It doesn’t matter how many times you have visited Tenerife on holiday, the time that you arrive with all your worldly possessions ready to set up home, is like no other. Full of excitement and hope for your new life in the sun, there are a few things you might do to make your transition from tourist to Tenerife property owner a success.
Rent Before You Buy
Putting down roots somewhere is very different from offending the locals by gadding about in bikini top and bum-biting shorts. Things that you may not even notice when you are on the island for a brief two weeks may assume Teide-like proportions when you have to live with them day to day. Imagine buying a ground floor, pool-front apartment only to find that the indescribable pong that assails you every time you leave the house is caused by the complex’s overflowing sewage tank which just happens to be buried under your front doorstep. Funny how the seller forgot to mention that, eh?
Try Before You Buy
Again, just as a residence can take on a new and infinitely more annoying character once familiarity has bred contempt, so too can the charms of a residential area begin to pall. It might have seemed like a brilliant idea to make your home in the middle of Las Americas, but I wonder if you will still think so after a month’s worth of Saturday night bar brawls in the street outside your window.
Fly Before You Buy
Have you seen the exposes in the UK newpapers recently that uncovered pictorial real estate advertisements of gorgeous country cottages for sale? These are pictured in sparkling sunshine and shown in splendid isolation until, that is, you see the whole picture which includes the nearest neighbour – Sellafield Nuclear Plant. Well, while Tenerife’s professional and experienced estate agents would never pull such an underhand and sneaky trick (heaven forbid!) that is not to say that wee Bobby McGumpher won’t exaggerate the beauty of his one bedroom in Las Brisas for the sake of an extra couple of thousand pounds when he flogs it on eBay. Get on a plane and actually visit the property you are buying before kissing goodbye to your cash.
Cry Before You Bye
For some people, upping sticks and leaving home is as easy as switching off a light. As they gaze out the aeroplane window at their homeland getting smaller beneath them their thoughts are full of glorious tropical sunsets and making a new home amongst the vivid colours of a new land. Meanwhile their spouse, whose heart still belongs to Glasgow, is sobbing into the Sports Section and already missing the grandweans.
Homesickness is one of the main reasons for the big move to Tenerife to end in tears. Quite often, one partner is less excited by the idea of living two thousand miles from their family and friends than the other. While one spouse is happy to leave the screaming grandchildren and sponging son-in-law behind, the other dissolves in floods of tears at the sight of a newborn baby. At times like these, much sensitivity is required. “Ahh, get over it, you big girl’s blouse!” is not now, and never has been, the right thing to say. For anything. Ever!
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