Beverley1

Hi my name is Beverley and my husband two children and i are thinking of moving to Albox in Almeria.

We would need one of us to be able to find work quite quickly, does anyone have any information on that area of spain, like what kind of work we could do. Or maybe one of you has found a good web site that might help direct us in the right direction.

Thanks for your help

Beverley

jdr

A bit of advice, there could be so many hazards, you should get to know the area before you think about moving there.
Type Albox Spain into google , loads of info there

Beverley1

Have already been into the web-site which look's good. Planning to go out there in a couple of weeks for a visit. You say 'hazards', do you know something about the area ? Thanks

chirivel

I live near to Albox.What work do you do in uk?

patricia

Hi we live just outside of Albox and we are very happy and settled here. BUT!!! You need to make sure that you bring enough cash with you to last the first year. Work unless you can speak Spanish is very difficult. Unless you plan on starting your own business.You can sometimes get the odd job working for the English but these would not be regular enough to give you a regular income.Good luck with your search I would suggest you come over for a holiday and do some research your self. Try looking on www.vivaalmeria.co.uk.

Beverley1

Hi in england i work part time as a waitress and my husband is a senior project manager working in a very stressfull IT/Insurance industry. I'm quite happy to do anything really my husband doesn't want to work in the same industry but would be happy to use his Management skills in some way. Any help would be greatfully received.

Thanks Beverley

Beverley1

Thanks very much for that we are hoping to have some money to come over with any idea how much enough is?

We are planning to come over for a long weekend in May to have a look around any hints on whats nice and whats not???


Thanks again

Beverley

patricia

Difficult to say how much as we all eat,drink,spend differently. But if you do a rough calculation on present food bill (which will be less over here if you shop in the Spanish supermarkets) cost of running a car ie: tax,insurance,etc House Insurance, Electricity which is paid every 2months here as a ball park figure we pay about 90 euros every 2 months that is running a pool as well. Calor gas has just gone up to 12 euros 30 cents. we use one every 3months on gas hob and one every 2 weeks on boiler. Some areas are really built up but then again if you have children maybe that would be an advantage. We have friends that live in Arboleas and their son goes to school there. He seems to be getting on ok. But be very careful who you buy from make sure all the paperwork is in place. If buying a new build best to take out a small mortgage even if you don't really need to that way you will be sure of getting all the correct paperwork as the bank will insist on this. You can always pay off the mortgage when you have settled in. Just remember there are a lot of people making very fat commisions over here. So remember the golden rule if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is!! You will need to get yourself a good solicitor if you can get a Spanish one that speaks English that is best. Hope this helps good luck.

bfg69bug

we went over to albox on a "rekie" to see what it was like... compared to the town we are in now, there is nothing there. it looks very industrial. theres a lidl, the beach, a nice new promonade...a port. there were lots of shops.. it reminded me very much of a smaller "la linea" by gibralter. i liked it, but i was looking at it as an "escape" from the big town we are in now. if you want to move to spain then that may be a good starting point. the houses are cheap, we didn´t see one english person all day - perhaps thats what you want, but i would have to think about work, where you would get some and what would you do ? i dunno - it work - not a chance. waitress.. possible, but highly unlikely. if you had enough money to not need to work then albox would be a great place to live i think.

obviously there are going to be people that disagree with what i have written, but i would ask them 4 things : do they NEED to work to pay the bills, DO they work, have they got kids, are they pensioners. from those answers you should be able to determine wether its a good place to live.

if you do want to move there ask me, i have links to beach front property for under 100k.

chirivel

dont know where you've been but it wasnt Albow which is a good 40 min drive to coast and doesnt have a llidls either and there are far more brits there than spanish!!!!

Beverley1

In your opinion, what kind of work could we do? We think we would need about 1500 euros a month to be ok. Do you think this is possible? We do need some sort of income so any help on this would be great. We want to move to Spain for a better life and be comfortable (money wise).

We are popping out to Albox later this month to have a look around and from what i have found out it's not on the coast but 30min inland which is what we want. I am not sure i want to live in Albox but one of the villages around it would be nice i think.

Do you have any idea on tax, for instance if we both earned about 800 euros each how much would be taxed?

Many thanks


Beverley

chirivel

Hi Beverly do you speak any spanish to be employed in land you would need quite a good command of the language.It would be easier for you to be self employed if you husband is in it could he do something with computers for example perhaps setting websites up or computer repairs etc.In the uk we had a maintenance business so we have continued that here luckily my husband is a qualified plumber and carpenter not a cow boy.We live in Chirivel a small village about 25mins north of albox if you want to meet up we could arrange something while you're over.

bfg69bug

doh!! my bad i went to ADRA ... sorry

Beverley1

Hi again

No i'm afraid our Spanish is not very good, (but we are learning ) my husband would love to work for himself. He would'nt mind travelling a little for instance to the coast perhaps where there is more work for english. But settling up a new business in spain is what he would love to do, do you think there is much call for web designers etc.

I'll get back to you on meeting up our time is very limited as we are only over for the weekend but thanks for the offer. We are if we like what we see coming over again so if not this time maybe next when we have more time.

many thanks

Beverley

suntouched_d

Be very sure of what you're doing before taking the plunge.
Yes there are business opportunities in and around Albox and if you believe the rumoured growth plans, these will only increase over time. Don't expect any business to turn a profit immediately and don't live tso lose to the wire that you have to give up just before you turn the corner. I know many people who came close but never quite crossed the finishing line.

Getting jobs that pay decent money is very tricky. Most employers don't want to take you on as a permanent employee as they have to pay your NI etc and you get a lot of rights as a Spanish worker.

I'm often advised by people that stick to what you know is the best strategy. If that's IT Project Management, you'll find it little or no use in the Albox area... I speak from experience.

In order to qualiify for Spanish healthcare you will need to pay into the system (NI equivalent) and this costs about 230 Euros. If either one of the adults in a family is paying NI then all dependents are covered. If you both work you will both need to be NIF registered.

Speaking Spanish is a major advantage.
Be prepared that you and the children may not settle as quickly as you would like. Schools in Albox are a bit hit and miss and I wouldn't say that the teachers have any particular skills or interest in helping children settle. The older they are the harder they are likely to find it. Having said that, I wouldn't expect to have to speak Spanish to a Spanish child or family trying to integrate in the UK.

I'm not trying to put you off as I've already made the move and love life in Spain. I do however, regularly feel that I've swapped one stressful life for another.

Never mix with people in Spain who you wouldn't mix with if you met them in the UK. Don't readilly trust people just because the sun's shining, I've made "friends" who have worked for me and cost me a great deal of money and heartache.

Albox is a very dry place but I've never gone through rainy day money this quickly before! Even if you're not working in Spain but are paying your NIF you'll find your solicitor charges you for completing your tax papers. you pay tax on your taxes if you try to play straight and if you don't you end up pricing yourself out of the market as people working the black economy can undrecut every time! Ooh that makes me mad!

I could go on and on but it's late and I'm boring myself.

To summarise, I like it but a lot of things are very tough. Have a plan B & C even if it's your husband contracting in the UK... it's not ideal but it will buy some financial breathing space.
Good luck.