Abremner2 - 29 July 2008 11:27 PM
Cheers for that Santi not planning on using benefits but always like to know the ins and outs for emergency purposes
Proper Planning & Preparation Prevents Pis*poor Performance.
Its always good to no some basics and plan not only for the arrival but also the possibility that you may not be in Spain for long.
The easy bit is moving to Spain, most expats will tell you the real hard and stress is once you`ve arrived.
Its livable, doesn`t mean everybody is regretting the move and most of the time its a great life, but you do find that the stress involved in life can seem greater in a foreign land, especially if you, and many expats do, assume that Spain is similar to the UK.
Seen alot of your postings about the site like your no nonsence approach.
I don`t mean to come across that way, but I kinda don`t do tact very well.
And to be honest most people are aware of the benefits in Spain, few discuss the relevant useful stuff.
Are things still as bad as you say for new arrivals? Not expecting an easy ride but quite sure alot of hard will pay of.
Cheers
Andy
There is a lot of luck involved.
Plus you don`t have the safety net of employment you get in the UK, changing careers, or even finding a career in Spain, within the Spanish employment is hard, very hard.
Finding work with the Spanish workforce can go 2 ways, either extremely difficult or very easy.The difficult is getting a decent job with good development and prospects.The easy tends to be commission based work for a few months or longer if your lucky, but usually poor conditions, on the black money, no long term prospects.
Most expats rely on expats for work, either as handymen etc etc.
Trouble with Expats though is there are a lot arriving daily, so opportunities are few and far.
There are a few International companies around, so Like I did, transferred my employment from the UK to Spain.There are also a lot of IT or home based workers using the Internet, so location isn`t an issue.
I`ve meet a few Long haul drivers making a decent living, but they travel around Europe a lot and came to Spain with good language and experience of Europe.
I was speaking to one a few weeks ago, he works for a removal company.At the moment most of there work is returning Brits to the UK, he also maybe moving to Germany, as there moving more Brits to Eastern Europe, Spain is slowing work-wise so there looking for drivers based that end of Europe.
I think Spain peeked last year, I`m sure its dropping in popularity, how far it`ll drop, who knows.But when finances take a hit or work becomes an issue, Spain is not a good place to be.
I fear many will return to the UK hoping to start again, but a returning Expat will have a surprise, as benefits, even emergency housing for homeless expats isn`t granted until after 6 months of the return date.
Honestly if i was on the property ladder in the UK, had a reasonable job and wasn`t struggling, I wouldn`t move to Spain.
I did it at a time that was right, property prices in both countries was low and work wasn`t an issue.But I`ve also had to get crap, poorly paid work in bars, on building sites and odd jobs to make ends meet.
If I was in the UK now, even 2 yrs ago, I wouldn`t have moved nowing what I do now, but I guess if you don`t make the move, you`ll never know.
That can eat away at you, most Expats before they move have that inner feeling to search a better life, sometimes though, its only after you move that you may realise it was as good as life gets before you moved.
I`m lucky, I`m also in a small minority of people working and living in Spain for a long time.
