I was looking on the job centre site recently...there were hundreds of jobs... I think for those that want to work there are jobs, I expect supermarket jobs for example you can walk into....no chance of that in Spain !! I have been offered 2 jobs already (in England), my old firm take on temps almost on a monthly basis, seems no one sticks at the job these days

back to Spain......those that need to but dont want to work wont survive very long in here, once their money has run out they often go back penniless and just sign on......the benefit system is a lot different here to the UK, you cant even get a low paid supermarket (or whatever) job there is so much competition for that sort of work and much worse prospects for us foreigners unless its offering some kind of service to the expats but even then there is still a hell of a lot of competition

I think the whole point is you have to come to Spain with realistic expectations......life in Spain (or anywhere else for that matter) isnt always rosy

there will be many ups and downs and we all only make decisions based on the facts we have at any given time

I still believe its a big decision to move to Spain in the first place but and even harder decision to go back

its seems that those who succeed and are here long term either have to commute back to UK or another country, are relocated with their existing employer or are retired, very few come find work and can sustain themselves...this is only based on my experience and the people I have met here over the years

I just want to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy and hopefully a little more prosperous New Year to all.
If you stay in Spain or go to UK, may you have a little bit of sunshine upon you to ease your way.
Dont feel bad if you have to head back to blighty, Spain is a great country, but going back to the UK is not so bad. As far as I am concerned you are going back to a greater country.

We thought long and hard before moving (or should I say coming home to Spain) even though we are Spanish and fluent.

Neither of us have found decent jobs here and now we have given up looking. We have survived because my OH and his family invested in the family business, and it has been very very successful.
If we had to go to the UK tomorrow and look for jobs, it would not be the end of the world.
So good luck and all the best to all the "movers"

That's a huge generalisation and its not right.
You try it aged over 50 and see how many job offers you get.
I couldn't get a job in ASDA...over qualified.

B&Q?


Or is that not a sensible enough answer for you?

When I was in the UK a couple of weeks ago I saw lots of ads in shop windows asking for shopworkers. OK may have been seasonal but it's a start. Andalucia unemployment is nudging 20%.

Spain is ok. if you have a decent income, not cheap anymore and if you don't get a work contract you don't get free health care. Think most do go back for money reasons but have known some go because they miss the familiarity of their own country/people, others even because they didn't realise it would be so cold. Everyone is different. I would not even consider it here with a young family, better opportunities in other parts of the world.

I was really meaning the younger generation who come here to work, most of the over 50´s......well the ones we know have taken early retirement here so are not looking for work but I understand what you mean

I've had worse

If the £/Euro exchange rate goes much lower, we will have to go back to the UK as my husband's Teachers' Pension will not be enough to live on, even though we live very frugally. We're not old enough for State Pension yet. (Roll on 2010).

At least in the UK we can do our e-Baying trading again, get odd bits of work like exam invigilation, or mystery shopping, or office temping, our income won't suffer from the exchange rate. We still have a house there so no problem in that way.

We were going to do half-and-half in 2010 anyway....may just have to do it a bit sooner.

If you can get a job here in the UK grab it, cause believe me if your looking for a job that pays over 15k a year they are few and far between and those that are around the competition is rife.

Now our wonderful government has decided that the Royal Mail has no future, so 50,000 people are at risk of losing their jobs in the new year.

Yer Come back to sunny UK, the streets are lined with gold and silver

Oh and when you transfer your euros at .97 pence to 1 euro, Don't worry about the exchange rate, by the time it enters your UK bank, that will also have gone bust and your money will have been swallowed by the greed pack

Interesting that you think you will be able to live "better" (if that's the right word) off your pension in the UK.

Don't understand though, are 2 of you trying to live off 1 pension?
Why isn't the one who is still of working age and receiving no pension..working? Surely that is the way it's meant to be and would make things financially do-able? You can only "early retire" if you have the means to do so otherwise you will struggle.

I dont think anyone is implying that the streets are lined with gold !

I have been in Spain for 10 and a half years and have been very lucky to to have had decent employment (ok, i did do the shitty jobs at the beginning). The job i have at the moment, and for the last 3 years, pays me 26,000 a year but i am really worried about the current trend. My industry is golf and i have seen a dramatic downturn this month compared with the same month last year. What worries me more is if anything happens to my job where would i find another one which would pay me enough for us to live on? The othee option of course would be to move back to the uk but then we would have to sell the house and i cannot see that happening in the near future. So, my question is, should we put a plan together to move back within the next 2 years for example, get the house on the market with no panic to sell and see what happens OR should we just carry on and see if things get better? We are in a real pickle as we cannot make up our minds as we have a 2 year old and another on the way due end of Feb. Ireally don´t know what would be best.

everyone has made extremely valid points to both life in spain and the uk.
i think, from my view, it certainly hinges on working to live. mrs dd and i are both late 30's and came here 4 years ago with the expectation of a better life. in the past 12-18 months, things have got steadily worse. i work from home, which has become less and less viable in the past year, and much as i have tried to find work, i have had no success. mrs dd works for a spanish firm, but the combined wages have taken us back to the days of buying our first home 18 years ago and not having a pot to piss in. in fact, thats even being generous.
i always intended to work hard and make a living - not sit around and drink cocktails by the pool every day. i certainly didnt think the streets in spain were paved with gold, and we've loved the experience - well, parts of it.
but we now realise that, especially in this crisis, our most intelligent option is to go back home, and go from there. our house here in spain will still be here and we'll have to rent somewhere back home, but hey, i'm so glad we tried it.
failed? nope. succeeded? nope. experiences? second to none. lets face it, i know no-one else thats been to the tomatina, experienced fallas, bull runs, the biggest fireworks displays, been to 2 moto gps, watched the valencia f1 live on the beach, swam on new years day, eaten sheeps intestines, saw the americas cup......the list goes on.
i just hope everyone gets what they want from life, whether its here in our adopted country, or back home in the uk.
DD

Renting out the Spanish home?


Do you realise that, from what you have written of your experiences, you have the making of a book here? Did you take loads of photo's?