1debbie2

Hi Nicola
When i was thinking of moving to spain 2 years ago, i posted on here to see what people thought to my hubby getting work, the replys were not good. we still moved though. The first few months were tough, but we advertised in mags, walked for hours delivering leaflets and made a lot of good contacts. The idea was that he would work 3 days a week and have the rest of the days off, only problem is at the moment he has so much work he has to work 7 days a week to fit it all in. Like you say if you dont try it you will not know and life is to short not to try.Good luck

nicola15

hi 1debbie2 thanks for your positive feed back , where abouts do you live ? what sort of work does your hubby do ? .
We had similar ideas of leaflets e.t.c so its good to hear it works .
Have you got children ? whats school like ? sorry for all the question but i am really excited that i got a positive response , me and my family are just so keen on giving it a go many thanks 1debbie2

1debbie2

Hi nicola
we live near nerja, hubby is a heating and cooling specilist. I know it might be difficult for your hubby in the buliding trade, but we have freinds who are builders and they have lots of work doing reforms on houses. Sorry cannot help with schools.

cricketman

Good on you

Good, hard working, intelligent people will almost always be able to make it work no matter what the situation or where they go. It may mean working temporarily in jobs you dont like and it wont be easy, but the only way is up with the right state of mind and the right set of skills.

Bitter negative comments usually come from those who have failed. And believe me you can tell from this site that many have come to Spain and failed.

savateur

That seems to be the case. Maybe outlook has something to do with it.

The main thing to have is the language, followed by at least a years worth of money. After that, a good positive outlook, and strong work ethic.

That being said, a friend of mine, LCortez used to post on here, he's a Locksmith, and he got a very positive response as to his chances in Spain !
He's now smashing it, doing very well.

nicola15

hi guys, its good to hear some good constructive comments
for a change lol ,
i understand were asking questions and people try answer the best they can but they dont tell you the pros to the move its always the cons, it can not be that bad as most of them are still there now!
We want to hear the cons but then some people just take it too far.
so its really nice to hear some positives for a change
cheers guys, nicola&john xx

sensationalfrog

in my opinion,people that want to or have just moved here only want to hear the good things,generally blinkered,ofc you will get this from people,i think it is better to listen to the warnings,in my 11 years here,i have seen so many people come and go,most lose money and it was so much easier back then,still you cannot tell people this as they dont listen,just remember my post if you do move here in one years time,
should have listened to the frog

dmu

Hi, here are a few good constructive comments that I make when couples with young children are thinking of moving to France, with no jobs lined up and employment prospects not high:
- you must bring over enough money to cover at least one year's rent and living costs. Some one will be able to tell you the average rent in Spain and you add to that what you are now spending in the UK to survive. In France, your joint income would have to be, say 1500€ per month in order to survive (no treats, no leisure, no holidays, no new clothes, ...) which is well nigh impossible during the first year.
- have you thought about who will look after your toddler while you are out job-hunting, and after if you both manage to find even irregular work? It may be different in Spain, but there are waiting lists in French crêches and home babysitting costs would eat into your income. Don't forget that your English families won't be around to help out, like Spanish families do.
- then there's the question of language and coping with a foreign Administration. You are learning Spanish - think about concentrating on how to communicate with professionals, not just conversational Spanish.
- also healthcare, but someone on the Spain forum can advise you there.
There you go, just a few observations that are valid for anyone leaving the UK with a young child, without knowing the language of the chosen country and with no job to go to.
As someone suggested, go for an extended stay before you make your decision, but NOT as holidaymakers. Take your rose-tinted glasses off and look carefully into all aspects on the spot.
Good luck, whatever!

jojojojojo

So have I got this right. You dont want to hear the negatives, only the posaitves. The only person who's made any sense to you is the one person who hasnt had to struggle! Ok then, forget everything thats been said negatively on here, cos they havent a clue.

The real positives: Its hot and sunny in the summer, council tax, petrol, ciggies and booze are cheaper, the relaxed attitude, the views, no nanny state, international schools are cheaper than private schools in the UK, free bus service to get children to school, eating out can be cheaper in the right places.

The myths: life is cheaper, you dont need as much money, jobs are easy to come by, any job will do, no red tape, life is easier, schools are better, you dont need much money, its mild in the winter, health service is cheap, its not so stressful cos its Spain, the sun will make everything better.........

You need to come over and visit. for a few weeks and see if you can get yourselves set up, find out what work and way of life is available to YOU AND YOUR FAMILY - not the people who write on forums. You dont want to believe them, I didnt when I first started my adventure!

Jo xxxx

nicola15

hi jo,
thanks for the replie, its not that we dont want to hear the negatives, we had somebody yesterday being very ignorant saying he doest understand are motives for moving and if we have got enough money to live on for a year then we must be great savers etc etc he was very rude to be quite honest so i just had a bit of a bee in my bonnet apoliges to everyone.
We do want the negative also we have not got blinkers on, we also understand Spain is different from a few years ago not as cheap, jobs are hard to come by etc.
thanks nicola&john xxx

littlelambfound

These type of threads really do make my elbow itch.
All the replies here are honest OPINIONS. There is no negative or positive....only advice. In the end all these previous postings are all rather pointless as no matter what is written here, you will do as you do, in the same way that you pick and choose which information suits you better. This is not a criticism.
You will run your life as you will. Nothing here will change that. Just come out here and find enjoyment where you can.

JLFS

It sounds fine to give out leaflets and get yourselves known, but there are so may people doing the same thing, a lot are multi lingual too.

If you dont speak Spanish, you will have to rely on expats for your work, which with the numbers leaving and heading back to the UK and the reduced value of the pound, will leave a lot less potential customers for businesses.

Dont forget there are lots of English speaking Spaniiards who are out of work, and the ones that have any skill are also willing to do "anything to get by".

On a more personal note, I was a child whose parents had to " do what they could to get by". I dont really remeber those times and I knew of little else, so I did not suffer or see the daily stress of it all.

Then my parents, like thousands of other Spanish moved to the UK, and OMG what a difference in the way we lived, because we had moved to a better, more advance country and my parents both had steady jobs.

So for our faimily it was a step up, not knowing how to express this any other way, for your family it would be a" step down", no employment etc.

There are other things that "might make up for the lack of stability"???

The good weather etc is often wuoted on here, but if there is no work coming in and expenses going out, the weather becomes a minor consideration, to the overall happiness of the family.

Spain has a lot to offer, but it is a very difficult thing to do in the "vacas flacas" (lean times?).

For every sucess story there are 100 sad ones.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

agoreira

What you say is true, but that's not what the OP wants to hear! We see it many times in these forums, people come on asking for advice, and when people give their honest opinions, they are accused of being negative. As you say, Spain has very high unemployment, couple that with the inability to speak the language, no experience of Spain or it's labour market and I would say that's sufficient to tell you that getting a job and surviving won't be easy. But you've done your bit, tried to point out the pitfalls, they won't thank you for it, and will go ahead regardless. You never know, they might make a go of it!

jdr

Holy crap, i actually agree with one of your posts.

I hate to see all these people that think they know better than people that have or are experiencing the hard times in Spain now.

My mind goes back to the couple that were told not to come out and buy a bar, I even went to the bar and spied on it for her to let her know what trade they were actually doing and told her it was crap.
Despite all our advice they came over and went back a few months later some 60.000 quid poorer.
Lots of people that have been here since the good times and done well are now going back or gone back because things have changed so much and they are struggling.
Now and again you hear a few stories of the lucky ones, but they are far between.

jackytoo

I remember the Elviria bar thread. I posted that my Uncle lived nearby and said it had never done any trade. Should have been a sticky

I think Spain is only for people who have a comfortable income from the UK (or whatever second country). Even the Brits who have a proper job here are struggling because of low wages.