Hi, new member here.

My partner and I are considering moving to the Costa Del Sol to start a new life. I work in IT and I'm considering working in Gib and living in a nearby town in Spain. Please can anyone already living there give us any help regarding:

The best and most reasonable place to live?
The cost of living for 2 adults?
Any other helpful information about living in Spain?

Thank you very much for your help.

Welcome; not sure if you've done this already, but you should find a lot of info if you run a few searches - there's been oodles of conversation about Gib/IT/where to live etc in the past year or so. OK situations change but the gist is probably still right!

I'll be reading these replies with vested interest - we're also considering southern Spain / Gibraltar due to the fact that (apparently) it's not so important to speak Spanish down there (I do, hubby doesn't) and Gibraltar has English-speaking jobs.

My hubby is also in IT - what kind of IT are you in? He's a 3rd Line Support Engineer / Systems Admin., currently studying for his security exam (CISSP) which is what he wants to specialise in eventually.

I had a quick look at some towns in s. Spain near the border and it looked a bit rough, but then most 'border' towns aren't very attractive, are they...? Also seemed quite pricey, but then we're from the E. Midlands (where property is cheap) so most things seem pricey to us

Anita

Hi, I am in a similar role now. I am 3rd Line Support/Network Admin. I would be looking for a CCNA type role. Looking to live somewhere near Duquesa. Does anyone live there already? What is the job situation in Gib now?

The betting companies are where the most work was, however some are now laying staff off.

Does anyone know the average cost of living is these days - on average bills etc?

Its almost impossible to say as it depends on your lifestyle. What are your expectations e.g. where are you expected to live, what kind of cars, international or state schools etc.

Someone who is very frugal and lives in a 2 bed flat at 500 euros per month (which you can get) could probably live on 1200 euros per month for the family, if they had one old car and kids when to a state school, and you didnt fly back to the UK much.

If you prefer a villa in a nice area, a couple of nice cars, more flights and international school, you'd be looking at 3000-4000 euros per month, minimum

In my opinion, there are very few decent IT jobs in Gibraltar at the moment.

Gib is very hard to get into..it's a bit of a closed shop.

You may be lucky and get your foot in the door..it's a case of who you know really - just like Spain.

Be prepared for alot of door knocking..but I would suggest to get the job first then move.

If you do move to Spain..Estepona is probably the nicest Spanish nearby town to live in and commute.

Would you advise working in Spain or Gib? Bearing in Mind I would want an IT role?

Madrid or Barcelona are better for IT jobs..

...Gib or Southern Spain are a bit mickey mouse.

There's a couple of guys on this forum who'll know better..shinyandy is one..sure he'll be along soon..

Thanks so far, any info on recruitment agencies would be a help also

There is rarely anything in the way of permanent IT work down on the CDS although I occasionally hear of people wanting Web developers. Almost everyone down on the coast is freelance and there's just about enough work to keep us all going in the expat market. I know a few Spanish guys in the game too and they tend to try and land semi permanent roles in bigger companies rather than dealing with small fry. 3rdline support roles are going to be hard to find as that suggests you need to be working for a large company and all of those are going to be Spanish so you'd need to be fluent in that

Gib wise you don't really have much choice than to use an agency, I work with these guys (www.srgibraltar.com) and they seem very switched on and genuinely have roles to fill. I've been offered a few roles but I'm not really interested in a commute to Gib everyday, I moved here to get away from the ratrace IT 18 hour/7 days a week roles so am quite content bumbling around looking after all my clients

Thanks very much for your help so far.

Would you say moving to Spain was an easy thing to do? Are there any extra rules on freelance work?

That's a whole new chapter! I'd suggest doing a search on autonomo or selfemployed first!

Don´t do it unless you have a job to go to. The recruitment companies in Gib are dreadful. They advertise jobs but they are usually old and not valid. Beware.