Madeira Unlocked – from working from home during the pandemic to real happenings on Madeira
How a management consultant, a teacher, and a pandemic led to the creation of a special Madeira app
Anyone interested in happenings on Madeira, current events, yoga classes, cafés, or authentic island life will sooner or later come across Madeira Unlocked.
What many people don’t know:
Behind Madeira Unlocked are Andy and Simone, a couple from Germany. They have been married for 22 years and have two sons, now aged 21 and 20. A family with a long shared history and strong roots – yet at the same time open to completely rethinking their lives.
Andy worked for many years as a management consultant in the telecommunications industry, while Simone was an elementary school teacher. They had a solid, well-organized life—until COVID-19 arrived. With the pandemic, Andy’s entire workday shifted to working from home. What was practical at first began to feel increasingly restrictive over time. No change of scenery, no travel, hardly any new impressions. This feeling of stagnation became increasingly stressful.
At some point, a spontaneous idea came to him: get out of the home office and into a different everyday life. A workation in Madeira.
January 2022: Three weeks that changed everything
In January 2022, Andy flew to Madeira for three weeks to work from there. He spent the first two weeks in Santo da Serra, surrounded by nature, wide open spaces, and tranquility—a stark contrast to everyday life in Germany during the pandemic. He spent the third week in an Airbnb in Funchal. And that’s where something unexpected happened.
Andy happened to learn that the house where his Airbnb apartment was located was going to be sold. Instead of simply taking note of this information, he spoke to the sellers directly. The thought wouldn’t leave his mind. At the same time, he knew that he couldn’t make this decision alone. Simone had to come herself, see the island, get a feel for the house.
Just two weeks later, Simone flew to Madeira with her older son Joshua. What followed reads almost like a movie—and yet felt surprisingly clear. On Saturday, they first went on a levada hike at Moinho/Nova. In the evening, they were invited to dinner at the house that might become their future home. They had already been given a tour of the house, but Simone hadn’t even seen the whole house at that point.
On Sunday, Simone said the one sentence that decided everything:
“Let’s do it.”
Monday was a day that changed their lives forever. They got their tax numbers from the Câmara, opened a bank account, and in the afternoon had an appointment with the notary to prepare and sign the preliminary contract and purchase documents. After that, they had eight weeks to get the financing in place. By Easter 2022, they were homeowners in Madeira. Looking back on it today, Simone says, “It’s crazy when I think about it all again.”
From vacation home to new home
At first, they weren’t sure what to do with the house. Maybe Airbnb, maybe for their own use, maybe just a place for later. But since Andy could work remotely, he kept coming back to Madeira—and with each stay, the feeling grew that this was more than just a retreat.
Simone spent almost all her vacations on the island, often with her children, family, or friends. From the very beginning, she felt remarkably at home here. And every time she had to leave Madeira, this feeling grew stronger: “Actually, I want to stay here”.
Since they had already planned to take a sabbatical together from July 2024 to June 2025, they deliberately used part of this time to test everyday life in Madeira. At the end of this “trial run,” the decision was clear: they would emigrate. Simone quit her job, gave up her civil service position, and sold their house in Germany.
Andy has been living in Madeira since January 2023, and Simone followed in January 2026, as she was still tied to her job in Germany until the end of 2025.
How tips from friends led to the creation of an app for Madeira
During this time, friends and visitors kept asking the same questions:
What can you do in Madeira? Where can you do yoga? What events are happening this week?
There is an incredible amount going on in Madeira – but much of it is organized via countless WhatsApp groups. There seems to be a separate group for everything, including yoga, surfing, hiking, music, art, and outdoor activities. This is practical, but can quickly become confusing, especially for newcomers.
This is where the idea was born: an app that brings together happenings, events, and recommendations on Madeira—personalized, curated, and clearly laid out.
What was originally intended only for friends developed step by step. New features were added, content was maintained, updated, and expanded.
Today, Madeira Unlocked offers, among other things, a highlight of the day, various categories such as food, cafés, nature, and experiences, as well as a calendar with regular and one-off events. It is particularly important to Simone and Andy that the app is not a mass tourism project. Recommendations are only included if they know the people behind them personally or are truly convinced.
I myself came into contact with Simone after she discovered my yoga classes. We met in person—and that’s exactly what the app is all about. Many locals now say how valuable Madeira Unlocked has become because it brings order to the otherwise scattered WhatsApp system without being impersonal.
An app that came about from real life
Madeira Unlocked is not a project from a business plan.
It was born out of COVID-19, home office frustration, a spontaneous workation, and many honest encounters. Perhaps that’s why the app feels so right to so many people:
because it not only shows what’s happening in Madeira, but also why it’s happening here.
You can download Madeira Unlocked here: https://www.madeira-unlocked.com/download
This post is also available in: German
