# Another Moving to Spain Thread (Nerja)



## vicarinatutu

Hi Guys

I'm after a bit of help.

Anybody in or around Nerja? I am (foolishly it seems, reading this forum!) hoping to move to Spain, Nerja ideally, to live and work in April/May of this year. Now, I realise the country and it's jobs market is on it's arse at the moment and to make matters worse I hold very few useful qualifications and currently speak no Spanish at all. Although I'm trying to learn....Honest! 

I've done a little plumbing (only pipe work) and hold a level 1 C&G certificate. I've also got level 1 football coaching qualification from The FA. I would love to be able to use this abroad, even on a voluntary basis. Other than that my background is mainly office admin/customer service based. So, not much to work with really!

My girlfriend, who is also coming along for the ride, has worked in childrens homes and more recently with young offenders. She has also done a CELTA course that qualifies her to teach English as a second language. 

It's by no means set in stone that we have to relocate to Nerja, but the family on my Dads side own a villa there where I went a few times as a kid. I've back with the missus on hols for the past two years, we both really enjoyed it and we've got to know the place, so it would make sense for us to start out there.

Anyway, if I may ask a few questions:
1) Whats the job scene like in Nerja at the moment, anybody know of any openigs?
2) My plan was to saunter round the place asking in bars, cafe's, shops, offices etc looking for work. Is this idea pie in the sky or has it ever worked for anyone? Probably more down circumstance and luck I'd imagine?
3) Are there any websites/recruitment agencies we should be contacting or looking at in search of work?
4) Anyone on here got thier own business in Nerja/Spain? Can I have a job please? 

Thanks in advance for any help.
Kind regards


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## MaidenScotland

Hi and welcome to the forum

I take it you have been reading all the threads that others have started about moving here, well take Nerja and replace it were others have replied to Benidorm, Marbella, Majorca, Alicante, and so on.... same questions different towns but all the same answers. Sorry but that is the way it is Spain at the moment.

Maiden


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## Toxan

I wouldn't think of Cyprus too. The language is not really a problem, just the fact that there is no work.


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## Alcalaina

MaidenScotland said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum
> 
> I take it you have been reading all the threads that others have started about moving here, well take Nerja and replace it were others have replied to Benidorm, Marbella, Majorca, Alicante, and so on.... same questions different towns but all the same answers. Sorry but that is the way it is Spain at the moment.
> 
> Maiden


Sad to say, Maiden is right. There is just no way you can just pick up work these days. Even if you know about plumbing, Spanish plumbing is another thing altogether (!) - and there are thousands of unemployed qualified Spanish plumbers since the collapse of the building boom.

A vicar in a tutu might be able to pick up a few euros busking as one of those human statues though. Just a thought ...


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## rob1340

vicarinatutu said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> I'm after a bit of help.
> 
> Anybody in or around Nerja? I am (foolishly it seems, reading this forum!) hoping to move to Spain, Nerja ideally, to live and work in April/May of this year. Now, I realise the country and it's jobs market is on it's arse at the moment and to make matters worse I hold very few useful qualifications and currently speak no Spanish at all. Although I'm trying to learn....Honest!
> 
> I've done a little plumbing (only pipe work) and hold a level 1 C&G certificate. I've also got level 1 football coaching qualification from The FA. I would love to be able to use this abroad, even on a voluntary basis. Other than that my background is mainly office admin/customer service based. So, not much to work with really!
> 
> My girlfriend, who is also coming along for the ride, has worked in childrens homes and more recently with young offenders. She has also done a CELTA course that qualifies her to teach English as a second language.
> 
> It's by no means set in stone that we have to relocate to Nerja, but the family on my Dads side own a villa there where I went a few times as a kid. I've back with the missus on hols for the past two years, we both really enjoyed it and we've got to know the place, so it would make sense for us to start out there.
> 
> Anyway, if I may ask a few questions:
> 1) Whats the job scene like in Nerja at the moment, anybody know of any openigs?
> 2) My plan was to saunter round the place asking in bars, cafe's, shops, offices etc looking for work. Is this idea pie in the sky or has it ever worked for anyone? Probably more down circumstance and luck I'd imagine?
> 3) Are there any websites/recruitment agencies we should be contacting or looking at in search of work?
> 4) Anyone on here got thier own business in Nerja/Spain? Can I have a job please?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help.
> Kind regards


hi there,having moved to Nerja a few months ago i can say the job scene is not at all good.businesses are closing down and the local people are stuggling to find work.Nerja is a great place to live but you really do need a firm job offer,asking around the town is always worth ago if you are fluent in spanish.you may be lucky but it is highly unlikely.I am in the process of setting up a business here but don't have any positions at the moment. all the best, good luck, 

rob.


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## vicarinatutu

rob1340 said:


> hi there,having moved to Nerja a few months ago i can say the job scene is not at all good.businesses are closing down and the local people are stuggling to find work.Nerja is a great place to live but you really do need a firm job offer,asking around the town is always worth ago if you are fluent in spanish.you may be lucky but it is highly unlikely.I am in the process of setting up a business here but don't have any positions at the moment. all the best, good luck,
> 
> rob.


Sounds rough out there. Thanks for the replies everyone. 

Good luck with the business Rob hope it takes off for you, keep me in mind should you ever need an unskilled bum to over work and under pay!

We're thinking of maybe looking for some volunteer work to do over the spring and early summer, and then we can take it from there. Anybody got any experience of volunteer work in Spain, any websites/charaties to recommend?


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## Pesky Wesky

vicarinatutu said:


> Sounds rough out there. Thanks for the replies everyone.
> 
> Good luck with the business Rob hope it takes off for you, keep me in mind should you ever need an unskilled bum to over work and under pay!
> 
> We're thinking of maybe looking for some volunteer work to do over the spring and early summer, and then we can take it from there. Anybody got any experience of volunteer work in Spain, any websites/charaties to recommend?


Sounds like a good idea to me.
Here are 2 sites that have been mentioned recently on the forum. You should do a search 'cos somebody here is/ was working on a project in Spain and was quite happy (although they haven't posted for a while now...)
Help Exchange: free volunteer work exchange abroad Australia New Zealand Canada Europe
Workaway.info the site for free work exchange. Gap year volunteer for food and accommodation whilst travelling abroad.
Also, it is international or European year of the Volunteer so you may be able to get info from them
Home | EYV_European_Year_of_Volunteering_2011
Tell us what you find out!


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## xabiaxica

Pesky Wesky said:


> Sounds like a good idea to me.
> Here are 2 sites that have been mentioned recently on the forum. You should do a search 'cos somebody here is/ was working on a project in Spain and was quite happy (although they haven't posted for a while now...)
> Help Exchange: free volunteer work exchange abroad Australia New Zealand Canada Europe
> Workaway.info the site for free work exchange. Gap year volunteer for food and accommodation whilst travelling abroad.
> Also, it is international or European year of the Volunteer so you may be able to get info from them
> Home | EYV_European_Year_of_Volunteering_2011
> Tell us what you find out!


I've copied the links into the 'useful links' sticky so that they are easy to find again


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## rob1340

vicarinatutu said:


> Sounds rough out there. Thanks for the replies everyone.
> 
> Good luck with the business Rob hope it takes off for you, keep me in mind should you ever need an unskilled bum to over work and under pay!
> 
> We're thinking of maybe looking for some volunteer work to do over the spring and early summer, and then we can take it from there. Anybody got any experience of volunteer work in Spain, any websites/charaties to recommend?


Hello there, good idea i think with volunteer work,great way to make contacts and may lead to something more .Iwill let you no if i come across anything.
There was a animal shelter looking for vounteers a few weeks back,don't no if they still are,may be worth a look.I believe i read about it in the costa del sol news.They suffered a lot of damage with all the recent rains.
good luck,
cheers Rob.


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## BigD

Hi, my wife and I have bought a place in Nerja and are looking to move out sometime in the next couple of years. We visit on a regular basis and are learning the language. When we move we will be debt free with a UK income of approx £20K pa gross with no dependents. We feel this will be sufficient and would be looking for voluntary work or part time work just to keep busy and meet people. For those lucky enough to already live there are we being realistic or will £20K not be enough and how difficult is it to find work in the summer? Bars, cafes etc.? We are both in our early 40s and have experience of bar work.


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## xabiaxica

BigD said:


> Hi, my wife and I have bought a place in Nerja and are looking to move out sometime in the next couple of years. We visit on a regular basis and are learning the language. When we move we will be debt free with a UK income of approx £20K pa gross with no dependents. We feel this will be sufficient and would be looking for voluntary work or part time work just to keep busy and meet people. For those lucky enough to already live there are we being realistic or will £20K not be enough and how difficult is it to find work in the summer? Bars, cafes etc.? We are both in our early 40s and have experience of bar work.


is that 20k gross??

any idea what that would be net?

and will you be mortgage free?


I know that seems nosey but it will make a huge difference to the answers you get..........


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## BigD

Yes gross so about £16K net, we will be mortgage free. We will also still have property in the UK as a fall back. Our plan is to move when we are financially secure as we fully appreciate the job situation is difficult at the moment however we are both keen to move whilst we are still young enough to fully appreciate and enjoy life to the full.
In an ideal world we will spend alternate days eating Tapas around the Balcon and paella down Burriana however realistically we will need to do something and serving coffee in the mornings and cerveza in the afternoons a few days a week appeals as a relatively stress free way to earn some pin money and meet people.


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## xabiaxica

BigD said:


> Yes gross so about £16K net, we will be mortgage free. We will also still have property in the UK as a fall back. Our plan is to move when we are financially secure as we fully appreciate the job situation is difficult at the moment however we are both keen to move whilst we are still young enough to fully appreciate and enjoy life to the full.
> In an ideal world we will spend alternate days eating Tapas around the Balcon and paella down Burriana however realistically we will need to do something and serving coffee in the mornings and cerveza in the afternoons a few days a week appeals as a relatively stress free way to earn some pin money and meet people.


you should be fine on that income

bar work (or any work) would probably be hard to come by, but you never know - being in the lucky postion where you don't need it you'll probably walk into a job!!

there are some links with info about volunteering in the 'useful links' sticky at the top of the threads


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## BigD

Many thanks, we have done our sums and thought that would be sufficient but it's good to hear it from someone who is completely objective. I will probably look at doing some work for the Royal British Legion as I know they have an active membership around Nerja.


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## xabiaxica

BigD said:


> Many thanks, we have done our sums and thought that would be sufficient but it's good to hear it from someone who is completely objective. I will probably look at doing some work for the Royal British Legion as I know they have an active membership around Nerja.


good luck

ask away if you have any more questions, & make sure you hang around to let us know how you get on


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## Alcalaina

BigD said:


> Hi, my wife and I have bought a place in Nerja and are looking to move out sometime in the next couple of years. We visit on a regular basis and are learning the language. When we move we will be debt free with a UK income of approx £20K pa gross with no dependents. We feel this will be sufficient and would be looking for voluntary work or part time work just to keep busy and meet people. For those lucky enough to already live there are we being realistic or will £20K not be enough and how difficult is it to find work in the summer? Bars, cafes etc.? We are both in our early 40s and have experience of bar work.


You should be able to live pretty well on that, but I would urge you to convert some capital into euros so you aren't at the mercy of the exchange rate. That has been the biggest factor in reducing many Brits to penury when they thought they had plenty enough to get by.

We have made a lot of friends and acquaintances in our village by translating material about the place into English (for fun and to improve our Spanish, not for a fee). I guess that counts as voluntary work?! As others have said, opportunities for paid work are pretty rare at the moment, but who knows, things might have picked up by the time you get here!


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## BigD

Yes that is something we will look at doing, we haven't looked at any savings accounts in Spain yet however if UK interest rates rise later this year we may look to transfer some capital if sterling strengthens against the euro. Our current account is with Sabadell Atlantico, the maintenance charges seem extortionate!
I like the idea of helping out translating and someone on another thread had the idea of partnering up with a Spaniard learning English in order to help each other.


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## vicarinatutu

rob1340 said:


> Hello there, good idea i think with volunteer work,great way to make contacts and may lead to something more .Iwill let you no if i come across anything.
> There was a animal shelter looking for vounteers a few weeks back,don't no if they still are,may be worth a look.I believe i read about it in the costa del sol news.They suffered a lot of damage with all the recent rains.
> good luck,
> cheers Rob.


I saw that too, think it was a donkey sanctury. Think they were offering accom in an on site caravan. The work sounds great, not too sure about living full time in a caravan though! 

The websites posted above look very interesting, thanks guys. Lots have caught our eye just a case of getting in touch with a few now. Any advice from people who've vounteered in Spain or anyhwhere for that matter would be greatly received.


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## Alcalaina

BigD said:


> Yes that is something we will look at doing, we haven't looked at any savings accounts in Spain yet however if UK interest rates rise later this year we may look to transfer some capital if sterling strengthens against the euro. Our current account is with Sabadell Atlantico, the maintenance charges seem extortionate!
> I like the idea of helping out translating and someone on another thread had the idea of partnering up with a Spaniard learning English in order to help each other.


You should be able to find a bank that doesn't have extortionate fees and also offers fixed term savings at around 3 or 3.5 per cent. La Caixa comes to mind, I'm sure there are others.

There are always local small businesses looking for translations. I translated a load of menus at a tapas bar here and now we get offered a free drink every time we go in there!


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## vicarinatutu

Apologies for the thread revival but having signed up for workaways we've sorted a host out and we'll be flying out for the first weekend in May. Muchos gracias for these links pesky wesky, two great sites there.

We plan to stay with this first host for as long as we're enjoying it/proving useful/not out staying our welcome. Then the plan is to have mooch about Andalusia, doing more volunteer work, putting ourselves about, meeting people, hopefully try to pick up bits of the language and see what happens. He who dares Rodney and all that!

I would like to be prepared in the event of stumbling across the opportunity of some paid work (however unlikely). What sort of things/documents do we need to bring across in order to work/open a bank account etc? Any help much appreciated.

Cheers

Matt


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## mrypg9

rob1340 said:


> Hello there, good idea i think with volunteer work,great way to make contacts and may lead to something more .Iwill let you no if i come across anything.
> There was a animal shelter looking for vounteers a few weeks back,don't no if they still are,may be worth a look.I believe i read about it in the costa del sol news.They suffered a lot of damage with all the recent rains.
> good luck,
> cheers Rob.


I think you mean the shelter at Mijas.
Most animal shelters can use volunteers - we've got three Dutch guys coming in August - but no way can most of these shelters offer pay or accommodation or transport. In fact I'd be very surprised to learn of any who can offer those things.
Fact is that unemployment in Spain is three times that in the UK. 
Best to stay home for a few years.


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## JoCatalunya

Good luck, my son is fluent in Spanish, Catalan, German and can converse very well in Arabic, but he is finding it nigh on impossible up north to find work, many of his Spanish/Catalan friends are out of work or on short time. 
This crisis has done for a good many folk but I wish you all the best and hope you find something when you come over.


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## Pesky Wesky

vicarinatutu said:


> Apologies for the thread revival but having signed up for workaways we've sorted a host out and we'll be flying out for the first weekend in May. Muchos gracias for these links pesky wesky, two great sites there.
> 
> We plan to stay with this first host for as long as we're enjoying it/proving useful/not out staying our welcome. Then the plan is to have mooch about Andalusia, doing more volunteer work, putting ourselves about, meeting people, hopefully try to pick up bits of the language and see what happens. He who dares Rodney and all that!
> 
> I would like to be prepared in the event of stumbling across the opportunity of some paid work (however unlikely). What sort of things/documents do we need to bring across in order to work/open a bank account etc? Any help much appreciated.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Matt


Hope things work out for you Matt. At least you'll get some experience of life in Spain and of the best kind, working and living in the country with Spaniards.

There is a lot of info about bank accounts here and there's a thread about nie etc at the top of the main page...


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