Moving anywhere is stressful enough even if it is just from one town to another. Taking your savings in hand and moving to a new country is not only stressful, it is often seen as being a sure symptom of madness.
“I always knew there was something funny about her!’, your cousin might whisper while plotting what to bring with her when she pops over for a visit next summer. It’s all the more important then that you make damn sure that she finds no reason to justify her doubts about your sanity when she parks herself like a sweaty and unwanted lobster in your favourite balcony chair.
But what are you supposed to do when the gas bottle runs out or the landlord has decided to sell the apartment? Who can you turn to when you can’t work out how to sign on with the social services?
Well, if you had a friendly big brother who had lived here for years and knew all the ins and outs of expat life on the island you could possibly bribe him to share some of his knowledge with you over some a home-cooked paella. Failing that, you could buy Leslie Beeson’s Tenerife Lifeline book which is stuffed full of practical information about living in Tenerife and advice to help you deal with the unexpected.
Not quite as much fun as a big brother maybe but at a measly €9.95 it is worth every penny and will quite possible get you out of a scrape or two just the same.
Thanks for the very kind words you left on my blog. I was kinda throwing myself a “life-line” of escape, from the New York cold for that picture in New Mexico.
Hi Sandra,
The funny thing is that as I was walking with my dog, I thought how much like a scene out of an old spaghetti western the landscape was. I took some photographs and when I landed on your page, I did a double take because they look so much like some shots I took half a world away.
Maybe your virtual visit to Tenerife helped you escape the NY cold a little.