Orientation. 'Would we realistically be able to live on La Palma?'
So you have decided, together with your partner, that it is worth spending a bit of time seeing if there is a way that you could actually manage a move to, and live, on La Palma.
In this phase you should be thinking about the costs, your income, the logistics, lifestyle and personal limitations.
You need to sort out the possibilities and impossibilities of:
1. leaving your current location and
2. moving somewhere else and specifically
3. moving to La Palma.
The first part of this feasability study is deciding what you want; to identify your requirements.
The second is seeing if it is feasable for you to realise those requirements on La Palma.
Note: If you want to buy a second home for renting and occassional own use then other factors are involved and some of the information below may not apply to you.
We suggest that you start by looking at the personal aspects, because they are the commonest reasons for not moving abroad. Among many other things consider ...
- Will I miss my friends and family?
- Can I settle in a place where few people speak my language fluently?
- Will I miss my work?
- Will I be able to support myself (us)?
- Will I miss the pub, football, bridge club, theatre, etc?
- Will I miss the BBC and ITV?
- How will I feel if I miss the birth of a grandchild, or the funeral of an uncle?
- Can I live without fish and chips, Cumberland sausage, Pickled Onions and Mr. Kipling cakes.
- Do I have ambitions which are not yet fulfilled?
- How would I keep myself busy?
- What would be the consequences for my (young) children?
If you still want to live on La Palma than move on to the logistical and financial aspects.
There are the interrelated isuues of location and lifestyle.
- Which area would you like to live in? Near the beach? Near the shops? Near the airport? Or just the opposite, somewhere quiet and well away from the bustle, growing your own vegetables, or sipping cocktails by the pool all year round? Do you want to be isolated, or close to a village, or near to other foreigners? Do you want to be able to walk to a bar or high class restaurant? Do you have children who need to go to school? Do you need to work? Do you expect to collect people from the airport regularly?
- What lifestyle are you anticipating. This might sound a bit personal but you would be surprised how many people have contradictory wishes. Contradictory in the sense of wanting to live in a traditional cottage in the woods but within walking distance of beach, shops and restaurants. (This particular combination does not exist on the west side of La Palma). Contradictory wishes between partners are also very common. You will need to answer all of the above questions for youselves, and more, in order to find out if it will be possible on La Palma.
- If you need to work, what could you do and would it be enough to live the lifestyle you anticipate?
- Do you have children who would live with you and need to go to school or find work?
- Do you have family and friends who would expect to stay with you and expect a certain level of accommodation and facilities?
- Do you have special needs? For example, wheelchair access or a Harley-Davidson dealership or specialist medical assistance.
- Do you want a country life, or village life, or a town life, or a beach life?
Then you should look at the financial aspects.
On the outgoings side:
- What does property cost on La Palma? The short answer is that buying a reasonable house on La Palma will cost between 150,000 euros and 300,000 euros. For more luxury and size the prices go up to about 500,000 euros and there are properties all the way up to 2 million euros.
Add about 10% for the cost of buying a property.
Buying land and building might save a little money but you will still arrive at roughly the same prices as buying an existing property and have spent 1 to 2 years waiting for permissions and the building work.
Buying an old tumbled down house and renovating it is becoming much more expensive. That 'bargain' which you may have seen is probably cheap for a reason. The reason is often due to location, lack of permissions and possible unresolved boundary or ownership issues.
- Do you have cash available to buy a house outright? Would you come to La Palma and rent an appartment while taking time and look for a house? Would you need a mortgage? If so would you need a mortgage on the new house on La Palma? A mortgage requirement places demands on the type and legal status of the property you would need.
- What is the cost of living on La Palma?
- What is the cost of the health services etc
Consider the income issues:
- How would you maintain your lifestyle on La Palma, do you have enough income (pension?) or do you have the expertise or experience to earn a living on La Palma?
Suggestions for getting the relevant information?
The personal aspects of moving to La Palma are something that you can only resolve yourselves, perhaps with some help from us and Internet.
There is a wealth of information on Internet if you take the time to look for it.
- Read the other posts on this blog and on the main LivingonLaPalma.com website.
- Read the archives of several of the internet forums related to Spain and emigration. There is a huge amount of useful information in these forums.
- Look on Google for general information about emigrating to Spain.
- Look for government and other official websites, you countries embassy in Spain may have a website.
- Write down a list of things that you would no longer be able to do.
- Think about the lifestyle you expect and whether it is attainable for you.
- Learn about La Palma and its towns and villages and the different social and climatic areas.
- Visit La Palma again.
How can we help you in the orientation phase?
We can't make any decisions for you. We can help you through the process if you give us enough information. Tell us as much as possible about your plans, requirements and limitations so that we can make suggestions and give feedback which may help you.
We can indicate and give information about some houses which may suit your needs, or are in your price range.
When you next visit La Palma we can meet you and talk about your plans.
We may also be able to show you some candidate houses from the outside. This is usually enough to give you an idea of the types of houses and locations that are available. At this stage it is not fair to the owners, their keyholders, maybe their renters, or indeed to us to make arrangements to see the inside of a house when you are not yet in a position to buy.
We can't find you a job. We might be able to make suggestions, and may be able to help with some aspects of starting a business.
If your ideas seem to be possible, if the financial plans would work then Read about the planning phase ...
