Swapping London for Mallorca

Henry and Gaye Bennett are parents to Coco, 14; Juno, 12; and Frank, 9, and have full-time jobs, working remotely from their new home in Pórtol. Sitting down to talk to abcMallorca about their daring relocation just two weeks prior, it’s clear just how many plates they are spinning.

“It’s busy, but I must say, we’ve lost that sense of Sunday dread about going into Monday when you think ‘Oh no!’… the weekend just feels a lot nicer,” says Gaye, an executive producer specialising in film and animation.

SOLVING THE PUZZLE

The idea to make a major life shift came five years ago. The family loved where they lived – a pretty, listed house in a coveted part of the capital – but with three bedrooms, one bathroom and five of them, “it just didn’t work anymore; we were bursting at the seams,” explains Gaye. Having been able to walk everywhere, including school in both Covent Garden and by bustling Borough Market, they didn’t want to move out to a suburb. The idea of moving to another place nearby and paying “an absolute fortune” for an extra bedroom also held no appeal.

Henry had been coming to Mallorca since he was young. After Coco, the couple’s eldest, came along, holidays were often taken to the child-friendly, relaxed island. They considered buying a vacation property, but after some reflection, realised the real possibility of making it their permanent home.

They looked around “tons” of properties, before falling in love with the cluster of three houses in the small village next to Marratxí. Not only did it have bags of old charm – the main house dates from 1900 – but the property came with the golden addition of a holiday rental license, giving them the opportunity to monetise their relocation.

CRUCIAL CONNECTIONS

“It was a really special house we moved from, so we wanted to move somewhere equally special,” says Gaye, who credits property specialist Lucy Adamson from hc/ Mallorca Living with helping them find their dream place: The connections Helen and Lucy’s been able to help us with have been incredible. She’s been an extraordinary help – without her, it would have been so much more difficult.”

“It was this house or no Mallorca,” says Henry, adding that the location seemed perfect: a quintessentially Spanish town as opposed to an English enclave, with Palma in easy reach. The prospect of Coco, Juno and Frank be- coming bilingual was a motivating factor in the move, and the couple themselves are making small strides in the language. “I’ve got a five-euro bet with the local barman that I’ll be as good at Spanish as he is in English in two years,” Henry says, delighted by the welcome the family has received from locals: “Everyone’s been so friendly.”

“Although we had a really comfortable, good life in London, London is hard over time, especially with three kids,” Henry says. “We started to say, “If we don’t do this now…”. “We wanted a bit of a challenge,” says Gaye, “but we also wanted a bit more fun.”

Text by Anna Mason | Photos by Lívia Vargovcáková