Living in spain?

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oldhombre

Yes its easy to do but you have to live within all the Spanish rules for non-Spanish citizens. Lots of pit falls but also lots of bonuses. If no money then you wont find work easily and you wont get a roof over you're head nor get much to eat. Too many immigrants arrive to Spain with nothing.

nuttyschuffychuff

Hola!

I live on the Costa del Sol and have done for 9 years, I can recommend the lifestyle highly.

However, you need to have your wits about you, speaking Spanish on the Costa del Sol is NOT a necessity these days, there are so many English speaking businesses that you needn't even run into a Spaniard at all! (shame really).

Speaking the lingo is however, something I would recommend that you try and do, being here in the middle of it all may help you more with that, you will find many places to take courses on the language when you get here.

If you need to work then you can search jobs online at http://www.ambientjobs.com, you can also post a wanted ad there also. Ambient also have a range of pages that help familiarise yourself with the coast, what services are and are not available, I feel you will find a lot of useful information there, they have links to other websites of interest in the area also.

All the best

David C

If you have an itch...scratch it. You only live once and we are all different. Try an area with loads of Brits (eg Benidorm) You can find work there (depending on your trade)
It is better to try and fail than to look back and regret not having a bash at it.

jims_pc

Spain and the Costas in particular are full of expat Brits who have come to live their dream in the sun. The failing for many is their innability to find work and generate an income.

Many people say that the cost of living in Spain is cheaper than the UK! yes if you have a UK income, but it is all relative if you are struggling to earn money or survive on the relatively low Spanish wages then no it is not.

If you have your health and money I think Spain is a wonderful place to live and enjoy life, without both or either the sometimes trivial seeming problems that living in a foreign country unable to properly speak the lingo will no doubt present themselves suddenly become seemingly overwhelming.

It is easy to say do it or you may always regret it, equaly you may do it and always regret it.

Spain is a very hospitable country but your personal circumstances can make it feel otherwise, whatever you decide I hope its the right decision for you and wish you well

toffo3619

You're taking a big step. Best research everything very carefully.

Check these web sites:

http://www.spainexpat.com/

http://www.expatica.com/actual/toc.asp?subchannel_id=81

http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-spain.php

Join this forum and ask: http://spain-forum.yeclaserve.com/

hilverchas

I have lived in Spain many years now, my mother is 83, was hospitilised last year and was treated like a queen.
She is now fit and well for her age.
I am telling you this so that you will understand live here is good!
BUT, you can't do anything without money, if you can't work you will need to pay private health insurance which can be VERY expensive, espeically if you have already got health problems................you will not be able to drive a car with epilepsy, do so and the law finds out, you will be in deep trouble.
Folks can not come here and expect to hold out their hands like in the UK and get benefits, housing, mobile phones, etc., etc thrust at them the system here just doen't work like that not even for th spanish.
My husband is classed as a 62% invalid...............
He does pay into the system naturally, gets a small pension for his troubles, I am included on his "NHS" card here, but until we married I had to pay private.
Apart from the obvious things about coming to Spain, buying housing/car/work, you must first truly way up your needs, priorities, and your status as regards health etc.,
Life is great here, I would NOT go back to the UK for anything, make sure you get things correct in the first place, and you will have no problems at all.
Hope this helps.

Ruth P

If your husband is receiving invalidity benefit then he can draw it from his U.K. bank here, you probably will find that you can buy his medication over the counter in any Farmacia and you may well find that the better climate and less stressful way of life will improve his health, as you say you always feel better when you are here.

We have been here 17 years now and certainly wouldnÂ´t go back. It hasnÂ´t all been easy but it has definitely been worthwhile, however you do need to be sure that you have got some sort of income until you can find work. It is fairly easy to find somewhere to rent on the Costa del Sol due to the massive amount of building that has gone on down here and work is not impossible due to the large expat community.

You only live once so what have you got to lose?

If you are interested you can read of our experiences coming to Spain by clicking on the link below:-

cp.lu22

You have to figure out what you will live on. Spain is cheaper than the Uk but you still have to live. Perhaps you could try renting a place there over the winter months to see how you get on. You could go there for three months and see what it is like. Having a holiday somewhere and living there full time are two very different things. If you do move it is a big upheaval and a change of country does not mean all your problems go away. Would you plan to learn the language? You will accepted more easily into the local community if you do. Some of the resorts are dead communities in the winter and that can be lonely if you don't know anybody. I wish you all the best.

sunlover

Do you get disability allowances. If so it would give you some sort of income while you try it out. Costa de Sol is quite an expensive area, you might look further north at Costa Blanca. Go to a place that has lots of English if you are looking for work as there is more chance of finding something as you donÂ´t speak the language. Have you got your own house. You could always rent that out and use they money to rent here. I do think healthwise it is better to live in a more pleasant climate. We have lived here 17 years, but have struggled money wise with trying to earn a living. We do it, but it hasn't always been easy. But when we return to UK we have decided we are doing the right thing as UK seems so expensive for what you get. Do remember that if you do not pay social here, which isnÂ´t cheap, you must have some sort of medical insurance as if you are not a pensioner you have to pay. The social goes towards a pension as well.
YOU CAN GO BACK TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY IF IT DOESNÂ´T WORK OUT, A FACT OFTEN OVER LOOKED!

translatorinspain

I echo many of the previous replied. I live and work on the Costa del Sol and it is a great life, BUT you will find it difficult if you come over here with nothing. I always advise people to have two years 'living' money. Jobs are not that easily available, if you need to pay rent, medical insurance etc. they are likely to be low paid without any social security i.e. illegal. Think about it carefully, there are very few benefits here, and they are especially difficult to get if you're a foreigner because the maze of offices and paperwork you have to fill in is amazing. Also you will not have the close support of family and friends that you probably have in the U.K. which is very important. Your husband will find it very difficult to get private health insurance because of his existing condition, if he needs hospital treatment it will be very expensive. The only way you could get cover is for you to work, legally, and add him to your Social Security card as a dependant. Good luck with whatever you decide.

dedaliuswizz

I have looked into it and it looks hard but if ou have no money don't do it there is no support out there and without documentation work is nigh impossible to get

Happy Murcia

If you have no money (or little money) then DON`T DO IT,,,simple as that,,,can you speak Spanish,how will you pay for the documentation to allow you to work,,you will need an address,,,what will you do for work, food, accommodation, flight money to get you home, you wont be registered for health , work, voting or benefits as in the UK,,,if you wish to go and live and work in Spain either win the lottery or save up several thousand pounds and do it properly,,,,I have seen people on the streets in Spain all UK expats,,,,do you want to live rough ?

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