Moving from uk to Spain

[weesuz]

Thanks for the replays folk going to take a wee trip over there in a couple a months and do some research ) I really can't stay put in uk for much longer but I don't plan to just go to Spain and expect to get a job and schooling right away I am going to do this properly but what's the best trade or experience to have as am going to start collage as well as work and would like to no what courses would be best to take to benefit me getting work over then in 3 maybe 5 years ? I no things change but just rough guide on what the Spanish look for ? X

[weesuz]

I could maybe go to some agencies and shops and stuff by that time my Spanish will be good all I can say is I'll never no unless I take that chance and it's a chance am willing to take but I have alot of time to prepare and that's what am going to do! I will still appreciate alot of advice and comments of your views thanks x

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by weesuz

Thanks for the replays folk going to take a wee trip over there in a couple a months and do some research ) I really can't stay put in uk for much longer but I don't plan to just go to Spain and expect to get a job and schooling right away I am going to do this properly but what's the best trade or experience to have as am going to start collage as well as work and would like to no what courses would be best to take to benefit me getting work over then in 3 maybe 5 years ? I no things change but just rough guide on what the Spanish look for ? X

who knows what it will be like in 3-5 years??


it might be worse - it might be better


8 years ago when it was pretty good, you could indeed come over with no Spanish & find work catering to the Brit community - bars, restaurants, cleaning, pools, gardening etc.

people came over with a bit of money behind them & set up successful businesses - the same sort of businesses they had in the UK usually, although there were of course those who transformed from being a labourer to master builder somewhere between Gatwick & Alicante!

I somehow doubt that it will ever be like that again - at least not in my lifetime - & the Brit community isn't so big any more - & what's more, those of us who have been here a long time would be using the local Spanish tradespeople in any case

in normal circumstances, you need to be exceptional in whatever you do - what ever job there is available now, or even 5 years from now, you'd be in line behind spanish nationals - many of whom are fluent in several languages, and also Brits & other foreigners who have been here al long time & have ties here - who aren't going to disappear when the pull of family kicks in - or who will just upsticks when they've had enough

any college courses you might do would quite possibly not be easily transferable to Spain

maybe in 5 years it will be better - so the very best thing you can do is get on with your life as it is, become as proficient in Spanish as you can, save yourself a really big nest egg (enough to live on for a year?) and make lots of recces

[mrypg9]

Originally Posted by weesuz

Thanks for the replays folk going to take a wee trip over there in a couple a months and do some research ) I really can't stay put in uk for much longer but I don't plan to just go to Spain and expect to get a job and schooling right away I am going to do this properly but what's the best trade or experience to have as am going to start collage as well as work and would like to no what courses would be best to take to benefit me getting work over then in 3 maybe 5 years ? I no things change but just rough guide on what the Spanish look for ? X

I think you should learn Spanish. Maybe other posters can give you some idea as to what trades are most in demand but being realistic you will not be able to work in a 100% Spanish environment until you have lived for many years in Spain.
Being realistic I think you will be initially limited to Brit areas and businesses but competition for jobs in these areas is tough. As Steve said, you need to speak several languages to be competitive in a market where there are always more people looking for jobs than there are people offering them. When the economy picks up there will be many more people like you coming over to find work so the competition will be stiffer.
Apart from Spanish...IT skills are always worth having, basic accountancy skills, that kind of thing. Please don't be offended but what about your UK literacy and numeracy qualifications? If you are looking for office work you need a reasonable standard of literacy and some knowledge of business practice.
You really should think more carefully about your life in the UK, though. I know unemployment is high and likely to rise in the UK but unemployment in Spain isn't going to fall for years. In the UK you have a home, whether it's yours or you rent it doesn't matter, it's your home, your children go to school and learn in English, you have free health care, you say you have benefits...you won't get those in Spain.
The UK is a much kinder place to live than Spain. I don't know how much experience you hav e had of living and travelling abroad but believe me,saying that 'you can't stay put in the UK any longer' makes me wonder how much you know of how things work in other countries.
Think about your children....read the thread about British students in Spanish schools.
Think about the fact that one in two school leavers in Spain have no job.
You say you can't wait to leave the UK...have you thought why so many people risk their lives, stow away in the wheel compartments of planes, hang under the EuroStar trains, hide in boxes in trucks?
People die trying to get into the UK yet you can't wait to leave it, you say

[steve_in_spain]

Originally Posted by xabiachica

who knows what it will be like in 3-5 years??


it might be worse - it might be better


8 years ago when it was pretty good, you could indeed come over with no Spanish & find work catering to the Brit community - bars, restaurants, cleaning, pools, gardening etc.

people came over with a bit of money behind them & set up successful businesses - the same sort of businesses they had in the UK usually, although there were of course those who transformed from being a labourer to master builder somewhere between Gatwick & Alicante!

I somehow doubt that it will ever be like that again - at least not in my lifetime - & the Brit community isn't so big any more - & what's more, those of us who have been here a long time would be using the local Spanish tradespeople in any case

in normal circumstances, you need to be exceptional in whatever you do - what ever job there is available now, or even 5 years from now, you'd be in line behind spanish nationals - many of whom are fluent in several languages, and also Brits & other foreigners who have been here al long time & have ties here - who aren't going to disappear when the pull of family kicks in - or who will just upsticks when they've had enough

any college courses you might do would quite possibly not be easily transferable to Spain

maybe in 5 years it will be better - so the very best thing you can do is get on with your life as it is, become as proficient in Spanish as you can, save yourself a really big nest egg (enough to live on for a year?) and make lots of recces

xabiachica is completely right. You are wise to make this a more medium term plan than an immediate plan. Learn spanish and stick to it... After 10 years on and off, 5 years of always keeping a home here whilst i learned and planned, and 3 years of permanent living (and a spanish partner and family who speak no english) I am ashamed to say I am still nowhere near fluent...every day I hear words I don't know and although now i can communicate i do sometimes find myself talking in present tense instead of past or future, and having to think about certain verbs... then theres the vocabulary... I am getting there now and live in a completely spanish area and converse in an acceptable way and improve daily but it does take a very long time to speak the kind of level you will need to get work... so join classes now and if you are coming in 5 years go every week for 5 years and you may be in with a chance... although however many classes you do, nothing prepares you for real conversation where they talk at 100mph and use slang and terminology that books don't teach you... so if you can look out for spanish people, find maybe language exchange websites also and really get to grips with speaking it.. .thats the important thing.. far more than grammar and classroom stuff (IMO although xabia will probably disagree being a teacher!)..

As for what type of jobs to train for... who knows.. sorry!

Doctors can usually get work and nurses if they are fluent.. anything less is hit and miss and as I have said before there are professionals with experience from many sectors who are out of work at the moment!

Like xabia said, whatever you do or are trained in, for every job theres many many applicants and employers will choose qualifications, EXPERIENCE, fluency in languages and history in spain (time here, stability etc) over everything else!

Learn as much as you can about spain, use the forums, ask anything you want, try to find spanish friends who want to learn english, and make it a serious passion to prepare for the move in the future.... commitment pays off!

[mrypg9]

Originally Posted by weesuz

I could maybe go to some agencies and shops and stuff by that time my Spanish will be good all I can say is I'll never no unless I take that chance and it's a chance am willing to take but I have alot of time to prepare and that's what am going to do! I will still appreciate alot of advice and comments of your views thanks x

Sorry to disillusion you but it won't.
I worked as a translator/interpreter in the UK and before moving to Prague where we lived before coming to Spain I had visited Prague for very many years and learnt Czech in the UK.
After three years in Prague my Czech still wasn't good enough to get me a job. Yes, I can buy things, ask directions, chat with friends but that's all and I'm a trained language teacher! I speak three languages fluently and after three years in Spain can handle most situations but get a job ....no way.
You need to live in a country before you can be fluent in its language. Speaking is easy compared to listening and understanding the language when spoken by a native.
Then there are different Spanish regional 'languages'...Catalan to take just one example is different from Castellano. In my area Andaluz is spoken and I often have problems understanding that.
I don't want to sound unkind but I really don't think you understand just how complicated making a new life in a foreign country is.
And as you have children it's not fair on them to learn the hard way.

[steve_in_spain]

Originally Posted by mrypg9

Sorry to disillusion you but it won't.
I worked as a translator/interpreter in the UK and before moving to Prague where we lived before coming to Spain I had visited Prague for very many years and learnt Czech in the UK.
After three years in Prague my Czech still wasn't good enough to get me a job. Yes, I can buy things, ask directions, chat with friends but that's all and I'm a trained language teacher! I speak three languages fluently and after three years in Spain can handle most situations but get a job ....no way.
You need to live in a country before you can be fluent in its language. Speaking is easy compared to listening and understanding the language when spoken by a native.
Then there are different Spanish regional 'languages'...Catalan to take just one example is different from Castellano. In my area Andaluz is spoken and I often have problems understanding that.
I don't want to sound unkind but I really don't think you understand just how complicated making a new life in a foreign country is.
And as you have children it's not fair on them to learn the hard way.

Mary is so right here I thought i was doing ok with spanish for years... talking in shops, ordering in restaurants, speaking with tradesmen etc... then I met my OH and got submerged in real spanish (and valenciano for heavens sake grrr) and realised i knew almost nothing... all those years people in shops had been lovely to me, realising the fact that i am foreign and trying, so in turn speaking basic spanish back to me and making me think i could have a conversation... then when you are dropped in with spaniards talking amongst themselves and trying to be part of the conversation you have to learn... and fast... for the first 6 months with my OH i just sat like a pillock whenever i visited the in-laws house and couldn't fatham out a thing that was being said...they understood my attempts at speaking but i couldn't for the life of me make out a word that was being said... the speed, the vocabulary, the terminology... it was literally a whole new language and a different world from what i had learned in classes, read in text books, and thought I knew.

Now its much better and i am confident in joining in most (not all) family conversations (it gets tricky at those big typical gatherings of 50 people all talking over each other jaja) and despite my mistakes I can get by and am quite proud of how much the last 18 months has taught me and how much i can now speak and UNDERSTAND... i reckon at this rate of daily practice and learning... MAYBE in another 2 years i could apply for a real spanish job... but as Mary said it takes a hell of a long time living somewhere and talking it daily until you get to that level... and most expats are not as lucky as me with the amount of spanish they get exposed to!

[weesuz]

Will still go see for myself thanks

[mrypg9]

Originally Posted by weesuz

Will still go see for myself thanks

That is the most sensible thing to do. Have a look at Matt and Cara's post...they came to have a look last week.

[weesuz]

Is there anyone in this form that has done what am wanting to do and it worked out or didn't work out ? Would be good to here some story's also can you stay somewhere in Spain that has all your daily needs without haveing to travel far ?