TheMasterOf87

Hi guys, apologies if this is in the wrong place!

I have long fancied the idea of living and working in Spain and am looking at making more concrete steps into this in the near future, although I have been looking at this for a while now I am still undecided as to where the best place to start would be, I am a 24 year old chef and would love to carry on in this trade over in Spain, however I think beginning in a cheap area with quite a bit of english spoken would be a great help to ''break me in'' so to speak!

A lot of people say the best way of finding work is to go over there and check places out for yourself and local papers etc. Has anyone ever found many jobs advertised online that have produced positive results?

The other factor is finding properties, am I better to start in something like a hostel until I find my feet?


I am planning a few trips to different parts of Spain to try and get a wider knowledge of things over there but any information I can get off people here would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Steve.

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

jojojojojo

There is mass unemployment in Spain, especially with the under 25s, so employment isnt gonna be easy, but maybe go for a fact finding visit??? You'll probably find more english speaking people on the costas

Jo xxx

pwwm

As jojojojojo says mass unemployment here, dont want to burst your bubble but you will be competing with spanish speakers and they will get the job before you. I agree that maybe a good idea to come and have a look, but many bars and cafes have shut.

I do hope if you come over it works for you, but times are much harder here than UK if you need to work

Zaragozaram

The local South African Bar, the Boma, were advertising this week for a chef. You might want to contact them.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Boma/34947693855

jeremyinspain

As mentioned above, high unemployment and out of season. If you are planning a 'fact-finding' mission, try again in the spring.
Also, see this from the Observer today.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...-pain-in-spain

Retired in Euskadi

An awful lot of Brits here live on the "costa de something or other", & looking at the replies you've had, most imply "forget it for now, too much unemployment in Spain".
Here in Euzkadi (Basque country), there's less unemployment (about 10% compared to 20% in the rest of Spain).
I reckon the best thing is to come over to Spain & look around for work. The Spanish prefer the personal contact rather than your answering an ad, which could be pretty rare to find in England.
If you're that keen, bite the bullet & move! A young English lad (19yrs old) is renting a room here in our village for €150/month!! OK, it's got no windows, but he's not too bothered for now. He's working in a language school.
The north coast (I mean Galicia to the French border) is wildly natural, brilliant for surfing in the Basque region, mountains, dead keen cyclists, not too many Brits, not bad weather (OK, not like Marbella, but better than UK), good food & wine. Basque chefs are really prized in Spanish restaurants, so forget some (not all) of the rubbish about good food down south; it's better here!!!
At the least, you'd be in at the deep end, but so what? If you're that keen, you won't mind!
By the way, where on earth is Blanchland???

cricketman

I agree Spain away from the Costas is even better

But lets be realistic, a Brit that speaks no, little or mediocre Spanish has no chance of getting a job, unless it's in a language school

If you are well qualified in what you do and fluent in Spanish then sure, give it a go

pwwm

Being very rural here despite being a "costa" though Costa Tropical, certainly around here only work if you could stand it is in the invernadero´s, most brits cant manage it as too hard, and too ruddy hot in summer, the marocs seem to have cornered that market.

Huge unemplyment here the Spanish complain to me all the time re foreigners taking the work, not British I might add am talking north Africans.

Should you decide to come here make sure you have enough money to keep you for a year or more. luckily we are in the percentage that done need to work, though do do the odd bit of scuba teaching as and when I feel up to it.

evamar

I'm sorry I have to agree with all the previous posts... unless you can speak decent Spanish your opportunities here are very low, especially out of season.

Keep in mind that if you want to work as a chef in Spanish restaurants and business you DO have to be able to understand Spanish, but you might be able to manage in British ghettoes.

It seems that old favorites such as Benidorm are still full of tourists/long term visitors in winter, so it might be a good idea to go and explore the coasts. Flights are quite cheap and I bet that you can find a cheap room share out of season. This would allow you to make some contacts and if you are good enough they might be interested in calling you later on. Personal contact will always be better than a distant email.

In any case, you are young and without ties... no reason not to try!
I would give me a 3 months max period to find something in that sector, in season or out of season. And definitely, start improving your Spanish.

TheMasterOf87

Thanks for all the replies people, very useful. Taking it all into consideration.

This was never going to be happening in the too near future [the big move] but I was thinking of going over there at this quiet time of year more just to experience what life is like over there when perhaps the sun isnt shining and places are quiet.

I will definately be looking at improving my Spanish first, my 5 years at school havent delivered the results i'd hoped! Has anyone used the rosetta stone programmes? These are supposed to be quite good?

But yeah, I would like to go over there even just for a week or two in a number of different areas of Spain to get a better understanding of the whole place first!

pwwm

The sun is shining but no doubt we shall get our 35 days without at some point, have to say that a week on holiday is totally different to actually living here, most people that have holiday homes near me, not too many of them, but they come for a week or two each year, they will never get the real feel of a place, like me going to see family in UK, it is a holiday to me, I dont get the "stress" etc as totally enjoying myself.

really need a tad more time to get the feel of a place, well ij my view, but whatever hope you have fun