Moving to spain

[Senorita]

trying to decide if i should move to spain is it as hard as i think or as easy as my friends say ? im really stuck...i hate london and for years now have wanted to move to a hot country but things always hold me back like the fact that my son needs a school and if i cant get work here i get help from the state and the fact that hospitals are free here and so on

im so ready to move but not sure if its right for me everyone keeps telling me i need some money behind me but if i stay here and keep saving i end up spending my money on a holiday to escape this hell hole

[jojo]

I so wish I could tell you its easy, BUT, without an income, without a job to come to it isnt. I'm no expert, we've only just done it and I've wanted to go this for decades. But since I've been here I've realised that its no picnic. My husband works in the UK and commutes, 2 weeks here, 2 weeks there. I cant really get my head round finding work yet cos the school holidays are 3 months long, I have no knowledge of childcare and I dont speak spanish -- YET!!!!

But if you can somehow find a way, do it. Why dont you arrange to come out and have a look at properties, areas, schools and possible work instead of blowing your money on a holiday?? Search the web for some estate agents, talk to them and arrange to meet them to look around - DONT BE PUSHED INTO DOING ANYTHING HASTY THOUGH, SOME ARE DESPERATE RIGHT NOW and in the meantime, I'm sure someone will be along to give you tips and advise

Jo

[Stravinsky]

Hi Senorita

Jojo has given you good advice. You need to come here and decide the area you want to be in first

Its not easy for sure ...... theres a lot of admin to get through, but you'll find forums to be a great help with that.

But make sure you are moving for the wrong reason. If you're moving to escape one set of problems, you might just end up with a complete new set!!

The weather in the summer is great here for sure ...... but bear in mind we have had to have heaters or log fires going at night since the beginning of last December. Tonight we have a log fire burning, its often nice during the day (75 deg a few days ago) but chilly at night.

[Senorita]

well the plan is to save some cash until the childrens school holidays start and go to benidorm for the 6 weeks holidays my friend lives there and he will help us find somewhere to rent and a day job i will not start work till the school starts so ill have to save up for my rent and money to spend also we are gonna see how it goes in the 6 weeks to see if its for us and that way my son doesnt miss out on school

[Senorita]

life is boring in england i want a change and a challange i think thats one reason i want to move im young if i dont do it now i will never do it

[jojo]

Originally Posted by Senorita

well the plan is to save some cash until the childrens school holidays start and go to benidorm for the 6 weeks holidays my friend lives there and he will help us find somewhere to rent and a day job i will not start work till the school starts so ill have to save up for my rent and money to spend also we are gonna see how it goes in the 6 weeks to see if its for us and that way my son doesnt miss out on school

Great idea! Make sure you do it!

As Stravinski says dont be fooled by the heat in the summer though, that was the first thing that hit me when we arrived here - it was bl**dy freezing!!! We spent our first couple of weeks huddled around a fan heater with storms, wind and rain outside!!!! We're now using the log fire and sussed out the air con which can also act as heaters (duh we didnt realise that!!!)

Jo

[Senorita]

oh i lived in turkey in the winter i know all about the freezing cold weather and blow heaters haha

[chris(madrid)]

Originally Posted by jojo

I so wish I could tell you its easy, BUT, without an income, without a job to come to it isnt. I'm no expert, we've only just done it and I've wanted to go this for decades. But since I've been here I've realised that its no picnic. My husband works in the UK and commutes, 2 weeks here, 2 weeks there. I cant really get my head round finding work yet cos the school holidays are 3 months long, I have no knowledge of childcare and I dont speak spanish -- YET!!!!

This is some very sound advice. Unless you intend to start your own business - take into account that many Eastern European countries are now in the EC - and their countrymen often are already multilingual. They are also CHEAP to hire (most work for min legal wage & it's LOW). Also the INEM (employment offices) are generally not much use - most jobs they have are temporary - even those that officially are not.

[jojo]

Originally Posted by chris(madrid)

This is some very sound advice. Unless you intend to start your own business

... Even starting your own business will require a significant ammount of finance behind you. Its a rare new business that can support itself and owners immediately!

I hope I dont sound like I'm putting people off though, cos its great here and I know how I felt before I came, I was desperate. But my OH was the sensible one who made us wait til we could afford to do it properly!


Jo

[Senorita]

thank you all for the advice its been great but i think im just gonna go fro it if i fair i can always come home or take a long holiday

i have a few thoughts in my head for small money makers i have a small business here making tutu's and fairy wings and in benidorm they all dress up on the hen weekends so i plan to push ahead with my small money maker and also i noticed that they dont do beach photography (like in turkey they have sunset photos and people have there photo taken at sunset and pay for the pics) i thought that would be a good idea