Spain or UK
 

And now for a totally new forum subject;)...My husband and I are thinking about moving to Spain with our 7 year old daughter. We currently live in SW Ireland and have a few Spanish friends here who are talking about moving back to Spain too. We are also considering a move to England for more practical reasons but would prefer Spain if it would be doable. Our basic info and what we're looking for:
Husband is head chef and would need to find work. Speaks Dutch, English a bit of German and French but no Spanish.
I work from home as a freelance translator (Dutch to English) but cannot always count on a steady income. Have thought about getting a 140 hour TEFL certificate and maybe giving English lessons (was an Engl. Lit major at Uni). Speak English, Dutch and some Spanish
Daughter is 7. Speaks English and some French and some Irish
We love tennis, swimming and outdoor lifestyle.
We are considering the Costa del Sol or Costa Blanca. Living in a smaller town/village (have some recommendations from Spanish friends) that are close enough to larger towns/cities for husband to find a chef job.

My question is...Are we nuts to even consider this? Should we be more practical and move to England? Husband turned down a job in Marbella 2 years ago because we were afraid to take the risk - now we wonder if we should have just gone for it.
Thanks for any advice.
Dorothy

Re: Spain or UK
 

Sorry to say, but if you was afraid to move two years ago then def be afraid to move now as it has got a lot worse on the job front now.

Re: Spain or UK
 

There are so many Spanish people unemployed that it would probably be foolhardy to think about the move at the moment.

Rosemary

Re: Spain or UK
 

I know nothing so don't listen to me ;) I have lived here in Spain for a 6/7 years now and have not worked claimed nor starved yet :)

It is all over the forums about lack of work esp in the catering/ hotel trade in Spain, I also read mountains about course you are thinking about and thousands of folks seem to have them too.

As to UK I have no idea about it as I am not there and quite happy not to be.

Whatever you decide I hope life is good to you and yours.

Re: Spain or UK
 

If your hubby is a GOOD head chef then there are no boundaries to anywhere in the world.
A lot will depend on what level of lifestyle you want to live.

Re: Spain or UK
 

Marbella is a great place with plenty of high end resorts and upscale hotels. I would think that there would be opportunities for a qualified chef. If you had come here 2 years ago and said you wanted to move to Spain, you would have gotten the same negative response and been told that were no jobs. But, your husband had a job offer. The problem is that everybody is lumped together. When in fact, the chances of a qualified chef for example getting a job are a lot higher than an unskilled worker who only speaks English.

Why don't you visit? Spend a few weeks there in the summer, maybe even rent an apartment and see how you like it and whether there are any opportunities for your husband.

Re: Spain or UK
 

Thanks for your response. My husband is a qualified chef (instead of a young guy looking for a summer job as a fry cook in a pub). We want to settle long term. We are thinking about coming down and renting an apartment and seeing how it goes.

Re: Spain or UK
 

Twistedmelon - in my unbiased opinion:) my husband is a very good head chef with loads of international experience. We don't expect the to live the high life on Spanish wages. We just want to make a decent living in a healthy environment with a more outdoor lifestyle than is afforded in SW Ireland (where we now live and, while beautiful, is one of the rainiest parts of the rainiest countries in Europe)

Re: Spain or UK
 

If it were me and determined to try it, I would try to keep your home in the UK and get enough money together to last you as long as you can in Spain, rent a cheap place in Spain and spend every day looking for work, once you get the work you can relax a little more and decide if it's going to be the place for you.

If it fails you have had a nice long holiday:D

Hope it works out, I know how you feel, I wanted to move all my life but had to wait for my private pension before it was safe to do so.

Re: Spain or UK
 

Hubby is unlikely to find any sort of chefs job in anything but a brit run bar if he doesn't speak Spanish as all the other workers are likely to be Spanish or from the Spanish parts of South America. Small bistro type restaurants were opening and closing with monotonous regularity when we lived there a couple of years ago, even ones that appeared to be doing well would suddenly close their doors. I know of one person who opened, and the food was good, and not expensive, and he was doing well, but the winter when the tourists disappeared just killed the trade, and last I heard he had just walked away from his place, and gone, who knows where, certainly somewhat in debt. From what I've heard things are a lot worse now.

Re: Spain or UK
 

It might be helpful to check how that job could have panned out for OH? Is that restaurant still open?

Re: Spain or UK
 

Actually luxury hotels, of which there are many in Marbella all employ international chefs, with expertise in different types of cuisine. And from what I have seen, a lot of the kitchen staff appears to be from the Phillipines.

Re: Spain or UK
 

You know your onions, so to speak and the bizz.

dotdarling,
Given your reply I don't think OH will be short of offers. I'm sure he is fully aware of what being a good head chef means in the bizz.
My advice, suck it and see. Ever since I made the decision to move here it has always been on a maybe basis, there are no guarantees in life and life won't end if tomorrow turns out differently than you thought.
All the best

Re: Spain or UK
 

Thanks AdrianTO. The job offer my husband had 2 years ago was for a Dutch-owned restaurant. He spoke to another Dutch person who owns a restaurant near Benalmadena today. That person said that if he was already in Spain and had his national insurance # he could hire him. He also told my OH that once we were there he shouldn't have too much of a problem finding a job. It's difficult because we get mixed messages. Times are tough everywhere. Here in Ireland especially but there are still jobs to be had with the right qualifications.

Re: Spain or UK
 

You're right twistedmelon, my husband knows what it means to be a good head chef. So do I as a chef's wife....long hours, working holidays....I'm used to it. During the off season in his current job he only works Fri-Sun. but that's still almost 40 hours.