John Searancke
Like a million others, I had always wanted to write a book (or two). After retirement to Tenerife, the opportunity at last presented itself with Dog Days in The Fortunate Islands. I decided on a 3 year “snapshot” covering our decision to move abroad, the move itself, and settling in to island life. Part of the book deals with the nitty-gritty of such an upheaval, but in between all that are stories of the people (and their dogs – we are doggy people, you know) that we have met and who have befriended us. They have all had strange and amusing stories to tell. In our 3rd year, we bought an old classic car, and drove it down to Cadiz in southern Spain before embarking onto the ferry to bring us all home to our island in the sun. As such, my book is a useful guide to moving abroad and to Tenerife in particular. It is not meant to be the definitive moving guide, but a lot of problems that we have unwittingly unearthed have been satisfactorily dealt with for any reader who wishes to combine that with a light hearted and amusing series of anecdotes. I write for Island Connections, the main English language newspaper on this island, and provide them with independent restaurant reviews, which have been wonderful in finding new and interesting places to eat, but have been quite the opposite in terms of my expanding waistline!
What made you dream about retiring to the sun?
I think that most of us have a small itch at the back of our brain that tells us that the grass is always greener somewhere else. I gave that itch a scratch from time to time over my working life, and always ended up with the need to make the most of retirement by moving away to “a sunnier clime”. Where that was to be took a few years of refinement until things rather quickly began to drop into place. After a messy divorce I sold my business in Sussex and moved to Lancashire, where I started up in business again (something completely different!) in Lytham. A house overlooking the sea, a new wife (“sand grown” as they say up there) and an RSPCA rescue dog, were not enough to banish the thoughts of warm weather – and, boy, how it can rain on the Fylde coast!
Why did you decide on Tenerife as your retirement destination?
We had bought a holiday apartment a few years previous to our move. We loved it there, in the unspoilt north of the island, so much so that we found ourselves going out there for short breaks, more and more often. Eventually, the short breaks became longer breaks, and the three of us gravitated to the idea of leaving the cold and wet behind us for year round warmth. We loaded up and moved into our holiday apartment, and that was that. Tenerife has it all – a volcano, mountains, beaches, markets, wonderful food, friendly people, low taxes – and of course, year round sunshine!
What was your biggest adjustment when you moved out there?
The biggest adjustment had to be lifestyle couple with language; integration into local life. Because of our previous visits, we already knew a few people out in our new “home town” and everyone had made us very welcome. Spanish people here are far removed what others may perceive as the stereotype. They are open, friendly and welcoming. Service companies offer a level of service unheard of in the UK. Prices are lower, with VAT being only 7%. We were very happy to find a “professora de idiomas” who taught us the language, at any rate sufficient to enable us to converse and do battle with the incomprehensible Spanish tax and medical systems.
How often do you see your family?
My wife and I both agreed that, from the outset, we would want to keep in touch with family back in the UK, and that was a paramount issue. The reality of it is that, with 4 or 5 visits a year, we spend more quality time with them that we ever did before. And, of course, they have a wonderful island to come to, to stay with us, to banish the winter blues. It is a win-win situation on all sides.
How long did it take you to plan the move?
Where is the starting point? If I take it from the “getting serious about it” stage, it will have taken all of a year. There was so much to do. A business to sell, our house to rent out, cars to dispose of, tax arrangements to be made and 1001 things to sort out besides. But suddenly, the moving people were at the door, and there really was no turning back.
How has your life become more enriched after moving away from the UK?
There is the old saying, much heard by others in their retirement that they have never since been so busy. Well, it’s true! The difference is that we now do what we choose to do, rather than what we must do. We love the outdoor life; the sitting in the sun with the morning coffee, watching the world go by; the swimming for most of the year, and the discovery of new restaurants in hidden-away unknown parts of this lovely island. I am greatly enjoying writing reviews – and of course, writing my book has been so rewarding on so many levels. A daily dose of sunshine is a wonderful tonic for our old bones – and that of our dog.
What is next for you?
We want to travel, see a bit more of the world, and catch up with all the friends and family that we had so little time for whilst we were both in full time work. Later this year we will be having an extended family reunion in England for my son’s 40th birthday, and in the autumn we will be in Bavaria. But then again, it is so difficult to tear ourselves away from our little bit of paradise here in the unspoilt north of Tenerife…!
Oh, and I have started work on my next book…