A Briton living in Majorca has shared a cautionary tale about moving to the Spanish island, warning that its allure may dwindle outside of peak season.
As the largest of the Balearic Islands, Majorca is swamped with visitors every summer, and this has massively boosted its tourism sector.
Spain received a record 85.1 million international tourists in 2023, marking a 19 per cent rise on the previous year, according to the National Statistics Institute.
With the summer months welcoming tourists in the thousands, winter can paint a stark contrast, one expat has warned.
Alex claims the contrast between winter and summer is one of the worst things about living Majorca
YouTube / @MallorcaUnderTheSun
Voicing her concerns from Palmanova on her YouTube channel Mallorca Under the Sun, Alex said: “I have been living in Majorca now since 2005 and while there are so many brilliant things about living here on the island, there are also some things that aren’t so fantastic.
“If you are thinking about moving to the island, there are a few issues that I want to make you aware of.”
The first concern raised by Alex is the difference between the summer and winter months on the island.
“I’m going to state the obvious here, but Majorca is a holiday island, it’s completely geared towards tourism, and you’re going to find very different scenes over here in the summer months than you would in the winter,” she said.
“That may be a problem for many people who come over here to live, they might not quite expect to see many of their favourite holiday resorts just looking so empty.
“But these popular holiday resorts literally turn into ghost towns for the winter months. Yes, there are a few people in the water, and there are a few people out walking, but for some people, this is not really what they signed up for when they came over here to live in Majorca.”
She pointed out that some residents may welcome the quieter months, as she has learnt to do herself over the years.
“I love being able to walk along the empty beaches and I love being able to enjoy these resorts on a very different level than you ever would during the summer,” she said.
Expats may be taken aback by the contrast in liveliness during winter and summer in Spain
Reuters
They listed the weather and the internet as two factors that would put them off living on the island permanently.
“It gets really hot in the summer. Ridiculously hot,” seasoned travellers Amelia and JP shared on their YouTube channel.
“You are going to need air conditioning and hope it doesn’t break,” they added. “I would not want to be there in the summer.”
They added: “The internet is really slow. We’ve been really shocked [in Spain] at how slow the internet is.”
