American desiring to move to Spain

[Cosby]

Hello everyone! I'm just taking a moment to introduce myself to the forum. I'm a middle-aged American as I stated with 17 years of experience in I.T., lately as a System Engineer for F5 BigIPs. I am looking at the possibility of citizenship because I was born in Spain and my mother was/is a Spanish citizen. I'm interested in the area around Madrid mainly, because of family and also likelihood of finding a suitable job.

Of course I do have questions, mainly concerning cost of living, quality and cost of schools (I have an 11 year old daughter.), job availability, and most importantly the whole residency/citizenship process (Anyone know of a good lawyer/solicitor/abogado experienced in immigration?).

Any assistance, comments, or encouragement are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

Cosby in Minnesota

[chris(madrid)]

Cosby

I was SE manager for Spain for a US corp. I'm glad I'm not any more.

IT work - is here - but scarce and poorly paid. Cost of living is relative - depends on what you expect to earn. Madrid is more expensive than provinces - it's one of Spains most expensive cities. You'll probably find you need to live a fair way out and commute UNLESS you have the money for a flat etc on hand. You'll have issues getting a mortgage initially. that or rent - Rent depends on WHERE. But it's not imo ever cheap.

SE's will make about the €36,000 mark if lucky to land anything decent. I've friends still in that world and they're good in good jobs in US corps. Older ,established prior to 2000, SE's can be on near double. Most give you a car - but small companies do not - you'll need to finance it yourself and claim mileage (and fuel is MUCH more expensive here)

FLUENT SPANISH IS A MUST.

Schools - iIwy - I'd get your girl into a state school, tough at 11 if she cannot speak Spanish. Otherwise it'll be costly.

I'd look at the citizenship bit at the US end too. It could be easy if you're mum was/is Spanish (especially as you are a natural born Spaniard) - But better to ask there imo. I say this as I've a friend who's just taken over a year to get her future Husband (he's Peruvian) an immigration visa. She's a senior civil servant and even so the paperwork drove her spare.

Dont want to sound negative - but it's not a good time.

[EllieC]

Hi Cosby

I am American too and live near Valencia with an 11 year old daughter! We were able to obtain residencia very easily because my daughter has a British passport as well as American. As the mother of an EU citizen they couldn't deny me. Maybe you have a family connection that will help or if you still have your Spanish citizenship it's a no brainer. As for work, I agree with Chris that Madrid will be very expensive and in Spain the salarys are just not compenserate with those in the US or UK. Valencia on the other hand is cheaper to live (if you plan to rent the rents bear no relation to the value of the property - they are very low). I would suggest you try to get work lined up before you come. Apply to multinationals with ops here in Spain. I wouldn't recommend coming without a job hoping to find one. You may end up settling for much less than you are capable of. Additionally, the small Spanish companies do not pay well. If you can work from home and set up autonomo (self employed) expect to pay about 260€ per month social security. The good news about that for us Americans is that it covers medical care for you entire family (wife and kids) and the medical care in Spain is superb. You won't need health insurance. That's it for now. Feel free to write in if you have any more questions.

[Cosby]

Thank you both for your advise. I am in the initial exploratory stage of this move, so any information is helpful. The main reasons for moving to the Madrid metro area are that it's my experience that jobs in my area of specialization are more common in large cities and I have family there.