Majorca

Jordan and Ray Bath took a risk by leaving behind their lives in Basildon, Essex, to start again in Majorca, Spain, where their children, six and four, are adapting to a completley new culture

A couple who swapped Essex for Majorca say they won’t be returning after noticing big change to their family. Jordan and Ray Bath lived in England for their entire lives until they sold their house and business and moved their young children, aged six and four, to the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands.

They have now been residing in the family-friendly seaside town of Pollensa for 10 weeks and have documented their journey on YouTube.

Their lifestyles are now radically different to back home in Basildon, Essex — and they spoke exclusively to us about how they were settling in.

Ray, 37, told us: “It has been nearly 11 weeks now and we have not missed anything about the UK. We are flying back to participate in the London Marathon but it is only a five-day trip and after that we don’t know when we will be back in the UK again.”

Jordan, 32, meanwhile added: “We are very content, very happy, and it is like, ‘Why didn’t we do this sooner?’ I’m so glad we did the jump when we did. We hope we can give our kids the quality of life that we are striving for.”

Why Majorca

Jordan has been holidaying in Majorca since her childhood before she started going with Ray when they met 14 years ago.

They fell in love with it and as for why they moved there, which has long been a dream, Ray said: “I would say personally, I have always wrestled with the idea of retiring and then moving into the sunset to the beach. But actually, the biggest struggle for me was, why do I have to wait until I am 65? Why can’t we do it now? Why can’t we do it while I’ve got the energy?”

Jordan also explained that the sad death of Ray’s dad made them realise how short life actually was, and that the perfect time might never come.

And giving further insight into why they relocated so far from home, she added: “We moved here for a better quality of life, it’s not a tax benefit, not a way of us earning more money.

“We lived in Essex, which is such a rat race. I cannot emphasise enough how I am still trying to get used to it myself. But it is a slower pace of life, the children are the priority, like our children go into school and the teachers hug them and kiss them good morning.”

Agreeing, Ray replied: “Life just feels less heavy, doesn’t it?”

Jordan and Ray have been personal trainers for 15 years and they now offer one to one coaching experiences through their online Viva Endure business.

One of the biggest challenges of living in Majorca was the “obscene” cost of renting or buying properties. However, Ray said that it was also an opportunity for them to attract clientele with potentially bigger budgets.

Huge lifestyle benefit

And while working online has allowed them to move abroad, they said their day-to-day lives now look totally different.

They said they are still in the transition and sometimes have “pinch ourselves moments” where they realise it is not just a holiday and they actually live on the gloriously sunny island with stunning beaches.

They are based in the Old Town where everything is within walking distance from their home — including where their children go to school, the kids’ sports clubs and the supermarket.

The family rent a spacious four-bedroom townhouse, which has two balconies and four bathrooms, in Puerto Pollensa.

As for how the kids were adapting, Jordan said: “They are absolutely loving it. My mum and dad came out here in Easter and said do they want to come back to the UK and they were like ‘no!’”

Giving further insight into how active their lifestyles were now, Ray added: “In the UK we always struggled to get them out on their bikes. It was just dark, dull, grey and we lived too far to the park and it just wasn’t conducive to getting out on their bikes.

“Maybe I am just making excuses, but here, we chucked them both on their bikes and just rode, and within three days we were riding to and from school with them, the four of us, and it was amazing and now we ride our bikes to school every day.”

They also explained that kids tended to stay younger for longer in Majorca, where active play was encouraged, as opposed to staying in and being on devices scrolling TikTok and YouTube.

Asked for the biggest contrast to the UK, Ray said: “It is very simple for me. The lifestyle out here forces you to be more present. It forces you to be present and slow down.”

On a separate point, he said their last monthly electricity bill in the UK cost £272, compared to in Majorca where they just paid €150 (approximately £131).

Challenges

As well as the high cost of property as previously mentioned, the most obvious challenge has been settling into an island where there are two official languages, Spanish and Catalan.

Jordan and Ray have been having Spanish classes twice a week whereas their children are now in a state school so they can be immersed into the dialect.

Their kids are learning to speak the Majorcan dialect of Catalan while also picking up Spanish from their classmates.

Schools also operate differently, because rather than ending after 3pm, classes finish at 1pm, meaning Jordan and Ray have a smaller window to complete their own work.

And giving an insight, Jordan said: “The biggest challenge for me is making sure our kids, especially our eldest who is six, has settled into school.

“She is such a confident little girl and in the UK she was really confident and the first to put her hands up and friends with everyone so I suppose she has gone from like a big fish in a small pond to the smallest fish in the biggest pond where there is a language barrier.

“I know that this transition will be hard at first and she won’t remember it in years to come but it has only been 10 weeks and it has been so much more smoother now. We have been to kids parties, she does tennis, she does football after school and she has got a great little friendship group.”

She added: “It is just getting used to a slightly different routine. The days are just longer, in the UK the kids used to go to bed around 7pm but out there they go to bed at like 8.30pm. It is just because of that culture which is amazing but it is getting used to it.”

Jordan said children come alive at night time and that it was common to see them out on scooters and bikes in the evening where they also dance around the square.

She said the town was family oriented and that while the pace was slower to Essex, it was a smaller bubble full of love, especially for little ones.

The couple are now on a three-year visa, which they can then renew for a further two years before applying for full-time residency after five years.

And asked how long they will stay out in Spain, Ray concluded: “I can’t see any reason why I personally would want to return to the UK — and Jordan is shaking her head so she is the same.

“So how long term is it? Forever.”

YOU can still get a dose of Spanish sunshine this spring with some pretty four-star hotels for less than £250 per person.

loveholidays has found some super cheap deals for seven night stays in the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands and Spain.

The most affordable, but still with everything you need for a sunshine filled break, is at the DWO Sirius -Adults Only hotel on the Costa Brava in Spain.

The hotel has 161 rooms all decked out with modern amenities and air conditioning – which you might need in May as average temperatures can be as high as 24C.

Take a dip in the outdoor freshwater swimming pool or relax on one of the sunloungers.

There’s a sun terrace too, restaurant, cafe, poolside snack bar, as well as an on-site gym – it’ll be quiet too as only guests age 16 and over are allowed.

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When it comes to the beaches, Playa de Levante is just a two-minute walk away and it’s lined with shops, bars and restaurants to explore.

To stay at the DWO Sirius for seven nights from May 9, 2026 starts from just £249 per person.

Breakfast is included, as are return flights from London Luton with Ryanair.

Another is the Hotel Best Punta Dorada in Salou, Costa Dorada.

The Spanish resort is a popular destination near PortAventura World, a theme park with over 40 attractions and huge rollercoasters.

It’s also close to sandy beaches like Platja de Llevant, and the scenic Camí de Ronda coastal walk.

The hotel itself has rooms with air con, a TV, minibar and private bathroom.

It also has an outdoor swimming pool, restaurant, two bars along with evening entertainment and shows.

One visitor wrote: “Such lovely staff, food and hotel and we would go back again and didn’t want to leave.”

With loveholidays you can take a seven night break from May 2, 2026 from £269 per person.

This includes breakfast and return flights from London Stansted with Ryanair.

Or if you fancy jetting off to Tenerife, head to the Gara Suites Golf & Spa in Playa de las Americas.

In May, Tenerife temperatures can reach highs of 30C with around 10 hours of sunshine each day.

The Gara Suites Golf & Spa is a big resort with over 400 rooms as well as three outdoor pools and plenty of dining options.

It’s a top spot for families as it has a smaller pool especially for children, as well as a kids’ club and playground.

For golfing fans, there’s also a golf course short walk away – and the famous Siam Park waterpark is just a three-minutes drive away.

A seven night stay from May 14, 2026 starts from £339 per person – this includes breakfast and flights departing from London Stansted with Ryanair.

Another seven-night stay from £339 per person is available to book at the Samos Hotel in Magaluf.

The four-star Samos Hotel is right next to the beach and has a palm-tree-shaped lagoon pool.

It has 444 rooms spread across nine floors – some of which have sea views.

Inside there’s a spa with a small indoor pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and a range of spa treatments.

During the evening, there’s a full-on entertainment programme from shows to live music, bingo and karaoke.

The beach is an eight-minute walk away where there are lots of bars and restaurants.

You can eat at the hotel too as it has multiple bars, and restaurants that serve up classic Spanish food as well as international options too.

Majorca’s capital, Palma, is reachable within half an hour by car.

For more on holidays, here are the bucket list trips you should go on for every month of the year.

And the European holiday destinations Brits are flocking to instead of Turkey and Egypt due to Iran crisis.

Cheaper school fees and endless sun are part of the reason celebrity stylist Gayle Rinkoff moved to Majorca – but there are some things about the UK she struggles to live without

A British mum who left the UK behind to give her youngest daughter a more balanced life in Spain says she could never go back to the UK – but there are definitely some things that she misses.

Fashion and celebrity stylist Gayle Rinkoff gave up her London home for a remote farmhouse on the island of Majorca. She told the i newspaper: “When friends visited, they were shocked at how remote we are. In London, we lived on a busy street of Victorian terraced houses and a train station at the end of the road. Now, we are up a mountain and a 45-minute walk to the local village, or six minutes by car.”

One of Gayle’s main reasons for leaving the UK, she says, was the way that living in London turned her three daughters into social media addicts. While her two oldest daughters remained in the UK to attend university, Gayle’s 14-year-old daughter Leni is now a “through-and-through island girl”, she says.

The trigger for Gayle’s dramatic move was, she says, the Coronavirus pandemic. During lockdown, her daughters were “glued to their phones” because it was the only way to stay in touch with their friends, and moving to Majorca was, she says, a way to “break the cycle.”

While that aspect of the relocation was a success, with Leni often completely forgetting about her phone, there are definitely a few things that Gayle misses: “I do miss British things like M&S and ManiLife peanut butter, and of course, I miss my oldest girls. I thought they would fly out more,” she says. “But they’re enjoying being young and their lives in the UK.”

Living in Majorca isn’t cheap, Gayle admits: “You’re on an island, so everything has to be imported.” She and her husband treat themselves to a restaurant meal once a week, but says: “In Palma, you pay London prices.”

Gayle has prioritised her daughter’s education, marvelling that she has become almost completely fluent in Spanish in under two years: “Leni’s school fees are about a third of what they would be in London.

“However, it’s not the same level of education, so we top up with a maths tutor and a Spanish tutor. But, for us, the quality of life and everything else offset what she might be lacking in her education.”

Relocating from the UK to Spain isn’t as easy as it was before Brexit. Would-be expats need to demonstrate proof that they’re financially secure, with adequate private healthcare and a clean criminal record.

Spain’s so-called “Digital Nomad Visas” allow non-EU professionals to legally reside in the country while continuing their remote work for foreign companies — giving people who mainly use the internet for work the best of both worlds.

In Gayle’s case, that was ideal. She explains: “My husband has a remote job and I have always worked remotely as a fashion and celebrity stylist. I wasn’t ready to give it up, but I was ready to slow down.”

But there were some tough conversations before they finally pulled the trigger on their move. They finally did so in 2023: “This summer will mark three years since we moved to the magical island,” she says, “and we have never looked back.”