mattandcara

Hi everyone, I am Cara and my husband Matt may post time to time also!
We currently live in Essex, England but we are toying with the idea of escaping!!
I have always wanted to move to Spain, I have lived there on summer extended stays and I love the country. I would move there in a heartbeat. Matt would like to go to Australia and has work offers already but I just couldnt move that far. We have two children age 7 and 2 and this is a big consideration. I want to be near to family still and not have to travel 24 hours to get to them if I need to.
So who can offer any advice of things we need to be looking at and things we need to be wary of???
Matt is an auto electrician and mechanic, is there a big need for English mechanics?? He has 15 years experience but no qualifications - will this hinder him??
As for me I am a childminder and was hoping to continue this but need to research the laws there as I had to go through a very thorough process here and am assuming the same would need to be done there too.
Any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Cara

betris

Take a tip.and Im not being funny or anything.Go to Australia Im sure lots on here will tell you the same.Spain is having bad times and it may get a lot worse.(ok if you have oodles of dosh or a fixed income like a pension)what ever you do good luck.but dont look at this place through rosey glasses because you had a good time on a long holliday.Thats my honest oppinion

shellou

Hi Cara!
Can completely understand your reasons for wanting to come to Spain!!.
Im not sure of the laws etc regarding childcare but please bear in mind that the 'guarderias' (creche/nurseries) here are very very reasonable compared to the cost of them in the UK and because of this I dont know anyone that uses private childminding facilities (unless you were able to open up something similar ??)
The only one warning I would have is that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to earn a living here. Its very difficult to find a job and even if you do there is a high risk of being laid off. This does not just apply to expats. I speak pretty good spanish and I have struggled to find reliable work, many of my spanish friends have been laid off, made redundant etc. Having seen many of our friends having to return to UK due to financial reasons in the past year it is just something you need to be fully aware of.

Please dont think Im trying to put you off..im not...coming here is the best thing i have ever done...however moving here with children and no work lined up is extremely risky at the moment.
I would never want to go back to UK but I can honestly say that we have had some pretty tough times financially..and thats with us being in the fortunate position of not having to pay rent or a mortgage.

If you decide to take the gamble then I wish you all the best in the world and I hope you enjoy your adventure as much as I have

spain

echo what has already been said - come with enough money to live on for at least 12 months - things are not easy at the moment

childcare is very very cheap at the local guardarias - somthing like 70-80€ per month

you might be better in Oz

Mitzyboy

Welcome to the forum

Well, right now I'd say make sure if you come that you rent here, keep your UK residence, and try very hard to bring at least 6 months and preferably 12 months cash to keep you going.

Its true, work is difficult here at the moment and clearly its the main reaon for people moving back. The average wage is relatively low compared to the UK but of course the cost of living is lower as well.

Frankly, being a mechanic and a childminder is going to be something that takes a while to buildup as you will need to make contacts

Also bear in mind working hours are different here, you will be having a break during the day and working into the evening as a mechanic

The upside of course is the better weather

jackytoo

Spot on Betris..some Karma

spain

oh yes, definatley

mattandcara

Thank you for all your honest replies. Obviously it takes alot of preparation and researching to make the move but it helps to have an insight from those that have been there done that!!
Looking forward to getting to know you all and finding out about the perils!
Cara

spain

you will find loads and loads of info on here, highlighting the pros and cons of living in Spain

and youre right, research, research, research

good luck whatever you decide

toyboy23

Hi Matt and Cara, welcome to the forum!

It’s interesting that some people are saying Oz ‘will be better’ without any real evidence.

I have a nephew in Sydney who has been there for years and is definitely of the view that it is not a land of milk and honey, but, he loves it there.

Have you posted a similar question in the Australia forum?

spain

I have friends in Oz to, they love it - at the moment things are good for them, they have work/money

Its not necessarily that things will be "better" in Oz but there isnt the language barrier which can raise many many issues when looking for work, on top of the fact of all the other economic problems we keep hearing about in Spain I would say that Oz would be a very viable option - but thats only my opinion

Gemma_Lee

Hi Cara,
We are moving from Essex too. We're moving to Costa Esuri in May.
We have 2 kids, our son is almost 9 and our daughter is 4.
We realise things are as bad there as they are here at the moment, but we're going out with some savings behind us to last a year plus we have a business in the uk as some income.
The way we're lookin at it is we've spoken about it for years, lets just go for it. If we can make it work and survive throu this 'ressesion' we'll be fine. (fingers crossed)
Worst ways we'll have an adventure for year, but hopefully it'll be the best thing we've ever done.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
I'm quite new on here too.
Gemma

betris

I think the proof may be in the pudding.some dont like oz some come back.but every one I have personaly known to go to oz says its the best thing they have done and none of them have gone back to uk.but I know a good few people who have gone back from spain to uk.
as some one said look in the oz forum and you will get all the info you need from the ex pats living in oz

shellou

I think it boils down to one thing really...nowhere is paradise, every country has its problems. I have lots of family in australia but they all live in different states. It depends on your individual circumstances as to where you choose to relocate. I didnt consider australia as I personally didnt want to be so far away from as my close family are still in the UK.
Plus I love the spanish culture and wanted the experience of learning a new language. If I just wanted to leave england fullstop then maybe I would have considered other countries but it was more a case of wanting to try living in Spain itself.

I think the next couple of years will be tough, worldwide..It is a little more scary when you arent in your home country but Im pretty confident that it will all turn round again at some point.

toyboy23

I’m not qualified to ‘talk up’ Oz at all. I know my nephew loved it when he first got there, but then found it hard settling down. He works in insurance/finance and the wages are not dazzling. To a certain degree he seems now to feel financially trapped there.

What I’ve seen in the media is that ex-pats can have difficulty getting back for visits due to the high fare cost. I suppose also that you’d want to make it a long visit rather than short which adds to the cost. Compare that to Alicante to Stansted, where you could pretty much do a day trip if you wanted.

Cara, have you visited Australia? Have you seen the different parts of Australia?