like a possibility. Even more north Silos any views on the north west areas?
Your inside insite is very helpful as a visit to the Island does not give this sort of info.
I do hope the fires in La Gomera are under control now. La Gomera is an island we have visited many times and love. Please keep us informed via your website, the English news is not very in-depth.
REgards
Pat
Hi Pat, I’ll do a write up on Alcalá within a few days. I like the town very much. Los Silos, I’m afraid, I just don’t know well enough to give any sort of informed opinion. It might be a few days before I make the Alcalá post, but if you check in a week’s time it will certainly be there.
Alcala is a lovely town. It’s very much a “working town” with many local residents., though it has a lovely feel for a holiday too. It’s got a little sandy beach near the square and a lovely walk along the front, where here are rocks and another stony beach further to the south. We have always found everyone really lovely and very willing to talk to us. There are a wide range of shops and a little weekly Market.
Janet will be able to give you more info when she gets a chance.
Hi Janet.
Just wondering if you can advise on short term Spanish crèche available in costa adeje area. My daughter will be there for 3 weeks and thinks her 2 boys(aged 7 & 5) would enjoy, and maybe pick up some Spanish.
Mary
Hello Mary, and I’m sorry, but this is not something I know anything about. Hopefully someone who knows will see your post and give an answer. Good luck.
Hi, in connection with Pat.s question about Los Silos, I live in the general area but higher up. It all depends on what you are looking for, I think Los Silos is really beautiful. It has a lovely, real spanish feel to it and I love having my coffee in the Local square. The North is so green and I would not change it for the south. We get seasons here, which I missed when I was living in the south. If you want sunshine constantly then I would stick to the south area but if you are looking for more scenery, culture and a lovely area to live I would highly recommend the Isla Baja area, los Silos, Garachico, Buenavista. and all the small surrounding villages. They also have a new Harbour in Garachico which has recently opened. One thing I feel is important is learning the language and mixing with the locals as much as possible,or you might feel a little lonely and cut off.
If you want any further information or help, just feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer your questions. You can contact me directly if you wish.
Thanks Janice, that’s great! I’ve written up the Alcalá piece now.
Hi there, I have been to Tenerife for the last 30 years on and off and I cannot reccomend the south at all unless you just go for a holiday or like the mess. It’s very touristic, loud and expensive. Try the north, it’s green, looked after and it’s were you find a more an international community like english, spanish and germans. There is also a lot of culture up north which is none in the south. For everybody who wants to live on that island I strongly reccomend to hire a car and drive all around and get the island to know properly. Speak to the locals and you will find out the truth about the south. Also if you want to eat really good food and not spend a fortune the north is the place (of course there are also traps in Puerto de la Cruz). Have a look how the germans and other nordic europeans made their home in the north, they are the clever ones. The english tempt to go where english people are but that does not mean those are the nicest places and in Tenerife that is the case. Strangely enough, the spanish royals never ever go to the south. I hope this helps. Kind regards, Chantal
I think that is a gross generalisation and quite offensive. There are some fantastic places in the “south”, bearing in mind that what is really south Tenerife is the whole area south of Candelaria in the east and Santiago del Teide in the West. You seem to be talking about the area from Playa de las Américas to Costa del Silencio.
There are many lovely Canarian hill villages in “south Tenerife”. I live in one myself, and several very nice towns too. They are different from those in the north, of course, but have a great traditional Canarian charm that is often lacking in the Spanish-imperial feel to much of north Tenerife.
As to your comment that there is no culture in the south, what rubbish!
Hey Janet, first of all congratulations with your website. .. very professional and to the point.
Two questions (being looking for an apartment within a resort in southern Tenerife) : could you recommend some reliable real estate agencies and how about f.e. gran oasis resort in PdlA? Not to steep?
Thanks for the response and sorry for our bad english
Paul and Bedet (Belgium)
Hi both, and thank you. As far as Gran Oasis Resort is concerned, have a look HERE (English version HERE). I’m afraid that apart from being able to confirm that it’s touristic, I’m not familiar with it.
For estate agents, well everyone has their own story, and I don’t make recommendations, but hopefully some readers will make their own.
I totally agree with Janet where has Chantal been for the last 30 years Puerto is like the city I was born in, a town surrounded by a motoway network called Birmingham.
Paul and Bedet also look at the west coast, again as Janet has said, lovely inland villages but also the coastal areas too, they are not as commercialized as the south. there are local Spanish,German,British,Scandinavian, and other Europeans including some Belgiums that live there
Hi Janet,
Could you maybe recommend certain areas for younger people?
I am 25 years old and am planning to move to Tenerife in the next few months. I would like to live there for 3 to 5 years. I like the relaxed atmosphere with the presence of more senior people but would also like to meet people of my own generation.
I earn my living from my laptop so I do not feel the need to be in a ‘big’ city like santa cruz. I really enjoy surfing and having sun all-year. Therefore I was thinking of a town like Los Cristianos.
Please let me know what you think
Yes, that would be a good option, but the minute you mention surfing all roads lead to El Médano! There’s a very vibrant young life there as well. Check it out as a priority!
Jeremy,
I would also recommend the west coast, which has the best climate , there is surfing close by, agreed not as vibrant as El Medano but at least it is not almost at the end of the airport runway.
There is within a very short distance of the surfing coastal areas like Playa de la Arena,Puerto de Santiago & Los Gigantes with a mixture of locals & tourists & not as commercialised as the south.
If you would like any further information Janet has my email,best of luck it is a lovely place to live
Janet,
I prepare to move on Tenerife with my family / 2 and 5 years old children/. Please can you advise me some area which could be possible for my children ?
We prefer place, where babies could have some friends and young families. I prefer spanish school etc.
Many thanks Peter
Well any area will be fine for your children, and there are Spanish schools in all areas, so your choice will need to be based on other considerations. It’s impossible to recommend an area for someone else … I suppose the most important question, particularly since you’re moving here with a young family, is whether you have work lined up. If so, then evidently it will be better to live within reasonable distance of your work. If you don’t have work lined up, then it is a major decision you’re taking right now because the economic and unemployment situation here is very bad indeed.
Thanks for response. I know, that economic situation is very bad . I prefer to work on my own, and depends on the situation in what kind of job I would prefer for the future. I would like to take an advantage this situation, because price of properties declined and I know that this situation will change. We can spend there for a long time without jobs, but I know, that way is not very good.
Peter
I’ve just been skimming this, and one of the earlier comments horrified me as our apartment is in Palm Mar. We have been comming to Tenerife since the early 1970′s, firstly to Puerto, and when they were built, to hotels, then timeshare, in the South. and then our own apartment. 8 years ago we discovered Palm Mar and bought our apartment here. We presently spend about half the year here but in two to five week blocks. We LOVE Palm Mar. Los Christianos and Las Americas are about 10 and 15 mins away in the car, when you want it, as we did last night…..the area was busy, vibrant and noisy, perfect for a night out, or even for a couple of weeks holiday, but not every day and night. We come and go often so we also wanted to be relatively close to the airport. It is very easy to make friends here as there a limited number of restaurants and bars. There are families here and school buses arrive to pick up children at about 8.30. The area is relatively safe because there is only one road in (and out).
Palm Mar is unfinished and that is its major problem. Had we had another 5 years before the recession, it would have been finished and we would have had our leisure centre and none of the half finished apartment blocks which are so unsightly. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but for some of us, its a little piece of paradise.
I’m sorry you were upset, Ann, it wasn’t my intention to denigrate Palm Mar, just to be truthful for those who don’t know it and who are trying to locate possible areas. I don’t think I said anything “horrifiying”, really, and believe I described it fairly.
Janet,
The information you have provided is very informative. I visited Tenerife again in January 2012 after a break of several years and have now made the decision to look at buying a place there to get away from the British winter. Your information on the resorts and comments from readers will enable me to look at a lot of options that might be suitable for my needs. I am also a lady on her own and Golf del Sur will be at the top of my list.
It wasn’t your description I took exception to, Janet, I think your summaries are very helpful, and a good starting point for anyone who doesn’t know the south of the island and is looking to buy. It was Bobbie Carlton referring to Palm Mar as “ghastly” that I object to.
Hi Janet,
We find that your website is the most informative on Tenerife. We bought an apartment in La Caleta in the south of Tenerife in January 2012 and could not be happier. There are some lovely well kept residential complexes here now; an excellent sports complex used by many international sports teams; there are several good restaurants and if you like walking there are natural areas close by. The sunsets are magnificent also! The beaches close by are average at best but the sandy beaches of El Duque are a short stroll away on a well paved coastal path. Would you consider referencing La Caleta in your excellent article on places to live?
I would indeed, Alan … and I’m surprised to find I’ve not done so already! Thank you for your very kind comments, and I’ve added some of them to the description above!
Hi, we are looking to relocate to Tenerife, we at present live in Granada, Spain, and have done since 2005 barring 2 years in Panama. My question is this: we have a 6 yr old daughter, she speaks fluent spanish, we are looking at the puerto dela cruz la orotava area as after visiting a few times we believe this to be a much nicer part of the island, can anybody recommend good schools in these areas, and does anyone have any experience of living in this area with young children
Thanks
Hi
we all agree to disagree but we all love Tenerife.
Great comments by all.
My partner and I have bought on the Golf and love the Island. Great price and a fantastic estate with agent Delta Metropolitan. Big Thanks…