My Boyfriend and I are looking to move to Ibiza, preferably San Antoni or the surrounding towns, we've been looking at properties to rent but having no luck. We can't afford to buy but that's all we seem to be getting up. If anybody has any tips on finding a place to rent we would much appreciate it. We're not too fussed on what type of accomodation and are open-minded with our budget depending on what we're going to get for our money. Also would be good to know the type of work that will be available for myself all year round, not just seasonal. I'm happy to do anything like barwork, waiting tables, working in a shop etc, my boyfriend is looking to carry on his career as a carpenter but we are aware that the building trade stop work in peak season which wont be too much of a problem. Any advice and tips will be greatly appreciated, this is a new idea but we're 100% positive that this is what we want.

Thanks

Sophie and Dominic

The bad news?

Long-Term rentable property around San An is rather rare as they make big bucks during the summer season.

You should be able to find a month-by-month basis rent there out of season and play it by ear from there. However, have said that if you are willing to travel into San An (and lets face it, it's not an entirely huge island) then finding a long term rent shouldn't be a problem.

But be prepared, buying and renting on most Spanish islands is more expensive than the main land and also the property slow down that is happening across Spain right now is least hitting the islands too.

Work, San An is dead as dead can be out of season so you would be lucky to find a job that puts food on the table, not alone pay the rent. However, your chances are increased if you can speak Spanish. As I'm sure you're aware Ibiza is a seasonal island and so the vast majority of people who own property there so not live there all year around they just come and go as they please, most have property on the mainland to so in winter it can be like dodge city at times.

I've been told the weather can be very dodgy there in winter too, but I've been there quite a few times off peak and it has been not to bad.

As far as your boyfriends concerned and his employment, well like I have mentioned above, the property slow down has hit the islands least but it's still hit so work for a carpenter would be very hit and miss.

Unfortunately in the current climate and assuming you do not speak Spanish in my opinion the odds are heavily stacked against the success of it, but fortune favours the brave as they say so if you do not have any commitments in the UK then perhaps wing it and see how you go?

Sorry to be the barer of bad news but I think it's important to be as honest as possible on these things, especially in these current times so you are fully aware of what you're getting yourselves into.

A friend of mine worked in Ibiza for about 2 years. What a lot of them tend to do is work the summer and go on the dole in winter (provided you have a work contract) as there is literally NOTHING to do in winter.

We have actually found a great contact for renting an apartment. A man named Gary Hardy who we are looking to rent an apartment from in October, in the meantime he's sending us details of apartments he has to rent up until that time. Good pricing, fairly expensive but not too far out of our price range.

As for the work we have been looking at the Ibiza job centre online that have a few jobs which we could go for, all year round, fulltime contracts. After a few days progress it looks a lot more realistic and goes to show that a little bit of patience and time goes a long way! This is just for anyone else looking to do the same thing, although it's not all set in stone it looks a lot more realistic and is certainly not impossible!