# gibralter mail



## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

Anyone know if gibralter mail is "royal mail" same as britain

im a postman and would love to get a transfer there hehe

probably not the case atall


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

el_cartero said:


> Anyone know if gibralter mail is "royal mail" same as britain
> 
> im a postman and would love to get a transfer there hehe
> 
> probably not the case atall


Sadly not - the Royal Gibraltar Post Office is run by the Government of Gibraltar. Perhaps you could post yourself over in a big parcel with no return address!?


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> Sadly not - the Royal Gibraltar Post Office is run by the Government of Gibraltar. Perhaps you could post yourself over in a big parcel with no return address!?


hehe isnt that what alot of the african peeps try to do there?

hmm i wonder if they would pitty a uk postman and give him a job or wood see me as some kind of enemy of the state its britain after all.. isnt it?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

el_cartero said:


> hehe isnt that what alot of the african peeps try to do there?
> 
> hmm i wonder if they would pitty a uk postman and give him a job or wood see me as some kind of enemy of the state its britain after all.. isnt it?



I dont think theres an issue between the people from Gib and the Spanish - the only trouble I've heard about is that the mayor of La Linea wants to charge motorists to go in and out of Gib cos the queues of cars waiting to cross the border is costing him money

Jo xxx


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Unemployment in La Linea is around 60% and the council staff weren´t paid for three months last year because the town is practically bankrupt. It is not a great place to live, the crime rate is very high and I wouldn´t leave a car there overnight, let alone a bike!

The main business in La Linea is smuggling. Thousands of people go into Gib every day to buy duty free cigs and other goods and sell them back in Spain. It´s costing the Spanish taxpayer between 2 and 4 billion euros a year and the Customs are getting very heavy these days. Lots of drug-running too, all around this coast. That´s the only way many people can make a living, to be frank. 

There are still some poor souls coming over on boats from North Africa, many of them found dead on the beaches. They are the victims of evil people-traffickers who take all their money and promise them they will get homes and jobs in Europe - completely false.


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

haha i bet and pulluting his town in the process fair enough if its a cheap toll and give the money to the poorist!

anyway im building myself a nice mountain bike - carbon

surely i could boost through all the traffic on my bike?


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> Unemployment in La Linea is around 60% and the council staff weren´t paid for three months last year because the town is practically bankrupt. It is not a great place to live, the crime rate is very high and I wouldn´t leave a car there overnight, let alone a bike!
> 
> The main business in La Linea is smuggling. Thousands of people go into Gib every day to buy duty free cigs and other goods and sell them back in Spain. It´s costing the Spanish taxpayer between 2 and 4 billion euros a year and the Customs are getting very heavy these days. Lots of drug-running too, all around this coast. That´s the only way many people can make a living, to be frank.
> 
> There are still some poor souls coming over on boats from North Africa, many of them found dead on the beaches. They are the victims of evil people-traffickers who take all their money and promise them they will get homes and jobs in Europe - completely false.


yes i kind of figured it might be a bit dodgy and they might prey on brits like me with a nice carbon mountain bike probably break my nose and take the bike...

i know the reality of crime in places like that wen they see a flashy brit on his flasy bike - TARGET

might be better living a bit further out then... and gettin the bus in 

thast why im here tho guys thanks i need to know as much info in the next while or i could be walking into a hell situation


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

are these people in La Linea not fluent in english im guessing or all the jobs in gibraltar wood be mopped up for sure

Do they not take on spanish as much whats the deal there


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

el_cartero said:


> are these people in La Linea not fluent in english im guessing or all the jobs in gibraltar wood be mopped up for sure
> 
> Do they not take on spanish as much whats the deal there


from what I understand, La Linea is largely a brit enclave of Gib IT workers


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

el_cartero said:


> are these people in La Linea not fluent in english im guessing or all the jobs in gibraltar wood be mopped up for sure
> 
> Do they not take on spanish as much whats the deal there


Because Gib is a "british colony" it houses many british financial companies, and because of the tax laws there, again many British financial companies set up there. So they are mainly british speaking. So altho there are Spanish people who work there the predominant language in the work place is English. Giberaltans actually have a really strange mix of the two languages and flit between the two languages easily in mid sentence! Its a very small place and has a big rock that takes up a lot of space, so it is a crapped place and thats why rents there are high

Come over and take a look!

jo xxx


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

el_cartero said:


> are these people in La Linea not fluent in english im guessing or all the jobs in gibraltar wood be mopped up for sure
> 
> Do they not take on spanish as much whats the deal there


La Linea is in Spain, so everyone there speaks Spanish because they ARE Spanish. A few of them work in Gibraltar, but mainly in manual jobs like office cleaners. 

Many of the Brits who work in Gibraltar in the banks etc live on the Spanish side because its nicer, and you can get a decent house or flat for less money.

In Gib itself you´ve got Spanish, English, Italian, Moroccan, Indian, a real melting pot of nationalities and languages. The native Gibraltarians speak both Spanish and English in a dialect called Llanito.


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

thanks but what % of them are fluent enough in english i thought pretty much all spanish was good at english or atleast in taht area they would be i must be wrong so im guessing that is why for me looking for a job in gibraltar is a slight advantage since i am fluent english 

ok


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

el_cartero said:


> thanks but what % of them are fluent enough in english i thought pretty much all spanish was good at english or atleast in taht area they would be i must be wrong so im guessing that is why for me looking for a job in gibraltar is a slight advantage since i am fluent english
> 
> ok


I'd say that most of them are fluent in English, some are fluent and totally bilingual or even multilingual. Some are simply just good at speaking English. Being fluent in English wouldnt make you a "special" I'm afraid! There are loads of british expats who work in Gib

Jo xxx


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

jojo said:


> I'd say that most of them are fluent in English, some are fluent and totally bilingual or even multilingual. Some are simply just good at speaking English. Being fluent in English wouldnt make you a "special" I'm afraid! There are loads of british expats who work in Gib
> 
> Jo xxx


yes i just dont understand how 60% of the town at gibralters door is unemployed - thats alot of people .. and if they are truly bi lingual in that area then what chance have i got im lookign at these host family things now ! seems like there is some great oppurtunitys with them - not sure about that tho probably alot easier than trying to find a job in the rat race tho


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

el_cartero said:


> yes i just dont understand how 60% of the town at gibralters door is unemployed - thats alot of people .. and if they are truly bi lingual in that area then what chance have i got im lookign at these host family things now ! seems like there is some great oppurtunitys with them - not sure about that tho probably alot easier than trying to find a job in the rat race tho


They probably dont speak enough English to get a job in Gib. Its a bit like us Brits going to Spain with little Spanish - not easy to get a job! Most of the "white collar" jobs in Gib do require a fluent command of written and spoken English. The more manual type jobs (bar staff, cleaners, behind the scenes workers dont and theres obviously not enough of that sort of work to go round!

Jo xx


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

yes i understand to be honest the fact ive seen things like receptionist / admin /sales calls is pretty run of the mill for me and jobs i can apply for and have experience ...

i dont think i could be happy working in a bar as i find that realy stressfull 

but if i was in cleaning dishes or cleaning to survive then i would do it but im sure thats what the 60% unemployed in the area want to and like u say there isnt enough jobs like that but perhaps the receptionist / admin /sales calls is acheivable job targets for a fluent brit like me but its not asiff its "white collar" but there "is" jobs for me there i think...


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

el_cartero said:


> yes i understand to be honest the fact ive seen things like receptionist / admin /sales calls is pretty run of the mill for me and jobs i can apply for and have experience ...
> 
> i dont think i could be happy working in a bar as i find that realy stressfull
> 
> but if i was in cleaning dishes or cleaning to survive then i would do it but im sure thats what the 60% unemployed in the area want to and like u say there isnt enough jobs like that but perhaps the receptionist / admin /sales calls is acheivable job targets for a fluent brit like me but its not asiff its "white collar" but there "is" jobs for me there i think...


........ mate, receptionist / admin /sales are very highly sought after and generally require a fairly high standard of written and spoken spanish - they rarely even get to be advertised. You've got to remember there are squillions of british expats in Spain who are desperate for work and who live near enough to Gib to work there - heck, if I could get a job there I'd jump for joy and I live an hours drive away

Jo xxx


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

jojo said:


> ........ mate, receptionist / admin /sales are very highly sought after - they rarely even get to be advertised. You've got to remember there are squillions of british expats in Spain who are desperate for work and who live near enough to Gib to work there - heck, if I could get a job there I'd jump for joy and I live an hours drive away
> 
> Jo xxx


really? so what do you do 

i understand there is competition for jobs that is normal the fact ive seen about 15 advertised in the last week on that website seems to me to be enough insentive to atleast try! yes there might be 100 applicants but thats life if they have been out there for years and havent got a job then what does it say about either there cv or just the current situation (must be bad) non the less how did they survive so long anyway ? probably not THAT desperate to be an office slave

are u?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

el_cartero said:


> really? so what do you do
> 
> i understand there is competition for jobs that is normal the fact ive seen about 15 advertised in the last week on that website seems to me to be enough insentive to atleast try! yes there might be 100 applicants but thats life if they have been out there for years and havent got a job then what does it say about either there cv or just the current situation (must be bad) non the less how did they survive so long anyway ? probably not THAT desperate to be an office slave
> 
> are u?



My husband commutes and works in the UK. He flies over every other week or so. He had hoped to start a business here, but due to the recession, it seemed too risky. I finally got a half decent job here after nearly three years in an English company, altho its not a secure job

Jo xxx


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## el_cartero (Jan 23, 2011)

jojo said:


> My husband commutes and works in the UK. He flies over every other week or so. He had hoped to start a business here, but due to the recession, it seemed too risky. I finally got a half decent job here after nearly three years in an English company, altho its not a secure job
> 
> Jo xxx



ok congrats ill give u a wee break now lol perhaps we can chat some other way as you seem keen on chatting about the subjects and is probably very knowledgeable about the area etc and probably could help me a bundle

like i say im not rushing into anything accessing the options making sure i am gaining the best possible info i can before excecuting operation espania.

Seems so far like its a rat race from hell but if u CAN make it ur in heavon lol

speak soon then or some other way like msn if u like 

thanks


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

el_cartero said:


> ok congrats ill give u a wee break now lol perhaps we can chat some other way as you seem keen on chatting about the subjects and is probably very knowledgeable about the area etc and probably could help me a bundle
> 
> like i say im not rushing into anything accessing the options making sure i am gaining the best possible info i can before excecuting operation espania.
> 
> ...


El Cartero,
Sounds like you need some background info to Spain in the year 2011. There's 60% unemployment en La linea 'cos there's 20% in Spain in general, and La Linea is a much more depressed area than Madrid, Valencia or Barcelona for example. Try this thread
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...8126-economic-employment-situation-spain.html
At the moment the people who are most likely to be happy and able to leave the UK to live in Spain are the retirees with money behind them. If you've got to find work and/ or support a family you may want to think about leaving it for 5 years, moving to another country or moving elsewhere in the UK.
But that's just one opinion...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I share PW's opinion - I live just over half-an-hour's drive from Gibraltar. What she says is correct and her advice is sound.
Gibraltar isn't a British colony, it's an overseas possession or something like that. It has an odd status and is not in the EU. It was ceded to Britain in the eighteenth century via the Treaty of Utrecht...and the Spanish want it back!
Only about 20% of Spaniards speak English so to get a job you need to speak good Spanish.
To get an office job of any kind you need IT skills and a good command of correctly spelled and punctuated English. There are many overqualified people -graduates even - glad to get low-level office/admin jobs.
Most jobs that are available here are not 'new' jobs, they are existing jobs recycled and they usually go to friends, family or friends of friends of family etc. by word of mouth.
This is not a good time to come to Spain looking for work unless you are a well-qualified professional or retired with ample retirement income.


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## postmanpat (Mar 27, 2012)

*work around Gibralter*

Interesting your wish to work for Gibralter Post. I also work in the industry and indeed have spoken to a couple of the top guys in Gibralter post about trying to work there ( I actually know them! -small industry) but I'm afraid it just is not that easy. I understand how things work on smallish islands it's about contacts not CV's , having worked in Guernsey Post for several years it was thte same there.
Myself and my partner are very determined to live and work in the area Spain / gib but it is really hard to get work as a 54 postal logistics fulfilment expert! My partner works in IT systems and software dealing with customers and potential clients in Germany ( as a native german speaker) there appears to be loads of potential jobs for her in the Gaming industry and perhaps with Oracle in Malaga ( one of her clients) but for me nope!
So if anybody knows of any work opportunities please let me know . One way or another we will be over in a couple of years max so save me some Sangria !


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