Hi Everybody.

I'm hoping that you can help us with some questions we have about a possible move to Spain.

Here go's. We're hoping to move to the Barcelona area of Spain next summer 2017. I'm British and my wife is Chilean we both have UK citizenship we have a few friends in Barcelona no jobs to go to. We have been told the employment situation is better in Barcelona is better than other parts of Spain (not sure if thats true)

Our main concern is getting our kids into school they are 5 and 3 years old can we apply for schools from the UK or do we need a residence there? Also we don't know what impact Brexit will have on our rights to stay once we are there.

Any advice, experience would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

I lived in Barcelona for a couple of years

Schools, if you want your children to go to state schools then you can only apply once you are resident. Normally you have to apply in the spring before the upcoming school year. Children start school at 3 in Spain although it is not obligatory until 6. Please note that all state schools in Barcelona teach in Catalan and only teach one hour of Spanish per week. This is something you need to think about

Ditto, you need to think about your own language skills. Do you speak Spanish or Catalan. If not, which are you going to learn? You kind of need both in Barcelona, and it would be weird if the parents learnt Spanish but the children learnt Catalan

Barcelona is one of the best places in Spain to get a job, but most jobs require 3 or 4 languages and are badly paid compared to the UK, but as always it depends on what experience you have

My biggest problem in Barcelona is that the centre of the city is swarmed by tourists pretty much all of the time. This gets very tiring and means a lot of the chops, cafes and restaurants are tourist traps. Still, Barcelona is a big city and there are neighborhoods where you can try and hide as much as possible, but of course only if you speak Spanish and Catalan!

My sister in law in a Spanish speaking Spaniard and has lived in Barcelona for 10 years and even she says it is impossible to make friends with Catalan speakers unless you speak perfect Catalan.

So to conclude, making a long term life for your family in Barcelona is complicated!

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I know the catalan aspect just makes things more difficult. Me and my wife both speak Spanish (no catalan) We were thinking about the north of Spain at first but we are concerned about job opportunities. Do you need to be living in Spain to register for the school or just have their version of a NI number?
We wouldn't need to work straight away but we need to have a chance of finding work.

Thanks

A word on Brexit contingency plans - Chilean citizens are eligible to naturalise as Spanish citizens after only two years of residence and spouses of Spanish citizens can naturalise after one year of residence.

Is gaining Spanish residency a simple thing as registering with the local government upon arrival?

It is harder to get a job in Spain than pretty much anywhere in the UK

Unemployment is still 20% in Spain, it is 5% in the UK

And then it depends how well you actually speak Spanish. You need to be completely fluent for someone to give you a job

The only exception is if you want to be an English teacher, then basic Spanish would be fine

For state schools, you need to show you residential address because just like the UK, what school you are assigned depends on where you live, but it also will depend on things like your income, and even your religion. In the North of Spain only the very poorest people in society go to state schools, often these schools have mainly latin american and eastern european kids in them, so you might want to think about that. The rest go to concertados and private schools

Spain, just like the UK is complicated

Regarding jobs, it will always depend on your skills and while Catalan is important, it's not the end of the world if you don't speak it. Sure, there are plenty of service jobs (government) where you need it, but most people working for multinationals don't speak Catalan. Of course you should try and make an effort, but with Spanish you already have a better advantage than others, although many international companies want French, Dutch, Italian, German & English. It's similar to the West of Ireland where most signs are still in Irish and there are plenty of people who still only speak Irish at home, but I still manage with English here in the Gaeltacht region.




Although I don't live in Spain permanently, we have a place in Girona and even I can manage to communicate with limited Spanish. What I have seen & heard is that rents are pretty high in Barcelona, especially when you look at salaries. €1.200 is considered a decent salary, but when you have to pay €600-800 rent for a crappy apartment, it's not that great.

I earnt EUR60k in Barcelona, and my sister in-laws earn more than that. But they are professionals near the top of their profession. EUR1,200 per month after tax might be the going rate for a manual worker or an admin or basic office job

Housing is very expensive. A family flat in the Barcelona urban area will be EUR1,000 per month minimum in a half decent area, closer to EUR2,000 for an atico with a nice terrace close to the beach

Or you can live in a house a 20 minute drive away for around the same price, but then you arent really in Barcelona

It really depends on whatever job you are able to get. Have a look on infojobs.es for job adverts in your sector and go on the Spanish job forums to get an idea from people there

But you can't assume that most people are so called professionals (lawyers). In reality the majority of people aren't like you and your sister in law. Had a look online and many international jobs pay around 14K - 25K, be it graduates or people with years of experience. Of course you also have bonuses etc. but that's the reality. Danish Business Developers in IT sector from 17K - 22K, Russian Technical Support Advisor (Android) 16K - 19K, Corporate Sales Representative with Flemish and French 18K. Intel Network Builder Program Enablement Manager 18 - 21K. Here IT Recruitment Specialist in Barcelona | London, UK and Europe | Top Language Jobs

Yes I agree. The OP needs to do some research, because I would not want to raise a family in Barcelona on less than EUR40k family income. Not fun!

Dear oh dear!!

Percentage of Students in State schools 2014-2015:
Asturias 72%
Cataluña 68% National avg
Madrid 55%

Must be a lot of very poor people about, ROFL.

The second language of Cataluña is more or less ENGLISH.
Castellano is irrelevant and the Catalans are quite happy to speak English.

Looking for work in Spain doesn't require any knowledge of Castellano. Employers want employees to speak the language of their customers, particularly in tourist areas. Nobody cares about Spanish.

Only people looking for a career would require v good knowledge of Spanish.
Getting a job just requires the ability to get out of bed each day. Plenty of work available all over Spain for those motivated to look for it.

My partner made friends very easily in Cataluña when he worked there. His Catalan was v basic; His English excellent; His Spanish native.
English was the common language for communication.

If the OP only wants a job, and not a career in Barcelona then he and his family will be living in something close to poverty, as jobs pay very badly, careers can pay well (although not always)

As for your language comments, absolute nonsense!

As always it depends what the OP wants and expects and we all have different opinions. Barcelona is no different to many other cities and you have the same challenges . A lot of people want to live there and that comes at a cost.


How easy it is to get a job depends on the individual and some people are happy to sell roses and sunglasses while others are probably better off on benefits in the UK.


With just a job, you probably won't be able to afford a modern apartment in the city for €1200 but some people are happy with the smaller 2 bed for €500 in a rougher part of town.




It's clear that Spain just doesn't offer the minimum wage you'll find in Northern European countries, but then again plenty do manage. There are a lot of cheaper areas around Barcelona if you don't mind a longer commute and maybe the OP wants to buy?

We are not dead set on Barcelona, we know a few people there and were told the job market was better. I'm an electrician and my wife works in exports for a chemical company at the moment. I think the catalan aspect worries me less than very limited job prospects we have been to Barcelona a few times and found everyone spoke spanish.
I read an article saying Malaga is a really good place to live but not sure about the job market there. We wouldn't want to rent forever obviously the higher to rent the higher to buy in terms of area.