By Soller Shirley
The visitors will leave and make decisions on whether they will return. Some residents have enjoyed shaking the tourism tree to see how many oranges will drop off and not return. Some of them have genuine concerns for the future of the islands and some just love to be spikey, and antagonistic.
No matter what the motivation, the decision will rest with the visitors, who will decide using a list of their own criteria.
As for those poised to buy a house, they too have choices. For those with enough money to buy a house to add to their portfolio, all the rhetoric means nothing. They buy because they can, and may never even stay in the house. It’s a way of moving money around to their own tax advantage. This is the way of some of our rich house owners both local and from other countries.
For those who want to live here, like the visitors, they will use their own criteria to make a decision. The motivation for relocation is as varied as the people who make the choices. If it is right for them, and they can afford it, they will move.
For those already here, both local and settled incomers, life goes on. We actually don’t spend all our days obsessed with the tourism numbers or other people’s house buying decisions. We get on with our lives, and make the best of it. Many struggle with low wages and high rents. Some have fat pension pots and enjoy all Mallorca has to offer. Others arrived here when it was possible to live cheaply and really struggle with the price reality today. Some of those are now considering moving from Mallorca to cheaper areas on the Peninsula. We are a mix of all those people in the Soller Valley.
We know that the news of the autumn will be focussing on all the points mentioned i.e low wages, high rents, tourism issues, child poverty to name but a few.
It is our choice how much we will read and engage with.
