# Young Family Moving To Spain From UK!!



## jordanfowler (May 17, 2017)

Me and my young family are considering the move to sunny Spain. I am 25, my wife is 27. We have a 3 year old son and another on the way!

I'm after some help regarding an ideal place for an English family to move to.
We plan on purchasing a house and to continue working.
I am Railway Technician and my wife is a Personal Assistant.

I have been looking at Valencia as a possibility but would like some more advice from others!

Thanks 

Jordan


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Okay. Here we go. Do you speak Spanish? If you don't ,think about a Spanish family moving to the UK with no English expecting to find work. What advice would you give them? Sorry if that seems brutal but I am afraid that is the truth.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

jordanfowler said:


> Me and my young family are considering the move to sunny Spain. I am 25, my wife is 27. We have a 3 year old son and another on the way!
> 
> I'm after some help regarding an ideal place for an English family to move to.
> We plan on purchasing a house and to continue working.
> ...


Before you consider locations - which are very subjective 

What will you do for work. When you move to Spain you have to show proof of income pp for everyone in the family including children

If not working you will have to have private healthcare 

Do you speak Spanish - without fluent Spanish your choice of jobs is reduced to the odd jobs if that - Spain has very high unemployment 

What are your motivations to moving here, if I may ask.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jordanfowler said:


> Me and my young family are considering the move to sunny Spain. I am 25, my wife is 27. We have a 3 year old son and another on the way!
> 
> I'm after some help regarding an ideal place for an English family to move to.
> We plan on purchasing a house and to continue working.
> ...


As others have pointed out the failing here is the work side as I doubt that you will find work in your respective fields. If you have other plans for work then maybe?!
I would advise you to search for jobs and get a firm offer with full contract details before you come seeing as you have dependants


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

A family of four will require proof of an income of roughly 700 euros each, even the children, per month, paid into a Spanish bank account, plus savings plus health insurance as you will not be automatically entitled to access the 'free' Spanish system..
Without a working knowledge of Spanish it's difficult although not impossible to get jobs but if you are hoping to carry on working in the same type of jobs you are now doing it will be very difficult indeed. 
The Spanish tax and welfare system is very different from that in the UK. No Working Family Tax Credits or Child Benefits. Entitlements here are contribution and not residence based as in the UK.
This all sounds very off-putting but that's how it is. Time was when British immigrants came with little more than a pulse and a passport but somehow bought property and made a living working or running businesses. Then it all went sour. Unemployment rose to over 25%, property prices plummeted and debt rose. Many Brits went home, tails between their legs. Others clung on but found their 'dream' had become a nightmare as sterling fell and prices increased.
Things have improved over the last couple of years. The economy is on the mend, unemployment, although very high, as much as 30% plus in some provinces, is decreasing nationally. But now there is a new factor to be considered, the fallout from Brexit. 
As yet nobody knows just what that will mean for British immigrants but one thing is certain: life will change. Non-EU applicants will only be considered for jobs if there is no qualified EU applicant. Long stay and residency visas may have to be obtained before anyone from the UK can settle here permanently. We will be treated like U.S. Australian , Chinese and other non-EU citizens.
The UK attracts immigrant workers for many reasons: lax labour laws that make hiring and firing easier than in most countries, benefits based on residence and of course the availability of work, even if it is poorly paid and temporary. Many immigrants have a reasonable command of the English language. Spanish labour laws are strict so many employers are reluctant to give employees permanent contracts. There is also the fact that many jobs are found through contacts - in Spain 'who you know' is crucial in having an easy life, as most of us long-timers have found.
So in short, moving to Spain is no easy option. It may not be an option at all post-Brexit apart from highly qualified professionals and wealthier retirees.
Not something to be undertaken lightly and certainly not without a full understanding of all that is and may be involved, especially where children are concerned.
Some people talk about something they call 'the Spanish dream'. There's a big difference etween a dream and reality, something some experience as a very rude awakening.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

As a former railway person, I am curious to know what you mean by "Railway technician"? are you planning on finding work with RENFE?


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

You could try checking out your ancestry to see if any of you are entitled to a passport from a country that will remain in the EU post Brexit. That would maybe remove one possible hurdle.
Can you bear to remain working as a railway technician in Spain? If so you need to research where the railways are based so that you can focus your attention on those places.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> As a former railway person, I am curious to know what you mean by "Railway technician"? are you planning on finding work with RENFE?


I was wondering the same (being still a "railway person"!)

I would have thought ADIF rather than RENFE, but then there are many cities with Metro / trams. The OP probably has a much better chance of employemnt in the fully private sector, i.e. contractors (there are very few fully private rail operators of course).

The problem will be mainly the language (it took me several years to understand the technical language) and also the fact that Spanish employers are VERY nervous about employing British workers with the Brexit uncertainty looming over our heads...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

There are 'nail technicians', why not railway technicians?

I was reading a comment the other day, a reply to someone who had stated that prostitution was the oldest profession.
The reply said this was not the case. Surely marketing executive and management consultant were the oldest professions.....


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## Keeleymarie93xx (May 12, 2019)

*The move?*

I know this post is a few years old.. But I wondered if you did in fact move and how you went around it. It has been a personal dream of mine to move to Spain. Possibly Valencia or down Tarragona way? I am currently training as a dental nurse and my partner is security engineer.. fitting cctv, electric gates and security equipment residential and industrial.. We have recently come back from holiday in Salou ( yes I know holiday is very different from living in Spain) but we have completely fallen in love with the idea of it and wondered how realistic it is? We have two children four and two.. who are still at a very nice age to start learning another language as well as their own.. 
I would like to wait until I have qualified before moving so I have a good career behind me and also until we have learnt a good amount of Spanish if not fluent so we have better more open options of careers.. but still with my children young enough for it to not affect them drastically. 

Any tips and advice would really be great!

Once again please this is just our initial thought so please no negativity and more help and advise would be brilliant!


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

mrypg9 said:


> There are 'nail technicians', why not railway technicians?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well god created the world in 6 days so clearly Building is the oldest profession....


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Keeleymarie93xx said:


> I know this post is a few years old.. But I wondered if you did in fact move and how you went around it. It has been a personal dream of mine to move to Spain. Possibly Valencia or down Tarragona way? I am currently training as a dental nurse and my partner is security engineer.. fitting cctv, electric gates and security equipment residential and industrial.. We have recently come back from holiday in Salou ( yes I know holiday is very different from living in Spain) but we have completely fallen in love with the idea of it and wondered how realistic it is? We have two children four and two.. who are still at a very nice age to start learning another language as well as their own..
> I would like to wait until I have qualified before moving so I have a good career behind me and also until we have learnt a good amount of Spanish if not fluent so we have better more open options of careers.. but still with my children young enough for it to not affect them drastically.
> 
> Any tips and advice would really be great!
> ...


Hmm...negativity. If you look back over posts similar to yours you’ll find that those of us who have been long settled here are often accused of ‘negativity’ when we point to a few facts that pour cold water on awould- be immigrant’s dreams.

A few very relevant facts might include : when and if Brexit ever happens it will be difficult for non-EU nationals to obtain work as EU rules state that non-EU nationals may be employed only if there is no suitably qualified EU national applicant.
Residency requirements for non-EU nationals will be much stricter than now with much higher income and savings and medical insurance obligatory.
Of course Brexit may never happen but if it does then the changes as above will play an important factor in deciding whether to be an immigrant in Spain.
Not negativity, facts.

Apart from that and assuming nothing changes, then my tips would be have the certainty of a good income which if not retired means getting a secure contracted job.
Not easy in a country whereeven in good times unemployment never goes below 8%. In the area where I have lived for eleven years it now stands at over 20%..in the run up to the busy summer season.
Again, not negativity, fact.

Of course it’s not impossible to make a good life here. Thousands of us have done it and we’re not all retirees. But anyone considering making such an important move needs to carefully consider all factors. Spain is like any other country, ordinary daily life, work, leisure but with added sunshine most of the time.
Many people who had a ‘dream’ of living in Spain find their dream becoming a nightmare. 
You already are aware that holidays and living in a country aren’t the same experience which shows a grasp of realism. I visited Czechoslovakia regularly for thirty years before I went to live in Prague. I soon found out the difference.

So my tip would be: plan carefully, weigh up any risks and dont dismiss as negativity things that are disappointing or appear to throw cold water on your dreams. If you were young and single it wouldn’t be so important. But families need security and stability.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

Good realism there mrypg9. as a natural "cheerful pessmimist" I come (in 2 weeks) terrified of the admin but excited at prospect of no freezing hands all winter and not having to work in a noisy open plan office (can WFH)  my wife more optimistic lol


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

andyviola said:


> Good realism there mrypg9. as a natural "cheerful pessmimist" I come (in 2 weeks) terrified of the admin but excited at prospect of no freezing hands all winter and not having to work in a noisy open plan office (can WFH)  my wife more optimistic lol


Thankyou, AV.

I have lived in two former socialist countries. Spanish bureaucracy is nothing compared to the unhelpful attitudes ad red tape I encountered there. I managed to get residencia/NIE, change driving licence, register to vote, get public health care , registering my dogs...all swiftly without problems and without wasting unnecessary money on gestor or lawyer. All DIY jobs. It's amazing how far a smile and a few words of Spanish can get you here.

But I'm afraid you will get your hands cold at times, it happens even here in the far south-west.
You won't escape noise either but it will be mainly of the joyous variety.

Have a good day, I'm off to buy my dogs some new toys!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

andyviola said:


> Good realism there mrypg9. as a natural "cheerful pessmimist" I come (in 2 weeks) terrified of the admin but excited at prospect of no freezing hands all winter and not having to work in a noisy open plan office (can WFH)  my wife more optimistic lol


We arrived in November 2008 and that winter I got frostbite! first time since 1963


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

mrypg9 said:


> Thankyou, AV.
> 
> I have lived in two former socialist countries. Spanish bureaucracy is nothing compared to the unhelpful attitudes ad red tape I encountered there. I managed to get residencia/NIE, *change driving licence*, register to vote, get public health care , registering my dogs...all swiftly without problems and without wasting unnecessary money on gestor or lawyer. All DIY jobs. It's amazing how far a smile and a few words of Spanish can get you here.
> 
> ...


I know a Brit who was a former journalist and reported for the Sunday Times and Reuters
from East Germany in East Berlin during the days of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik and 
first passed his driving test in East Berlin, gaining a DDR Driving license.
During his career and postings abroad, he subsequently exchanged his DDR Driving license for a
West German driving license before finally exchanging his West German driving license for
a British driving license, all on the strength of passing his driving test in a country that no
longer exists.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

andyviola said:


> Good realism there mrypg9. as a natural "cheerful pessmimist" I come (in 2 weeks) terrified of the admin but excited at prospect of no freezing hands all winter and not having to work in a noisy open plan office (can WFH)  my wife more optimistic lol


Of course the climate is better, sometimes we have sat eating at the beach in December. However, as with the rest of the world it does have weather and Spanish houses can be really cold and no you can't eat out on your terrace every night. Equally for me is the July/August heat which can be debilitating. OK if on holiday, no shopping, cleaning just lounging by a pool or on a beach with a sea breeze. When I see those running B&Bs sounds like a nightmare to me, changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms plus looking after yourselves.

I too have been guilty of returning from a great holiday and thinking what if. Still happens to me now in several different places, used to it now, wears off after the holiday gear is put away and a few sleeps and catch up with friends. Great if you are financially sound and don't have to work but with young families the children need to find jobs eventually.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

how quickly things "wear off" just depends on the individual...I am very very good at being lazy in the sun with wife dog and bbq for entertainment 

I did hear that loft insulation is rare though lol


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

andyviola said:


> Well god created the world in 6 days so clearly Building is the oldest profession....





mrypg9 said:


> Thankyou, AV.
> 
> I have lived in two former socialist countries. Spanish bureaucracy is nothing compared to the unhelpful attitudes ad red tape I encountered there. I managed to get residencia/NIE, change driving licence, register to vote, get public health care , registering my dogs...all swiftly without problems and without wasting unnecessary money on gestor or lawyer. All DIY jobs. It's amazing how far a smile and a few words of Spanish can get you here.
> 
> ...


by noise I just mean the god forsaken noise of being in an open plan office truing to do a high concentration techie job haha 

I know the Spanish are "vocal" especially the musical accompaniments on every single train we have taken


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

andyviola said:


> how quickly things "wear off" just depends on the individual...I am very very good at being lazy in the sun with wife dog and bbq for entertainment
> 
> I did hear that loft insulation is rare though lol


It depends on where you are. Our attic is a liveable space and, if we wished, we could make another two or three bedrooms and a bathroom up there. It is insulated insofar as it has "Celotex" between the rafters, however it also has 'passive' heating from the flue of the log-burner. In the summer one of the front windows is opened (it has fly screen) and forms the outlet vent of our 'passive' aircon - cool air enters at lower ground floor and passes up through the house leaving through the attic (this was the Moorish way of cooling the building in summer.)


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

Iam not going to say anything about my 2006 build for fear of everyone terrifying me what it's lacking lol


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## davidr (Jan 8, 2017)

mrypg9 said:


> I visited Czechoslovakia regularly for thirty years before I went to live in Prague. I soon found out the difference.


I am just curious what you found out about Prague when you lived there . Thank you!


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