Moses2013

Everybody loves it but sometimes you need to think logically. The Spain one person knows is always a very different Spain to another person and no offence to Fredbargate, but those were different times just like Jersey was different in the 80's. Property in Gibraltar is no longer cheap either and when you are stuck with jobs in the gaming industry, it can be very frustrating after routine kicks in. I know several people who worked for these companies and most didn't last long. Long working hours, micromanagement are common issues and because it's such a small market you can end up in a new job with the same manager you dislike. I was also offered jobs in Gibraltar back then but opted for Ireland instead. That allowed me to save more and a few years later I was also able to buy a property in the part of Spain I prefer. But again those were different times and the big challenge in Ireland today is the lack of rentals available. It's still an option though and if you are willing to maybe house share at the start, you can save money and progress in your career. If you can manage to save €1000 a month, that's 60K you have in 5 years and you qualify for Irish citizenship, so would have a healthy budget when you are 30. Spain is still there for you then.

Fredbargate

Useful link :- https://www.propertygibraltar.com/rentals from someone who has just spent two months in Sutton London

Stingychips

Living in Spain isn’t all drinking cocktails on the beach and relaxing in the sun. Wages are
crap in comparison to the UK. Also Spains tourism industry is crippled through covid so if you set a business up that relies on tourists you are snookered. Best of earning your money in the UK and having plenty of holidays in Spain if that’s what you fancy. < Rule 2> However staying in Spain forever without returning home is a big commitment. Still plenty of people doing that though from all over the world though.

Chipmonk

It is commendable that you are learning the language and quite alot can be achieved if you take it seriously and study at a college in evening classes
However it is important to try and understand that the process can take time. I dont know of anyone who has gone from complete beginner to having B2/C1 level in under 5 years. I dont mean passing the exams. It is possible ( with alot of work) to learn various strategies to pass the exams. I teach C1 level English preparation courses and although many students pass it ( they memorize large amounts of language chunks for writing/ speaking, use elimination techniques for multiple choice, make choices based on western socio-economic bias).they are no way remotely fluent in the language expected for that level. In order to be able to work in Spain where you use Spanish needs to be quite high. I know people who work in estate agents( the main area where jobs are available for English speakers) many have been in Spain since teenagers and are quite fluent others came later but all have effectively been learning for years

Moses2013

Yep, even for a tiny studio nothing under £800 these days. Tough everywhere it seems and those who can manage to buy can count themselves lucky.
Shocking to see really, €936 just for a room in a small town and often no parking or outside space. Even here I'm always shocked to hear what people are paying and no wonder so many want to buy with the rates so low.

Barriej

To be honest I think you are setting your sights far too low.
Spain for a young person with no real job skills is not the ideal place (in fact the whole of Europe is the same)
Its great for us who are retired and have just enough language to get by.

I can't think why anyone would want to make their life harder by moving somewhere with no job prospects not being able to communicate etc (but thats just me) and Ive travelled to and worked in around 30 different countries over the years.

At 25 you could easily apply for and get a one year work/travel visa to Australia.
Once there you can work and travel easily, jobs are pretty easy to come by (more on that in a mo) the language is the same. The weather is for the most part great.

So story time. In 2015 my daughter decided to go to Australia on her own for a work/travel year. She had no education but was a trained and qualified travel agent, made redundant and then worked for Costa Coffee as an assistant manager.

She travelled around Australia doing the backpack thing for three months and then settled in Sydney and got an agency job in a call centre (all the staff were travellers as the locals would not work the hours) (sound familiar with the low pay in the UK??)

BUT she was being paid 45 dollars an hour (at the time its was 1.91 to the £) She flat shared with 5 other girls (a couple of asians, a nice african girl and a Spanish girl).
She worked for 3 months then did the whole of the west coast and then inland, seeing things that most people never experience. She then ended up on a farm for the last 3 months (this gets you the second year visa).
She came back to the Uk for 3 weeks in 2016 and then went back. She has not been back to the Uk since and has no plans to do so either.

She has since travelled to other countries including Thailand, Korea and Japan. (and worked in all these places to enable here to travel around)
Now she is settled on the same farm she did her visa work for full-time and waiting for her residents visa to be approved (this takes ages).
She will be 30 next year and is on about travelling to New Zealand for 3 months and then back to Thailand as she says the work there is easy and the money good.

You may think Australia is just like little England but I can assure you its totally different away from the tourist parts.

There are other places of course, why not capitalise on those skills you do have, i.e. the language, you have most of the Asian countries, almost all african ones, The US, Canada, Australia etc that would be easier to make friends and possibly get jobs (ok the visa routes to some of these places is as hard as coming here)

Just something to think about, don't put all your eggs in a spanish basket. I know people who came here with their parents 10 plus years ago who speak very good spanish but can't get regular work.

Even if you could get it, would you seriously work for less than €5 an hour in a bar seven days a week in the summer and then have no work in the winter?
And what would happen if you hated it? how easy would it be for you to go back to the Uk?

Just my 2c

DLC

Working in Gibraltar and living in Spain will depend on the final agreement between Spain and Gibraltar which is still not a done deal, but it should hopefully be possible.

Lou71

I don't think Tom should have to justify why he wants to move to Spain, it's what he wants to do, end of.

Bottom line, we would not be having this debate if it wasn't for the dreaded Brexit. Tom would just move to Spain and it may or may not work out but importantly, he could have just gone ahead and done it and he would have found out for himself.

​​​​​​

tebo53

he can still do that but he now needs to apply for a visa!

Steve

Lou71

But it's not that simple is it. He can't just "get a visa", he needs to find a job and be subjected to a protracted, complicated process. Gone are the days when UK nationals could just turn up when they felt like it and take their chances on finding a job or just setting up a business.

Brexit closes doors, it doesn't open them.

tebo53

Exactly Lou.......

EuroTrash

+1 to that. Dreams are personal things. Moving to Aus, going to Japan, Korea etc is great if it happens to appeal to you, but certainly isn't everybody's dream. I always wanted to live in Europe (France, as it happens), I never had the slightest desire to live in Asia or Africa or down under or in fact any continent other than Europe. And it's not obvious how going to any of those places would help the OP achieve his dream of getting to Spain.
Ireland however is a different kettle of fish because it would potentially be a means of getting to Spain, albeit via a roundabout route, but he's young enough to take the long road. By his early 30s he could have an EU passport, reasonable fluency in Spanish and experience under his belt of living somewhere other than England. Then if Spain is still where his heart is set on, he would be in a better position to give it his best shot.

Lou71

Spot on!

EU.flag

Children of brexit, waking up to future they didnt choose. But parents are proud of their work.

Moses2013

You are right and I would also say that dreams change too. Sometimes it's the job that takes you somewhere and then it might be the case that the dream location you had is out of reach and another one pops up. When I was younger I looked at various locations from Abaco to Big Island, Budva, Crete, Corsica, Sanremo, Andalusia you name it, just trying to find cheap land. I was probably just frustrated with work and house prices seemed out of reach at the time as I always wanted my own place. These days I can't be bothered and also have no desire to travel to Australia or somewhere far away. Actually every day I don't have to get on a plane is a good day. Ireland was never on the list but a job popped up, I applied and the low house prices made it even more attractive at the time. Fell in love with the Costa Brava and realised that the dream is more achievable by not moving to Spain.