Horrible

Well thanks for all the replies! Doesn't sound all that great tbh. Might just hang fire and learn as much Spanish as possible and head to a proper Spanish city.

Then you will earn Spanish wages

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So much history and sooooo much money and yet the place is a dump.

The only advantage of going to gib is to get married.........compared to spain there's nearly no beaurocrisy!!!!!

I don't see why everybody is saying this. Yes there are some ugly flats but nothing compared to any Spanish town.

The weather is caused by the rock itself so some days there is a big cloud over the rock while the sun still shines over Spain and the Med. It kind of adds to the Britishness of the place.

Working in Gib and living in Spain, say in San Roque, is a great idea economically. Even better if there is a job that requires your qualifications. Don't forget your qualifications aren't worth squat in Spain.

The only real thing wrong with Gib is it doesn't have a Schengen border.

Heh, I just had to come out of lurk mode to answer this as there's so many negative replies. I'm posting this from work in Gib, btw...

Basically, the major advantages of Gibraltar are:

- English language, currency (GIb pounds are worth the same as Sterling) and usually better wages than Spain (can be higher tax though). There's branches of UK chain stores like BHS and Marks & Spencer, UK banks, etc.
- VERY cheap alcohol and cigarettes, you can shop at Morrisons for any UK groceries you want.
- A lot of people who work in Gib don't actually live there, so you can make your money go even further when returning to Spain each day (though not as far on today's exchange rate as you could last year).
- There's a relatively much lower level of bureaucracy (especially for Brits) compared to Spain, so it's easier to get started if you don't know Spanish.
- British qualifications are fully recognised and some employers seem to prefer Brits to immigrants from anywhere else.

Disadvantages:

- It's one of the southernmost points on the peninsula, so you can get battered by winds in Winter.
- UK culture is king (or some approximation of it), so shops close early.
- Most things other than cigarettes and alcohol are relatively pricey.
- There's usually a long queue to get across the border during business hours, though you can park over the border and walk/bus it from there.
- It's very much a small town atmosphere - most Gibraltans seem to know everyone else. This means it's easy to make business contacts, but there's a bit of a small town mentality among the locals at times.
- The locals speak a strange mixture of Spanish and English, often switching between the two mid-sentence. It's not the best Spanish so it's perhaps not the best place to learn (though you can say that of much of Andalucia).
- It's improving but it's not the nicest looking place in the world - e.g. the new Ocean Village complex is very nice but it's surrounded by 60s-era apartment blocks.

Overall, if you're at all interested, take a trip to Gib and have a look around. I don't know where you are now, but it's not hard to get to from many places in Spain and there's regular direct flights from the UK through BA, Easyjet and Monarch. Check out places nearby - especially along the coast between La Linea and Estepona - then think about whether you'd like to live either in Gib or one of the nearby towns. It's not a bad place to work in all honesty, but that's definitely a matter of opinion.

Terrible place ok for shopping but that`s about it. As for what language they speak there, well something between English and Spanish (Andulacian)
Basically the place looks like Elephant and Castle in the sun.

Marks and Spencers underwear, smoked mackerel, lemon and parsley mackrel, vegetarian sausages, stilton, cheddar, bisto, sultanas, raisins, cheap gin, cornflour, timothy taylors---anything English you want, you name it, twice a year is enough if you've got a freezer! (not for the knickers, of course!!)

Twice a year is enough even if you haven`t got a freezer. ;-)

Thanks for your in-depth lowdown. How much more expensive are daily food stuffs like bread, milk, joghurt, vegetables, fruits?

Dont forget the Jellied ells and Scumpy cider from morrisons. Yes

Sorry, I am a Kraut, no idea about Jellied ells and Scumpy. As long as it's 85 proof I take it.

I have once tried the real Devon Scrumpy Cider, and believe me is was strong. must of been in its 80s. Was laid up for days.

Scrumpy cider? Devon? What about Zummerzet where the Zider apples growz? Laid up for days? Lightweight!