alex25

Dear friends.

My partner and I are a young couple (23 and 25) that are desperate to start life in Spain.

We are not the usual go out clubbing to the early hours people in their 20s and love to have meals out, walks with the dog and exploring new areas and activities.

We feel the UK for us just doesn't have what we want for our life's and for our future family we dream of. We truly love the climate, laid back lifestyle of Spain and the fact that it is not so much a long flight back to the UK for existing family. We have researched and like the area Javea very much and intend to visit there of course.

Is there any areas you could kindly recommend with fair rental pricing, job offerings (of most kinds) and any advice you could give us? We are at square one, needing to save and even then we are clueless of how much to save and how to get the ball in motion.

Any advice VERY much appreciated!

Kindest regards,

Alex&Abi.

Cllve

Hi,
You won't like my reply I'm afraid, but the reality is that getting a job with enough pay to live on will be almost impossible. Unemployment in Spain is many times higher than the UK which is why many of the Spanish youth are moving to the UK.

You don't say what your skills are or whether you are both fluent in Spanish, but unless you have very special skills that an employer requires, you stand little chance.

English bars are starting to advertise for holiday staff but these will not be contracted jobs and therefore you will not be paying into the Spanish Social Security System. Therefore no health cover, and without this you will need to show the authorities that you have private health insurance cover. Also you will have to show an income (not cash in hand) of approximately €600 per person per month and several thousand in savings. This coupled with no state handouts to fall back on is why the population of Spain is declining.

I'm so sorry for this information, but I'm afraid that other posters will agree with me.

Rosemary

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

Moses2013

Have to agree with Cllve and reality is totally different. The so called laid back lifestyle only exists if you don't have to work and have enough time/money. Working days are actually a lot longer in Spain and apart from tourism, there aren't many jobs in the area and it's not great living in a tourist area when you have to compete with foreigners for rental. Use the tools you have in the UK to get decent qualifications and don't throw away your life. If you want to experience Spain, work hard in the UK and save enough money for long holidays.

alex25

Thank you for the replies.

You're very right haha not the best news but appreciate the honesty! I'm an experienced barber and my partner is a dog groomer, I doubt that'll help much anyhow.

I don't suppose there are countries anyone could recommend that's nice? I know this is the Spanish area so apologies!

Thank you again for the replies and we will have a re-think.

Alex&Abi

alex25

Also forgot to mention we don't speak fluent Spanish although we looking in to private tuition and are also able to save £15k/year with my wage currently, again I don't know if this would make a huge difference.

Thanks again all!

Cllve

Now knowing your skill sets, it's not all doom and gloom. If you can set up your own businesses you may have a chance. Hair always grows (until you loose it) and a lot of people, especially retired expats own dogs. Consider the Costas for your move.

Opening a Barber/Pet Grooning salon would certainly be novel and noticed.

alex25

Clive thank you, has picked us up a bit there! Certainly will look in to that, much appreciated!

Alex&Abi

rachelk

If you can save 15k a year currently, still in your early 20s, I'd stick with it and save for a few years more before taking the plunge. You can afford decent holidays in Spain in the meantime but having a good pot of savings behind you would help enormously if and when you do decide to make the move.

Fred James

I've never met an out of work hairdresser in Spain. Like undertakers, it's pretty well recession proof!

MikeJ

Sounds like a plan. As Fred says there always a place for a good barber , and in the CDS or other high expat area there must be a demand for an English barber as Brits with poor Spanish are often reluctant to visit a Spanish hairdresser. Likewise with dog grooming - the Spanish generally are fairly laissez-faire about animal welfare but Brits with dogs are probably crying out for this kind of service. A grooming parlour - or even a mobile service - might be quite successful. Hard work though. Might be worth some market research and a visit to CDS.

Moses2013

Recession proof, but it's often the salaries that are the issue in other countries. In Germany you have around 80.000 hair salons and until the minimum wage was introduced last year, many could not survive. Now they just about manage and unless you own the business or work for one of the top hairdressers, it's a struggle. Spain is no different and of course you can have your own side business, but you still have to compete in a country with a low minimum wage.

bil8999

Hi
Take a look at the Moraira area, we could do with a good barber, there was one, but he had to go back to the uk.
So that could be your opening, start up out of town to keep overheads low, price it right, look after your customers, you should make a living.

Let us know how you get on.

Fred James

A travelling barber might be attractive to some people, mobile hairdressers are pretty popular here. My wife and I have used a mobile hairdresser for 15 years.

Mobile dog grooming could be a good idea, it would mean you don't require premises and the owners don't have to drag their dog into town. The problem, of course, is finding clients, but when you have, you will have a regular income.

If you have a big enough cash buffer for the first year it could be a nice little earner.

snikpoh

... aren't there any Spanish barbers then?