Two primary teachers living in Mallorca confessed it is more convenient for them to commute by plane to Ibiza than to move to the island.
Isabel Reus confessed she “cried a lot” after finding out the vacancy for a teaching position she had been awarded was on the popular Balearic island.
She told Spanish news outlet IB3: “When I found out that the vacancy was in Ibiza, it was dramatic. I cried a lot, and I still cry. It has changed my life.”
Ms Reus, mother of a four-month-old baby, initially looked into renting a flat in Ibiza, but could not find a one-bedroom cheaper than £1,280 (€1,500).
The young teacher resorted to applying for a part-time position and undertaking a three-day commute by plane from Palma to Ibiza.
From Monday to Wednesday, the teacher lands in Ibiza at 6.40am GMT (7.40am local time) and, after a bus trip, begins her day of lessons at CEIP Saint Jordi school.
The mum catches her bus back to the airport at 1.30pm GMT (2.30pm local time) after which she jumps on the next flight to Mallorca to return home.
Another teacher at the same school, Ms Hidalgo, has also become a frequent flier to make up for the high rents in Ibiza.
Unlike Ms Reus, Ms Hidalgo rents a room for £812 (€950) a month where she stays on Mondays and Tuesdays as well as Thursdays and Fridays, but flies back and forth between Palma and Ibiza on Wednesdays and returns home for the weekend.
A non-stop flight between the two islands lasts around 45 minutes and can cost a few dozen euros if booked in advance.
The average annual salary for a primary school teacher in the Balearics is around £22,288 (€26,080), according to the database World Salaries.
The high cost of rent in Ibiza is likely affected by the high demand from tourists for accommodation during the summer months.
A double room in Cala de Bou, an area in northwest Ibiza popular for its coastline, is being offered by a landlord exclusively from March to May at £470 (€550) per month, the Periodico de Ibiza news outlet wrote while referring to a room advert on social media, which prompted some to question whether the room would be offered at a much higher price during the summertime.
The publication also looked at other rooms on offer throughout Ibiza, finding “exorbitant prices” were a common trait.
The news outlet reported the offering of a double room in the Talamanca area, southern Ibiza, at £1,367 (€1,600), while a landlord reportedly asked £1,025 (€1,200) for an en-suite room on Santa Eulalia, on the eastern coast of the Balearic island.
