# Living and working in Spain



## SouthLondon (Apr 9, 2013)

Hello all,

First I'm not an expat, well not yet anyway. I still live in dreary ol London, horrible weather, crowds, rude people, high prices etc.

Now I'm single-ish, 46 with no assets, and keep saying to myself every winter 'why am I still living in this rathole, what's stopping me'?

'Estou na procura de emprego en Galicia como mecánico de motores pequenos'.

'I'm looking for a job as a small engine mechanic in Galicia'.

I fancy Pontevedra in Galicia, it's looks pretty. It's a falacy to think that Galicia has a climate similar to the UK, yes it does have more rain especially in Santiago de Compostella, but look at the latitude it's on par with Croatia and the Cote de Azur. Even though the summer temperature may be the same as UK it's not as cold in the winter normally hovering around 10-14 degrees celcius with plenty of rain, it's very green almost reminiscent of Wales and Ireland and it is one of the 7 celtic nations with a culture more similar to that of Cornwall, Ireland or Scotland.
Galicia seems quieter and slightly cheaper than other parts of Spain too with better value for money, I'm tempted on going to Vigo - any one of you live there?

Next option would be Segovia or Almeria, in which Almeria would contrast with Galicia in being Spains driest and hottest city.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

I been to all but one of the places you mention

Santiago, Pontevedra, Lugo, Segovia ... all lovely places.
I couldnt advise on how east it would be to get a job there, but I can tell you that Galicia has always been wet when we have been there, and the winters can be very cold with lots of snow

My next door neighbour is from Galicia and he's said in the past he couldnt live there now for that reason


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## Leper (May 12, 2010)

SouthLondon said:


> Hello all,
> 
> First I'm not an expat, well not yet anyway. I still live in dreary ol London, horrible weather, crowds, rude people, high prices etc.
> 
> ...


Whatever London is, it is not a rathole and believe me the UK will appear like a bright warm light on the horizon if you get "caught" in Spain. You need to speak perfect Spanish otherwise you customer base will be at least threequartered. The other quarter will be a trial also - Brits are different to the Spanish inasmuch as they don't tend to support their own financially. They go where the best value is.

Unemployment is running at 28% in general in Spain and 38% on the Costas. Add in emigration and suddenly these percentages rise again and dramatically.

I wish you success but remember a pint you can afford in an English pub in London tastes a lot better than one you cannot afford in Spain. There is no DREAM now and wont be for many years to come. All there is are nightmares unless you are very lucky.

Sorry for raining on your parade and like I said earlier Best of Luck.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Leper said:


> You need to speak perfect Spanish otherwise you customer base will be at least threequartered.


BUT if you are thinking of Galicia, you will need Galego as much as, if not more than, Spanish. If you have an understanding of Portuguese then you'll probably be able to read much of what you find in Galego but when it comes to speaking it, then you will have to learn it. While it is true that, in the towns, you will probably manage with Spanish but away from the towns...

Have a try with this:
Wikipedia, a enciclopedia libre
which is in Galego


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I was in London a week ago and tbh I was surprised at how low prices were, certainly for groceries, compared to where I live in Spain.

Leper is right. Your chances of finding secure contracted employment are not high. Like many immigrants, our loyalties are to our local Spanish community -after all, we live here! - and we tend to use Spanish businesses and shops wherever possible.

London and the UK in general are like Spain or anywhere really: a great place to live...if you have money.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Prices where you live Mary must be very high!! Some friends of ours (from London) were astonished ate how cheap everything is here, where we live!!!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

SouthLondon said:


> Hello all,
> 
> First I'm not an expat, well not yet anyway. I still live in dreary ol London, horrible weather, crowds, rude people, high prices etc.
> 
> ...


You've certainly chosen to look at some extremes in Spain from Santiago to Almería there's over a 1,000 km and more than 10 hours driving, so either you don't have a very strong idea of what your needs are yet or you don't care!
I agree that the north of Spain, although it may be wet, is generally better weather than the UK although I know more about the Basque country and Cantabria than Galicia.
I suppose you know about the unemployment situation in Spain which in general terms triples that of the UK. If you need more info search for unemployment, work, jobs etc. on the forum. The north has much less of a problem than the south, but what the need for an English speaking mechanic in Galicia is I don't know. In the south there are more English speakers, but are there jobs??
You would probably need to come over and scout around yourself, but given the diversity of the area you're interested in, and the time you'd have to spend in each one to get a real feel of the place, I think you're talking of a Long Term Project.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

*Don't forget the tax!*

Tax is not one of most people's priorities when they contemplate moving to Spain;however it is a very important, though not welcome, part of life. Do lots of research on this and your health cover. As for money it is advised to have at least one year's wages when you move hear in case things go belly up!
lane:lane:


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> Prices where you live Mary must be very high!! Some friends of ours (from London) were astonished ate how cheap everything is here, where we live!!!


Ah.....but just down the road is the Marbella/Estepona 'border' You can't get a decent two-bed/bath piso round here for less than 600 euros a month plus utilities. 
My dil took me to Reigate Tesco last week..It's huge and incredibly well-stocked with an extensive range of meat, fish, fruit, veg..everything you can think of and it seemed to me to be no more expensive than our local Mercadona.
I lived in North London years ago, in the Highgate/Muswell Hill area and found things in general cheaper than where I had lived previously in the South-West, mainly because there was greater choice.
Some things are definitely more expensive...We ate out a lot last week and found that on average a meal in a 'good' but not OTT restaurant cost minimum £50 - £60 per head plus wine, coffee, digestif.
But then I spent a day in my favourite store T K Maxx and bought designer stuff for low prices. My dil is currently hooked on J C Crew polos and other things and we bought items that were originally £99.99 for £29.99. Sadly, JoJo has yet to buy a T K Maxx franchise for the Marbella area....

It is definitely more expensive here and not just rental costs although they have fallen sharply. The rent pcm for this house was 2300 euros five years ago....We've managed to almost halve it and intend to negotiate a further reduction next time we sign the contract. We're here in this very pleasant, quiet corner of the CdS merely by accident - it's where family have property. But we are settled and don't want to move too far away although there are more attractive areas such as Jimena which we visited last autumn.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Ah.....but just down the road is the Marbella/Estepona 'border' You can't get a decent two-bed/bath piso round here for less than 600 euros a month plus utilities.
> My dil took me to Reigate Tesco last week..It's huge and incredibly well-stocked with an extensive range of meat, fish, fruit, veg..everything you can think of and it seemed to me to be no more expensive than our local Mercadona.
> I lived in North London years ago, in the Highgate/Muswell Hill area and found things in general cheaper than where I had lived previously in the South-West, mainly because there was greater choice.
> Some things are definitely more expensive...We ate out a lot last week and found that on average a meal in a 'good' but not OTT restaurant cost minimum £50 - £60 per head plus wine, coffee, digestif.
> ...


But you are living in the posh (a.k.a. expensive) end. Around here, an average good meal (3 course + drink) at a very nice restaurant is €10 per head; more than €15 is expensive, but then we don't get many gullible tourists with more money than sense to push up the prices.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> But you are living in the posh (a.k.a. expensive) end. .


We're doing our best to lower the tone


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> But you are living in the posh (a.k.a. expensive) end. Around here, an average good meal (3 course + drink) at a very nice restaurant is €10 per head; more than €15 is expensive, but then we don't get many gullible tourists with more money than sense to push up the prices.


When we visited back in Feb, and traveled around we ate at places en route from one town to another, we too ate lovely 3 courses at about the 10 euros in fact the best meal we had was 3 courses at 8 euros, traditional Spanish food and not a picture in sight telling you what you were eating LOL. One evening we were out a bit early - typically English out before 7pm We ended up in a lovely, Spanish bar, where we had a few drinks and lovely tapas, again cheap and tasty.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

cambio said:


> When we visited back in Feb, and traveled around we ate at places en route from one town to another, we too ate lovely 3 courses at about the 10 euros in fact the best meal we had was 3 courses at 8 euros, traditional Spanish food and not a picture in sight telling you what you were eating LOL. One evening we were out a bit early - typically English out before 7pm We ended up in a lovely, Spanish bar, where we had a few drinks and lovely tapas, again cheap and tasty.


Yes, when we make forays inland to eat we find we can eat well for around 10euros.

I can't get used to eating so late at night..There are a few flamenco cellar clubs round here which feature local talent but they usually open when we're going to bed and close when we're getting up....

Now it's getting warmer we're going to do as the locals....main meal around 2p.m. followed by siesta then a lighter meal around 9.00 - 10.00pm.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Yes, when we make forays inland to eat we find we can eat well for around 10euros.
> 
> I can't get used to eating so late at night..There are a few flamenco cellar clubs round here which feature local talent but they usually open when we're going to bed and close when we're getting up....
> 
> Now it's getting warmer we're going to do as the locals....main meal around 2p.m. followed by siesta then a lighter meal around 9.00 - 10.00pm.


We tend to eat a little earlier - lunch a 1pm then supper at 7. SWMBO like to watch various progarmmes on UK TV so doesn't want to break for eats later.


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## SouthLondon (Apr 9, 2013)

Is it true that the Spanish eat out quite late i.e 9pm? Getting back to Galicia is supposed to have the best seafood in Spain. Galicia really is a different country in it's own right, like Wales is, who knows Catalonia and Galicia might get their independence. Baldilocks, I like your username it's hilarious. Another thing I was going to ask is healthcare, I'm a type 1 diabetic, what is the standard of healthcare in Spain and are there repeat prescriptions through a regular healthcare practitioner? What are the most popular places for British expats? I suppose it's the Canaries, Murcia, Malaga, Barcelona.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

SouthLondon said:


> Is it true that the Spanish eat out quite late i.e 9pm? Getting back to Galicia is supposed to have the best seafood in Spain. Galicia really is a different country in it's own right, like Wales is, who knows Catalonia and Galicia might get their independence. Baldilocks, I like your username it's hilarious. Another thing I was going to ask is healthcare, I'm a type 1 diabetic, what is the standard of healthcare in Spain and are there repeat prescriptions through a regular healthcare practitioner? What are the most popular places for British expats? I suppose it's the Canaries, Murcia, Malaga, Barcelona.


Yes!
Although, I would say that 9:00 was not at all late for a Spaniard to eat. We would count 9:00 as early and usually eat our evening meal between 9:30 and 10:30 and in the summer....!!
Of course, not everyone keeps to the trad Spanish timetable, but I would say the majority do, certainly in Madrid


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

SouthLondon said:


> Is it true that the Spanish eat out quite late i.e 9pm? Getting back to Galicia is supposed to have the best seafood in Spain. Galicia really is a different country in it's own right, like Wales is, who knows Catalonia and Galicia might get their independence. Baldilocks, I like your username it's hilarious. Another thing I was going to ask is healthcare, I'm a type 1 diabetic, what is the standard of healthcare in Spain and are there repeat prescriptions through a regular healthcare practitioner? What are the most popular places for British expats? I suppose it's the Canaries, Murcia, Malaga, Barcelona.


Healthcare is IMHO excellent and in many aspects much better than in UK. They don't mess about with having to go to the Dr to get repeat prescriptions. Here you have a health card and that contains your medical records and you carry it with you - very useful if you happen to be away in another part of Spain (Dr can put your card into the computer and up comes your medical record including your medication. Your Dr will prescribe your medication for a period of time (regular meds - usually 6 months) and you just hand your card to the pharmacist (any - even in another part of the country) and your card is scanned and you will receive the medication that is due at that time. You pay a small amount which is a proportion (varies according to AC) of the cost. 

As for popular places for Brit - a number of the touristy areas but there are many of us who don't want to be with other expats so non-expat areas are popular, too.


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes!
> Although, I would say that 9:00 was not at all late for a Spaniard to eat. We would count 9:00 as early and usually eat our evening meal between 9:30 and 10:30 and in the summer....!!
> Of course, not everyone keeps to the trad Spanish timetable, but I would say the majority do, certainly in Madrid


The hotter it gets, the later you eat! We stayed in Caceres one August and on the hottest days it was not unusual to see people arrive in restaurants close to midnight!


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## carzamac (Jan 30, 2012)

Hello Everyone, not sure if I can ask the question here because of advertising etc but can anyone recommend any recruitment agencies based around customer service/sales management backgrounds?? Iv used companies such as zestrill but wondered if anyone can recommend any? Looking around fuengirola/Benalmadena areas possibly Gibraltar. 

Any suggestions would be great. 

Thanks x


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Yes, the healthcare here in Andalucia is excellent. Sadly for me, I have had much experience of it lately.

However...there is no automatic right to free healthcare unless you are over retirement age.


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