Emigrating to Mallorca – for many it is a big dream. But in reality, this is not the case for most people, as an expert explains.
Palma – Mallorca is viewed by many Germans as the ultimate Mediterranean paradise. According to the Institut d’Estadística de les Illes Balears (Ibestat), 18,105 Germans were registered on the island last year, plus almost 4.6 million holidaymakers from Germany.
These numbers could encourage potential emigrants to put their plans into action. German restaurateurs, doctors, lawyers and others who live on Mallorca seem to perfectly combine the longed-for distance with their familiar homeland. However, an expert points out that the move to the island in many cases anything but simple and carefree is.
Dream of Mallorca? “Unfortunately that doesn’t work”
Egon Garding, who has lived on the island since the early 1990s and is co-founder of the “German Club Mallorca”, started the club based on his initial experiences on the island. In an interview with express.de he describes his first steps as a Mallorcan and how he was on his own as an emigrant. At that time, hardly anyone spoke German on the island.
His voluntary association was intended to make it easier for subsequent emigrants to get started. With great success, as he explains to the newspaper: “We were totally overrun.” The association serves as a contact point for German-speaking emigrants who, for example, want to re-register their car or start a company.
Garding has not only gained his own experience, but has also worked with many emigrants. Today he knows about his big dream of carefree emigration: “Unfortunately that doesn’t work.” There are always positive examples of people who still live successfully on the island today. According to Garding, however, 90 percent of emigrants return to Germany after “one or two years”. Many restaurateurs in Mallorca in particular are currently having to close their operations.
Mallorca expert dispels the emigrant myth
The expert reports that a particularly large number of people came to the island between 1990 and 2000. Everything for “sun, sand and sea – and a little work”. He explains clearly why this doesn’t work: “If you’re not successful in Germany, you won’t be successful here either! Here you have to work more for less money.”
He adds: “What you need to know is that, no matter what industry you work in, you earn much less than in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. That has to be said very clearly.”
Nevertheless, the positive image of emigrating to Mallorca has not changed to this day. The club continues to receive many inquiries in this regard. However, the expert warns of caution: “Today there is an oversupply. And you have to be extremely careful. “It’s not just nice people who live here on Mallorca.”
Mallorca emigrant warns: “It gets really hot in summer”
The YouTuber and Mallorca emigrant Alex also gives important tips for future emigrants on her channel “Mallorca Under the Sun”. Although she loves life on the island, she warns: “It gets really hot in the summer. Absurdly hot. You need air conditioning and you have to hope it doesn’t break.”
She also warns of empty cities and beaches in the winter months: “There are some people who go into the water and some also go for walks. But for many people it is not what they imagined when they moved to Mallorca.” There is now a real beach die-off in Mallorca. (bk)
#extremely #careful