This Is Not a Tourist Blog

The Decision That Changed Everything

Hi! We’re Susana and Gabor. In the summer of 2022, we loaded our most important belongings into sports bags, packed our three daughters (then 6, 12, and 17) into the back seat, and drove from Hungary to Tenerife. What was the plan? We wanted to change our lives. There were many reasons. To soften the shock to our brains, we told ourselves: if we don’t like it, we’ll return to our “normal life” in September.

Two things you should know about us: 
We weren’t running from financial problems. We lived very comfortably. But the mental state of our country was terrible and we were in constant stress.

The Gamble We Took

We had never been to the Canary Islands before. Our decision was a “bet it all on 19” situation. We really had no idea what we were getting into. But here’s the thing: We never went back. As I write these words, I’ve been a resident for 3 years now. That’s another story about the grumpy immigration officer who, with his soft heart at Christmas, processed all our green NIE cards at once – even though not everyone had appointments that day. But it could have just as easily been: “Send you away and start the whole process over!” This is Spain and the Canary Islands. Bienvenidos!

Why did we decide to stay here?

What started as an experiment became something we couldn’t let go of – and increasingly can’t imagine leaving. Not because the Canary Islands are an earthly paradise (they’re not), but because they are a very, very lovable place, with all their flaws. And they give our family a quality of life that I think is hard to find anywhere anymore.

After the first year, we actually wanted to move to mainland Spain. That’s when we ran into tons of mistakes and difficulties that would have been so helpful to see beforehand. But everywhere you look, you only find sugar-coated tourist or investor content. The reality behind it all: 7 million tourists annually, property prices through the roof – since COVID, the islands have been booming at 300%.

4 Years on Tenerife

We don’t go on vacation. We go shopping, visit doctors and veterinarians. We’ve been to the hospital and undergone surgery. We bought a car, had it serviced, took tests, and renewed our driver’s licenses. We rented a property, then bought it.

A Five-Person Family

Each of our children experiences the country change at a different stage – preschooler to schoolchild, pre-teen to teen, teen to adult, mixed with our 40+ identity crisis. A great combo.

Working Online as Freelancers

We currently live in Tenerife but regularly travel, exploring Europe by car as a family. Along with being a great adventure, we know the practical side of the digital nomad lifestyle from the inside. Our first six months here, we spent in 8 different Airbnbs with varying bandwidths, and we mapped out the coworking spaces. We’re both autónomos – Canarian entrepreneurs working with English and Spanish digital products.

Today, everyone speaks 2-4 languages. Communication has become a bit chaotic, but it’s the fun element of expat family life when one sentence contains three languages and the response is a juicy curse in your mother tongue 😊