There are many reasons why you may want to retire to Tenerife, one will almost certainly be the good weather.
It is said that Tenerife has one of the best climates in the world; in fact some people call it the island of Eternal Spring, which is a very good description for it. The summers are warm, but not scorching and the winters are substantially cooler, but never freezing.
In fact most properties in the southern part of the island don’t actually have heating.
Another reason that people retire to the island is that general household bills tend to be at a level lower than those of the UK, it allows your pension to go that bit further, but since Brexit, the rules have changed for Brits that want to retire here, so you ought to make sure you’re aware of the Visa rules for staying in the EU…or more specifically, in this case, Tenerife, for more than 90 days in any rolling 180 days.
The fact that the exchange rate is now nowhere near what it was in 2000; there is still currently a slight benefit in favour of the exchange rate between the Euro and the Pound.
Further benefits include excellent NHS or private hospitals on the island and even if you are not able to speak Spanish, there are a number of translators within the hospitals and also most of the doctors speak English.
Leisure time, and being retired you’ll have plenty of it; can be spent in a variety of ways from BBQs to golf.
There are many golf courses in and around the south and also some in the north, which is about 1 ½ hours’ drive away.
Time can be spent walking too, there are many walkers here and if you feel inclined, you might want to join one of the many walking clubs.
It should be said, that if you are walking a distance in the summer, it would be best to start early, so that you can be finished by the time the sun is at it hottest.
There are frequent flights to and from the UK and if you are not too concerned about exactly when you fly, there are very often some excellent deals to be found from many airlines. There are 2 airports on the island one in the south and one in the north.
The southern airport deals mainly with tourist flights and some European destinations, but the northern airport has many more flights to mainland Europe which can then be used as a hub for ongoing flights and in fact there is currently a regular flight to Miami, so there is no need to think that Tenerife is in the back of beyond.
Being an island has some negatives, the fact that certain items have to be imported to Tenerife can make them a little more expensive…certain food items can be a little dearer and second hand cars seem to hold their value well, but on the plus side, vehicle fuel is less expensive than in the UK.
Overall, there are many more positives than negatives to living in Tenerife and if you have never been here before, you might consider coming for a holiday first or maybe a longer term stay, just to ensure that it is suitable for you.
