lemon_drizzle

Hello all,

I have been looking at some of the posts people have written about moving to Spain and theres some really good advice!
We are thinking of moving next northern hemisphere summer, probably to Madrid initially as I am planning to do a TEFL course there. Obviously this seems to be the best place for TEFL work but would preferably prefer somewhere nearer the coast, although i realize job wise this would be more difficult.
I was wondering if anyone had any advice about finding IT jobs? specifically web development/programming? What skills are particularly in demand, e.g what languages used etc? How easy would it be to find work in English? say for a US/International company? Does anyone have experience of being an English speaking contractor?
Obviously Spain is deep in recession but we are really keen to give this a go and hopefully find something. Does anyone have any general advice? Things they found particularly hard etc?
Also my Spanish is terrible! This is something i am trying to improve although am hoping to vastly improve when I am living there as I have found in the past that i have learnt much quicker actually been there. In the meantime I am reading El pais online and listening to radio etc but does anyone know of any news sites or even any sites that are geared towards Spanish children? Just for easier reading? (thinking sort of like British 'news round')

Thanks any advice would be really appreciated!

steviedeluxe

Hi - if you're looking for US and international IT companies, there are loads with offices based in Madrid eg Microsoft, Sun, IBM, Accenture, plus plenty of Spanish firms such as Fon, Jazztel, Ya.com etc. Which is not to say you won't find IT jobs elsewhere (I believe gaming companies are strong in Gib and Malaga way), but it's probably the best place to start. As for knowing what skills are in demand try looking at this site

http://www.infojobs.net/

As for Tefl, we seem to have had posters lately telling us they've found such work on the coast (primarily Valencia) so it's not impossible. Madrid's always been the better place to try -perhaps because half the potential candidates elect to go to the coast instead!

Good luck with your job search. To be honest I'd save up and take an extended Spanish course (and perhaps a noddy IT course to learn the jargon - even Oracle is pronounced totally differently there) because you'll need good Spanish to get your foot in the door in the current climate.

lemon_drizzle

wow speedy reply lol thanks

Might enroll in a little college course here and then do one in Spain before/after TEFL. Spent a summer at a language school in Granada a few years ago and literally a few weeks there seemed to be as useful as the course i took at Uni which lasted a year!

Thats a good idea about the wee IT course, will suggest that to my partner

Madrid definitely appeals, also we could move nearer the coast after a year or so. I haven't really done any research into places to live in Madrid, those things always seem impossible before you arrive somewhere, but if anyone has suggestions of where to avoid or not avoid that would be good

I think our major obstacle will be the Spanish but we are both trying and hopefully will get there with it. I have no real problems communicating on a basic level but am worried that not having fluent Spanish will hinder our professional lives and making friends will be difficult. We will persevere tho!

Thanks for your response

steviedeluxe

The good thing is that Madrid moves closer to the coast each year! The new AVE fast train link to Valencia opens in December, and you'll only have a hour and a half on the train. There was a time it took 4 hours.

As for good areas/bad areas - you're probably better looking around first (you can rent cheapish rooms in a shared flat or a pension for a couple of months). If you get work in Alcobendas (in the north) probably best not looking for digs in Getafe or Alcorcon, for example, you'll spend too long commuting. They do say that generally barrios are better in the north of the city, but there are decent places elsewhere too.

lemon_drizzle

Lol

Oh wow fast trains......how i miss fast trains....one of the best things about Europe!

Casa Santo Estevo

Lemon-D, Are you An EU citizen? the way you write you may not be. If you are not then you will need a visa to obtain work in Spain.

lemon_drizzle

Yes I am a UK citizen, I have been living in Australia and New Zealand for almost 3 years I realize I wrote 'northern hemisphere 'summer after I posted. Its become habit lol.

steviedeluxe

Summer is possibly the worse time to find work in the cities. I just noticed you mentioned "northern hemisphere summer". In fact a lot of places will close down for the whole of August, but you may find it a good time to start looking for your accommodation/take a Spanish course/relax and make friends. As regards teaching English, September/October are big hiring months. Normally quite a lot of business classes start up in the Jan/Feb period also (but they prefer experienced teachers who can speak Spanish)

lemon_drizzle

Well am doing a my teaching course in July/august so probably would not be looking for work until September but the teaching school seemed really positive about finding work and I know a few people from Uni who are working there now. Its mostly just a worry about IT jobs although hopefully there should be some contracts from outside Spain so that would really help. A bit worried about the nose dive our income will take but thats not really the main priority as long as we were to make a 'living wage'. Hopefully topped up with another income from outside Spain.

I am hoping after about 6 months my Spanish would be reasonably good!

steviedeluxe

If you're reasonably disciplined about it - take lessons, read Spanish newspapers, join an intercambio, watch Spanish tv etc - then yes, 6 months should be achievable. You'll never "master" Spanish in that time (it takes a lifetime or more to do that) though, and if you spend all your social life with other English speakers you may find progress slower.
I always found the VO (original language) cinemas a real boon - plenty in Madrid and other large cities. Of course you can always view legal dvds with subtitles to get the same effect - eventually watching a Spanish with Spanish sub-titles becomes productive. Good luck!

lemon_drizzle

I read El pais online but was wondering if you know of any easier to read online newspapers? Maybe one geared to younger people or lol one like the 'daily mail', newspapers for people who don't like big words!

steviedeluxe

Well there is this one - it's one of the free newspapers you get in the larger cities

http://www.que.es/

If you're going to spend time in Madrid, this may prove very useful (but probably not too easy)

http://www.madridiario.es/

This guy is a major entrepreneur (he's a migrant to boot); he speaks fluent English too, so some of his twitter stuff is in English

http://spanish.martinvarsavsky.net/

For general chat - there are loads. Here's one:

http://www.meneame.net/

lemon_drizzle

Thanks for that! It was more to practice Spanish than anything but reading about Spain is good

I just wish I had someone here to practice speaking with but that might have to wait until we get to Spain! I find reading easy enough most of the time but I find listening and even more so speaking really hard! My brain doesn't work fast enough! The only real conversation i can have is in the present, preterit and imperfect tense. Anything else and I just get confused when speaking! And the speed of the speaker confuses me sometimes! Hopefully after a few months this part should become easier!

I think we might do a language course when we first arrive and then maybe at Xmas/January time.

Thanks for the links.

agoreira

I´ve mentioned before, I´m a fan of the language exchange sites to pratice your Spanish. Use something like Skype and you can chat away for free, it´s a useful tool. Couple of sites here, just enrol with your details, sit back and wait for people to contact you!
http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/
http://www.sharedtalk.com/

lemon_drizzle

Awesome, thanks!