Life in Madeira - Telegraph Mentor
Derek Slavin says anywhere you choose to live in Madeira will have a mountain view, but the vast majority of properties and plots on the island enjoy sea and mountain views.
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 30/10/2007
After being made redundant in 2003, Derek Slavin and his wife left the UK to start a new life in Madeira. Having sold the house in the UK, they took everything to Madeira including their car. They had only visited Madeira once before deciding to live there.Geography: Lying 2500 kilometres southwest of London, or 600km west off the coast of Morocco, or around 500km north of the Canary Islands, this very small island will be hard to see unless using a large-scale map. The map reference for those who know how to use it is 32:41:31N 16:46:23W.
The island is just over 50 kilometres long from west to east; although there is an uninhabited peninsular to the east that extends this distance.
The terrain is dramatic, being almost entirely mountainous, with the majority of the population of Madeira living in the valleys around the coast. The island boasts the highest sea-cliffs in Europe (the second highest in the world), and the highest mountain peak is at nearly 1900 metres.
Water on the island is plentiful due to the mountain rain mainly in the centre of the island, and this is captured by a massive expanse of open water channels, each called a 'levada'.
Madeira has a sister island to the northeast called Porto Santo. Travel there can be by air (about 15 minutes) or by sea (3 hours or more). Porto Santo is renowned for its 9 kilometre long white sandy beach, and many Madeirans go there for holidays. Madeira itself does have some beaches, but mostly with pebbles or black sand.
Anywhere you choose to live in Madeira will have a mountain view, but the vast majority of properties and plots on the island enjoy sea and mountain views.
Funchal is the capital city, and over 30% of the island's population of around 250,000 live there.
Money & Banking: As Madeira is part of the Portuguese economy, the Euro is the only currency now in use.
Banks are plentiful in the city and main towns, and also exist in very small towns. The technology is very good, with multi-purpose ATPs cash machines in use and internet banking services are also available.
Interest rates are based on central European rates, and should be lower than UK rates for mortgages and other borrowing.
Exchange of popular currencies is commonplace, but beware of poor exchange rates and commission charges at some establishments.
Climate: Semitropical in climate, usually a high of around 20 centigrade at sea level in winter, rising to a typical high of 27 centigrade in the summer months. The temperatures can be cooler in the north, and will be cooler of course in the mountains where once in a while snow does fall in winter.
Temperatures and climatic conditions vary tremendously around the island, and change can happen very quickly making weather forecasting a near impossible art.
There is a range of native vegetation that varies across the island and at height, due to the climatic variations. The all year round warm climate also allows for growth of fruit and vegetables through long seasons, mostly grown on steep mountain terracing, often up to a height of several hundred meters.
Media & Communication: English language newspapers are available in the main towns. TV is usually by cable and there is a basic package of about 30 channels with extra premium film and sports channels as required. There are a few English language stations, and also many modern films in English are shown, if you don't mind putting up with subtitles in Portuguese.
Sky TV is installed in a few places around the island, although Sky does not have the rights to transmit its signals to Madeira.
Using the phone can be a little expensive but these costs can be overcome by using global calling cards.
Internet use is widespread, and home surfing packages can include high speed broadband, so you don't need to buy UK newspapers to keep in touch.
The postal system inbound and outbound is slow and sporadic and items of importance should use registered post where possible.
Property: Property prices are still pretty reasonable by UK standards. There are several websites where property for sale can be found, but beware of 'unpriced' properties where foreigners may well be quoted over and above the market value.
Building land in prime populated areas is scarce and therefore expensive, but relatively inexpensive plots are further out, but still having wonderful sea and mountain views.
UK and European residents are welcome to live here or to own holiday homes. If spending a lot of time here residential status does bring some worthwhile benefits, even though it is a tedious and longwinded application process.
People and Culture: The pace of life here is often slower than in Spain. Getting things done can be tedious as time doesn't seem to have so much importance here.
The island is virtually free from serious crime, and when you read the newspapers here it's nice to see island events having more prominence than bad news.
Living standards are almost 'two tiered' as there are many poor native Madeirans living amongst more wealthy people. The less well-off tend to be those working the land and those in the retail and leisure sectors. The better-off sectors tend to be made up of professional people.
Religion forms a big part in the lives of many native Madeirans, and churches are prominent around the island, and colourful religious festivals are frequent. The major festivals often take place on the 12 main public holidays. However, in virtually all villages, there is something festive going on at some point in the year.
Christmas and New Year are big occasions here; the effort put in here puts most UK celebrations to shame. New Year in particular is a spectacular occasion where a number of cruise ships dock and take part in a massive firework display.
Portuguese is the native and main language spoken here, but it is not an easy language to learn. English is widely spoken in Funchal, however, and combine this with the helpful and friendly Madeiran people and any minor problems should be straightforward to resolve.
The Madeirans are generally a friendly and helpful people, but, with some, money is an obsession that makes all the rules. In particular, non-Portuguese people in Madeira can get charged more in some shops, cafes, bars and restaurants than locals do, but thankfully this is as far as racism extends here.
Employment: For non-Portuguese speakers opportunities will be very limited and generally low paid. Jobs linked in some way to tourism are probably the easiest to find, but you should not expect to get much more than the national minimum wage, which is probably one of the lowest in Western Europe.
Professional classes on the other hand can achieve high earnings if they can find the right niche.
Entertainment: There are endless possibilities, although cycling is not recommended except for the fittest of athletes.
Levada walking is the most popular healthy activity for the island visitors. The island has over 2000 kilometres of these open-topped water channels, many built long ago by African slaves. The levadas enable relatively easy walking expeditions through the most spectacular scenery at varying altitudes. These walks are very popular, but mainly with the Germans who market holidays especially for Levada Walking.
Surfers come to the south-west of the island where there are some superb surfing conditions.
Swimming is possible for most of the year in the warm Atlantic waters, or all year around for some enthusiasts. Although not blessed with white sandy beaches, Madeira does boast some nice lido facilities, and most coastal towns provide some sort of facility to allow easy sea access.
For the visitor to Funchal there is a mountain cable car, balloon ride, helicopter ride, and various wonderful botanical gardens, churches, and museums. Also a fairly normal nightlife exists with cinemas and clubs, but mainly in Funchal.
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