Moving to Spain when you retire, or buying a holiday home in Spain to live in when you eventually stop working, is one of the better ways to get the best out your new and well-earned free time. You can finally live where you want to and, according to numerous reports, Spain is one of the top 10 choices for pensioners seeking a change of scenery.
Within Spain, one of the most popular locations for retired life is the Balearic Islands. Mentioned in countless articles, surveys and studies, hailed for its calm and relaxed atmosphere and its delicious regional cuisine, this Mediterranean archipelago never fails to enter 'best places in Spain to retire' lists. Each of the four islands is very different, but the largest, Mallorca,is frequently singled out as the most rewarding and practical for post-work life.
The Balearic Islands have long been one of the most popular choices for retired life. Photo: Getty Images
Why spend your retirement in Mallorca?
Mallorca is the largest and most cosmopolitan island in the Balearics. Whilst it's most famous for family holidays and for its nightlife, Mallorca is rich in historic and natural heritage. Artists' colonies, spectacular caves with underground lakes, an enormous 13th-century cathedral in Palma, along with traditional villages deep in the mountains, mean plenty to explore. Now you're retired, you'll have much more time for sightseeing, and you won't have to travel far to do it. Thelongest point-to-point distance in Mallorca, from Andratx to Capdepera or Formentor, is 108 kilometres by road, and the maximum coast-to-coast distance anywhere else is about 71 kilometres.
As a long-established destination for global tourism and foreign residents, the infrastructure is excellent. One of Mallorca's main drawbacks, though, is that it's expensive to buy or rent property in. It's still cheaper than the USA and most of northern Europe, and cheaper than Madrid and Barcelona, but it's probably not the best destination if budget housing is your main priority.
That said, if you're flexible about exact location and property type, there are some very affordable options. In the Calas on the east coast, or the north, centre, and Alcúdia area, you can find prices well below the national average. Also, depending upon your country of origin, Spain is likely to be cheaper for everyday living. Once you've bought your home, you'll probably find your pension stretches further than it did before the move.
If you're hoping to head to Mallorca to live after finishing your working life, you're in good company. The Balearics as a whole is one of the top choices for relocating Spanish pensioners, too. But what makes Mallorca such a hit with retirees?
1. Climate
With an average of 300 days of sunshine per year, summers above 30ºC and winter temperatures in double figures, the Balearics attract new residents from colder northern European climates. Warmer weather is kinder to painful joints, aids circulation, and allows you to spend more of your life outdoors – like this, you tend to move about more, without realising you're 'exercising', and the vitamin D from the sun is crucial for healthy bones and a stronger immune system.
Spain as a whole is warm and dry, but the mainland coastal parts suffer prolonged episodes of torrential rain when the seasons change. The Balearic Islands tend to miss the worst of it.
Sea air from every compass point takes the edge off extreme heat and humidity in high summer. Anywhere in Spain is hot in July and August, but, as an island, Mallorca's temperatures are slightly lower than mainland Mediterranean Spain – but without those chilly sea winds that you often get in coastal northern Europe, or Atlantic Spain....
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