Spain Forum

Pregnant and petrified!

2010-03-17T14:51:43+01:00

Hi all.

I’m new to this site and would really like to hear from anyone ... !

My partner and I have been living in Galicia since October 2008 and for the first year we were working on his parents house that we were living in and trying to restore our ruin in the process. I am now working for a local english academy and have just found out that I am pregnant. Total shock and not planned but we are both thrilled although we have been here once before and things didn’t work out. So with the very real risk of loosing this baby I am feeling a little worried about what to do now. I know nothhing about the system here with regards to children and benefits. My partner is not currently working as he is recovering from a back injury but is in the process of trying to set himself up in business and I work part time teaching english.

He is currently in the UK helping his parents with their move here at the end of the month and I feel alone and worried. I am worried about practically everything. Although I do love living here the winters are particually difficult for me (SAD sufferer) and I feel as though this extra suprise has made my life even more unstable than before. Can anyone advise with regards to the whole process of hospitals, antinatal etc. I would like to hear from anyone but in particular anyone who has given birth while here in spain.

Best regards to all and here’s to sunnier days ahead x

PROPERTIES TO RENT IN SPAIN

2010-03-18T15:33:07+01:00

LA LINEA (S078)
3 bed, large modern apartment to rent, close to the beach with underground parking. 10 minutes walk to the frontier.
750 euros pcm

LA LINEA (S081)
1 bed townhouse to rent, patio leading to private roof terrace, central location.
450 euros pcm

LA LINEA (S069)
1 bed apartment to rent, central location, walking distance to the frontier.
500 euros pcm

LA LINEA (S076)
3 bed apartment to rent, close to the beach and frontier, 2 patios.
900 euros pcm

LA LINEA
Townhouses available, prime location, all with a/c and flat screen t.v’s.
Rents on request

LA LINEA
1 bed spacious apartment to rent, living room, kitchen, central location, close to the beach and frontier.
500 euros pcm

LA LINEA
3 bed apartment to rent, living room, kitchen, jaccuzi, a/c and terrace. Close to the frontier and beach.
1,400 euros pcm

LA LINEA
1 bed apartment to rent, living room, kitchen, terrace. Close to the frontier and beach.
600 euros pcm

LA LINEA
1 bed apartment to rent, kitchen, living room, fabulous views of Gibraltar. Close to the beach and frontier.
650 euros pcm

LA LINEA
2 bed apartment to rent, kitchen, living room, close to the beach and frontier.
700 euros pcm

LA LINEA
3 bed townhouse, close to the beach and frontier.
700 euros pcm

LA LINEA
3 bed apartment to rent. Central location, 10 minute walk to the frontier and beach.
850 euros pcm

LA LINEA
Large 2 bed aparment to rent. Kitchen, living room, central location, terrace.
700 euros pcm

LA LINEA
3 bed apartment to rent, large pation, kitchen, living room, central location.
850 euros pcm

LA LINEA
1 bed apartment to rent. terrace, newly furnished, sky TV, central location.
650 euros pcm

LA LINEA
Large 3 bed apartment to rent. newly furnished, sky TV, central location.
850 euros pcm

LA LINEA
Attic apartmet, central location, sky TV. Electricty and water included.
400 euros pcm

TARIFA (G057)
Long term rentals now available in the popular town of Tarifa, wind and kite surfing capital of europe!!!!
Rents on request

SOTOGRANDE
Large selection of properties in the new and old marina in Sotogrande.
Rents start at 700 euros pcm

SOTOGRANDE (S050)
Beautiful villa in quiet cul-de-sac, set on 1000 sqmtrs, 3 bed, 2 bath, large lounge, spacious modern kitchen. Self contained granny flat on grounds, ideal for a Nanny. Carport and communal pool.
1,500 euros pcm

DUQUESA (G043)
Charming 3 bed modern apartment, close to beach and golf courses, ideal for summer. Communal gardens and pool, reverse a/c, satellite TV.
600 euros pcm

SANTA MARGARITA (S009)
Large selection of 2 bed apartments on a brand new development. Lounge, open plan kitchen, terrace, 2 double bedrooms, reverse a/c, fully furnished, close to the beach. Communal pool, reception area, gym, laundry and paddle court.
660 euros pcm

Many more properties on our portfolio. For more information, contact us on…......

Telephone: +350 200 44537
Email: rentals@findaproperty.gi

Regards

Find a Property Team

an American trying to find a work permit

2006-08-07T01:47:04+01:00

Hi there, great website you have here.

I’m a 26 year-old American who has lived in Barcelona for the last 2 years as a graduate student at the Universitat de Barcelona (escribo “Universitat” en Catalan porque he hecho este error antes y quiero vivir en paz con mis compañeros de piso, son de Terragona y Mallorca).

The Master’s program officially ends in September, and I’m trying desperately to find a solution to the infamous “Catch 22” of non-EU immigration…. as all of you already know: the employers demand that you already have a work permit/visa before applying for the position, and the government demands that you have a job offer before you apply for the work permit/visa.

Part of my problem is that I don’t know any Americans in Spain…you can always see a bunch of study abroad students from California roaming the streets of Barcelona, but I’ve never met an American who is there on a work visa.

In October, I’m almost definitely going to move from Barcelona to Madrid to do the search over there, because I’ve heard from many immigrants (and españoles) that finding a job in Barcelona can even be more complicated than the normal visa problems because in many cases one needs to be fluent in Catalan…y “no parlo català”, perdóname mucho.

My Bachelor’s in the U.S. and post-graduate stuff in Spain was along the lines of Political Science / International Relations and Development….but I’m looking for ANYTHING. I understand that a job willing to sponsor you for a work permit is a needle in a haystack, so I really would jump at just about anything.

I’ve asked so many people about this, but nobody has had the same experience. I understand completely: I wouldn’t know the first thing to advise a person wanting to immigrate to the U.S. I usually get one of the following responses from my Spanish friends, in this order:

1. The humor version:
“Jajaja, Jim, tienes que casarte con una española.”

2. The overly optimistic version:
“Ay, Jim, te preocupas demasaido / todo va a pasar bien / no te preocupes / tranquilo”

3. The “surprised at how difficult it is” response:
“Bueno, eres americano, puedes marchar al consulado americano aquí y trabajar para ellos, ¿no?”

4. The overly pessimistic version:
“joooooooo, guiri, estás jodido”

5. The “what was once humor is now a real suggestion” version:
“En serio, Jim, tienes que castarte con una española.”

One more thing: is it true that there is no way to get around applying for a work visa in person at a Spanish consulate in the U.S.? It just seems like a nail in the coffin: you have to be in Spain to find the job, but then convince the job to wait for you while you return to the U.S. and apply and wait for your visa.

It’s very frustrating, because this is a permanent move for me, and it seems that even if by a miracle I’m able to pull it off and find a work permit I have the feeling that I’ll have to be dealing with this every year or so. Didn’t have this problem in Indiana, I’ll tell ya…

Thanks for reading my mess of a post, and a huge thanks for any advice that you can give. I’m trying to find a way without enlisting myself into a foreign army.

ttMadrid TEFL program for non-EU citizens—is it legit??

2009-12-07T18:14:26+01:00

So there is this guy called “WorkInSpain” who has been posting all over this forum saying he represents a program that provides a legit way for Americans and other non-EU citizens to work in Spain up to 20 hours per week under a student visa.

I e-mailed him to ask for the details, and he passed my contact along to ttMadrid, a language school in Madrid, which sent me the details.

The program costs 2000 euros, and you get 4 weeks of TEFL training and 4 weeks of Spanish courses. After that, you get a year’s worth of “cultural immersion” traning. You spend 10 hours a week learning about Spanish culture… This gets you a one-year student visa, which potentially allows you to work part-time. Here’s what it says:

“As a student you then have the right to apply for permission to work. This is for a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time (20 hours is considered full time teaching hours but if you want work more than this, we will help you get private work as well). This is not an automatic right but we have yet to know of someone being rejected for this and we will help you apply for this process through our agency network once you have finished the course.”

Has anyone done this program? Is it legit? What is the quality of the TEFL course like?

The “cultural immersion” classes sound sort of like fluff classes that are just used to get you the yearlong visa… but I’d be OK with that Any input would be appreciated!!

Here is the full document they provided with details on the program: http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12569d93b1b910f3&mt=application/pdf&url=http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=779d249fe8&view=att&th=12569d93b1b910f3&attid=0.1&disp=attd&zw;&sig;=AHIEtbSWph7LPdW9fykrYmjyxBamKAURDA&pli=1

Mobile Phones

2010-02-22T01:37:03+01:00

Hi,

I am moving to Madrid from the US for a year and so I’ve been researching different mobile phone options. I am interested in seeing what kind of experiences others have had with the various spanish service provides? Is it better to have a contract with the company or to do pay as you go? I would really appreciate any other suggestions and advice as well.

Hi to all expats!!!

2010-03-09T00:17:07+01:00

Hi, my name is Oliver and I live in Denia on the Costa Blanca, I wouldn’t change Denia for anything in the world, except an occasional ski trip to Andorra

Looking to invest in property !

2010-03-16T12:29:50+01:00

I am looking to invest in property, I am purely looking to make money on
the property not use it for a holiday home, I have been looking at Dubai,
Southern Cyprus but I’m concerned I’m to late, I am also considering
Northern Cyprus & Bulgaria, the prices are great but I’m not sure on the
risks invoiced or the predicted return I could receive.

I have also looked at the USA as property is hitting rock bottom but again
I’m not sure if or when it will go back up.

Starting a company in the UK whilst living in Spain

2010-03-16T18:02:42+01:00

Hello everyone,

I have a question (albeit a rather complicated one) about setting up a business in Spain… or not, as the case may be - I’ll explain my situation. I currently live and work full-time in Spain, at the moment for a Spanish company. I do my tax return once a year (my company gives me a “10-T”), I get social security etc. and it’s all straightforward. What I want to do now though is set up my own business. My plan is to stay in Spain as it’ll be an online business so I can do it all from home. However, having researched setting up a business in Spain, it turns out that even to go “autonomo” you have to start paying €250 a month regardless of whether you’re actually making any money or not, and I don’t think (although it would be nice) that I’ll be making any money while the business is still getting going, so I would be out of pocket from day one. Also, although I speak Spanish, the red tape involved in setting up a business in Spain is, er, let’s say “not fun”.

So… my thought is, as I’m from the UK, I could set up a business there - I’ve spoken to people in the UK and apparently it’s perfectly legal to do that even if you don’t live there anymore, you just need an address in the UK (and there are services to do that). As far as I understand it, I can set myself up as a sole trader for less than £100 (online too!) and then not have any ongoing payments. I could then pay myself (I need to confirm that) in Spain. I went to the Spanish inland revenue this morning to ask how that works, and I was told that I just declare what I’ve earned in the UK in Spain in my yearly tax return, and that’s it. I wasn’t convinced though (like many Spanish civil servants she gave me the impression that I was interrupting her day, even though it’s her job to work with the public). So I was wondering if anyone else has had experience in this area, from being a sole trader in the UK and moving to Spain to the whole minefield of trying to “do the right thing” and pay tax on your income in Spain even though it comes from abroad. Is it possible to pay income tax and social security and everything with this arrangement?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks
D

farmhouse for rent 40 min from Barcelona

2010-03-08T16:59:00+01:00

A very nice farmhouse for 2 years to rent.

It is a house only 3 min from the high way C32 and 2 min drive to the nice sea side,

The house has a big kitchen, a nice living room with a big fireplace, central heating.
3 / 4 bedrooms, badroom with bad. 2 terras , this only on 6 hc private land.

No neighbours, internet access.

Any information please mail us.

Spanish Finance News by Jurdy

2008-09-18T01:05:43+01:00

Grupo Prisa has said that it has received five offers for its Digital Plus(known as Canal+) pay satellite service. The bids have come in from Telefónica, Vivendi, Telecinco, Ono and BSkyB.

Canal+ is a Spanish pay television channel, launched in September 1990 on terrestrial television frequencies. The channel is operated by Sogecable. The main staples of Canal+ are Spanish football, bullfighting and recent movies.

In 1997 new channels using the Canal+ brand were launched in Spain. Just as on the other markets were Canal+ was present, the channels were named after colours: Canal+ Rojo (Canal+ Red) and Canal+ Azul (Canal+ Blue). A special channel broadcasting content in 16:9 aspect ratio was launched later on, but it was replaced by a time-shift channel in 2001. In 2003, the colour branding was abandoned and several movie and sports channels were launched.

In 2005, the Spanish government agreed on a change in the license terms for the channel. The permission to change the channel from a mostly encrypted channel into a 24 hour free-to-air channel was officially given by the council of ministers on July 29, 2005. From November 2005, its analogue terrestrial frequencies were given to Sogecable’s new channel named Cuatro (“Four”). Canal+ is available on the digital satellite television platform Digital+.

Grupo Ferrovial, S.A. (English: Ferrovial Group)is to sale Gatwick airport in London 2.5 billion €.

Spanish services and construction giant, owner of BAA has put Gatwick airport in London up for sale, obliged to do so by the British competition agency. The airport is valued at some 2 billion pounds, 2.5 billion €. It has a single runway, but despite that is handling 35 million passengers a year – last year’s number.
In June 2006, a Ferrovial-led consortium purchased the British company BAA Limited, for £10 billion.[5] BAA owns and operates seven British airports, including London Heathrow Airport, and operates or carries out retail management in several others.

New Mayor of Alicante

Sonia Castedo takes up her position as the first Lady Mayor of Alicante today with the idea of forming a cross-party pact with the administrations in an attempt to move large projects in the city forward.

The 37 year old Partido Popular mayor said yesterday that she would be keeping the team of councillors which had been chosen by her predecessor, Luis Díaz Alperi . he was mayor sine mid 90 with 13 years under his belt

more at jurdy @ fmplus dot es