Opportunities in Andalucia

[JonnyBeBad]

Hola everyone,

My wife and I have been considering a move to Spain for a few years now in order to take advantage of the climate, the food, the people and to get away from the stressful rat race of living and working in the UK. We are both in our early 40's and have two children, 15 and 11. I understand the work situation is currently bad in Spain. I currently work in construction, but am office based and my wife is a dental nurse and fitness instructor. I am learning Spanish (very early days) and am the only member of the family learning at present. We are both looking for a change in career and a slower and more simpler way of life but am unsure what is available for us in Andalucia.

I have considered many things i.e. a small bar serving drinks and simple food to the locals along with offering B&B to British visitors, however we obviously need to consider the childrens education and future prospects. We wouldn't be moving before my son finishes high school, therefore he would need a good international college and university to attend. My daughter would need an international school to attend.

We would consider any area of Andalucia, ideally 30 minutes to an hour from the coast, maybe close to one of the lakes. Semi-rural location but still close to some amenities and major roads, obviously considering the childrens requirements.

Any advice regarding potential areas to consider and work opportunities would be greatly appreciated.

Muchas gracias...

[gus-lopez]

Hola everyone,
but am unsure what is available for us in Andalucia.
Any advice regarding potential areas to consider and work opportunities would be greatly appreciated.

Muchas gracias...

There isn't a lot available for you & there's 6 million spaniards looking for something in front of you! That doesn't include the 250k that are in the UK working & the 1,250,000 that have left to find work elsewhere.
I certainly wouldn't be considering bringing children here at the moment as there'll be no prospects for them.

[JonnyBeBad]

Thanks Gus,

I knew things were bad and appreciate the comments regarding the childrens propects. Maybe we just keep an eye on the situation over there and see what come up. In the meantime we would appreciate some suggestions as to areas of Andalucia that could be suitable, that we can visit beforehand and explore.

Jon

[Julie]

That would depend on what you are hoping to find, but sadly the situation is terrible in Spain, my advice would be to stay at home until your childrens education is complete then think about it, but either way I wish you well.

[megan242]

Hi Guys

Speaking from experience I would agree with the comments above. My husband and I are in our early 40's and have a 13 year old son. We live in the campo about 30 km inland from Malaga. There is no work for us, or the local Spanish population. When the construction industry dried up on the Costa de Sol the inland villages suffered the most as most of the men worked in construction. The villages now are full of old people and unemployed young men with families. I agree that it is most important for your children to finish their education and get qualifications in England before coming to Spain so they could return to England for work. At the moment there are no prospects here for work and also until you have paid into the social security system for 12 months no benefits at all. We wish we had stayed in England but the 'grass is always greener on the other side' well its not here at the moment (especially as there has been hardly any rain so the vegetation is brown). We are desperately trying to sell our house so that we can move back to England before our savings run out and our son is too old to finish his education in England. Due to the lack of work, crime is on the up and locked up houses are a prime subject.
At the moment Spain is a country to live in if you are retired, have a regular income or pension and do not need jobs for young adults. Utility bills are rising too, the price of water has doubled this year, the IBI (council tax) is increasing and food is the same price as in the UK. Clothes/shoes are about the same price too but the quality is poor.
The country is beautiful, rolling hills, quaint little Spanish villages and nearly year round sunshine.
Inland does get cold in winter we live at 550m above sea level and we can get frost in winter. So heating is required and Spanish houses are not insulated.

My advice would be wait until you are retired and your children have lives of their own.

[Nimrod]

That's the sanest and best advice I've read on here for a long time.
i wish you all the best.

[anyroads]

When in Andalucia in late April / early May it was depressing to see the number of able bodied young men hanging around with nothing to do.

I watched the Atletico Madrid v Chelsea in a crowded bar, after the final whistle, there were three "Brits" still drinking, everyone else left. I mentioned it to one of the other two who said, "no one has any money, 90% of the people who came in did not buy a drink".......

Jonny be good and lie down on the sofa until the feeling goes away. You know it makes sense !

anyroads

[Lavanda]

I have to agree that it's not a good time to more here if you do not have an income - pensions or investments - as work is impossible to find. However, in our area tourism is on the rise - seriously and importantly - and people are finding work in servicing the tourism sector. The only thing I would advise is wait until your children are at university or working. If you make a mistake with your future, that's one thing, but to mess with your children's future, that's something else to think about. My advice is ... wait. You and your wife should both be learning Spanish. Learnt it well and then look at Spain again in a few years. It's brilliant here - but I speak as person in a marriage with six pensions and counting. You need money. You need an income. Good luck and see you one day ...

[Scot]

Megan - I'm just curious but when we lived in Andalucia (2002 to 2009) I was self employed (autonomo) paying into the system each month for approx 3 years but when we asked for help, we were told from several offices (Malaga and Velez/Torre) that there was nothing available for us? Same when we returned to the UK, no help for six months.
Jonny stay in the UK where the grass is, without question, greener!!

[megan242]

Hi Scot
As far as I am aware being self employed and paying the autonomo fee does not cover redundancy/no work/unemployment benefit. Paying the autonomo fee allows you Healthcare and pays into your Spanish pension. I have a friend who was an estate agent and autonomo and when he gave up his business (as you know house sales are pretty dire in spain) he was not able to claim anything in benefits from the Spanish government.
The unemployment/ social security benefits are available once you have paid into the system for 12 months by being employed not self employed.
I am also curious about why you couldn't claim any benefits in the UK for six months? I will be returning to England myself shortly when my money runs out - I always thought (having paid NI contributions for 22 years) that I would be eligible for benefits. - is this not the case now?

[Unicorn]

I think that now if you want to become resident you must prove income and that you have private medical care. I hear of people being charged for non urgent medical things and they are certainly stricter than they were before.

[Lavanda]

Megan242 there are plenty of threads on here discussing why you are not entitled to any benefits at all in the UK on returning as an expat - even with 40 years of contributions in 'the pot'. To claim benefits just take out nationality of any Third World country and arrive in the UK peniless. As a UK national you will not get anything. Check back the threads or do a search. Good luck as it's depressing reading.

[katy]

I find that difficult to believe...6 months even the Roma don't have to wait that long. Statutory benefits but there are still SS benefits.

Some don't even have to leave Spain for UK benefits

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... g-sun.html

[Scot]

Hi Megan apologies as I don't log on to this forum often enough. I too worked in the UK full time (for over 20 years) prior to leaving for Spain but when we returned in Sept 2009 with £20 left after lending a friend 6,000 euros and they didn't pay it back, paying for deposit on house rental here, buying a RHD car for the journey etc, we went to the Jobcentre and made some phone calls to the DSS but were informed we had to be in the country for six months before we could apply. We quickly got ourselves jobs (we were ill so hoped we wouldn't have to commit to a job for a month or so) and managed to sort ourselves out but I was disappointed as I assumed we would get some sort of help for a short time. Not sure if this has changed now but I intend to speak to my local MP if the law remains the same as it is so unfair!