Moving to spain any tips?

My experience is based more on how things work out on the islands...

It is a very family oriented place, it can be difficult to break into society unless you are marrying in to it. The best jobs are often controlled by just a few extended families, work goes to cousins, uncles and nephews. Some parts are still quite religious which means Roman Catholicism and not C of E.
My brother made the moved to Portugal as a TEFL teacher, found work and a wife, he never came back.
There are people making a living providing services to ex patriots, if you are a competent; builder, plumber, electrician, etc. You may well find work, as the standard of local servicemen can be poor on the detailing.

Best plan things out first, you're not going on holiday.

Don't use spanish trains.

I've been here nearly 8 years now and love it. Since the building boom collapsed there is very little work but hey if your'e out of work in Manchester you may as well be out of work in the sun.

You'll need to pay contributions for some months before you can use the [excelent] health system other than for emergencies.

As a rule of thumb what costs a pound in the UK will cost a Euro in Spain. The exceptions being electricity and car spares [expensive] - booz is cheap.

The trails are great, I haven't seen a puddle since May and snot is a distant memory. The roads have been improved since I've been here and are generally quite empty.

The Spanish people are friendly and appreciate any attempt to use their language.

Downside -- This is no place to be poor, the safety nett here isn't as wide or deep as in the UK and if you fall on hard times your family are expected to help out more than at home.

The local schools here make no provision for non Spanish speaking children so you would need to pay for extra tuition.

Sorry to ramble, let us know how you get on and good luck.

Good advice and info there ^^^ from someone who knows.

You must have some idea of what you're going to do when you get there? You can't really just arrive at the airport and think "Ola Espana, we're here!"
Where are you going to live and, more importantly, what are you going to live on? It's not as if you have friends or family there or any other support network.
If you have no accommodation or employment lined up, don't speak any Spanish - honestly, I don't think I'd do it.

Andy R":2b0qww2r said:

Good advice and info there ^^^ from someone who knows.

You must have some idea of what you're going to do when you get there? You can't really just arrive at the airport and think "Ola Espana, we're here!"
Where are you going to live and, more importantly, what are you going to live on? It's not as if you have friends or family there or any other support network.
If you have no accommodation or employment lined up, don't speak any Spanish - honestly, I don't think I'd do it.

Click to expand...

Aah, but we don't know that he doesn't have everything sorted.
He must have a good reason to go to Javea of all places.

And he's writing from a Nissan Almeria...

suburbanreuben":2vo6qy2g said:

Andy R":2vo6qy2g said:

Good advice and info there ^^^ from someone who knows.

You must have some idea of what you're going to do when you get there? You can't really just arrive at the airport and think "Ola Espana, we're here!"
Where are you going to live and, more importantly, what are you going to live on? It's not as if you have friends or family there or any other support network.
If you have no accommodation or employment lined up, don't speak any Spanish - honestly, I don't think I'd do it.

Click to expand...

Aah, but we don't know that he doesn't have everything sorted.
He must have a good reason to go to Javea of all places.

Click to expand...

Aye, true enough.

The best advise I can give is keep paying your minimum NI contributions in the UK. It's not a lot, something like £2 week.
In theory because you will be paying NI in one European country then it should transfer and count but in practice it's a lot more complicated, this is from experience.
Even if there is the slightest chance you will return to the UK in the future, the minimum NI contributions will mean you will have the safety net of the health and benefits and there won't be a break in the pensions contributions.

Sorry for the late reply, bank holiday in Blackpool

Thanks for all your tips and info, Ive got work there with a pal, Ive also got family in Alicante and Barcalona and we've just paid the deposit on a town house on a complex meters from the beach .

And if all goes t.ts up its only 40ish euros for a flight back Ive not had a great deal of work here for months,so as was said before rather be in the sun than the sleet!

F..k it if we dont do it now we never will, nothing ventured and all that.

Sounds great man! Spain is lovely, I could happily live there at some point. Did six months in Portugal many years before the Brits discovered it and loved every minute of it. Moving around is much simpler than some think. I have lived on three continents in six countries and have not regretted a minute of it. Keeps everything fresh. Next to the beach too? Jammy!