Lanzarote Relocation

Having spent some time with Carleton Van Selman recently, in building the website for Big Vino, which he runs with his wife Lana – we grabbed the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his life in Lanzarote. Happy reading!

Name
Carleton Van Selman

Where did you move to Lanzarote from?
I moved from Norwich in Norfolk. UK.

When was this?
It was in December 2007

Where on the Island do you live now?
We moved to Playa Blanca

Did anyone move over with you?
Yes, I came with the lovely Lana, my wife.

Why did you decide to move to Lanzarote?
Been coming for holiday for years and the opportunity to stay presented itself so we did.

How long before deciding to move, did you actually arrive?
We have been saying ‘wouldn’t it be nice to live here’ for years but final decision was almost spur of the moment. From deciding to move and arriving only 4 weeks.

Did you rent or buy your first home here?
We rented in playa Blanca first to make sure we were doing the right thing.  Since then we moved into our current house where we hope to stay for the foreseeable  future.

Is there anything you miss from UK?
I miss the Cinema, Theatre, Opera, Ballet.

How often do you return to UK?
Only when I have to. I’ve been a couple of times this year for several weeks each time and hated every moment.

What are the real benefits to you personally in having made the move?
We love having warm weather, sun, sea, sand.  But importantly the way of life here is more relaxed.

What are the downsides if any, of having made the move?
The language, language and language in that order.

Your friends in Lanzarote – what country are they from, predominantly?
We are trying to integrate as much as we can and have a number of Spanish friends as well as German, Irish and English.

Could you speak Spanish before you arrived?
No. Lana speaks several languages and has picked up Spanish quickly but I’m still struggling.

How is your Spanish now?
My Spanish is still very basic.

Is your lifestyle healthier… or less healthier… since moving to Lanzarote?
Our lifestyle is more healthy, we take lots of long walks even bought a couple of bicycles.

With hindsight… is there anything you would have done differently?
Learn Spanish before you get here!

Tell us about Big Vino and why you started the business?
When we got to Lanzarote we kept finding that everyone was saying ‘I wish I could get some better wine’.  We have an excellent understanding of wine and we are even partners in a well established UK Wine Merchant so it was not a big step to start importing wine ourselves. The business has only been going for a couple of months and we are building new clients on a daily basis.  We have two sides to the business, one is to the trade, restaurants hotels etc. The other is to private clients, we have a number of private clients but we hope this will increase greatly when our new web site goes live any moment now.

Tell us about what work you did before you started your own business?
We have a mixed background. Lana was a head marketing honcho at Del Monte and I had my own design company before we both threw in our jobs to create a hotel in Norwich.  This attracted a lot of media attention and even a complete TV series (Hell to Hotel) following our steps as we got the business started.

Will you stay living in Lanzarote?
Right now we can not imagine being anywhere else but I don’t think we will be here for the rest of our lives but I’ve been wrong before.

What is your website address where people can contact you?
www.bigvino.com

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