British Expats - thinking of the move

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mariedavies

Jul 27th 2008 3:39 am

thinking of the move

Hello all

im new to this board so hope you'll give me some valuble advise.we are a young family with 3 children, twins of 5 and infant under 1. Im not so concerned regarding their education as ive heard many good things about state schools. Basically we dont own a house here in uk, we rent from the council, they have made it very hard to buy here. We do however have a 20k deposit we could use. We both have trades my husband is a roofer and im a hairdresser, i dont know how easy it would be to find work in these trades in canary islands, so we also have yrs bar experience as well. ideally we'd like to run a bar but then again would we earn enough to live etc as well.. any advise grateful marie x

tim hortons man

Jul 27th 2008 3:47 am

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariedavies (Post 6615998)

You don't own a house so that does make the move easier. Generally given the current environment if you do make the move it's best to rent. This serves two purposes, it makes it easy to go back if things don't work out and avoids overpaying or worse getting a bad deal and losing your deposit. Earning a living, tough call considering Spain is heading into a serious downturn.

mariedavies

Jul 27th 2008 4:20 am

Re: thinking of the move

hello thanks for your reply, really a down turn what makes you say that?? are the prices going up like here for everything? well we're going to save some more money over the next 2 years just so we have savings in case all goes wrong...... Are hairdressers badly paid in spain?? twll me more what you think please thank you

sensationalfrog

Jul 27th 2008 1:03 pm

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariedavies (Post 6615998)

dont even think about it,sorry to say it but you will soon lose your 20 grand in rent and living expenses,its not cheap here any more,as you will find it hard to get work,if you get work in a bar which is the best option the wages are 5/7 euros an hour,the building trade has really slumped and hairdressing is probably in the same boat
dont believe all those living the dream programs,its hard here at the moment,10 years ago i would have said yes,but now

DONT DO IT

jjh	Jul 27th 2008 5:06 pm

Re: thinking of the move

Hi mariedavies and welcome to BE.

I wouldn't like to advise about it either way, as it's a personal choice.

Although I don't know what is happening in the Canary Islands, mainland Spain is going through a down turn now, along with everywhere else, and food is becoming more expensive, as is fuel. The building trade is in decline also.

I would agree with tim hortons man about renting, it's a much better idea at the moment. Would it be possible for you to do a couple of reccys to whichever Island you are thinking about, to check out the possibilities?

Whatever you decide to do please, please, do your homework before you come to any decision, particularly as you have children.

Good luck. :)

JJ

mikelincs

Jul 27th 2008 6:19 pm

Re: thinking of the move

Hi Mariedavis, first of all, why the Canaries?, Mainland Spain is a lot cheaper both in cost of living and travel to and from and I suspect a much bigger expat community. There ae jobs in both trades but, as everyone else has said, There is an ecconomic downturn here as well as the rest of the world, staying in the UK will not affect that. Renting is a much better idea than buying at the moment, hundreds of rental properties around and at very good rates.

ShinyAndy

Jul 27th 2008 9:05 pm

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by sensationalfrog (Post 6617280)

DONT DO IT

I'm sure I live in a different Spain than some people on this forum! Undeniably it's tougher here than it was 5,10,15,20, whatever years ago but then it's the same, if not worse, in the UK. I have more work than I can deal with, the majority of my friends here are the same with plenty of work (builders included). I have more disposable income than I had in the UK and I earn about a quarter of what I did there and I live in one of the more expensive areas of Southern Spain!

Maybe the difference is that I didn't come out here expecting fields full of gold and a life of lying by the pool drinking sangria. I came out here expecting to work just as hard as I did in the UK, the same if not more hours but in an environment where I could at least afford a 2 bedroom apartment and not need a Â£1/2million mortgage.

Fuel, food, electricity, etc has gone up but then it has in the UK too and at least here rental property prices are falling and comparitively speaking it's still cheaper to live here. Let's not forget that the sun is always shining and the beach is only a 5minute walk away too!

mariedavies

Jul 27th 2008 9:35 pm

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShinyAndy (Post 6618178)

hi ya
well that sound a bit better!! did you rent or buy a property when you got out there and how much do think we would need at first, is there british building firms out there for my hubby to get work

ShinyAndy

Jul 27th 2008 9:40 pm

Re: thinking of the move

As has been suggested, it's a much better idea to always rent first.. you may not like the area! I don't have children so have no idea what you need, I'd suggest perhaps that you try to secure some work before you get here if possible so you're not eating into all your savings. I came over for a very hard and stressful two weeks to sort out jobs/accomodation/areas etc etc before I actually moved here 2 months later

Lynn R

Jul 27th 2008 10:08 pm

Re: thinking of the move

I live in Andalucia not the Canary Islands, but my hairdresser (she has Spanish parents but was brought up in London so is bilingual) earns 7â‚¬ per hour in a salon and she assures me that is the normal rate of pay. She works 5 days per week in the salon, until 8pm, and does mobile hairdressing for private clients on one more day to supplement her income. Hairdressing is one of the few jobs I ever see advertised in our local papers so at least the demand seems to be there, but it is not well paid and if your husband succeeds in getting work, childcare might be a problem due to Spanish working hours.

My hairdresser's husband was in the building trade and cannot find work over here, I also know two British families who have had to return to the UK this year as the husbands could not get building work. One of them had been out of the UK for 12 years, 4 years in Gran Canaria and the last 8 here in Andalucia, and his Spanish was fluent.

Mitzyboy

Jul 28th 2008 3:52 am

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShinyAndy (Post 6618178)

Nail hit well and truly on head.
I'd love to see some of the people that tell how bad it is in Spain actually go back to the UK and experience how things are there.

Sure ..... things are more expensive here in Spain now even than they were 2 years ago ..... but i verge on the edge of a coronary when I go back to the UK and see how much more costly it is there now!!

Karma sent

sensationalfrog

Jul 28th 2008 10:58 am

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitzyboy (Post 6619499)

it kind of makes me angry when i see posts like this,one previous poster knows of 2 families that have had to go home as times are bad,i can tell you from personal experience i probably personaly know of at least 100 families or couples that have had to do this in the last 5 years in the fuengirola/mijas area

for every sucessful expat on the costa del sol there are 9 that are not
its that simple,listen to who you want

you have children,look after them

ShinyAndy

Jul 28th 2008 8:44 pm

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by sensationalfrog (Post 6620988)

i probably personaly know of at least 100 families or couples that have had to do this in the last 5 years in the fuengirola/mijas area

Maybe you mix with the wrong people? I only know of one couple that came here and went back again, they came here under the illusion of early retirement and did nothing other than eat in the best restaurants, drank in the best beach bars and shopped in the most expensive shops.. then wondered where all their savings went. In contrast the 50+ other people I know are all happy here and although things are tough they're certainly easier and more tolerable than the UK in the current climate

I'm not saying it's perfect here, far from it, but to say it's expensive don't move here is incredulous when you compare it to the UK which is even more expensive day-to-day, has a crap legal system, government that doesn't know its ar*e from its elbow, still has more people than jobs and thus wages are falling and if you happen to live in the South/South East is virtually impossible to get on the housing market

Rotor

Jul 28th 2008 9:05 pm

Re: thinking of the move

I always found making a living in the UK very easy, had my own business for nearly 20 years, to make a good living taken a lot more work,
Now Im in busniness in Spain and just making a living is bloody difficult, many find it impossible and Ive seen numerous families going back to the UK.

Its unfair to dress it up any different, my advice would be to bring enough cash to live on for a year as your unlikley to earn any during this period, treat it as taking a year out,this way you wont be dissapointed:thumbsup:

Rgds

Rotor

betris

Jul 29th 2008 6:48 am

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitzyboy (Post 6619499)

I dont know.I think you can make more money back in the uk.my mate makes 75 pounds an hour at tesco.
mind you he is a shoplifter.:rofl:

daytripper

Jul 30th 2008 1:45 am

Re: thinking of the move

Quote:

Originally Posted by betris (Post 6624923)

I dont know.I think you can make more money back in the uk.my mate makes 75 pounds an hour at tesco.
mind you he is a shoplifter.:rofl:

Bloody Hell! Cheers mate! For the past 2 years I've only been making 25 quid an hour shoplifting at Lidl. Time for a pay rise.....

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