ALISON

Hi,
My boyfriend and myself currently have our UK property on the market and are hoping to move out to Spain once it is sold. I'm 22 and he is 24. Are there any young couples that can recommend where would be best to relocate? We want to be on the coast, somewhere where we will be able to find work and somewhere that will be great for when family/friends come to visit.



Also, I am a Travel Agent and my boyfriend is an Air Conditioning Engineer. I would certainly love to stay in the travel industry but maybe that wont be possible as I can't speak Spanish...? My boyfriend would be willing to do anything if he couldn't get work in his trade...he doesn't speak Spanish either.

I was also thinking of doing a beauty course before we leave the Uk as maybe there will be more possibilities for me..in hotels etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Alison xxx

p.s. We are starting a Spanish course soon, but I get the impression it will be much easier to learn once we're out there!!!!

patsywhitehair

first of all, YOU MUST LEARN SPANISH BEFORE YOU COME OUT HERE...
also there are lots of women who do a beauty course and think that they can get work doing that, wrong... lots of ladies have done the same.
I am sorry to be soooo negative but unless you want bar work on the coast and work your socks off then forget it (oh dont i sound terriable) you really need to put things on hold come out to spain quite a few times and look around , ask lots of people what the work situation is like, do your homework.
where I live couples who have come out to spain are foraging for bits of work and find it quite hard to stay here. whatever you decide to do i wish you luck

mikelincs

If you are wanting to work you MUST be able to get by well in Spanish at the very least. Even though you may be working with or for Brits, you will inevitably have to deal with some Spanish suppliers etc, and probably the Spanish Social Security people at the least. Yes when you are immersed in the language it is much easier to learn, but even that is going to take several months. A/C is big business here, but there are many firms already here, both brits and Spanish.

lynnxa

absolutely...........
I know so many people here who had 'good careers' in the UK, and are now cleaning, labouring, working in launderettes or bars, for rubbish money & long hours. Just about everyone I know is struggling to some degree, except those who have a business outside spain, and (usually) the husband travels back & forth

Also, having been here 3 years now, out of the couples we met in the first months, none of them are still here except one couple, but the husband is away for probably 9 months of the year!
The husband of another couple is also still here, but the wife & kids are back in the UK, and a divorce is being sorted. That too is an all too familiar story

j0197

Hi Alison,

You need to live where theres lots of people and money...so along the Costa Del Sol is a good place first of all.

If your boyfriend is in air conditioning...this is a brilliant trade...but as said, he will have to deal with suppliers etc so he will need to be able to speak Spanish. if he doesnt, he will more than likely get ripped off.

There are many urbanisations here, for example in mine there are 240 apartments. I would say the airconditioning man here is here every week probably 2 or 3 times. There are always problems, cleaning, gas etc needed.

Everything here is word of mouth...if he does one good job at a good price and is reliable, his name will be passed on and on and before you know it he can have a little business going....but you do have to work at it. Put cards out not just once....but every week. And start with where you live. I have been on my urbanisiation for nearly 4 years....I had no idea there was a babysitter here...until a couple of weeks ago. Why didnt she continually canvass the developement...during the summer months I was asked numerous times for babysitters.

Regarding the spanish...I started a course in the UK before I left and then we paid up front for a 3 month intensive course before we came...that way we knew we would go!

There are alot of English Speakers here and you could get by without speaking spanish, but its horrible when you cant communicate with the Spanish people in the Supermarkets, street, neighbours etc.

It is true...many people have gone back to the Uk...many of them Estate Agents that were getting thousands per deal as they were on 10% or more. But also they continued to live the life as if they were on holiday. Down Puerto Banus, drinking eating clubbing.

Unless you are very wealthy you cannot do this...you cannot do things you do when you are on holiday. YOu need to take it easy

I hope its not all be too negative and put you off.

I love it here and it was the best decision we ever made. But you do have to work hard to make a living here.

Good luck

northsammi

good post j0197.

jdr

Send her a Karma

northsammi

on its way.

helenp

Good advice positive but realistic, too many negative posts putting people off after all it must work for some people even if lots do come back.
By the way what do you do out of interest?

jdr

The OP asked for advice, people have replied but you cant moan if there are more negative than positive.
Since I have lived here I have found out if you are retired or semi retired you will exist a lot better than if you need a weekly wage.
Jobs that give you a steady wage, contract and social security are like hens teeth, and that is the main reason, apart from not speaking the language, why most people give up.
People should be made aware how hard it is to survive without money as there are no handouts here as in the UK.
The best way to find out is to come out for a few weeks and try to sort things out before breaking ties at the other end.
I think every problem ever come up in Spain has been covered in these threads, so if you read through you should be able to make up your mind.
But only you can work out the pros and cons and make the big decision, and it is a big decision.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

keithwalters

The key is learning to speak the language WELL. Not just un cafe con leche por favor. Then you will suddenly realise exactly what doors will open to you.

For example, there are plenty of benefits available. I was given two grants from the Junta de Andalucia to start up my own business - a total of 12,000 euros. Not a huge amount of money, but it could make the difference for someone sucessfully setting up in business, and someone failing. There is no way I would have succeeded in the application if I hadn't been able to speak Spanish.

So learn Spanish, and make sure you have skills/qualifications that you can put to use over here.

ALISON

Thank you all that replied!

I've applied to many jobs, but have heard nothing yet.

I'm just so worried about selling our house and moving....if it doesn't work out then it's a case of moving back to the UK and trying to get back on the property ladder! We were lucky enough to manage this at a young age (I was 20 when we brought our house) and the way the house prices are going up we would struggle to get back to our current position!

Has anyone noticed if there is much call for Travel Agents or similar out there? This is what I do at the moment, and I love the travel industry!
Would getting bar work be difficult as so many young Brits go out there to do this every year??

Any help is much appreciated!

Alison xxx

keithwalters

I would avoid bar work if I were you - long hours, low pay. The travel agents that I know of are all Spanish, catering for the Spanish. So your lack of lingo would be a problem.

Doing the beauty course wasn't a bad idea in my opinion. If you can't get a job in a hotel you can always go freelance and do stuff in people's houses. That way you don't have to pay any tax.

ALISON

So if I was freelance I wouldn't have to declare it like we do (or should do...) in the UK??

keithwalters

Well, you are supposed to declare your earnings. A lot of people who have cash in hand type jobs don't bother though.

It would be better to stick to word of mouth clients though, rather than putting an ad in Yellow Pages if you were planning not to declare.