Hi everyone. New guy here. We are currently living in Spain and have been for nearly 10 years. Over the last year we have nave been seriously talking about the move back. partly, the reason being is that the cost of living here has really shot up and we feel we just can`t earn the money we need (my wages have not gone up in 5 years), also we feel the need to be nearer our families as we have a 16 month old daughter. Some days i would jump on a plane tomorrow but like so many we are up and down about it. Me and the wife are so alike in the way we both cannot make up our mind what would be for the best. my biggest worry is work and how much i can earn in the uk (i am so out of touch). We are looking to relocate to the Leeds area (Garforth area) Obvously we will be renting for a year or so until we can get a mortgage. I just find the people more friendly in the uk. I speak fluent Spanish so i don`t know if that would help me with work or not. Just need a bit of advice. Don`t tell me about the weather as that is not a big factor for us.

Having just spent 2 days back in Leeds on business i was shocked to see how much the cost of living has rised in the last year, I was always under the impression the "North" was cheaper than the south but £3 a pint of Guiness and this is a pub not some trendy bar! £6.50 for 16 cigarrettes in a vending machine £1.10 per gallon of deisel on the motorway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And also house prices (yes i know they are falling) but the average house price is now £185K...... so you need to be earing at least 60K to get a mortgage..... (based on a sensible 3 times your earnings) unless you get a Northen Rock mortgage.....

I know here in spain things have gone up....... but quality of life comes into it.... and I certainly wouldnt want to (It might happen if we need to) go back. I still think your money goes a lot further here!

I would suggest going back for a month at this time of year as its mad!!!!! Rush rush rush, stress stress stress!!!!!!!

Good luck with what ever you decide..........

You think the cost of living has gone up here ..... thats nothing on the UK I can assure you.

You'd need to get yourself a decent job for sure

I've been back a number of times since we've been here, and although I love the country, its really expensibve there and I seem to be in endless traffic jams wherever I go.

Strange, I found people more friendly here than in the UK (Midlands).

Your money goes alot further in Spain if you are being paid in UK £££ and on holiday or if you're on a UK pension. If you're working here, cost of living is just as expensive as it would be respectively in the UK (if not more). Of course that is also subject to being able to find a job here first.

As for buying a house, I would much rather risk investing £185K in a property in the UK than in Spain at the moment.

Just my two centimos worth

I'm not so sure either is a surefire bet at the moment

Really jealous of your fluency in Spanish. Totally understand that you want to live nearer to family as you have such a young child. We usually get asked questions about living and working in Spain so this will be a challenge for all of us. As you and your wife are both similar in your thought patterns and there seems to be a concensus on not really knowing what to do it may help to make long lists. By this I mean writing down the pro's and cons of staying and the pro's and cons of going to the UK. Doing this honestly and with a lot of thought often shows up even the little things that are most important to our welbeing. It is such a huge move (just the same as coming here in the first place) that you will need to be very sure that you are making the right decision. Making the right decision should always be made after a lot of reseach and balancing up the pro's and cons.

What line of work would you be looking for?

Good Luck with the decision making.

Rosemary

Yes, it's risky, but my attitude would be that in the UK, I KNOW I can find a job and, therefore, afford a mortgage. I can also be sure of getting a raise each year, whether it be on achievement or cost of living.

As the OP said, he hasn't had a raise in 5 years. Well we've been here 3.5 years and we haven't had any increase in wages either.....so you can imagine what would've happened if we had a mortgage with all the interest rates going up.......deep doo doo comes to mind.

My wife and I have lived here on our savings/investment income for the last four years. We have another 8 years until our pensions kick in.

There is absolutely no way we could have afforded to live in the UK for twelve years without working.

Exactly the point I was trying to make earlier.

If you are living on income from the UK in £££, you're money does go alot further in Spain than it would in the UK, but I believe the OP is talking about Spanish wages and how they reflect on the cost of living.

As you know, in the same situation .... luckily only two years to go till the wife gets her pensions though

Hi CBANDY.

Forgive me for not welcoming you to the forum earlier.

So a great big welcome and apologies for going a bit off topic

There is a website for job seekers in the UK who speak 2 or more languages at http://www.multilingualvacancies.com/

It's worth doing a search for the location you require and since your command of the Spanish language is good, you could probably find something decent, or at least get an idea of what wages are out there.

Best of luck
Martha

I think you have already made up your mind. With a young child having families close makes all the difference. A friend of mine said the other day, "Can you see yourself growing old here?" My immediate answer was no. Don´t get me wrong I love a lot of what is here, especially the weather but........and it is a big but, I do miss the structure to life there and now I have a baby grandchild it is worse.
Will I go back? Who knows. My OH certainly wouldn´t. I just wish I had more money to travel back more often but like others on here a couple more years until pension kicks in and it will be easier.

Thanks everyone for their replies. The point exactly was living here and earning spanish wages. I work on a golf course for a huge spanish company. Everyone tells me i am on great wages but when there is little left in the pot at the end of the month that does not offer much consolation. I know everything is much more expensive in the uk but i do think they look after you better. Not only me who is saying this, the spanish i know and work with are going mad about the inflation and the wages in spain at the moment.

Think carefully and do lots of research. We currently live in the wilds of Wales. Looking in our local paper tonight, ordinary house with a reasonable garden £300,000 plus. Council tax £1400 p.a. Car tax £190 p.a. Diesel £1.10 ltre and even worse Guiness £3 per pint. Meal out for two £70.
And even here its pressure and rush all the time. Speed cameras everywhere, go shopping and try to park without having to pay. Go to the pub then watch your tail for lurking constabulary "We saw your car in the pub car park sir. Have you been drinking? Its a mad house.
We are exchanging contracts soon, then we can escape.

Spanish people we know are saying the same CBANDY

We have known quite a few families who have gone back and on a positive note all of them have settled well back in UK and are not regretting their decisons at all

good luck with your decision