rachwls

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if any of you could point me in the right direction regarding movin to spain. I have no idea about areas yet but have 4 children and need to know how the schooling works, where the decent areas are but not too expensive to rent, what getting work is like there, just the whole lot of info really. Does anybody know of anywhere that i might be able to find out all the info i need to know before anything else?
Rach x

jdr

Have a look in the FREE BEER thread at the top of the page, a lot is covered in there, they are handy links supplied by members with various info in them.
Also just read a few of the threads on here about entitled moving to Spain.
At the moment you will struggle to find any jobs that would sustain you and four children.
About 37% of people are unemployed in this area, these are people that speak Spanish and are also the ones you will be competing against for work and these are just the ones that are here legally.
There are also hundreds of thousands looking for work that are below the radar, if you know what I mean.
Look on the news at the demonstrations in Madrid etc, def not a good time to move to Spain, unless you are retired or do not need to work, even this way is 30% odd more expensive to live than a few years ago.

gill556

Please.please be careful, do not burn your bridges in the UK. Today is elections in Spain and there are huge protests in all the major cities against poverty and unemployment which is as high as 43% in some areas. The Spanish can't get jobs and they will do almost anything for next to no wages but there is not even work in the fields now as the other immigrants will pick oranges for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week for 90 euros take home pay. There is no welfare system here until you have worked and paid in to the system for a couple of years, no healthcare unless you are on contract and only 10% of the Spanish have contracts. You can join the state welfare system if yoou are in the Valencia area but it is 270 euros each quarter for all 6 of you. Self employement is a nightmare to do it legally and very expensive taxes every month, minimum 250 euros plus vat plus monthly accountant.

lynnxa

just to clarify - that is PER PERSON

totally agree with everything else - this is not the time to be coming here unless you have a very good contracted job lined up or don't need to work

not a bad time to start planning for when things improve

learn Spanish, do lots of reasearch, have some 'fact finding holidays' to narrow down an area

Rosemary

As Concierges for the Spanish section of BE we would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Rosemary and Graham

Xabiero

Work? Oh yes, I remember that ...

Rosemary

There is so much hardship amongst the Spanish themselves, they are struggling with the unemployment being so high. Opportunities for people from other countries who need to work are lessening all of the time at the moment. Think very, very hard before you make any decisions, make sure that you thoroughly research everything about any areas that interest you. There are a lot of members on here who have a wealth of experience that they can share with you. We took early retirement to live here but have always said that we would not have moved if we had had to work and now the situation is worse.

Rosemary

JLFS

I would just like to o confirm what other posters have saiid, things are very toughat the moment on the job front.

In the past, when things were good a lot of people "followed their dream", they found they could survive with doing abit of this and a bit of that, not now.

The best advice is stay in the UK, at least you will eat and have a roof over your head.
It may sound harsh but that is the reality.