Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

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Nimrod
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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby Nimrod » Sat Apr 26, 2014 4:39 pm

Maybe back at the turn of the century and possibly a few years after you could make a living from real estate,rentals,shops,bars and servicing short term rental property.
A year or two after that I believe it all changed and things got progressively harder, until now when, I think you'd have to be looney to start something,especially something legal.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby Scot » Sat Apr 26, 2014 4:58 pm

El Cid I haven't just got the t-shirt - got the whole flippin ensemble :lolno:
Nimrod you are right - we arrived 2002 and had a few good years where employment was abundant, esp in real estate/property. Luckily all our Spanish family are still employed as they work for the government or as lawyers. They don't earn a lot but live simply and enjoy life. Perhaps the original poster can persuade the couple to try Spain for, say, a month or so and see if it works?

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby eazbak » Sat Apr 26, 2014 5:08 pm

So to sum it up it seems that you found it easier to find work and make money in Spain during the years when the world economies were booming...but found it harder to find work and make money in Spain during the years of worldwide recession.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby BENIDORM » Sat Apr 26, 2014 5:19 pm

Andalucia.com,.... well maybe the name should be changed to the Lemming Appreciation Society..!! :lol:
Why do so many people consider that the 'End of the World is Nigh' ?

Economic decline comes and goes all of the time and has done forever, and the situation will change, probably in the not too distant future,and at some point the politicians will have to take notice of the general public.
So in the meantime Sid, do you think that everyone should bury their heads in sand and wait, or do you think that maybe it would be a good idea to try and get on with it ?
I have very little faith in all of the figures printed in the press, so don't bother quoting figures, I'm more interested in what I see and hear around me.
Like I stated originally, we started our Spanish business during a recession, when everyone was leaving, don't get me wrong it was hard work and we did make mistakes, but we carried on and did turn it into a success.
If anyone can remember I did start numerous topics about going back to the UK and I always stated that if it was really getting desperate then yes it was a good idea to go, and I also stated that there was no shame in doing just that, at least you gave it a go.
But that was then and I still say that now is a good time to consider starting a new business, and I'm not talking about pool cleaning or selling t-bags.
Whatever business anyone starts now really has to be of use to all nationalities, and that's all I'm going to say.... :wink:

Regards,
Gordon... :wave:

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby El Cid » Sat Apr 26, 2014 5:26 pm

You may well have been lucky Gordon, or just happened to chose a business that worked out for you.

The OP is really concerned about whether she should support her kids' desire to move and work in Spain.

On the basis of all the evidence available the answer is clearly no.

If they chose to ignore that advice and go for it fine - at least they will have had the advice from a number of different sources.

Your opinion, while quite valid, is clearly not shared by the majority of the other members of this forum.

It's now down to the OP to consider all the posts and make her own decision as to what advice to offer.

Sid

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby BENIDORM » Sat Apr 26, 2014 5:38 pm

Sid ,
I really agree with what you say, however I felt I had to put up my side of the story and try to help people think positively, negativity is contagious and maybe some people may now 'think outside the box', I hope so for the future of the youngsters around today.

And now I'm off back on to the campo to see if I can find some more prehistoric stone tools from an age when life was really difficult... :lol: ( I found two really good examples this morning,...how exciting I hear you say ).... :wink:
Regards,
Gordon... :wave:

Nimrod
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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby Nimrod » Sat Apr 26, 2014 6:13 pm

I think it's all very well thinking positive but you have to be a realist and the reality is that the odds are stacked against anyone making a go of a business in Spain.
I'd love to see someone make it but the odds must be 100/1 against at least.
I don't think I could live with myself if I said do it and on my say so and someone lost everything.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby eazbak » Sat Apr 26, 2014 7:21 pm

Would it be possible to program this website so that some background violin music automatically plays as soon as the members connect to the forum?

Nimrod
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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby Nimrod » Sat Apr 26, 2014 8:22 pm

obviously not.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby JWhite » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:05 pm

Yes Sid, I quite agree. I haven't banged on about my doubts to my daughter and her partner, as, as I have said, he is a very positive person and she is full of dreams of starting afresh in a nice sunny country (our dream too at one time), but I have serious doubts and am fully expecting that they will return in a couple of years a little older and wiser. I am sad though that they will inevitably end up a lot poorer having spent the equity from their apartment sale here (he is in his mid 50's whilst my daughter is a lot younger at 40) and it is not as if he can just start again when he returns. He says you can rent anywhere which is what they are intending to do both in Spain and if he returns but you still have to earn a living and it is not going to get any easier I feel in the UK with our borders open for the foreseeable future. People tell me I am very negative but I feel happier being a realist and only time will tell which state of mind proves more sensible :roll:

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby peteroldracer » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:24 pm

A difficult thing for you - do you keep most of your doubts to yourself so you are not responsible if they decide not to go, and be blamed every time the inevitable "we should have" argument comes up?
Or do you keep things to yourself and risk accusations that "you should have said something stronger" from them if (when) it all goes pear-shaped?!
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby Scot » Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:43 pm

I have a friend who asked my advice on buying property in Bulgaria (personally, I said, I wouldn't) but she bought two, one on the beach and one inland (ski season) AND one apartment in Italy (I need to make a decision quickly, it's the last one available...). She asked my opinion, I said I wouldn't buy any of them tbh but she bought them all anyway. Two didn't get built at all and she can't sell the one that did materialise (if she does sell, it will be at a loss). I do despair sometimes. This couple are full of hope and dreams and it probably wouldn't be appreciated if mum says it's not a good idea. Perhaps they can read the posts on here? But I guess once your minds made up, there's no stopping you?
It is worrying to hear there's no work where you live and it made me curious as to what part of the country you are in? We chose where we live to return to from the internet and it has worked out so well, we couldn't be happier and there's a lot of work here (which was a huge part of our decision apart from good schools and safety) but it is expensive to rent. Hope it all works out well, whatever they decide - I would advise if things don't pan out well, to return home before the money runs out completely as they will need travel costs and deposit for a house rental maybe? Sounds obvious but you have no idea how many wait until there's nothing left at all :o

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby eazbak » Sun Apr 27, 2014 1:07 pm

As they are in rheir 40's snd 50's best not to interfere,let their destiny take its course.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby JWhite » Sun Apr 27, 2014 4:50 pm

Peter,

I have voiced my concerns to them and pointed out what I have read but they are very positive as I say and her partner always insists "there is always work of some sort or another if you are determined to find it and look". I do not argue with him as he is very determined as I say. I did offer advice on not using all their money and my daughter said they had already decided they would leave £10,000 in their bank account "untouched" as a "safety net" if things didn't work out so they would have enough money to return and pay advanced rental etc.

We all live in the West Midlands where one of the highest density's of immigrants are located so not much work here. My daughter's partner likes working for himself and has always managed to find businesses to set up in one type of thing or another. He amazes me really, he never lets disappointment or knocks he has received keep him down at all. He also says he will never retire as he finds it too boring sitting around.

As I say he is very positive and persistent in his efforts and perhaps that is half the battle with some people. He has never allowed himself to sink into a work comfort zone like many people love to do of fixed hours, weekends off, same people, same work etc. so hopefully he will be entrepreneurial enough to survive, who knows ! He has staying power and perhaps at the end of the day that is all that is needed to get through difficulties in obtaining work. I do hope so :wink:

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby Terry Tibbs » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:07 pm

JWhite,

I can imagine that this is a worrying situation for you, but as been said, at their ages your daughter and son-in-law will be mature enough to understand the potential implications of their planned move if pointed out to them. I'd suggest you get them to read this entire thread so that they can understand the context of the comments, all of which I'm sure were written with the very best of intentions.

Clearly this is an extremely difficult time for what they are contemplating, but I also share a similar view to Gordon. If they can (to use a Richard Branson expression) protect the downside and keep a workable 'escape route' in place, then the decision to give it a try is not so reckless and scary. And if they don't give it a try, will they spend the rest of their years wondering what might have happened? It's easy to view someone as foolhardy if they are convinced that they will find a way to make money, in the face of evidence showing how difficult it is to do that here, but as someone else mentioned, just having a totally positive attitude and a willingness to do (almost) anything can sometimes bring about remarkable results.

If it were me I'd shy away from any kind of 'bricks and mortar' business that required a significant outlay, but focus instead on offering one or more services based on the experience that they bring to the table. I think Katy's suggestion about private investigations is an interesting one, given the kind of work they have been doing. Obviously they've developed skills in tracking down people and goods, which might be of interest to various people and organisations. I have no idea whether PIs need to have some kind of license here, but perhaps they could set up a website (not difficult or expensive to do these days) offering various kinds of investigation services, promote it a bit (e.g. with some targeted Facebook ads and/or Google adwords) and see what interest is developed. Additionally (or alternatively), perhaps they could offer some services on eLance, oDesk, Fiverr, etc.? And maybe they should also set up a (separate) blog to document their adventure, which would make interesting reading.

Whatever they decide to do, I wish them all the luck in the world.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby El Cid » Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:38 pm

The thing that worries me most about their plans is that they have sold a property in the uk for a decent profit and it seems that this cash is potentially going to fund their two years in Spain if necessary.

If it all goes pear shaped, which seems to be the general opinion, they will go back to the UK with all their profit spent with almost no hope of getting back into the UK property market, especially if it keeps going up as it is a present.

If they had not sold the house and were going to let it while they established themselves in Spain (or not) and use the rental income to rent a house in Spain, then at least they would have the option to return to the UK in a similar financial situation that they had when they left.

It seems to me that this is a case of really burning your boats and a few bridges as well.

It might go right but it could all go horribly wrong and at their age they may never recover from it.

Sid

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby eazbak » Sun Apr 27, 2014 9:35 pm

1- they are both adults
2-they have money
3-they want to go to live in Spain
let them get on with their lives...stop worrying about this and worrying about that and worrying about everything else...go for it now while they are yoing enough to give it their best shot.

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby JWhite » Mon Apr 28, 2014 3:36 pm

El Cid

They could not go and rent their apartment out as they had a big mortgage on it and the rent would not have covered their repayments, they had only had their apartment 8 yrs (taking as they had a 15 yr mortgage due to my daughter's partner's age), so the repayments were high. Also they need the capital to finance themselves in Spain. They are not expecting to come back to the UK to buy again, my daughter's partner is too old anyway. Although they earn a living in the UK, it fluctuated and meant they were constantly under pressure to cover their bills (much like the rest of the UK population at the moment probably :roll: ). Basically they had no quality of life here which is why they want to try in Spain, not that it will be any easier in the short term but at least they will be in wall to wall sunshine which is a bonus. Here they are out in all weathers repossessing cars, constantly driving on the motorway and very often can spend all day out without making a penny.

So things may be hard in Spain but they are just as hard here but without the sunshine ! :mrgreen:

Terry -

They are quite sensible and will not be investing in bricks and mortar. He does have a certification as a Private Investigator but I don't know if it would be valid for Spain. As he has always worked for himself and failure is not new to him, I don't think he is under any illusions that he may be facing an uphill battle. I guess if you are a fighter in the UK, you are still a fighter in Spain eh? :wink:

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Wicksey
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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby Wicksey » Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:42 pm

JWhite wrote: Basically they had no quality of life here which is why they want to try in Spain, not that it will be any easier in the short term but at least they will be in wall to wall sunshine which is a bonus.

So things may be hard in Spain but they are just as hard here but without the sunshine !
Sunshine doesn't pay the bills, and it's not always sunny here. It can be cold and wet too (we lit the log fire on Easter Monday afternoon it was so miserable).

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Re: Chances of Work in Costa Del Sol

Postby JWhite » Mon Apr 28, 2014 5:08 pm

Wicksey,

As I said earlier in this thread, my daughter's partner has spent many months living in Spain years ago so does know what the weather is like but compared to the UK on a percentage basis the UK probably gets 5% of the sunshine compared to 95% of Spain. :wink:


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