# Moving to Spain and teaching English



## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

Hi, as with so many people on this site my partner and I are looking for a little advice.

We are a young couple with no children wanting to move over at the end of this month to the Madrid area. We have a flat in the UK which has no mortgage so will have the rent from that (approx £600) and will be living with a friend for the first couple of months.

I am a qualified plumber and my partner has just completed a 150 hour TEFL course. We have basic spoken Spanish but will be living with a Spanish friend who hardly speaks English so will be trading lessons.

I understand that life is hard in Spain but we are finding life hard in the UK and figure if your going to struggle why not struggle in the sun!

What I am asking I guess is what do people on here think are the chances of my partner being able to get students to teach English to and if nessecary will she need to heavily discount her rate to attract business. Also, I recognise that building techniques are different in Spain but how different is the plumbing and for someone willing to take payments in the form of produce and other useful things other than actual money, how easy will it be to get in touch with the Expat community in my area? We don't need to earn a lot but would be nice if we could earn something along with meeting new people and learning more language.

Any thoughts/advice welcome.

Thanks

Jools


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

My advice would be that if you have security in the UK then think carefully before leaving it. Renting out your flat would be good. £600 a month would cover a flat in Spain and leave you a little over for bills etc, so you would be OK. If you're lucky enough to get work as well, then you may even be able to afford a night out or two lol!!!! As long as your partner has contracted work then you'll be covered for healthcare, otherwise you'll need to make arrangements privately which will cost. Wherever you go in Spain, you'll probably find a brit or two who will introduce you to the expat community if there is one - theres usually a bar where expats chose as a favourite

As for plumbing........ In my experience its totally different to the UK. I'm no plumber so I dont understand it, but I do know that it is different.

Jo xxx


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## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks for that, we don't really have security as such as we are both self employed so renting the flat seemed a good way to introduce more cash. I'll have to have a look into the plumbing then as so far all the plumbing fitting I have seen have been very similar. Is it possible for my partner to get contracted employment with just the TEFL course?
Jools


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

littlejools said:


> Thanks for that, we don't really have security as such as we are both self employed so renting the flat seemed a good way to introduce more cash. I'll have to have a look into the plumbing then as so far all the plumbing fitting I have seen have been very similar. Is it possible for my partner to get contracted employment with just the TEFL course?
> Jools


 I wouldnt like to say. I think most English Teachers go "autonomo" (self employed), which means you have to pay approx 250€ a month regardless of income - this will enable you access to the healthcare. We have one or two teachers on here who will be able to advise you better. There is also a ruling thats just been announced in spain which says you need to prove an income and healthcare provisions before you will be allowed to become a Spanish resident. Have a read of this!!!

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...uirements-uk-citizens-spain-april-2012-a.html

Jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

BTW, I'm sure I dont need to tell you how difficult it will be to find work. There are many, many out of work teachers and others in Spain who you will be up against

Jo xxx


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

My husband teaches English for a language school close to us. He gets paid in cash and has to be self employed. The work comes and goes depending on the time of year. The summer is the busiest once the children break from school. Lots of people are cutting their lessons down due to finances at the moment. He earns 7 euro an hour. It is not very well paid and we have other jobs and a pension as well.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Cazzy said:


> My husband teaches English for a language school close to us. He gets paid in cash and has to be self employed. The work comes and goes depending on the time of year. The summer is the busiest once the children break from school. Lots of people are cutting their lessons down due to finances at the moment. He earns 7 euro an hour. It is not very well paid and we have other jobs and a pension as well.


7€ an hour 

that's less than I used to get in an academy a few years ago & I felt ripped off!!

it does underline what we all say though - there will always be work teaching English to Spanish people, but the likelihood of being able to earn enough to support yourself, much less a family, is pretty remote!

especially when you then take out autónomo payments - it hardly seems worth the effort


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Last night on BBC World the programme was about learning a new language in Spain, it is apparently a booming business as the Spanish are desperate to improve their foreign language speaking skills to try and aid them in finding work elsewhere in Europe.. German is the favourite with English coming a close second.

My daughter teaches English at a language school.. they are opening up another school within 10 miles, she has been approached by the head of another new school also within 10 miles.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Last night on BBC World the programme was about learning a new language in Spain, it is apparently a booming business as the Spanish are desperate to improve their foreign language speaking skills to try and aid them in finding work elsewhere in Europe.. German is the favourite with English coming a close second.
> 
> My daughter teaches English at a language school.. they are opening up another school within 10 miles, she has been approached by the head of another new school also within 10 miles.


which is great news - but does she or could she earn enough to support the family?

does she get a proper contract or is she paying autónomo?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> which is great news - but does she or could she earn enough to support the family?
> 
> does she get a proper contract or is she paying autónomo?




Yes she could support the family if she put in more hours but she has another business to run.


Yes she could have a proper contract but as she owns another business she pays her autonomo and by doing so she had her hourly rate increased by the school.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Its nice to hear some positivity, but lets not forget the mass unemployment in Spain, those who are already living there who dont get any form of welfare or paro, those who are capable of teaching english. I think they should get first refusal

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Yes she could support the family if she put in more hours but she has another business to run.
> 
> 
> Yes she could have a proper contract but as she owns another business she pays her autonomo and by doing so she had her hourly rate increased by the school.


she's obviously one of the lucky ones then

how many teaching/contact hours would she have to work though, to earn enough to support the family if it was her only employment?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

jojo said:


> Its nice to hear some positivity, but lets not forget the mass unemployment in Spain, those who are already living there who dont get any form of welfare or paro, those who are capable of teaching english. I think they should get first refusal
> 
> Jo xxx




The sentiment is good but lets be honest here.. does everyone in the Uk only employ British builders. teachers, etc.... no they often employ foreigners...


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> she's obviously one of the lucky ones then
> 
> how many teaching/contact hours would she have to work though, to earn enough to support the family if it was her only employment?




As I said in my original post... the programme last night said it is a booming business with German being the favourite language to learn.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> The sentiment is good but lets be honest here.. does everyone in the Uk only employ British builders. teachers, etc.... no they often employ foreigners...


I guess you'd employ the best person for the job, regardless of nationality

I think jojo means that the jobs should go to those already resident here??

jojo??

it's all pretty moot now in any case, since with the new regulations you can't get residency without proof of income & healthcare provision - so coming here without contracted work already lined up isn't a great idea, even just from that perspective


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

MaidenScotland said:


> As I said in my original post... the programme last night said it is a booming business with German being the favourite language to learn.


That's interesting. As I used to teach German I was approached by a Spanish guy who runs a language teaching business in our village and asked if I'd like a job...

The same happened in Prague...When you don't want work you get it. OH was offered a job as receptionist in the beauty salon she frequents....

Here in Spain we are happy doing nothing other than charitable work.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> That's interesting. As I used to teach German I was approached by a Spanish guy who runs a language teaching business in our village and asked if I'd like a job...
> 
> The same happened in Prague...When you don't want work you get it. OH was offered a job as receptionist in the beauty salon she frequents....
> 
> Here in Spain we are happy doing nothing other than charitable work.




There is a language school in Elche and several times the head/owner came in to our shop asking if we knew any English teachers..

I am sure I posted a couple of weeks ago about having no response to our advert for a legal job.. granted the pay wasn't great but it was legal and there was a chance to top up with work in our other business... we would have preferred someone Spanish only in the fact it would have helped us with our Spanish and they would be able to deal with Spanish customers more efficiently.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I'd like to say something here.

I think it's quite likely that you'd get _some kind of_ teaching work here in Madrid. 

As a newcomer to Spain,and to the profession, I wouldn't recommend going self employed/ autónomo. That's usually what people who've been here for some time do when they've made their own contacts and they know there way around the place a bit. It's also what people who teach in different companies around the city usually do, myself included. You get a higher rate of pay, but it's more precarious and the monthly payment you make is made whether you work or not.
So where you'd get work would be in an academy which has a lower rate of pay than autónomos, but less hassle (in theory anyway) and with a certain guarantee. In an academy you'd probably get a block of hours in the evening when the kids get out of school and the adults get out of work. There may be a few day time classes too for unemployed people. An academy, a good academy, is the best place to start out and learn the ropes. Even in a bad academy you can learn lots, it's just not such a plesant experience! Possible negatives of working in an academy are timetable might be sh++y and you'll probably have to teach children, tired undisciplined children - but perhaps you love children! And most academies ask for at least one year's experience.

Other than that you can pick up classes on your own and get paid in cash. The disadvantages are easy to pin point. It's illegal, you're not contributing and usually the money's not good.

Maiden says that the English business is booming and I agree up to a point. My experience is the following. The moment people get laid off they want to brush up on their English, but a lot of them don't have a lot of money to shell out either. The people who get in touch with me want cheaper rates than I usually charge, and it's usually cah in hand. The people who are working want to save their money just in case they get the boot, so they're not having classes. Companies are cutting, cutting and re cutting. I've had classes reduced in 2 companies I go to this month, places where I've been going for years.... Business is possibly growing in the exam preparation for children, but bilingual schools are also growing and taking some of the custom...

What I'm saying is that there are possibilities, but nothing is guaranteed, so proceed with caution. 

As for the plumbing, I just can't imagine why anyone would employ a British plumber. Obviously there are Brits with limited Spanish here, but enough to make a living from??? So, the most like of the 2 to get work would be the teacher, and then to make enough for 2 to live on, I'm not sure??? Try searching British plumber Madrid or English speaking plumber Madrid.

You should also have a look at this thread
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...iving-spain/26226-teaching-english-spain.html

This magazine has info and job ads
http://www.in-madrid.com/

If you want to come this year you should be looking at job ads now!

And search for threads on Madrid


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## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your replies. We had thought that we would have to think of different ways of gaining business in the teaching sector with discounts and block teaching, we also know quite a few spanish people so are hoping that we can get some networking going. We had realised a long while ago that it wouldn't just fall in our laps but then finding work is hard here too. 
With regard to the plumbing, could you clarify why you just can't imagine why someone would employ a british plumber? Is it a technical knowledge thing or a language thing?
Jools


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

littlejools said:


> Thanks everyone for your replies. We had thought that we would have to think of different ways of gaining business in the teaching sector with discounts and block teaching, we also know quite a few spanish people so are hoping that we can get some networking going. We had realised a long while ago that it wouldn't just fall in our laps but then finding work is hard here too.
> With regard to the plumbing, could you clarify why you just can't imagine why someone would employ a british plumber? Is it a technical knowledge thing or a language thing?
> Jools


There are already 1000s of out of work Spanish and British plumbers in Spain, who have many years experience of Spanish plumbing. Theres not much hope of someone straight off the plane being able to have the experience, knowledge or find the work. Dont forget, that you also have to prove your income and healthcare provisions before you can become Spanish residents. 

In a few years, when Spain is more secure then it maybe possible for you to come over and make a living, but you need to bide your time and make sure that you can survive financially on a long term basis before you commit

Jo xxxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

littlejools said:


> Thanks everyone for your replies. We had thought that we would have to think of different ways of gaining business in the teaching sector with discounts and block teaching, we also know quite a few spanish people so are hoping that we can get some networking going. We had realised a long while ago that it wouldn't just fall in our laps but then finding work is hard here too.
> With regard to the plumbing, could you clarify why you just can't imagine why someone would employ a british plumber? Is it a technical knowledge thing or a language thing?
> Jools


we have a couple of Brit plumbers who do very well with the Brit community for repairs & so on - they have been here for quite some years & have built up a good reputation - neither survive on the plumbing though - both have partners who also work & both do other things like gardening & so on to make up their income


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

littlejools said:


> With regard to the plumbing, could you clarify why you just can't imagine why someone would employ a british plumber? Is it a technical knowledge thing or a language thing?
> Jools


Because I live in Spain, so I'd expect to have a Spanish plumber.

Madrid isn't like some of the better known to British people towns in the south. I don't have a doctor that speaks English, most waiters are strapped to put more than 2 sentences together if they are Spanish or South American and it just wouldn't occur to me to try to speak English to someone in a supermarket or optician's for example. In the centre, around Sol, Gran via, Plaza Mayor in the museums and tourist information you might get some joy, but away from those areas...

There _are_ English speaking dentists, psychologists and even electricians and builders but very few as there isn't really a need for them on a wide scale. People who come to Madrid and stay end up speaking Spanish because you can't really survive with just English as you perhaps could, depending on your life style, in some places in the south.

PS Look at In Madrid. I think there are some ads there from English speaking tradespeople


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Because I live in Spain, so I'd expect to have a Spanish plumber.
> 
> Madrid isn't like some of the better known to British people towns in the south. I don't have a doctor that speaks English, most waiters are strapped to put more than 2 sentences together if they are Spanish or South American and it just wouldn't occur to me to try to speak English to someone in a supermarket or optician's for example. In the centre, around Sol, Gran via, Plaza Mayor in the museums and tourist information you might get some joy, but away from those areas...
> 
> ...


Thinking about the plumber situation, where I am you're more likely to get a Spanish plumber followed by South American (Ecuadorian, Peruvian or Colombian),then a Romanian or a Bulgarian (they usually speak good Spanish), then a Magrebí (Moroccan or Algerian) . And why would a Spanish person employ someone of a different nationality? - because of the price.
Where the English would come in I'm not sure, especially now with the situation we're living.


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## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

Okay we seem to have gone off on a tangent slightly. Yes I am English but have conversational Spanish and will be avidly learning as soon as we arrive. I want to be totally fluent before I commence any work for anyone, that's where the fact we will be earning £600 a month from the rental of my flat comes in. We will have enough funds coming in to pay for rent, bills and basic food. Yes a little more would be great so we can actually do things but at a squeeze we can survive. What we are hoping to do is stay in Madrid for a while with my partner teaching and us both learning Spanish off our friends and then venture to a location more by the sea, as we are coming from Brighton I'm not sure how long we would last so far from the Sea in Madrid! The way I see it, its a very similar situation to when I first qualified in plumbing, I had to make myself stand out from the guys who had been doing it for years, which was no easy task. The way I did it was to use the fact I am female to sell my personality over my experience. Oh and by the way I am not thinking for 1 second that being a female plumber in Spain will make things easier, I am of the opinion its more likely the opposite. My skills will hopefully come into play when we move to an area with a bigger expat community and by then my Spanish will be much much better. 
The main thing I would like to point out is we don't need to earn loads of money, we have enough(ish) coming to support us so we can spend time building customers and learning.
Jools


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

littlejools said:


> Okay we seem to have gone off on a tangent slightly. Yes I am English but have conversational Spanish and will be avidly learning as soon as we arrive. I want to be totally fluent before I commence any work for anyone, that's where the fact we will be earning £600 a month from the rental of my flat comes in. We will have enough funds coming in to pay for rent, bills and basic food. Yes a little more would be great so we can actually do things but at a squeeze we can survive. What we are hoping to do is stay in Madrid for a while with my partner teaching and us both learning Spanish off our friends and then venture to a location more by the sea, as we are coming from Brighton I'm not sure how long we would last so far from the Sea in Madrid! The way I see it, its a very similar situation to when I first qualified in plumbing, I had to make myself stand out from the guys who had been doing it for years, which was no easy task. The way I did it was to use the fact I am female to sell my personality over my experience. Oh and by the way I am not thinking for 1 second that being a female plumber in Spain will make things easier, I am of the opinion its more likely the opposite. My skills will hopefully come into play when we move to an area with a bigger expat community and by then my Spanish will be much much better.
> The main thing I would like to point out is we don't need to earn loads of money, we have enough(ish) coming to support us so we can spend time building customers and learning.
> Jools


yes, the 600€ a month will give you a great cushion - but from all the info we have seen so far it won't be enough as far as the Spanish govt is concerned - the required 'proof of income' figure is thought to be +/-430€ per month per person, so unless you have some other provable income you won't be able to register as resident, access healthcare & various other things

if you have enough UK NI contributions you will probably be able to get form S1 from the DWP & access state healthcare here - but not without a resident cert............ which you can't get if you can't prove enough income - a bit catch 22


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## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> yes, the 600€ a month will give you a great cushion - but from all the info we have seen so far it won't be enough as far as the Spanish govt is concerned - the required 'proof of income' figure is thought to be +/-430€ per month per person, so unless you have some other provable income you won't be able to register as resident, access healthcare & various other things
> 
> if you have enough UK NI contributions you will probably be able to get form S1 from the DWP & access state healthcare here - but not without a resident cert............ which you can't get if you can't prove enough income - a bit catch 22


okay, so what are the benefits of becoming a resident and do we _have_ to do it? We're not sure we will even want to stay in Spain longer than a few years so is it possible to stay legally without registering properly? If we have private healthcare I assume that would sort out that bit but what else should we be thinking about?


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

*Moving to Spain*

If you want to be legal, you should also consider that your rental income could be subject to Income tax.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

littlejools said:


> okay, so what are the benefits of becoming a resident and do we _have_ to do it? We're not sure we will even want to stay in Spain longer than a few years so is it possible to stay legally without registering properly? If we have private healthcare I assume that would sort out that bit but what else should we be thinking about?


you _have to_ do it - apart from the fact that it's a requirement, you can barely sneeze without a NIE number here & a non-resident NIE cert expires after 90 days, so then you'd need a resident cert with your NIE number on it

if you intend to stay more than 90 days it's a requirement as I said - also after 182 days you become tax resident too, with all that entails - it's not a choice - it just happens


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

littlejools said:


> okay, so what are the benefits of becoming a resident and do we _have_ to do it? We're not sure we will even want to stay in Spain longer than a few years so is it possible to stay legally without registering properly? If we have private healthcare I assume that would sort out that bit but what else should we be thinking about?


 If you live in Spain for more than 90 days (I think??!) you need to be a legal resident, just like anywhere else. In most towns now, you cant even have an NIE number without being a resident (the two are on the same certificate) and without an NIE number, you cant do much of anything - owning a car, insurance (possibly even health insurance), utility bills........

Jo xxx


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

littlejools said:


> Okay we seem to have gone off on a tangent slightly. Yes I am English but have conversational Spanish and will be avidly learning as soon as we arrive. I want to be totally fluent before I commence any work for anyone, that's where the fact we will be earning £600 a month from the rental of my flat comes in. We will have enough funds coming in to pay for rent, bills and basic food. Yes a little more would be great so we can actually do things but at a squeeze we can survive. What we are hoping to do is stay in Madrid for a while with my partner teaching and us both learning Spanish off our friends and then venture to a location more by the sea, as we are coming from Brighton I'm not sure how long we would last so far from the Sea in Madrid! The way I see it, its a very similar situation to when I first qualified in plumbing, I had to make myself stand out from the guys who had been doing it for years, which was no easy task. The way I did it was to use the fact I am female to sell my personality over my experience. Oh and by the way I am not thinking for 1 second that being a female plumber in Spain will make things easier, I am of the opinion its more likely the opposite. My skills will hopefully come into play when we move to an area with a bigger expat community and by then my Spanish will be much much better.
> The main thing I would like to point out is we don't need to earn loads of money, we have enough(ish) coming to support us so we can spend time building customers and learning.
> Jools


I don't think we've gone off tangent at all, but I do think with the extra information you've given that much of what I'd written before is no longer relevant!
Making a living from being an English teacher is more difficult I think in the south. You can get classes perhaps, but with lower rates, so making a living is more difficult - you'll have to see.
I don't think your time frame for learning the language is very realistic, but perhaps you don't need a very high level??
And as for a female plumber in the south of Spain in the middle of the 2012 crisis - I really don't know what to say!

Good luck anyway!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

littlejools said:


> Okay we seem to have gone off on a tangent slightly. Yes I am English but have conversational Spanish and will be avidly learning as soon as we arrive. I want to be totally fluent before I commence any work for anyone, that's where the fact we will be earning £600 a month from the rental of my flat comes in. We will have enough funds coming in to pay for rent, bills and basic food. Yes a little more would be great so we can actually do things but at a squeeze we can survive. What we are hoping to do is stay in Madrid for a while with my partner teaching and us both learning Spanish off our friends and then venture to a location more by the sea, as we are coming from Brighton I'm not sure how long we would last so far from the Sea in Madrid! The way I see it, its a very similar situation to when I first qualified in plumbing, I had to make myself stand out from the guys who had been doing it for years, which was no easy task. The way I did it was to use the fact I am female to sell my personality over my experience. Oh and by the way I am not thinking for 1 second that being a female plumber in Spain will make things easier, I am of the opinion its more likely the opposite. My skills will hopefully come into play when we move to an area with a bigger expat community and by then my Spanish will be much much better.
> The main thing I would like to point out is we don't need to earn loads of money, we have enough(ish) coming to support us so we can spend time building customers and learning.
> Jools



You're not looking at this sensibly enough! You will be just more unemployed folk in Spain. You wont be any different or anymore special than anyone else. It doesnt matter how good you are at plumbing, whether you are male or female, speak spanish or anything else. No one will care. Go there and visit and see what its like. Remember that its not just cos there are too many plumbers in Spain, so you need to stand out, its also cos people dont have money to pay plumbers and the construction industry has crashed so there are very few new builds

Jo xxx


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> And as for a female plumber in the south of Spain in the middle of the 2012 crisis - I really don't know what to say!
> 
> Good luck anyway!


Slightly off tangent....
But the last plumbing job we needed we had a female plumber (Spanish). She had trained with her father and was now helping him expand the business (although, as this was over a year ago, I don't know how this turned out...).
However, we found out about her and her father's business by word of mouth in the local bar. He had been in the plumbing business in the area for years.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Solwriter said:


> Slightly off tangent....
> But the last plumbing job we needed we had a female plumber (Spanish). She had trained with her father and was now helping him expand the business (although, as this was over a year ago, I don't know how this turned out...).
> However, we found out about her and her father's business by word of mouth in the local bar. He had been in the plumbing business in the area for years.


yep - that's how it works around here - word of mouth in the bars & now a bit more high tech with local facebook groups

The brits don't only recommend brits though, as some would expect - & what's more the local fb group isn't only for brits - we have lots of different nationalities including the mayor


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> The brits don't only recommend brits though, as some would expect - & what's more the local fb group isn't only for brits - we have lots of different nationalities including the mayor


Since we have lived here permanently, never once have we had a Brit recommended to us for anything - and that includes recommendations from other Brits.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

If all you have to live on is £600.....that's not enough for two people if that is your only income. As someone has said, it won't meet the minimum income requirements.
Rent, utilities, transport, food, tv/internet/phone, going out for drinks etc. and don't forget health insurance - you may not qualify for free health care, insurances, clothing and so on.
For every job vacancy here there are literally hundreds of applicants.
What chance will you, a newcomer with no contacts have?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

littlejools said:


> okay, so what are the benefits of becoming a resident and do we _have_ to do it? We're not sure we will even want to stay in Spain longer than a few years so is it possible to stay legally without registering properly? If we have private healthcare I assume that would sort out that bit but what else should we be thinking about?


If you intend to work, you have to register properly, I'm afraid.
Otherwise you will be working illegally and the Government is rightly cracking down on people who do this.
You will not be popular with other local tradespeople who have to pay their autonomo if you work 'on the black'.
Plus you will have no redress if your customer just refuses to pay...That happens a lot round here to people who do that.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> As I said in my original post... the programme last night said it is a booming business with German being the favourite language to learn.


which doesn't answer my question............

how many contact hours would she need to work in order to support the family if there was no other income?


it's no big surprise really that German is popular atm - it's where a huge number of Spanish unemployed are heading to look for work - my landlord's son, for one

he has 2 degrees & is genuinely willing to do anything - last I heard he was doing gardening labouring in Germany - he couldn't even get a job doing that here


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I'm beginning to think that people do what they want and have to learn from experience.

The plus points for the OP is that she has not mentioned dependent children, has friends to stay with, has a small income, albeit insufficient for a comfortable life in Spain and possibly insufficient also for the new residency requirements and that she has a home to return to in the UK.

Which is just as well, as I'm more likely to score the winning goal for England in the EuroCup than she is to find work.

But that is something she needs to learn for herself....by making a research trip.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> which doesn't answer my question............
> 
> how many contact hours would she need to work in order to support the family if there was no other income?
> 
> ...




Well I am not prepared to tell you what she earns an hour...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Well I am not prepared to tell you what she earns an hour...


& you wouldn't have to...... since none of us have any idea of what sort of income they need to support the family & we'd be none the wiser either, since it the hourly pay could be anything from 7€ to maybe 20€ an hour


just an idea of the _*number of hours*_ she'd need to work a week - 20? ........... 30?..........40? more?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> & you wouldn't have to...... since none of us have any idea of what sort of income they need to support the family & we'd be none the wiser either, since it the hourly pay could be anything from 7€ to maybe 20€ an hour
> 
> 
> just an idea of the _*number of hours*_ she'd need to work a week - 20? ........... 30?..........40? more?




I would say if she had no other income she could get by on 30 hours a week.. a family of 5 and various animals no morgage or ent


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