I’m Laura Leyshon and I’m Las Palmas’ resident property expert. I work for RE/MAX Cony Overseas, one of the city’s oldest estate agencies and the first RE/MAX office to open in Europe. Cony Overseas has an excellent local reputation and has helped hundreds of foreign buyers and sellers in Las Palmas and all over Gran […]
4 Things Being An Estate Agent Has Taught Me About Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria runs on its own time
The Canary Islands are an hour behind the rest of Spain and on the same time as London. This gives the islands up to a billion euros per year of brand exposure on Spanish radio and TV. It’s so important that the Canary Islands have said that they will jump by an hour if Spain changes timezone to better suit its location.
It’s not just the “una hora antes en Canarias” that keeps the islands in a different timestream. Many of the words that the rest of the world use to describe time just don’t work here. [Read more…]
In Defence Of Las Palmas’ ‘Cloudy’ Weather
Las Palmas is the city with the most pleasant climate in the world. But, when you look at a Gran Canaria weather forecast, you often see the north coast and Las Palmas under cloud even when the rest of the island is sunny.
So what’s going on?
There’s no doubt that Las Palmas is cloudier than the resorts in south Gran Canaria and even Agaete in the north-west corner of the island.
It’s because the Trade Winds blow from the north and pile up cloud against the steep northeast coast. The result is that Las Palmas gets more cloudy days than the rest of the island but is also sheltered from extreme temperatures.
It can be 43ºC in south Gran Canaria during a calima and not make 30ºC in Las Palmas. In winter, when the cloud-free southern skies leak heat, it drops to 14ºC at night while it’s rarely below 18ºC in the capital.
Another benefit is that the Trades blow away traffic fumes and make Las Palmas the city with the cleanest air in Spain.
What is a pleasant climate anyway?
The Syracuse University study that declared Las Palmas’ climate the world’s most pleasant didn’t just factor in hours of sunshine per day. It looked at a wide range of things like average temperature, lack of extreme weather events, and rainfall.
Overall, it found that Las Palmas’ climate was ideal for its residents. it’s one thing to holiday in
Everyone loves a blue sky, but it’s one thing to holiday in perpetual sunshine, quite another to live and work in it.
If you’re planning a holiday in Gran Canaria and just want to bake on the beach, maybe you’re best off going south. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll get sunshine in Las Palmas, but you will also see clouds most days.
However, if you like a bit of history, culture and cuisine to go with your suntan, then Las Palmas’ mild weather has its benefits. For example, it’s a lot easier to tour the art galleries and museums at 25ºC than it is at a baking 35ºC. And if you live and work in Las Palmas, cool days are a blessing.
And, of course, if you want sunshine, you just hop in the car or get a bus to the resorts or to Agaete and you’ll be under the blue dome within 30 minutes.
Live or stay in Las Palmas’ pleasant climate and pop south for a blast of sunshine whenever you want. It what’s we do and it’s the best of both worlds.
Top Reasons to Live in Gran Canaria: The Weather
It’s always sunny in Gran Canaria, it’s never cold, and it certainly never rains. In fact, there is no such thing here as weather in Gran Canaria other than permanent blue skies and blazing sunshine.
That’s the story that the tourist board beam out to the world and its not all that far removed from reality. Gran Canaria in without doubt one of the sunniest places on Earthand if you come on holiday here and you are guaranteed a suntan. However, if you live in on the island you realize quickly that there is more to Gran Canaria weather than unrelenting summer. [Read more…]
