RichErich

hello and thank you to anyone that takes the time to read this,

i am a 28 year old man with a partner and 4 children under 7 and one on the way ! i have family that live in alhaurin el grande and i am strongly considering moving there.I rent a house in the uk for £1500 a month that is falling apart and a landlord from hell that refuses to do any repairs.I would like to move to spain long term asap rather than rent again in the uk, my family have property in alhaurin and have kindly offered us an apartment until we are settled, i am concerned about finding work there,(i am a pc/laptop technician i repair, buy and sell laptops/pc's etc) and also whether this is the best decision for my childrens future ! i would appreciate any advice ~ thank you ~ Richard

Dxf

Hi

Don´t do it. Read all the threads on this on this forum. There are no benefits here. Correct no benefits. Unemployment in my region is 40% for under 25´s 67% for under 25´s.

Davexf

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I 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.


I am really sorry to be negative but the work situation here in Spain is dire so although your living conditions might be vastly improved you would be putting your family at risk of not having an income. Spanish families are really struggling to exist, there is no benefits system to assist them and no work. Please think very, very carefully before jumping at this chance, you would be better off searching for different accommodation where you are.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

billgates

Why not just rent a different house in the UK if the landlord is that bad?
And if upping sticks and moving is not a problem then move to a cheaper part of the country where you can rent a nice house for that kind of money.
Certainly more chance of getting a job over there than here in Spain.

mikelincs

I have to agree, you will find it extremely difficult if not downright impossible to find any sort of job, and to get registered as a resident you will have to show a certain level of income and healthcare provisions in place, even if you did decide to be self employed you would have to pay €250+ a month just to be registered as self employed and get healthcare, the only other way is to go private. There is no unemployment benefit provided by the Spanish authorities unless you have been working for a certain length of time. Best thing for you would be to find a better UK rental, and just come over to Spain for holidays. There is said to be only one way to guarantee to be a millionaire in Spain, and that is to move there with 2 million, you will soon be down to the last one million.

Domino

OK, I am joining the bandwagon,
DON'T DO IT
STAY WHERE YOU ARE


I know that isn't what you want to hear, when you wanted to hear about all the opportunities there are in your line of work.
Well the PC/Software business is flooded, literally.
What is giving you a nice little earner in the UK is only going to drag you down out here.
Then you have to consider:-
Self employment (Autonomo) will cost you approx €295/m, each and every month, taken from your account on the 1st. Irrespective of how much you have coming in. So if you have nothing coming in - you still have to pay !!

Medical cover will be nil initially so you will be paying for private medical, but later on to back up the Spanish Healthcare. With your family I would imagine your partner spends more time at the GP's than with you - been there done that !!

So unless you can find a job as an employee near to relatives, stay where you are, dump the landlord and get yourself sorted properly.
~From that you will be able to get some money behind you, take trips out and be ready when (?) the situation here improves. But don't hold your breath.

let us know how you get on
kr

agoreira

Agree, stay put, furthermore there are loads of nice places within UK where £1,500 a month would rent you a palace! I'm only amazed your rellies seem to be encouraging you to move to Spain, surely they can see how dire it is. Nearly everyone wanting to move to Spain seems to be a beauty/nail technician, computer guru, web designer, the place is awash with them.

RichErich

firstly thank you for your replies, i asked for advice and got it ! not the advice i wanted but certainly has give me something to think about.
i lived in spain when i was younger and have longed to return, i am thinking that with the ages of my children now would be the best time really.I understand that the economy isnt great etc.We have no family support in the uk so moving closer to my family will be a great relief in terms of getting help with our children.With regards to work, i am trying to work out how i could run a ebay business from there, mainly buying broken laptops/iphones etc and fixing them for re-sale, aswell as starting my own repairs business.I am very good at what i do and the 295 euros a month tax does not seem to bad.

cricketman

The 295 euros isnt tax, it is your social security contribution, tax is on top of that

Almost every town in Spain has a laptop repairing shop, they are more likely to repair old laptops than in the UK for example

I hope you speak fluent Spanish! Or you will be limiting yourself to a shrinking British population.

What about your children and savings? I'd say you'd need at least 20k savings to allow business to build.

Are you happy with your children going to the local school? Any idea how good it is or can you afford 5k per year per child to send them to private or international school?

amideislas

Well, something we agree on

€5K for private schooling? That's very, very cheap. Can't get into an international/private school here for less than €15K per year per child - and that doesn't include expenses.

RichErich

wow, no encouragement from anywhere ! I understand what you are saying but if there is a chance that i can succeed i would rather go for it than live in regret. I have savings, i will have family support which we dont have now, and a state school is fine.I can see my wife and children happy in Spain and i am willing to work until i bleed to provide for them.I dont drink, my partying days are over, all i want to do is work and provide.

cricketman

Logically there is no way that anybody here can advise you to do it because it would be a stupid thing to do that puts the future of your children at risk.

What happens if you simply run out of money? How will you eat or pay your rent? Will you have to pull your kids out of school again and run back to the UK?

But, it is your life and up to you of course, but think what your children would get out of it. I dont think your children would have a better life in Alhaurin El Grandre than in the UK, why would they? Because the weather is sunnier?

It is a deprived area which is why it is so cheap.

steviedeluxe

Forget about trying to make it by working harder (that will come anyway) and figure out how to work smarter.
I'm doing interviews with small businesses in Spain on my web, and already some common bits of advice are standing out. Make sure there is a market for your intended business - sorry but so far you haven't given any indication that this is the case. Ask people who already work in your field, for pros and cons - if you can't find anyone already in your field who recommends doing it, then probaby a bad idea? Do your research properly before committing to anything...
By the way, (maybe someone can correct me) but the autonomo fee will pay for medical coverage. It still sounds high, at 270 euros a month, but in perspective it's no more than someone earning more than 20k a year in a job in the UK would pay. The downside is you have to keep paying if your business earnings fall (although if things get bad you may have to go on the "baja").

snikpoh

As do most of us I'm sure - there just isn't any work! Your proposed business is, as already stated, pretty much catered for already.

My concerns would be for the children. Will they be happy? Will they be able to get jobs?

Savings won't last very long - especially with a large family like yours.

RichErich

We are not happy in this country........ thanks for the support, made me feel so much better !