Thalia

Hi again!

I´m sorry I did something wrong with my last post but I´m not sure what it was. I can´t find the rules and I can´t contact anybody coz I have published less than 3 messages. Could a moderator or the admin help me through this thread?
And again, sorry.

lee8

Scroll down the page there`s the rules on bottom right corner number 10 states you cannot do surveys.

Thalia

Ah! Sorry, I didn´t think that was a survey. I guess it´s in case people ask things for commercial purposes.
Well, I´ll try to find info about some experiences somewhere else.
Thanks for your help!

lee8

Asking why Brits go to Spain is a subject that will end in many arguments as Brits tend to be very defensive.

I`m a Brit married to a Basque I currently commuting from the UK to Spain as work in the UK suits our current situation, my wife lives in Spain.

I worked in Spain for a few years but it didn`t work out, I`m involved in Spain to get away from Britain as the Lifestyle and family values are far better for us.

Agur y Feliz Navidad

Thalia

Yes, I think I know what you mean. I´m Spanish but living in the UK and you can hear loads of different opinions. Anyway, didn´t try to create controversy, just thought that it could be an interesting topic to teach (well, it´s just a teaching unit, I can´t teach yet) to Spanish students learning English to show them how useful it is (obvious, but teens don´t care about it), how people move from their countries, multicultural Europe and that stuff.
Thanks for replying (eskerrik asko!) and have a good Xmas!

lee8

Many will contradict themselves and get all funny with you.

The knack is to find people who have left the UK behind and adopted Spain as there home, there few and far.

Many Brits leave the UK and live within the Brit communities, they tend to enjoy the fact they live in Spain, yet no nothing of Spain.There the worse kind because they view themselves in high regard.

Are you Basque then.

Thalia

My dad is Basque, though I´m Galician (you can figure out now why I didn´t have any idea about how popular was Spain for British people... I´m too far from the Mediterranean).
I have my own opinion about this but just through such serious sources as tv programmes (Living in the sun), that´s why I thought it would be useful to know the situation from a person living in Spain.
I´m working in GB now and I´ve known loads of Spanish (and other Europeans). Some of them value what GB can offer and others just criticize it when comparing it to their countries. I assume something like taht would happen with British people.
I have to research a bit now or change my topic... the alternative is English pubs... dunno which´s better!

lee8

There are a lot of people making money on painting Spain the perfect place to live.

Many retired Expats enjoy Spain`s climate and the lifestyle they have within Spain.

As a Brit living and working in Spain I view it far differently and I`ve met many with the same view.I guess having to work anywhere brings down sides.

I like Spain, but it isn`t perfect for me at this time in my life.

Thalia

My boyfriend is English and he´s told me he´d come here to live in case I wanted to come back. What he doesn´t understand is how difficult is getting a job here for me (being Spanish and graduate)... even less that without speaking any Spanish he wudn´t find anything to do (at least in the North). From his point of view things are easier than they actually are but the number of opportunities to find a job are smaller compared to those in England.
There are things I love both in England and in Spain but I know I can´t live without working so I´ll probably stay in England... bangers and mash are making it easier for me anyway!

lee8

I transfered with my company from the UK to the Spanish office, they sent me to Malaga because of the need to have a English/Castellano speaker, which turned out to be a lie as the office in Malaga was in a crap state and they were desperate to employ anybody.

They even had a Polish couple who couldn`t speak Castellano or much English.

There are many Brits in the South working for themselves and are frankly well dodgey.

Being Autonomo is about as good as it gets.Unless you can get a career that you can retain in the UK but work in Spain or Euro Commute.


My wifes a graduate and she has never worked for more than a couple of years in Spain, she is still looking for work, but in the male dominated South its impossible, even to be a cleaner there`s huge competition with the south Americans.

Thalia

For me it´s not a quesiton of being male or female but the fact that the only decent jobs are "funcionariados". So, studying, try to pass the "oposiciones" and work for the government. Not really appealing to me!

lee8

My wife was goin to give it a try, but was put off by the amount of back scratching, down in Malaga everyone has to be connected.

Thalia

Even in public jobs?

battlezone123

I live in the north in Galicia and can only say that jobs are non existent even if you speak Spanish. Working as a labour you will take home about 180 euros a week for working 8.00am to 8.00pm. A friend of mine (Spanish) was really desparate for work and ended up working in a supermarket earning 2.20 euros an hour. There are many Angolans who work in the north (not sure about the rest of Spain) as they arrive through Portugal. They mainly work on the roads and because any money they receive is more than they would get in Angola they are happy to be paid anything. We often have Angolans working on our property at the weekends and we pay them more than they get in a week. I am a firm believer in paying a living wage.

Bo Nadal!

Chiclanagir

Surely there is a minimum wage in Spain?