sam1990

Hi there,

Im new to this so please bare with me

Me and my fiance are considering moving to spain in the next year to 2 years. We are both 22 and have been speaking about a move like this for about the past year. I am in my final honours year at university studying accounts, with about a years working experience in accounts, and my fiance has worked in bars etc, currently a factory worker.
We are both trying to learn spanish, but this is in the early stages, but hopefully we should both have an understanding of the language before any move.

I would like to know if anyone could recommend where in Spain would be the best place to move, given my qualifications and my fiance's work experience. We have been thinking about Madrid/Valencia/Barcelona.

Any help anyone could give on moving to spain would be greatly appreciated, as this is a hugh decision for us.

Thanks in advance

jojojojojo

Wait til the economic crisis is over. There is mass unemployment all over Spain right now. Unless you have contracted employment before you get there, it would be a huge risk. And a new ruling just out states that you will need to prove and income and your healthcare provisions before you will get residency

Jo xxx

teuchterpete

If you are looking for work then a populated area is a must. I would suggest that you have a read of similar threads about moving to Spain and finding work. If you still feel you want to give it a go, then the best idea might be to come over for an extended break, and spend the whole time talking to as many people as possible, ..... when you have decided the area you want to come to.
Good luck Pete

sam1990

Thanks Jo. We would be hoping that I would atleast have a job set up before we moved, but I think this would be much harder than it sounds.

Thank Pete, thats what we would be hoping to do, although this would probarly only be for a couple of weeks at a time.

Moving is really just a pipe dream just now, but we would like to have as much info as possible before making the final decision, so as we are not jumping into anything.

Thanks again

Sam xx

rachelk

Bear in mind that if you start work here you will take on your share (approx 6000€ for every worker in Spain) of the debt just acquired in a so called 'rescue'.

Fredbargate

Accounts and bar work sounds like Gibraltar to me.
Learning Spanish is useful but not essential.
You can easily live in Spain whilst working in Gib.
At 22 what have you got to loose?

Retired in Euskadi

Contrary to what has been said, learning Spanish is essential really, even on the "costas". Otherwise you get frustrated everywhere you go, will need to rely on UK TV satellite channels, English newspapers, even English supermarkets, etc. Where's the challenge, or adventure in that?

Hell, you're both young, so optimistic & adventurous. Teaching English is the obvious thing that comes to mind, so you'll need to be somewhere fairly big, though that doesn't always apply.
We're retired (wife Basque) & live in a village not far from Durango (Bizkaia), population 20,000; it has 3 language schools & there are usually openings for work.
If you want anything to do with accounts, you'd definitely need Spanish.

I'd agree with others, that you'll need about €5-600 per month for rent.

Best of luck.

sam1990

Thanks everyone. We are wanting to go while we are young because we have no kids and its something we would both regret if we didnt atleast try it.
We are in the early stages of learning Spanish, but I would like to have a good understanding, if not fluent before we were to leave. We would hopefully have about £3000/£4000 saved up before we moved, specifically for rent and expenses in the few months of being in Spain.
Does anyone know if i would need to retrain at university before being able to work in accounts in Spain, or would my university honours degree be enough to get a "foot in the door"? I know I would have to get my qualifications certified befire anything.

Thanks again for all your advice xx

Retired in Euskadi

Re accounts:
A friend of ours, who is an accountant in Guildford, worked in Madrid for Hertz many years ago, with not much Spanish then.
Re qualifications: This "Euro- qualifications- equivalence" thing is a bit of a con. What they ask for here, is for your qualification to be translated into Spanish by an approved translator. They ask for quite a lot of detail, such as subjects studied, timetable, hours studied for each subject area, etc. I reckon it's a barrier to prevent 'foreigners' from taking jobs from Spanish nationals.
Keep all your records!!

chrisjolly

With the current state of the economy, unemployment at record levels and many Brits trying to return to the UK it is not a good time to choose to come. The difficulties can put a strain on your relationship and we have seen many young couples come and go but apart so be careful it really is not that easy. Your qualifications will mean little in Spain unless you have them adopted by the Spanish system. They are virtually useless sorry to say. Good luck anyway...

cricketman

It also takes around a year to get done and often they ask for extra modules to be taken at a Spanish uni, especially for technical degrees like accounts. Personally, I dont think you've got a chance of getting a job in Spain with a Spanish company in accounting, look at all the Spanish unemployed graduates.

Your greatest bet for getting a job in Spain would be to first get a good job in the UK in a company with Spanish offices and at interview ask what the chances of transfer would be in a few years time.