spainboy

Me and my g/f have been living in Benidorm for a few years now. I do speak a little bit of conversational spanish, not brilliant but enough to get by.

Because its a typical tourist area there is currently no work anywhere. The place where i was happy at for so long closed down 2 years ago and apart from Hotel work there is nothing really for the brits(unless you own your own bar).There were driving delivery jobs for frozen imported food but its a case of dead mans shoes nowadays and ive been on the waiting list over a year.
unfortunately i dont have a trade like building work or anything like that.

Because there is not much cash coming in right now we may have to be forced to back to the UK, even though it does look bleak there we both have family close to help us and there are jobs if you look)
so the other option is that we stay in spain but move somewhere else.
I understand people telling me not to go back to the UK but if there is no work in benidorm then I cant live off fresh air!! I have to be realistic.!!!

We have our own car but we do rent property.

Any suggestions where else in Spain we could go to find work or is only chance the tourist areas of Spain?????

Ps I do think that Benidorm might only be the only all year round resort in mainland Spain too.

Help and advice Please??????

CBANDY

I live in Orihuela Costa and work in Murcia. I am sorry to say that the pattern seems to be all over europe as there are not many jobs here for the Spanish never mind anyone else. I know it will be hard but i do think your best option would be to go back to the uk for a while (it does not have to be forever) untill things pick up and then maybe you could come back. The lucky thing is that you do not have a house to sell as that could take some time. Sorry i could not offer any solution in Spain but best of luck with whatever you do.

fionamw

I'm going to put the same post on six threads (that's how many are currently discussing various sides of the same subject) & see if anyone else agrees with me that one all encompassing thread along the lines of
Is everyone having trouble finding a job, why are you staying in Spain, going back to the UK, coming to Spain, changing your mind, and is there a place or business that's the best option for Brits over here? is what's needed? ...with a nod to Peter Kay, of course There are loads of people with loads of interesting comments about all aspects of this mega-subject, but to keep tabs you have to have the flitting nature of a damsel fly & there's no one obvious 'core' thread.

spainboy

Thnaks for the kind words cbandy

Ive asked a few people who live in the uk and all they keep telling me not to go back to the uk but what these people do not realise is how bad it is in Spain also.
It's just not busy over here and the people who do come over seem to be spending their money in the hotels now.

Imagine the cost of an english breakfast over here is about 5 euros. Now that same breakfast will cost them £4.90 as opposed to £3.50 a year ago. so you can see bars are struggling too.

I also pay 750 euros in rent which now is equivilant to £730 wheres before I was about £550 In the uk. I can rent a nice house for less than £500 back home even with council tax, more expensive electric in the uk my outgoings would still be cheaper right now in the UK.

One thing I do know about the uk is food prices have gone down. We shop at Iceland over in Spain and we pay 70 euros a week,(£65). In the uk now you can get a weeks shopping for £30 if you go to farmfoods,asda etc.

I love my life over here and have been here for so long but because of the recession and the exchange rate it works out that I now pay a lot of money in outgoings and the wages are usually lewss than 1,000euros on average Per month.

Outgoings in england now are looking cheaper than over here right now. It didnt before but when you look at how much you pay out and convert it back to pounds then it does.

Like I say there are a lot of cutbacks with jobs in the UK but surely there are some still there. My brother works for the Royal mail and they are still recruiting. Theres also pages of jobs for the council and surely compared to Benidorm right now where there are literally no jobs then there is a bit more glimmer of home back home even if it is poor.

I guess I could always come back when it eventually blows over but my feeling is its gonna get worse before it gets better.

TheArmChairDetective

Quote:

Originally Posted by fionamw

I'm going to put the same post on six threads (that's how many are currently discussing various sides of the same subject) & see if anyone else agrees with me that one all encompassing thread along the lines of
Is everyone having trouble finding a job, why are you staying in Spain, going back to the UK, coming to Spain, changing your mind, and is there a place or business that's the best option for Brits over here? is what's needed? ...with a nod to Peter Kay, of course There are loads of people with loads of interesting comments about all aspects of this mega-subject, but to keep tabs you have to have the flitting nature of a damsel fly & there's no one obvious 'core' thread.

But with a core thread the minor points go unread or are not made.
Do we really want to copy big business and centralise? Will we then suffer a thread crunch?

jdr

Well don`t kep posting on all threads then, just use one, bloody simple to work out.

spainboy

JDR.

I was thinking exactly the same.
What is Fiona's problem!!!!

I could almost feel the big slap on my wrist.

TheArmChairDetective

oops, thats me wrist slapped then

Rosemary

As you are not fluent in Spanish I suggest that you do not move any further north than Benidorm as you will find that the English population thins out.

Stop shopping in Iceland and go to where the Spanish shop and you will find your food bill will lessen. Can you move to cheaper accommodation?

I know it is no consolation to you but the Spanish are struggling too, so that shows everyone how difficult it is to gain work.

I sincerely hope that you find something soon, sorry that I cannot be more helpful, I hate hearing of people struggling.

Rosemary

fionamw

Not sure that answers my point, but fair enoughski, I'll take the slap on the wrist & skulk into my corner (or sulk) & come out flitting again in due course

spainboy

Thanks very much Rosemary.
I think ive come to the conclusion it would be pointless trying anywhere else in Spain.

I think im gonna have to try england for what it's worth. The good thing is I can always come back if things do improve and we have enough friends out here who can look out for us. I just hope we can sell the car. Its only just over 2 years old and I have a feeling I will be selling it much cheaper than its worth over here.

rugbymatt

OK

Ka Ora!

Cheers.....

03630

Here's my story.

7 years ago I could see that my job and mortgage were going to finish about 10 years apart so I had to do something. We tried Spain, renting initially until we found the house that we needed. The boom in UK house prices meant that I could sell there and buy here and be mortgage free. I continued working and commuting. Life was good, UK type money, no bills to speak of, almost 1.5 Euros to the pound. As predicted my job finished 18 months ago. I signed up for 9 months of 20 hrs a week Spanish lessons. I have just finished, technically at B2 level. I don't speak at that level but can certainly understand well enough. The teachers open up after a while and there is no doubt in my mind that there is virtually no work for foreigners at any meaningful level. A very few get employed because of their ability to deal with a Spanish company's English speaking customers. Multi nationals might employ a few but the rest have to work within their own community. The Spanish are not short of Spanish speakers nor post graduates.

I had enough money to live here comfortably for another three years. The change in exchange rates has reduced that to 2 years, but still no great rush.

I think the simple truth is in any country there are always jobs. But no one wants to do them. The return/effort ratio is wrong. As has been pointed out there are hundreds of thousands of minimum wage type jobs in the UK. Trouble is council tax and power bills eat up the first £2000 a year and that is assuming you own the property.

I actually believe we are seeing the start of a new period of enlightenment in the World with people realising what is important and what is not. But then again I have always been a dreamer.

spainboy

0360
good post.

I think also with me that sort of ties my post to yours is that im at an age now, 36, where time is running out in terms of career changes etc.

Im frightened in a way that if I percivere here for say another 6 or 7 years doing bar work or hotel work then ill be at an age where it may be a little late to take that leap and do something.

When you mentioned about jobs being back home but jobs that no one wants to do,well I fully agree with you, however I dont mind starting at the bottom because eventually the only way is up in the long run. Something I dont find in Spain. There is no real promotion type jobs or jobs to better yourself in Benidorm. Does anyone agree???

I think if I aim to get anywhere in life then Ive more chance at my age doing it in the uk then wait here for this recession to blow over, if it ever will anytime soon.

Thoughts??