Blimey! I'm a fan of living in Spain (Madrid too) but aren't you a bit hasty in writing off the UK? It really isn't that bad in most places. A lot of good things too like good parks, Radio 4, sporting events etc. Are you sure you'd never return even if you were offered a job paying twice what you earn now?

I'd never say never

but that wouldn't persuade me.

I haven't written off the UK, I merely said I've no interest in returning! Why would I want to leave here when I'm perfectly happy here? I didn't say it was bad in the UK either, you're quoting me on things I haven't said.
You're also making assumptions as to how much I'm being paid over here. Yes I could make more money in the UK doing the same job and the cost of living would be far, far higher than what I have now.
You appear to have a very dim view of life in Spain!

Agree up to a point, but in forolondres I linked to, you can read of many that take jobs as au pair, in fast food restaurants etc, with limited English, most learn on the job.

Steady on - I'm not making any assumptions at all on what you're being paid. I was merely surprised that you said you had no interest at all in returning. Speaking personally I'd go most places if I was offered enough money. Besides which I know from experience you can earn more on certain jobs in Madrid than you can in the UK (I doubt some other posters here would believe that though). I was just asking, if your current salary was doubled, would you consider working in the UK again?

No. It takes exactly 25 mins on foot and Metro from the door of my appartment to the door of my work and costs 31E a month to go there and back. I live in a very nice area and enjoy my work and the people I work with are very nice (at the moment). I know I could get work in the UK and for more than I'm on now but I enjoy my life here. I could also get a bit more money working for someone else in Spain but I'd then have to pay fuel for a car, sit in traffic for lengthy periods or move closer to the job. For me this is ideal and I've one month more of my trial period to go then I'm on a nice safe contract for the next 4 years.

Doing what? Some jobs and pay scales, porfa? I'm assuming we're talking capitals here, so compare with London. The only one comes immediately to mind is torero!

A more obvious (and pertinent) one is that of English teacher (and associated jobs such as interpretor, translator etc). My flat-mate said he earnt far more per hour (as a Business English teacher) than he could in London (and after seeing some of his invoices I believe him); add in the fact that almost everything he spent money on (transport, accommodation, wine, share of council tax) was far cheaper in Madrid than London and it was a no-brainer for him to stay. The two things he probably found more expensive were books (which you can avoid by good use of Amazon and friends flying in) and pints of Guinness. Even from my own (short-term) experience of teaching English, I soon found out that jobs were badly paid in London.
Incidentally, there are a lot of low-paying jobs in different sectors in London, merely because the supply of able-bodied people is so big. Another friend of mine, who does acting roles as well as other jobs, moved from Madrid to London as he thought the possibility of openings, extras etc would be greater. He admitted after 6 months here that he couldn't believe the amount of times he was asked to work for nothing. Luckily he managed to get some openings on the continent. Even in the IT industry, once you move outside the world of Investment banks, there are a lot of low paying jobs in London (can be seen on Gumtree). All very well if you have the backing of rich parents, but London's too expensive for many.
I understand professional footballers are paid well in the two cities. Maybe this year is the one I make the big breakthrough?

Changes are afoot there as well.

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte...257347580.html

I'd be very surprised if it makes much change to the top earners. They end up employing accountants who make sure they avoid paying too much tax. To be honest I'd love to be paying more tax at the moment, as it'd mean I was earning a lot!

It probably won't affect the players, the clubs will have to up the salaries if they want to compete with other leagues. But that might mean fewer big signings and fewer top class players signing for spanish teams.

I have yet to see any teaching job in Spain that comes within 60% of the rates offered in the UK. Then there are the terms and conditions. Even Doctors pay is very much lower in Spain. You can't kid me

Jacky I've had jobs teaching English to foreign learners in both London and Madrid. Although I didn't have a lot of experience, I earnt more in Madrid than in London. The reason is the supply of English teachers is incredibly high in London and the private schools can dictate their (low) rates. My flat-mate in Madrid earnt between 30 and 50 Euros a hour as a Business English teacher. When he (occasionally) went to language schools in the summer in the UK he earnt far less (and sometimes had more responsibility as an acting Director of Studies). I'm sorry that you choose to disbelieve my experiences. Since you don't claim to have either worked in Madrid or as an English teacher there, I think other readers can draw their own judgement.

There are jobs out there, whether you are in the UK or Spain. But, it very much depends on your skill set. Look at where the openings are and be willing to retrain yourself.
Btw, if anybody is interested in a genuine opportunity, check my sig.

It's not a question of not believing you, it's just that it's a silly reply. Of course you'll probably get paid more for teaching English in Spain than UK, and guess what, you'll get more teaching Spanish in UK than you would in Madrid. We are talking about comparable jobs, do primary school teachers in Spain earn more than those in UK, do IT gurus earn more in Spain? I don't think so. I saw a Spanish Tv programme recently and was amazed at how many fell into the mileurista bracket