sje2410

Hi,

My partner (25) Me (26) and two children (6) & (1) are looking at possibilties of moving to Spain and were seeking more advice on location, work etc, I'll start off with explaining our back grounds.

My Self: Worked in sales for 7 years selling all latest technology and also repairing mobile phones.

I speak and understand spanish to a level of being able to understand and have a long conversation with a spanish speaking person. Id give my self a rating of 5/6 out of 10.

I have also managed a bar in the Uk for 2yrs.

My partner is 25 and is a teaching assistant in a primary school, she is currently learning to speak spanish and is progressing very well, she has been at the same school since she was 17 (nearly 9 years ago)

My children, one who is 6 is currently doing very well at school in which she has a determination to learn spanish her self and has taken it up on her self to learn to count in spanish already.

My son who is one is also of an age where a move in the next year would be a good idea.

One negative is that neither of us drive

My key motives are the my son is just one and hasnt learnt talking yet, my daughter is still at primary school, Im in between jobs and my partner wants a change, so it all seems to tick the boxes that the time is ready to make the move.

Please could people who have had similar experiences or people who have recommendations about best place to look for jobs, accomodation, schoolsetc please reply with some feedback.


I really appreciate any thoughts or feedback as this is a big step.


Thank You

amideislas

As everyone will elude to in response, Spain is a good place to have money, not to make money (the latter being quite difficult to achieve).

Your backgrounds and skills should keep you living fine in the UK, but even speaking Spanish fluently (very important, BTW), with our unemployment levels, you simply cannot expect to land jobs easily, especially as a foreigner.

No Driving? then you need to be in a city centre - generally a lot more expensive.

I'll let the others tell the rest, but that's my 2 cents.

Fred James

As someone else put it very succinctly recently.

If you speak both speak fluent Spanish then you may have the same chance of getting a job here as any of the other 6 million unemployed in Spain.

mikelincs

Firstly, I sorry to say that you are likely to get a lot of replies saying, 'don't do it' The reason is that the Spanish unemployment is running, officially, at about 30%, and increasing. There is no safety net of benefits etc, and, until you are either legally employed with a written contract, or become autonomo (self employed) you will have to have private health cover. The autonomo will be around €270 a month, which does entitle you to health cover, if both of you are working, then the autonomo just doubles as you would both need to pay.

You will be looking to live in a town, and the bus services in many parts of Spain is, I'm afraid, dire, there are a lot of expat areas where there is no bus service at all.

To become a resident you will have to show that you have a certain level of income, or savings, and healthcare cover in place, and you will need to become a resident for the children to register at school.

There are many thousands of native Spanish people looking for work in exactly the same fields as you propose, bars open and close with regularity, and few will employ people on legal contracts as it just costs the owner more.

Sorry my post is so negative, but there are many many people posting here with the same ideas, and I'm afraid they get the same replies. If you have very specific niche skills, then there may be opportunities, but it doesn't sounds as though you would fall into that.

steviedeluxe

Both Restalia (who run 100 Montaditos and other franchises) and Lizarran are expanding their operations both in Spain and abroad. I have it on good authority that the new Lizarran in Fuengirola gets packed at night - although it'd be good to have that confirmed or denied here by someone who lives there.
With your ability to reach the expat market, taking up one of those franchises may be an option for you - but be warned, the initial investment isn't cheap.

cricketman

Do you have any contacts that will give you a job?
Do you have at least £20k-£50k in savings in case something goes wrong? If you run out of money then you will go hungry, you will not get benefits from the Spanish state until you have been working on a legal contract for at least 6 months
What qualifications do you have? Have you passed the DELE exams in Spanish?

You can live in the big to medium sized cities without a car but rent is more expensive

I really can't imagine how you can make this work, unless you know of a British person who sells (probably illegal) timeshare to other Brits or who needs a bar manager etc

Sorry, 10-15 years ago you would have gotten a different answer

mikelincs

Bur they wouldn't be fluent enough in Spanish according to the initial post, but I suspect they would need to be with the beaurocracy involved.

cricketman

I dont think "being able to have a conversation in Spanish" is a good qualification to take out such a business proposition. The bank would slam the door shut on your face. If you have over 200k euros to invest of your own money then go for it!

steviedeluxe

If they're going to be putting down 150k upfront for the franchise I dare say they'll be able to employ a gestor to help with all the paperwork

Edit: I've put 150k because that is the reduced entry amount that Restalia demand for franchisees - they used to charge 300k. I don't know what Lizarran charge, it's probably more (although personally I suspect they have a better long term future)

http://www.eleconomista.es/emprended...000-euros.html

sje2410

Thank You for all your input, I don't see any of it as negative at all, its all positive as it is reality, moving from the dire financial situation to another dire situation is only taking a huge risk and is most likely the wrong decision currently.

without a permanent contract from a big business it would be silly to give up 2 fulltime jobs because "the time feels right"

What other skills/qualifications and reassurances put in place would people recommend as a long term plan? if we were to consider moving at a later date.

Spain was the obvious choice for ourselfs as the spanish language is something we both have enjoyed learning.

cricketman

It is difficult to say. Spain doesnt lack people will qualifications, it lacks jobs

The best approach to moving to Spain would be to join a multinational who has offices in Spain, and then a few years down the line ask for a transfer to the Spanish office. That was the startegy I used, but I was lucky enough to be offered a better position in Spain at the time that I moved.

However, this was at the height of the boom in 2007, things are much worse now

Another option is to start an online business, that way you can work anywhere you like. This is what my wife did. Of course success is not guaranteed

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.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

battlezone123

Do not forget about the price of school books - you do not receive much change out of 40 euros for the maths text book. Despite receiving a voucher for 180 euros we still have to find about 500 euros (for 3 children) for text books, writing books, pens etc each September.

A gas bottle when we moved here was about 10.50 euros now it is 17.50 euros.

The OH was told by the Mayor of part-time work during the summer season - fireman, gardeners, street cleaning etc. He thought the extra money would help with xmas so he went along to the Council to apply. First of all he needed a certificate from his school saying that he had "left school". Second he needed to write two essays (3 pages each) - the first on the history of O Vicedo (population 1800) and 2nd an essay on the role of the Mayor. Luckily he was not desperate for the work and walked away.

Think very carefully before you make the move. Like most people say on this forum - there is no work here in Spain.

lynnxa

& they've stopped the vouchers in my region....

steviedeluxe

May be useful for some
http://moneysaverspain.com/school-textbooks/