Why Gran Canaria is Perfect for Digital Nomads
Guest post by Toks Coyle of Toks Travels
Last winter, I spent two months living in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands (not to be confused with La Palma, another island in the Canaries!). What initially attracted me to Gran Canaria was partly a recommendation I had received to stay at Repeople coliving space. I also knew that I loved the Canaries, having already previously visited Tenerife and Fuerteventura, so I was excited to check out what it was like in another of these sunny islands.
What I also discovered was that it has been growing in popularity in recent years for digital nomads, due to its all-year warm weather, western culture in a sub-tropical location, reasonable cost of living, great infrastructure for working remotely, and thriving communities and culture. Whilst Gran Canaria does attract expats and visitors from all over the world, there are particularly a lot of people there who originate from other European countries. The huge majority of the European people I spoke to personally told me that they were drawn to Gran Canaria to escape chilly winters in Northern Europe, via easy access from many travel hubs in Europe and a convenient time zone (Gran Canaria’s time is the same as the UK’s, so only within a couple of hours of much of Europe).
As I spent time here, I quickly understood why so many remote workers were moving over here to make this their homes – whether temporary or permanent. Two months was a great length of stay in Gran Canaria, and by the end of it, I was quite sad to leave. Let’s get into it!
Accommodation – Coliving Spaces and more
To cater to a growing population of digital nomads and workationers, Las Palma de Gran Canaria is home to a number of coliving spaces.
One of the OG and bigger coliving spaces is Repeople, which has several houses in both Las Palmas and Agaete. I’ve stayed in the Repeople’s Mansion house myself and written a review about on my blog. Although I found my experience fairly mixed and it wasn’t my favourite coliving space, that is only because the service and community facilitation isn’t really my preference (they don’t do community meetings or co-creating regular events like some other coliving spaces I’ve been to). However, I did manage to meet and hang out with some cool people also staying at Repeople houses, some of whom I’m still in touch with. And I’ll give Repeople props for providing good quality, clean, secure accommodation that suits the needs of the average digital nomad very well, with good Wi-Fi, spacious common areas with lots of space for coworking (including a standing desk area), and private bedrooms with their own desks and monitors. The community aspect of Repeople can be hit and miss, but if you’re OK with that (since some people really don’t need that anyway) and just need reliable accommodation for remote workers, then it’s a good one to consider. The budget isn’t low, but like I said, you have the facilities to be able to work there, plus complimentary external coworking space that’s within walking distance in the city, so it all balances out.
Interestingly, whilst staying at Repeople, I discovered another coliving space in Las Palmas – Ecoisleta, which a singular small coliving space with environmental sustainability at the heart of its values and operations. On the other end of the scale, I found Ecoisleta to be very actively community-oriented, with the owner Jonatan holding several events a week that are open to the public as well as the residents of the space. It’s how I ended up going to more events here than at the coliving space I was staying at – taking part in activities such as group dinners and board game nights. Whilst I never stayed at Ecoisleta, I did get a tour of the house to see what it was like. I thought the quality of the accommodation did seem a bit more basic than Repeople’s, but the cost was also lower, so it was relative.
There are other coliving spaces that I know of in Las Palmas but haven’t had the opportunity to experience yet. So, the info I’m giving you is based on what I’ve seen on their website. These include:
● Coliving 1907 is another small coliving space that boasts a family feel and also offers regular events to both colivers and guests who don’t stay there.
● CoolivingC is a nice modern house with facilities needed for digital nomads to work and live. I’m not sure about the community facilitation here, but their website does provide recommendations for local activities.
● Kite and Surf Nomad House is run by a team that is passionate about sharing their love of surfing and kitesurfing with guests, so it looks like an ideal place to immerse yourself in these water sports.
And of course, if you’re not in the market for coliving spaces and prefer something more private, it’s popular to look for apartment and house rentals on websites like Airbnb and Flatio.
Coworking Spaces and Cafes
The popularity of Las Palmas means that there are multiple good options of places to go to cowork in the city, whether just you’re looking for suitable workspace away from your accommodation, or you would like to join an active community of remote workers in the area.
You don’t have to stay at Repeople coliving to be able to use their external coworking spaces, as these are also open to the public via purchasing passes. If you do stay at Repeople coliving though, you get unlimited access to their coworking space that is half an hour's walk from the Repeople Mansion house (and you can also get there by bus, taxi or bicycle).
I then learned of the existence of Beach House, which is where my Spanish language teacher Judit from Zunsun Academy (who I’d totally recommend, by the way!) was holding her lessons with me. It’s a really lovely coworking space, complete with quirky décor and plants all over the place, and (as the name suggests) is basically on the doorstep of the beach. The guy that runs it is also very friendly and gave me a tour of the place. Beach House coworking space seems very community oriented and I saw promotions of many different events being run regularly here.
And if you would prefer to work in a café instead, then Las Palmas has a great selection of laptop-friendly cafes. Whilst they welcome customers using laptops and have good Wi-Fi and power sockets, please a respectful remote worker and buy food and/or drink while you’re there (I reckon a good rule of thumb is at least one drink an hour).
Tallares Pallermo is around the corner from the Beach House (where I had my Spanish lessons), so I decided to try it one morning for breakfast and getting some work done. I really liked the décor, great service, food and drinks, and calm environment to focus in. I would totally use this space again if I needed a couple of hours to get some work done.
Un Lugar Café is a highly rated coworking café amongst remote workers that I walked into one day to try for myself. I had to walk straight back out though because there was no space for me – it was already full to the brim with laptop workers! This is of course a good sign that it’s a great place to work, but it also means that you would have to get there first thing in the morning to secure a table. Alas, maybe I will try it one day!
Work-Life Balance & Things to Do
Spanish people are known for being a relaxed bunch, so Spain is an ideal location to be in if you want work-life balance. Known for its famous siestas, no one here will look down on you for relishing in a long weekday break (though if you’re working with non-Spanish companies, be sure to check their policies on how flexible they are on this!).
I think we would be here all day if I listed out all the things you can do in Las Palmas. It’s a city with a population of hundreds of thousands of people, it has sandy beaches and lots of nature, is on a small island that you can literally drive the distance of within one day, and other Canary Islands that you could visit on day trips. I would say that one highlight of mine was the extravagant city-wide Carnival of Las Palmas, where it was really fun to experience the colourful festivities, fun fairs and parades!
If you want a one-stop shop for all things living in Las Palmas, then you’ve got to get yourself a free membership at the amazing community, Live It Up, Las Palmas. It consists of a website full of lots of great articles about life in Las Palmas De Gran Canaria, from accommodation to food, and from sports to coworking spots. You can also join its Slack channel, where you can access many different channels for whatever you’re interested in. As well as allowing members to promote their events, Live It Up, Las Palmas also runs its own events – meetups at bars and restaurants, which are a great opportunity to meet new people, whether they’re digital nomads, workationers, vacationers, and even locals.
Challenges of Living in Las Palmas as a Digital Nomad
Something to note: it’s quite hard to get parcels shipped to Gran Canaria due to customs regulations. It’s not impossible – you might have to just really search and filter on the likes of Amazon to see which sellers will deliver to Las Palmas. You might also have to be more patient and say goodbye to next day deliveries!
But no fear – Las Palmas is a bustling city with a wide range of physical stores to shop from. And hey, it’s not in some freezing cold region, so make it an excuse to stroll in the sun and explore more of this wonderful city!
Final Thoughts & Personal Reflection
Overall, I really enjoyed my two months living and working in Las Palmas and I hope to return sometime in the future, particularly during the winter months again. I would be open to staying at Repeople again, but equally, I’d also be open to trying a different coliving space or just finding a short-term rental. If you’re looking for community and events, it’s so easy to find that with Live It Up, Las Palmas, that getting it from your accommodation is not really a necessity anyway.
I hope you found my article useful in giving you an idea of what digital nomad life in Gran Canaria is like. Any questions, just let me know! And maybe I’ll see you in this ‘miniature continent’ sometime!