Big plus for the canaries over the Meds is that you can surf!
I’d stay away from living on any island tbh - especially if you are going to be riding a lot. You are limited by routes and where you can go.
Got bored of Teide after my first week (and I love climbing).
Unbearably hot (and I use to live in Dubai and run in 40+c weather)
It’s just the same hilly route and if you want to do a nice fast flat ride - you only have 1 or 2 options. Also there is a lot of traffic although the drivers gave lots of space.
I love cycling in Dublin where I live. Although certainly not the best of weather (nor cheap) - We have very mild winters, very mild summers (but never too hot) - amazing access to quiet country roads, load of great MTB trails just 10km away from the city centre. People are friendly and speak english 
I ride outdoor’s all year round.
I’ve cycled around different parts of Europe and Ireland/Wales has been my favourite places to cycle!
2 Likes
This is really different from my experience.
- I find Dubai to be very monotonous to ride. Al Qudra, the Race Track and a little more here and there. Great roads, but super flat an very limited. To go mountains was a 3 hour drive by car to RAK.
- EDIT: Misread… face palm. However I don’t find Tenerife any hot in summer compared to the Emirates.
- I don’t want to sh*t on anyone’s country, but I will say that the political situation and ethics of such would be a deterrent to me ever moving there.
3 Likes
He wrote Dublin, not Dubai 
hehe
Either way, I’ve lived in Dubai for 9 years.
Point number 3 that you made should echo very loudly. No person that cares about human rights should set their foot over there it’s a shit show.
5 Likes
Yes - I only mentioned Dubai was that I am pretty decent at tolerating heat but found Teidi very hot to cycle - thats all.
I mostly referring the temperate climate being a good choice to move vs. hot and arid. Although it may mean having to endure some rain.
I like cycling in Wales, but I don’t think the winters are much of an improvement to Scandinavia. Yes, its rarely icy, but its nearly always wet, cold, and windy. It is definitively not Southern Europe!
To the OP - I’d go on a cycling holiday to some of the places you’re considering, and see if you like it enough to stay there.
I second this. I’ve just spent three months on a town called Javea/Xabia. It’s just south of Denia and quite a bit smaller. It has a short seafront promenade with some good restaurants, a bike shop and a good selection of supermarkets and other shops in the town.
I would also rate both Denia and Javea over Calpe and Altea as places to stay longer term.
As noted above, the cycling in the region is superb with a large community of cyclists you can tap into for local knowledge.
2 Likes
The seafront around the Calpe area has its own charm, it’s hard to describe.
I haven’t cycled in the Málaga area though so can’t comment, but the cycling around Calpe/Denia is world class. It’s not for nothing that Remco settled in Calpe, or that team UAE, Quisckstep, agr la mondiale etc etc… Have training camps there.
I ran into Tadej Pogacar too, near Denia… This place and its cycling has got a certain something about it.
Some of the most important advice in this thread so far IMO.
1 Like
I’ve just spent the last two weeks cycling in Calpe and the surrounding area. I can’t speak for the Canary Islands or elsewhere, but I can honestly say that I’m in love with cycling here.
A few things I think are important for the OP to consider, regardless of destination:
-
What else do you enjoy doing off the bike? A two-week cycling holiday is very different from moving to a place full-time. In reality, cycling has taken up four to five hours of my day every day. Had I not been on holiday, it would have been less, both in terms of frequency and duration.
-
I might have missed it, but are there any work implications to consider? Again, this is regardless of destination.
-
I can certainly see myself living here, however, I’m single and have been here solo. I didn’t engage in the nightlife or socialise much. These might be important for both you and your partner to consider.
-
I can’t comment on the cost of living - but I do know that I could live off of Spanish Omelette
Happy to answer any follow up questions you might have.
2 Likes
Watching this with interest - Mr. F and I are contemplating moving to Spain and are researching best places to live based on the climate for cycling. Starting our recon missions in spring 2023!
2 Likes
Apart from the riding, which other posters have given an excellent critique of, I would have thought one of your big considerations is if you can speak the local language, even a little bit. You could decide to live somewhere completely epic as far as the rides go, but after a month or so everyday life will be more difficult. Of course, English is spoken in lots of places, particularly ones where tourists go. But even so, your everyday life will be easier, you’ll make better connections with local cyclists and you will be able to buy what you want!
4 Likes
+1
If you live and work there that touristic English will dry up very fast.
2 Likes
This is an area I have been looking at. If someone from Stockholm would feel like that about Tenerife, it sure is a problem 
I realized that Tenerife is more or less the same size as Kristianstad kommun!
I think that the Canaries would be a good place to visit and not live at as a cyclist.
There will be no work. I’m gonna study online so I don’t have to consider job opportunities.
I asked my girlfriend to say five places she would like to live in and I got this:
-
Verona - to cold: Veto
-
Florens/Firenze - Maybe. I would prefer a smaller town in Tuscany
-
Madrid - to cold, to big: Veto
-
Valencia - Maybe
1 Like
I’ve spent three weeks in Estepona (Nov 21) and I must say I didn’t like it there. The main coastal road is awful and I usually don’t mind traffic at all. Only other possibility is to ride up the mountain. Which is fine but has some pitches of 13% so it is not your typical Z2 ride. Marbella to Malaga seemed to have even more traffic.
However, I’ve spent a month east of Malaga and loved it there. The coastal road is very quiet and you have a couple of mountain options too. It is mostly small towns though. I wasn’t very fond of the wind but that’s the winter one the coast. I loved training camp on Tenerife but I would choose coastal Andalusia for long term stay any day.
1 Like
I agree that the Alto de los Reales climb out of Estepona is relatively tough (although easier than most big climbs in the Alps).
My favorite climb of the area became the El Madrono (Venta el Madroño climb | Strava Ride Segment in Marbella, Andalucía, Spain) which is about perfect for Z2 (and everything above). The road is in good condition, quite, and the view of Africa from the Top is amazing. Also they have a lovely Cafe near the pass. The hinterlands where this climb leads to (direction of Ronda) are amazing for road riding and absolutely stunning.
3 Likes
I did El Madrono on a Sunday morning which meant it was not so quiet. I agree that the whole loop from Estepona to Ronda via El Madrono and back through Algatocin and Genalgaucil is stunning except the coastal road part.
I loved Sierra de Tejeda the most, especially la Cabra. But the coastal mountains under the Sierra Nevada range offer some of the best views I’ve had the chance to enjoy. One of many great climbs - Haza del Lino.
Where did you stay when you were in Marbella? Might wanna add it to my list
As mentioned earlier, my brother lives there permanently. He stays in Nueva Andalucia, just west of Marbella. The area there (Benahavis, La Zagaleta) reminded me a lot of Beverley Hills/ Hollywood Hills area.
It’s on the lower slopes of the mountain range, close to the city, but a little more quiet, and with great views. El Madroño is right around the corner. A steady HC climb, that leads into the hinterlands of the beautiful Sierra de Las Nieves.
1 Like