Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Hi all,

Myself and my husband are looking at moving to Marbella, we have no children but have 2 dogs and 2 cats, we want to rent before we buy and I want to either be self employed offering beauty services or employed in the beauty/ makeup artist sector but I can also be a support worker for the elderly or mentally ill as have experience in that too and my hubby is a fully qualified chef, also has been a manager of pubs/bars in the past and also has been a van driver and a forklift driver. We bring a plethora of experience but obviously that will be no good if we cant find any work!

We lead a simple life and will be coming with savings, we need help with
-finding rental accommodation- how much deposit and rent approximately will we need.
-what paperwork will we need regarding visa or the like?
- what driving licence do you need to have?

Any other tips would be helpful, and please no negative comments. We really will be moving out there soon but I just am researching first!

Thanks. :)

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

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

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Thankyou Rosemary! What a lovely warm welcome! :-) x

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

You don't sound particularly unusual - but you mention "Visas" and didn't mention your citizenship, so presumably, you are UK citizens, and that makes you an EU citizen, and that makes it all relatively simple.

If not EU citizens, then it gets a lot more complicated.

I'm not clear on the precise legalities, but you can drive on your UK licence for some period of time. But within (60 days?) after officially becoming a "tax resident", you must have a Spanish licence. Many people therefore initially take advantage of maximum time you can reside in Spain without becoming a "tax resident" - to buy time to sort things out - which I believe is 180 days.

I can't speak for Marbella - I reckon like most places, rent prices have everything to do with WHERE exactly you reside. Just out of curiosity though, why Marbella?

There are shedloads of resources and advisories on the internet describing the process of establishing legal Spanish residence, and everything associated with it - generally speaking, Marbella won't differ much, if at all.

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Hello there!

Yes we are from the UK!

Well we have been on numerous holidays there and I understand that the beauty side of things is very well used and we have always done everything for the hubby's job and now it's my turn, my dream! I want to be able to get a small part time beauty position and just live a simple life!

We are going to spanish lessons at the moment and we just love marbella, we always have done! Thankyou for your reply!

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

I am sure you have already read the tales of woe regarding employment in Spain, although that should really be "unemployment".

Assuming your husband will be the main wage earner, would suggest you both come out here for a "holiday" or two and try to find him a job to come out to. Then start looking for a position with a beauty parlor - plenty in Marbella as lots of people seem to need it

hth

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Thankyou for the reply, yes we have heard about that. My hubby will be the main job earner, we have savings and we hope to get a house with an area where we can grow vegetables like we do here to keep the costs right down! x

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

hopefully lots of savings, Marbella isn't cheap and land is costly even without any building on it.

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

-finding rental accommodation- how much deposit and rent approximately will we need.
-what paperwork will we need regarding visa or the like?
- what driving licence do you need to have?

and any tips helpful...

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

That's kind of what I was getting at when asking "why Marbella?".

There are certainly far less expensive places where you can have a lovely home with more than enough of land for a lovely garden - and you don't even need to be far from the sea - at a fraction of the price of a small house & garden in Marbella, but she loves the area, and so it's probably not a point worthy of debate.

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Marbella is a city, not a region. The only chance of you having enough land to grow vegetables is if you are a multi-millionnaire, or if you dont actually live anywhere near Marbella - maybe 20-40km away

You will also struggle to be able to afford it just by renting a chair for beauty work - unless you have tens of thousands of euros (maybe more) to invest into a business of course.

Most people working in beauty struggle to make 800 euros per month, and that's once you have actually established a client base which may take you a few years

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Hi Lizzibaby and welcome.
I live down the road (15 mins by car) to Marbella and I´m loving it! I hope things work out for you.
Rentals this time of year are difficult in the sense that most are currently being turned over for holiday lets. Things improve a lot from Sept onwards.
As has been mentioned there are many sites for you to find somewhere.

Try this http://www.fotocasa.es/pisos/marbella/alquiler/listado

Usually you will be required to pay a full month deposit plus a commision to an agent if you use one of those. Agents fees vary but expect 50% of months rent and you won´t be far wrong.

As another poster has already advised, please do visit before leaping as jobs are very hard to come by!

Good luck!

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

LOL

You people! It's funny how you all try to scare people off and yet you all live abroad so it can't be that bad. I am asking advice from you all because you live out there and I understand you saying about the unemployment but the employment rates in england are hardly anything to write a song about either!

I am not just resting my search in Marbella, I just am fond of that particular place and if you have any other places I should check out then feel free to let me know instead of just saying things like "she loves the area", its patronising!

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Thankyou IAmStu !

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Unemployment rate in UK is 7%

Unemployment rate in Andalucia is 38%

In Andalucia most people speak Spanish. You don't

100,000 British people left Spain last year, so you client base is shrinking

Of course look into it, but the odds are not in your favour. I think if you did really well and managed to make 800 euros per month in Spain then you could have made 5-10 times that much in the UK with that same amount of effort

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

I thought this site was supposed to be helpful?

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

No, it's just that many of us have already made all the mistakes and have sorted our way through it... and frankly, many of us are not entirely dependent on the abysmally weak Spanish economy for our well-being, which is an important consideration when moving here.

Personally, I first moved to the ridiculously expensive southwest when I came to Mallorca, because it was what everybody else did and honestly, I "loved" it simply becasue it was what I knew as a long-time visitor.

But living in a place is a very different proposition than visiting. It turns out that it wasn't much different than living in any suburb anywhere. The neighbours were irritating, it was crowded and expensive without getting much in return...

Eventually, we found out that we could live a far better quality of life with more of everything (including the big garden that you aspire to have) at a fraction of the cost by simply moving 40km away. And surprise! we didn't give up anything in that process, despite everybody telling us we'd be completely isolated "out there". But now, I'll never go back to the southwest. Ever.

My sense is that you have decided to do it, and you're going to do it, regardless of any drawbacks, so there's no sense in debating whether you should or not. Better to just try to give you helpful advice - and that's all I was saying.

So, you might consider it "patronising", but really, it's just experience... Nobody's trying to belittle you.. Really.

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

I was being helpful

You need to know what you are up against

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

No you were behaving in a negative way and a non constructive way.

Thanks for just helping me to decide not to use this website again!

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

I lived in that area for three years. There were lots of British beauty/hairdresser type people. Shops would spring up and then be gone a year later

It is incredibly difficult. What you are trying to do has been tried by lots of people in the area in the past. The only advice I can give I have already given:
- bring 10,000s of euros for investment and spending money
- expect 2 to 3 years to build up your client base
- 800 euros per month will be what you can expect after 2-3 years. Maybe a little more if you are very good
- it will be difficult to live close to Marbella unless you have a lot of savings and other income

I am not being negative, I am being realistic.

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Cricketman you know the area and are correct, I could have said the same myself but seeing how the land lies I didn't bother. I sense a wind- up.

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

You have not put me off, I am not completely clueless. Just wanted some advice and the funny thing is, only one member has answered some of my questions!!!

Computer trolls!

Re: Looking to emigrate to Marbella
 

Apart from all the "negative" comments, you have had a link to a rental site.

Let me try and answer the other two questions you asked.

Assuming you are both EU citizens than you are free to travel and work in Spain. However, there are some restrictions if you wish to stay for more than 90 days.

First you must register on the register of EU foreigners with the local National Police station. You will need to prove that you have adequate financial resources to not be a burden on the State and you must have adequate medical cover which will almost certainly mean private medical insurance.

Driving licenses are not a problem. You can use your UK (or any other EU) license, but after a period you will be required to have the normal medical and also it may expire earlier than it would in the UK. That's all fine in the short term, but you would be well advised, once you have settled down, to exchange it for a Spanish license which is a very straightforward procedure.

Regarding what you consider to be negative comments, they may well appear to be negative, but the reality of foreigners getting jobs in Southern Spain cannot be described as anything but negative. :thumbdown:

You commented that we all live here, so it can't be all bad.

Well, many members do not actually live in Spain and of those that do, I think many are either retired or have an adequate income that they do not need to work.

I wish you success but you will find it will take some time to achieve your objectives. At least you have the cushion of some savings behind you.