Couple looking to move to Spain, June-July 2011

[cyclebiker]

Hi, I'm an EU citizen and my soon-to-be wife is American, I understand the requirements of getting Residencia for us both (so she can benefit from mine and work) but am wondering if the scare stories I am hearing have any credence.

I have family in Andalucia (Campo de Gibraltar) and am fluent in Spanish, although we are still working on hers. My family have told me work is hard to come by. We are thinking of selling up (only renting here in the US, we don't own) as my visa expires soon and we could stay with my parents for a spell.

I have experience in IT (helpdesk and technical support), Customer Service, Language Tuition (English and Spanish, although I have no certification) and, as I said, my Spanish is fluent. What do you think our chances are, considering my experience and our lack of solid capital. Would finding work in Andalucia be realistic or would one of the other comunidades autonomos be better?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Alan

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by cyclebiker

Hi, I'm an EU citizen and my soon-to-be wife is American, I understand the requirements of getting Residencia for us both (so she can benefit from mine and work) but am wondering if the scare stories I am hearing have any credence.

I have family in Andalucia (Campo de Gibraltar) and am fluent in Spanish, although we are still working on hers. My family have told me work is hard to come by. We are thinking of selling up (only renting here in the US, we don't own) as my visa expires soon and we could stay with my parents for a spell.

I have experience in IT (helpdesk and technical support), Customer Service, Language Tuition (English and Spanish, although I have no certification) and, as I said, my Spanish is fluent. What do you think our chances are, considering my experience and our lack of solid capital. Would finding work in Andalucia be realistic or would one of the other comunidades autonomos be better?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Alan

Hi & welcome

it's not a scare story - it's a fact

unemployment nationally is over 20% & over 30% in Andalucia

Andalucia Suffers Worst Unemployment Figures in Spain

so yes, in theory you'd have a better chance elsewhere in Spain - but realistically, not much

with your experience I think you'd stand more chance in Gib - from what I hear there is IT support work available there

[Pesky Wesky]

Xabiachica is right, it's not a scare story it's real life. Please look at this sticky
Economic and employment situation in spain

However you do have advantages over other immigrants in that

• You speak Spanish
• You have family here.

You could start off using your family home as a base, but applying for work in different areas of Spain. It might be worth sending your CV to an employment agency. A call centre I work in uses Unique, which I can't find on Google, but there's Manpower, Adeco etc

[cyclebiker]

Originally Posted by Pesky Wesky

Xabiachica is right, it's not a scare story it's real life.

However you do have advantages over other immigrants in that

[*]You speak Spanish[*]You have family here.

You could start off using your family home as a base, but applying for work in different areas of Spain. It might be worth sending your CV to an employment agency. A call centre I work in uses Unique, which I can't find on Google, but there's Manpower, Adeco etc

Thanks to you both, Pesky & Xabia.....we're considering our options and my Dad did mention Gib as a better bet ( he's retired but used to work for the MOD)... Of course, there is the "enchufe" to worry about there but agencies might be a way to avoid that. I'll keep my eyes open and start investigating from here