Hi all. My name is Ken Matthews and I currently live in the Netherlands since 2007 with my partner and 2 children. Stan 3 and Alix 2.

We both have jobs and a mortgage here however are tired of the typical commercial rat race whilst having no way out. Our dream is to move to spain and direct our focus, time and attention in our own commercial interests. Our passion lies with either a dutch / english takeaway or bar. Totally different to the every day run of the mill here. We both have experience in the catering and hospitality field from previous endevours however lack local area knowledge of Spain.

Can anybody offer advise about potential areas of interest?

We are both fluent English and Dutch with limited spanish and don't mind either a livelier area or urbanization.

Thanks for your thoughts and tips guys.
Ken

How will you cope with all the paperwork in Spanish ?

Scott thanks for your concerns. Luckily I have previously lived in spain in cuidad quasada and have made very good friends that have businesses there. They are offering to help with the red tape.

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

Good hat you have some experience and an idea of the red tape that awaits the small business start-up !

If you want to be successful and not just rely on seasonal income from tourists and a few ex-pats then you will need to attract local (ie Spanish) customers. To do that you would need to have fairly good Spanish (or employ reliable staff) and have a much broader menu than Dutch/English food.
Having said that, the area you choose to start will obviously need to have a reasonable population of ex-pats so I guess you would be looking at the Costas - and it is your choice which one. Everyone on here will recommend where they live as the best place in Spain