Just

Hi All, just wanted to say hello and introduce myself as although I'm not technically going to be an expat for possibly a couple of years (that's the plan anyway) I wanted to start to get a feel for what to expect. Here's my background;

I've always had a soft-spot for Spain since an early age and coincidentally married a Spanish girl (who's been in England for 14 years now!) last year in Andalucia. We go there a lot as you'd imagine and we've been talking about moving there for a few years. Finally, we've plucked up the courage/insanity and are just signing for a new duplex in Jávea/Xàbia at what we think is a bargain price for a great place to live.

We're in Cheshire at the minute and have our first offspring on the way, so we want to make our move in a couple of years, renting to holiday makers in the summer months in the meantime to help pay the mortgage etc. My wife's family is mainly in Jávea and Andalucia so Jávea makes sense for us, plus we love the beach and countryside around it.

We're hoping to be able to release enough equity and savings in a couple of years time to go out mortgage free, taking some pressure of us and hopefully allowing us to enjoy our new sunny environment and home to the max as well as give our kid(s) more of our time.

This is the bit I expect to be the trickiest part, getting enough money in to pay the bills/pension/savings/children and allow us to step off the treadmill we're both on here in Blighty. I'm hoping that as my wife is bilingual and I'm getting somewhere there we can find work even if it's off our own backs, plus we know quite a lot of people with her family being there, old friends of hers etc - in fact we know our future neighbours already!

My parents are retired and are looking at moving out to the same area in the next couple of years as well (possibly before us) which would be great. They're going to test drive it by living during the winter months in our place meantime.

I'm very excited about moving to Spain and being a family there, plus being involved in such a vibrant area I can't wait - I can see the two year timeline being shortened if possible!!

There you go, that's my reason for being here - go easy!!

cricketman

Hi Just

Well, out of all the people who post on here, you guys have the best chance of making it a success

You have the language and contacts and some money behind you

Of course there hasnt been a worse time to look for a job in Spain for many many years, but that will depend on what you do and what skills and contacts you have. I dont know what you do in the UK, but dont forget that remote working is also a possibility nowadays.

My wife is also Spanish so I'm guessing that you and your children are also bilingual, so you should all fit in

Best of luck!

stuboy

I would say that you have a lot more going for you than others that come on here with just a dream. Having a (Spanish) family around you and a bi-lingual wife will make things a lot easier. The trickiest bit will be finding work.
Good luck with your plans.

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I 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 me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Lospacoshombre

Hi
As mentioned by others you seem to have a much better chance than others, family,links, language etc. Well done and good luck. If your relatives moving out first are relatively fit, then enjoy your time together there, it will be very special and you never know when their quality of life will decline. You only live once and Spain when you are financially sound is a very special place.

regards
Al

billgates

If you are relying on the sale of your uk house to pay off your Spanish mortgage then I would suggest putting it on the market now and taking the first sensible offer you get. House prices in the uk are going down and even the IMF is saying the same.

Just

Thanks for all the replies guys, making me feel very welcome!

I agree the work/income part will be tricky, I am ready for a bit of a slog on that one. I work in telecoms but I'll be open to doing anything when we move out and remote working or something that exploits a guiri in Spain appeals to me!

First kid on the way, but yes they'll be bilingual when they start.

Not too worried about the house prices in the UK, we live in a bit of a microcosm so while it takes longer to sell them, houses in our village tend to hold the value, plus we've renovated it since we bought it, so should at least get our money back (which is all we really need).