If you have a talent which other people find useful then perhaps you could set up your own small business of offer your services as a self-employed person.
There are possibilities for anyone with a trade to be able to make a living on La Palma.
Don't expect to get rich, but getting enough work to be able to live should be possible.
Most of the carpenters (wood or aluminium) , plumbers and electricians that we know have such a backlog of orders that there should be plenty of work around to be able to get started. People with welding and metalwork skills should also have no problem starting a business.
Fresh vegetables have been a booming area in recent years. The traditional Palmero diet does not contain many vegetables, just potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados and tomatoes and ingredients for soup which include beans. In recent years more variety has been introduced via the supermarkets, but the quality is below the locally grown produce and there is little variety.
Since about 2002 Farmers markets have been growing in popularity. The permanent markets in Santa Cruz, Los Llanos and Mazo have always had some vegetables but since the introduction of the weekend Farmers market in Puntagorda selling produce grown locally in the rich soils of the North-West of the island people have discovered the difference in quality and the will drive miles to get good quality fresh vegetables. More recently other places have opened weekend markets.
When in season the Puntagorda strawberries are sold out within a couple of hours.
There must be a market there for this and other produce.
Teachers, doctors and dentists are in demand, but you would need to speak the Spanish language. You may be able to give private English lessons but again, speaking reasonable Spanish would be important.
There is a small foreign community on the island, mainly German but also some English, Dutch, Belgians and other nationalities. You may be able to find some work in this 'market' but in practice these markets are already saturated.
Don't expect to come to La Palma to make a quick killing with some new concept or with the gap-in-the-market that you have found. That 'gap' maybe because there is just no demand.
You may find that you cannot charge the rates that you are used to because the wages are lower than elsewhere.
If you have experience with computers there are also opportunities, teaching people to use them, installing and updating software, arranging Internet connections and resolving computer problems.
You can almost always find casual work as a gardener or cleaner, or as an odd-job man or on a building site. Of course you will need to know someone who can introduce you to the employer, just walking in off the street probably won't work. This type of work is not well paid and can be hard, but it can give you enough to live on.
