# Anyone living in Nerja?



## lynnconnolly

Hi all, I'm after some advise from people who live in or near Nerja. Basically, my husband and I want to move out to Nerja but just to be sure it's what we want, we're going out in January 09 to trial it for six months, and we're wondering how viable it'll be to work?

He wants to teach pc literacy and do pc repairs - this would be something like showing beginners how to use email etc., and fixing their computers - and I would like to do something along the lines of cleaning apartments etc., after holidaymakers have gone before the new ones arrive. Maybe be a keyholder for absent landlords and take general care of their property, that sort of thing. 

We don't want high pressure jobs anymore - just simple earn-your-pennies-and-go jobs 

Would either of those things be something we could earn money at there? Oh and it would need to be a cash in hand type thing for the six months! If we do go out permanently, we'd do the proper paperwork but it's not really worth it if we end up coming back.

Thank you for your time
Lynn


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## chris(madrid)

lynnconnolly said:


> He wants to teach pc literacy and do pc repairs - this would be something like showing beginners how to use email etc., and fixing their computers - and I would like to do something along the lines of cleaning apartments etc., after holidaymakers have gone before the new ones arrive.
> 
> Would either of those things be something we could earn money at there? Oh and it would need to be a cash in hand type thing for the six months! If we do go out permanently, we'd do the proper paperwork but it's not really worth it if we end up coming back.


SADLY I think you'll have trouble.

There are A LOT of unemployed PC folk here. Anybody who takes a PC class wants their M-Soft certificate at the end to add to the CV. 

To repair PC's most folk will want a guaranty/receipt - tax receipt if it's a company. Where will you source parts? - can you source locally in Spanish - importing will be TOO costly with overheads. This is not the UK and many wholesalers WILL ONLY SUPPLY VAT registered individuals. Even with a Town Hall fiscal ID there are things we have to use a "supplier" for.

AND Spanish is a MUST if you expect to work outside the ex-pat community.

Casual labour is VERY cheap and plentiful - Cleaning - €10/hr not including travel time/expenses - and that's in Madrid - my guess is that where the unemployment is higher still - 6-8Euros. You'll be competing with 1000's of folk. The Gov is paying stranded South Americans to go home right now to relieve the issue. 

The simple low stress thing is a MYTH. On the whole - You'll earn less, work longer and be expected to work extra for nothing in Spain. You'll swap rat-race stress for empty-tummy stress. 

If you're coming, despite it all - Bring capital to survive the 6 months without work. You may be lucky but I think you'll need it to live on. 

Spain is probably in a WORSE state than the UK - really!!!!.


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## lynnconnolly

chris(madrid) said:


> SADLY I think you'll have trouble.
> 
> There are A LOT of unemployed PC folk here. Anybody who takes a PC class wants their M-Soft certificate at the end to add to the CV.
> 
> To repair PC's most folk will want a guaranty/receipt - tax receipt if it's a company. Where will you source parts? - can you source locally in Spanish - importing will be TOO costly with overheads. This is not the UK and many wholesalers WILL ONLY SUPPLY VAT registered individuals. Even with a Town Hall fiscal ID there are things we have to use a "supplier" for.
> 
> AND Spanish is a MUST if you expect to work outside the ex-pat community.
> 
> Casual labour is VERY cheap and plentiful - Cleaning - €10/hr not including travel time/expenses - and that's in Madrid - my guess is that where the unemployment is higher still - 6-8Euros. You'll be competing with 1000's of folk. The Gov is paying stranded South Americans to go home right now to relieve the issue.
> 
> The simple low stress thing is a MYTH. On the whole - You'll earn less, work longer and be expected to work extra for nothing in Spain. You'll swap rat-race stress for empty-tummy stress.
> 
> If you're coming, despite it all - Bring capital to survive the 6 months without work. You may be lucky but I think you'll need it to live on.
> 
> Spain is probably in a WORSE state than the UK - really!!!!.


Oh jeez... bonfire considerably dampened  The idea of the pc thing is in the scenario of a UK expat who wants to learn how to use email to keep in touch with home and who wants a native English person to show them how to do it and pull paper out of their printer drawer if it gets jammed and they panic... that's very simplified obviously but hopefully you'll see what I'm getting at. 

Here - where he builds laptops and pc's - he does the same thing and we've found that people don't want to take their computer somewhere as they don't want to be ripped off or without it for x amount of time. Also, they don't want to call out a body from a big company as there'll be call out fees.

As to me, well I suppose I was hoping that amongst expats maybe there's some nepotism in that people with properties there might prefer to employ a fellow UK-er. Perhaps I'm completely wrong...

Thank you for your time in replying
Lynn


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## jojo

lynnconnolly said:


> As to me, well I suppose I was hoping that amongst expats maybe there's some nepotism in that people with properties there might prefer to employ a fellow UK-er. Perhaps I'm completely wrong...



Join the queue. There are 100s, if not 1000s of us expats who would love a little job meeting, greeting, cleaning and keyholding for villas etc, most people who rent out villas seem to be covered already by friends and neighbours over here. I have a friend who used to work for a private cleaning company. cleaning villas at changeover, but she was laid off at the beginning of the summer due to the severe lack of holiday makers this year. The only nepotism that exists here from what I've seen is amongst friends already here. 

jo


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## lynnconnolly

jojo said:


> Join the queue. There are 100s, if not 1000s of us expats who would love a little job meeting, greeting, cleaning and keyholding for villas etc, most people who rent out villas seem to be covered already by friends and neighbours over here. I have a friend who used to work for a private cleaning company. cleaning villas at changeover, but she was laid off at the beginning of the summer due to the severe lack of holiday makers this year. The only nepotism that exists here from what I've seen is amongst friends already here.
> 
> jo


Hi Jo, oh yikes... well it sounds like we need to rethink then. 

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply

Lynn


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## chris(madrid)

lynnconnolly said:


> Here - where he builds laptops and pc's - he does the same thing and we've found that people don't want to take their computer somewhere as they don't want to be ripped off or without it for x amount of time. Also, they don't want to call out a body from a big company as there'll be call out fees.
> 
> As to me, well I suppose I was hoping that amongst expats maybe there's some nepotism in that people with properties there might prefer to employ a fellow UK-er. Perhaps I'm completely wrong...
> 
> Thank you for your time in replying
> Lynn


Lynn - Cleaning etc - ime, the TOP MARKS go to Romanians and other East Europeans. And after probably Spaniards. Then the rest. In other sectors where maybe Spanish is more important, the South Americans maybe overtake the Spanish.

The way our diminutive Romanian lady goes through the house once a week is frankly stunning. Every Romanian I've met works hard and accepts less. 

Also it is ILLEGAL TO EMPLOY A CLEANER without paying a proper salary even as a home owner. So you'll probably have to hope on finding an illegal position (it's risky for BOTH sides) or go via an agency who adds their bit. Ours is via an agency - run by a friend (who does not charge us her commission).

We've had experiences shared on here where in fact established ex-pats have become jaded about using fellow countrymen - VERY often folk use the patriotism thing to replace incompetency - Please don't think I'm referring to you. But it means you actually may need to convince folk more - not less.

PC's etc - don't get me wrong. I've been here A LONG TIME and I work with PC's too. So I don't have the need. What you're planning MAY be there amongst non resident or retired ex-pats - But to build a contact network to generate any sort of serious revenue will take 6-9 months at a guess.

Small shop rates here are NOT like the UK - and many small shops will do freebies to keep customer base. Even places like PC-City will give free advice. They also have a visible workshop in the shop - they'll change disks and such.

We are here to help - even if only help NOT to make mistakes.


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## lynnconnolly

I appreciate the advice - better to be disabused now rather than when we've burned bridges here, so thank you


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## jayseabee

Hope you don't mind me joining in. My partner and I plus my 12 year old daughter are thinking of doing exactly the same thing. We currently own 2 houses, one that we live in and another as a rental. We are thinking of selling both, infact, if we don't do soon they may well be taken from us. I have been running a business that has just collapsed. Hopefully there will be some spare change. We are thinking of coming out for a couple of years, and are working on the basis of £1000 per month as a total including rent. We should have a bit more than that as a back up, although not much, and are hoping that within that time we may find some way of earning so we can extend the stay. Do you think £1000 is enough per month, we only want a simple life. 300-400 euros per month on rent, whatever bills are essential, sipping wine in the nearest taverna, and a nice beach to lie on. Nerja seems ideal. And if anyone can tell us how to pronouce it phonetically, we would appreciate it.


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## chris(madrid)

imo 1000quid is cutting it VERY close. Actually I think it'll be insufficient. 400Euros will not get you much. *Re-think.* To live OK-ish I think you'll need around 2000Euros. 

if I may suggest - the wine sipping thing is NOT the way to view it. You'll fall into the mire. By all means come but think about HOW you'll live. If it all goes "tits-up" you'll receive little or no help from the Spanish state if you've not contributed. FROM EXPERIENCE being unemployed here is NOT a picnic.

Welfare is a marginal concept - and the Tomn Hall where I work the "local" help is disappearing FAST as there is NO MONEY in the coffers - I had to plead for 90 Euros yesterday to get Protection Civil back on-line with ADSL.


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## jojo

jayseabee said:


> Hope you don't mind me joining in. My partner and I plus my 12 year old daughter are thinking of doing exactly the same thing. We currently own 2 houses, one that we live in and another as a rental. We are thinking of selling both, infact, if we don't do soon they may well be taken from us. I have been running a business that has just collapsed. Hopefully there will be some spare change. We are thinking of coming out for a couple of years, and are working on the basis of £1000 per month as a total including rent. We should have a bit more than that as a back up, although not much, and are hoping that within that time we may find some way of earning so we can extend the stay. Do you think £1000 is enough per month, we only want a simple life. 300-400 euros per month on rent, whatever bills are essential, sipping wine in the nearest taverna, and a nice beach to lie on. Nerja seems ideal. And if anyone can tell us how to pronouce it phonetically, we would appreciate it.


The pronounciation depends where you come from in Spain, there are a lot of regional accent. Round here in Andalusia, we pronounce it "NERKA", some say "NERHA", but never "NERJA"

As for the finances, it isnt that much cheaper than the UK - could you manage on £1,000 inc rent there?? I personally spend about 1,500 euros a month for everything EXCLUDING rent and school fees. I have two kids, 11 and 13, 3 small dogs and a car. I'm fairly careful, but not obsessive

Jo


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## jayseabee

Thanks for the input. We do live on around £1000 a month here, but not comfortably. Half goes on a mortgage, most of the rest seems to get taken up with water, council tax, car loan, sky, tv licence, car costs, insurance, telphone, broadband etc, and there is not a lot left.
We don't intend to have a car, we will be probably hire one on the odd occasions we may need one, and my daughter wants to go to a State School. She is fluent in Welsh as her second language, and is looking forward to learning Spanish as her third. She makes friends easily and I am sure she will settle quite well.
We are hoping to get jobs, so that we can stay longer, but I want to make sure we have enough money to cover us for a couple of years just incase. Or at least work out how long we can stay on the money we have. I think then, if we allow £1500 we should be nearer the mark.


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## SunnySpain

The word Nerja would normally be pronounced nair-ha

As Jo points out, this much depends on the local lingo, but in Castellano the letter
"j" is normally pronounced as a "h" 

For example, the place Guadalajara is pronounced gwad-a-la-ha-ra

As for your budget of 1250 Euros a month. It depends on what you call a confortable life and what you spend your money on - lol

Saying that, 450 Euros a month should get you a 2-bed apartment in Nerja out of season, but its likely to be more expensive during the summer.

So that would leave you 800 Euros a month to live on. Good luck !!

Regards, Dave


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## jojo

jayseabee said:


> Thanks for the input. We do live on around £1000 a month here, but not comfortably. Half goes on a mortgage, most of the rest seems to get taken up with water, council tax, car loan, sky, tv licence, car costs, insurance, telphone, broadband etc, and there is not a lot left.
> We don't intend to have a car, we will be probably hire one on the odd occasions we may need one, and my daughter wants to go to a State School. She is fluent in Welsh as her second language, and is looking forward to learning Spanish as her third. She makes friends easily and I am sure she will settle quite well.
> We are hoping to get jobs, so that we can stay longer, but I want to make sure we have enough money to cover us for a couple of years just incase. Or at least work out how long we can stay on the money we have. I think then, if we allow £1500 we should be nearer the mark.


I think you'll struggle. You sound like I did before I came over, its sooooo not that easy. You need to come out need have a look. I cant imagine how on earth I'd manage without a car here, nothing is close - apart from in the thick of the touristy bits and then everything is really mega-expensive - and schools arent usually in those areas. 

Come over and have a look, I could be wrong and you may have different criteria and results than I did

Jo


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## Burriana Babs

I know many couples that live a confortable life her in Nerja on 1200 euros a month. ( and have a car) Once you have a long term rental your rent would be the same in season or out of season for the total 11 mnths then probaly a 4 per cent increase to renew the long term rental. Good Luck.


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## SunnySpain

jayseabee said:


> Thanks for the input. We do live on around £1000 a month here, but not comfortably. Half goes on a mortgage, most of the rest seems to get taken up with water, council tax, car loan, sky, tv licence, car costs, insurance, telphone, broadband etc, and there is not a lot left.
> We don't intend to have a car, we will be probably hire one on the odd occasions we may need one, and my daughter wants to go to a State School.
> 
> We are hoping to get jobs



Hi again,

Lets say you have a budget of 1250 Euros a month

If you rent is say 400 a month (and that would be a real bargain or a dump)
Utilities would be approx. 100 a month (including the community charge)
Tele, broadband and sky tv at say 150 a month (I'm guessing with sky)
Food shopping for 3 people must be 400 a month easy

Leaving you a solitary 200 Euros a month to live on - and that does not take into account costs relating to travel, medical, insurance, clothing and schooling

So taking all that into account I find it difficult to understand how any couple (especially with a child) could live comfortably on 1250 Euros a month.

Note: I have not included costs relating to smoking, drinking or eating out

In conclusion then, a budget of 1250 Euros a month is unlikely to provide you with a particularly wonderful lifestyle, but you might just about survive - lol

As a wise man once said to someone in a similar boat, instead of worrying about making it your home or obtaining jobs - "Why not just take a long holiday"


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## jayseabee

"Why not just take a long holiday."

That is exactly how we are treating it. If we love it, and can find work, we will stay.
We are not looking for anything much to live in. As long as it has 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and somewhere to sit, with a bit of outside space, be it a garden or balcony, then we will be happy. We did debate about pitching our tent up somewhere, but I am not sure we want to go that far.
TV and broadband are not essential. We can go without if needs be. We prefer to listen to the radio anyway. And having a couple of years away from the computer won't harm us, although it would be handy to keep in touch with friends and family here. But I presume there are cyber cafes around. 
400 euros a month on food? Wow. We spend between £30-£40 per week here, and eat well on that. 
I suppose it all depends on what you are used to. All my life I have had to save and make do, and I doubt I could change now. We are getting close to retiring age now, and just want to do something different before it is too late.


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## chris(madrid)

School books here you have to BUY. I don't have kids - but I know my sister in law dreaded the School start expenses. Depending on the classes/year - could hit 1000Euros each start of year.

Yup 400 for food sounds a bit high to me too - But 100/month per person would be a PRUDENT budget - UNLESS you can shop in local produce markets - and you may need transport to find them. If you buy UK things - It will soar. Use places like LIDL/Mercadona. If you shop "native" then expect little choice too - The Spanish are generally unadventurous eaters and shoppers. You will hoverer get offered about 50 types of Olive oil.

Utilities - 100 is not unrealistic. Ours is a bit higher (about 110) - MUCH MORE in winter (close to 300/month just for heating - we have a largish house and it's NOT fuel efficient - we keep it at about 18ºC)

Things like balconies (big enough to sit on)/gardens WILL push the rent up - FAST. 

Broadband plus unlimited NATIONAL calls will be about 50/month (and I'd advise you use Telefonica despite it being a bit more expensive)- Get Skype to call the UK. I live quite happily without Satellite/cable TV.


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## jojo

chris(madrid) said:


> School books here you have to BUY. I don't have kids - but I know my sister in law dreaded the School start expenses. Depending on the classes/year - could hit 1000Euros each start of year.
> 
> 
> 
> I live quite happily without Satellite/cable TV.


My kids would lynch me if we didnt have satelite TV!! And yes, my daughter is at State school, we've spent 500 euros so far on books and equipment (hopefully thats it now!?), fortunately the uniform isnt compulsory so we havent had to buy that. The school bus IS free, so thats a bonus. My son goes to an international school, so thats quite a large chunk of money, but thats paid for with the rent from a seperate account.

I have a housekeeping account that my OH puts 1500 euros a month into, this is for all the bills and living expenses here and some months I dont spend it all and other months I go over. We eat out maybe once a week, and I do meet up with friends and have a coffee quite often, but thats not terribly expensive

Its interesting cos when I was planning our move I assumed we could live very cheaply here - my food bill is slightley cheaper here, not because the food is cheaper, but because I dont buy so much!!?? I also didnt want us to have satellite TV, cos I wanted the kids to have more of an outdoor life here. The reality is that in the height of the summer, its too hot for them to be outside, they soon got bored with the pool, beach, open spaces, freedom, garden etc and now the winter is here, they wanna be indoors or they want to go out to places and that, as we know with kids always seems to cost money! 

Meanwhile, life goes on much the same as it did in the UK, housework, shopping, washing, ironing... The novelty does wear off - I'm not saying I would ever go back, I wouldnt, its wonderful here, but its nothing like I thought it would be. "same sh1t, different place"

sorry, I'm rambling this morning!

Jo


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## jayseabee

You are all starting to put us off now. 
Maybe we have got a bit of an idealistic view of what it would be like.
But we are sitting here in Wales, with constant drizzle day after day. We can't go anywhere, we can't do anything but go on the computer or watch TV, day in day out.
A constant stream of bills through the door, and big brother wanting to know what we had for breakfast, so they can check on which bin we put the rubbish in.
Yes, we have the Winter Blues, and we just want a couple of years away from it all.
Maybe we will cut it down to a year, get a better apartment, and just have a great long holiday, totally spending out before coming back here.


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## jojo

jayseabee said:


> You are all starting to put us off now.
> Maybe we have got a bit of an idealistic view of what it would be like.
> But we are sitting here in Wales, with constant drizzle day after day. We can't go anywhere, we can't do anything but go on the computer or watch TV, day in day out.
> A constant stream of bills through the door, and big brother wanting to know what we had for breakfast, so they can check on which bin we put the rubbish in.
> Yes, we have the Winter Blues, and we just want a couple of years away from it all.
> Maybe we will cut it down to a year, get a better apartment, and just have a great long holiday, totally spending out before coming back here.


Its never my intention to put people off coming here. I just feel the whole point of a forum to bring a bit of reality to it. Its wonderful here, but life goes on, with all the same things that affect you wherever you are. Itd not like "A place in the Sun"!. The sun may compensate a bit, although for the last month its been strong winds and rain more often than not!! Now thats really annoying when you watch british tv and the weather over there is sunny!!!

Jo


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## Burriana Babs

jayseabee said:


> You are all starting to put us off now.
> Maybe we have got a bit of an idealistic view of what it would be like.
> But we are sitting here in Wales, with constant drizzle day after day. We can't go anywhere, we can't do anything but go on the computer or watch TV, day in day out.
> A constant stream of bills through the door, and big brother wanting to know what we had for breakfast, so they can check on which bin we put the rubbish in.
> Yes, we have the Winter Blues, and we just want a couple of years away from it all.
> Maybe we will cut it down to a year, get a better apartment, and just have a great long holiday, totally spending out before coming back here.


We don't want to put you off at all. No one should give up their dreams. I say live within a budget and spend two years and who knows it may turn out longer and better after all.

I know it has been great for us and we live on a limited income and still manage to do a lot of things for entertainment and still have sat tv and other things some call luxuries. But then again we are retired with no children to raise up. We were lucky enough to negotiate a rent within our budget and it includes electric. You just have to speak out on what you want and can afford. Negotiate that is the Spanish way.


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## DROOBY

Alrighty all.

I've not long got back from Nerja Area looking at property to rent, Schools Etc..
I'm quite lucky as i'm a chef by trade and there is alot of jobs advertised in that department on the coast at the moment and i spoke to few restaurants money was'nt bad and neither were the hours.

As for rental we looked at alot of apartments some around 400 mark which were perfectly fine with good views all available at a fixed price 12 month renewable contract.
Also got a 4 bed townhouse with double garage for 550 and private terrace (bargain).
The estate agent is going to help with NIE, Schools and Doctors etc.
I found shopping very cheap sticking to local produce and good old lidl. I cook alot in the house and did'nt eat out much thus saving money considralbly. bought the cartons of red mine for 65cents and they done the job for a chilled out evening on the balcony.


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## jojo

DROOBY said:


> Alrighty all.
> 
> I've not long got back from Nerja Area looking at property to rent, Schools Etc..
> I'm quite lucky as i'm a chef by trade and there is alot of jobs advertised in that department on the coast at the moment and i spoke to few restaurants money was'nt bad and neither were the hours.
> 
> As for rental we looked at alot of apartments some around 400 mark which were perfectly fine with good views all available at a fixed price 12 month renewable contract.
> Also got a 4 bed townhouse with double garage for 550 and private terrace (bargain).
> The estate agent is going to help with NIE, Schools and Doctors etc.
> I found shopping very cheap sticking to local produce and good old lidl. I cook alot in the house and did'nt eat out much thus saving money considralbly. bought the cartons of red mine for 65cents and they done the job for a chilled out evening on the balcony.



I knew rents were dropping but those costs are pretty good. I'm tempted to move myself. I assume you mean 11 not 12 month rental The NIE number and padron have to be obtained before you can get into the schools and with the help of a gestor they're fairly straight forward to get. and yes, booze is incredibly cheap here, cheaper than water!!! 


Jo


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## DROOBY

No. The agent we are using are offering 3, 6 and 12 month renewable. though most do only offer 11. And don't be afraid to offer cheaky rental costs instead of what is advertised. Then again i am scottish think its in the blood


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## jojo

DROOBY said:


> No. The agent we are using are offering 3, 6 and 12 month renewable. though most do only offer 11. And don't be afraid to offer cheaky rental costs instead of what is advertised. Then again i am scottish think its in the blood



12 months?? are you sure, theres a legal reason why the Spanish NEVER offer 12 months

Jo


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## DROOBY

jojo said:


> 12 months?? are you sure, theres a legal reason why the Spanish NEVER offer 12 months
> 
> Jo


Hi Jojo,
Thats whats on there website and i mentioned it to them but we are a few weeks from signing anything so until then i'll take it with a pinch of salt. i beleive you get more rights as a tenant if you get more than 11 months. i read it somewhere but am still to look fully into it.


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## Burriana Babs

I understand that if you have a 12 month lease then if they put it up for sale then you have first refusal. I really don't think I would care 11 or 12 months makes no difference to me. They can only raise the rent by 4 per cent on renewable anyway.


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## jayseabee

Cheers Drooby, our dreams are revived. We just looked on a website to see what was available and at 400 euros the apartments seemed fine for what we want. 
Are you allowed to recommend the agent?
Now I am really looking forward to the wine at 65 cents a pop!!!!


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## chris(madrid)

12 months ALSO gives you more protection against EVICTION. It's common for all sorts of contracts here to be short term renewable in perpetuity - including employment.


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## DROOBY

jayseabee said:


> Cheers Drooby, our dreams are revived. We just looked on a website to see what was available and at 400 euros the apartments seemed fine for what we want.
> Are you allowed to recommend the agent?
> Now I am really looking forward to the wine at 65 cents a pop!!!!


Good Good. Way I look at it is if you get the head down and shovel (you know what) if you have to in order to make a go of it and keep the belts firmly tightened anything is possible.
Alison at Villasol.com is very helpful and english
As are the staff at Nerjarealty.
Hope these help

Remember in the words of Braveheart "Your hearts your own have the courage to follow it" Amen


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## jojo

I'm glad you have your dreams intact, I hope you've taken on board some of what we've said here, it ISNT EASY!, ITS NOT HOW YOU THINK IT WILL BE, IT ISNT THE CHEAP, RELAXING OPTION! but it IS wonderful here. I had the same dreams as you a year ago, and its been really difficult and the things dreamed of arent happening and the things I didnt dream of are! We arrived here last February and for the first month it rained constantly, was horrendously windy and VERY cold. We spent our first month huddled around a fan heater with the kids crying cos they wanted to go home. But eventually the sun came out and things got better. I wouldnt change it for the world now, neither would my kids. My husband commutes to the UK to work and hasnt settled here - he doesnt like it! 

Like me, you want it to work so it will one way or another!! Go for it!!

Just make sure you dont burn your bridges in the UK, so that you if/when nexessary can go back with the minimum of cost and effort! 

Jo


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## marmite

I live in Nerja and would say that the job situation is dire - so many people that I know have gone back to the UK in the last year . Rentals vary but you will be hard pushed to find anything under 550 pcm , poss around 700 for a house . Food prices are in my opinion on par with the uk . Wages if you can get a job are low . Having said all the negative its a lovely place to live and my children enjoy a freedom that they would never have in the Uk .


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## EmmaLouUK

After reading this lol i am a little bit more cheerful lol, ok I am only 1 lol not a family but money is money! I can't say I will find it easy, I don't eat much at all I'm a pasta babe lol I live on the stuff and jacket spuds, I do like my spicy food too so I'm sure I'll survive. How much a month would you reccommend for one 18 year old for food?

Thanks

Emma


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## jojo

EmmaLouUK said:


> After reading this lol i am a little bit more cheerful lol, ok I am only 1 lol not a family but money is money! I can't say I will find it easy, I don't eat much at all I'm a pasta babe lol I live on the stuff and jacket spuds, I do like my spicy food too so I'm sure I'll survive. How much a month would you reccommend for one 18 year old for food?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Emma



I would imagine next to nothing, one "itsy bitsy" teenager could probably live off fresh air LOL. A bag of pasta is a few cents, sauces a euro or so, a couple of tattie are next to nothing. or a meal of the day as a treat is around 7 euros - so I think you'll manage on not much! It'll be stuff like washing powder, cleaning stuff, shampoo, soap etc that'll cost the money, but again there's only one of you so 
it aint gonna be much - 20 euros a week at a guess???????

Jo


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## cajam

DROOBY said:


> Alrighty all.
> 
> I've not long got back from Nerja Area looking at property to rent, Schools Etc..
> I'm quite lucky as i'm a chef by trade and there is alot of jobs advertised in that department on the coast at the moment and i spoke to few restaurants money was'nt bad and neither were the hours.
> 
> As for rental we looked at alot of apartments some around 400 mark which were perfectly fine with good views all available at a fixed price 12 month renewable contract.
> Also got a 4 bed townhouse with double garage for 550 and private terrace (bargain).
> The estate agent is going to help with NIE, Schools and Doctors etc.
> I found shopping very cheap sticking to local produce and good old lidl. I cook alot in the house and did'nt eat out much thus saving money considralbly. bought the cartons of red mine for 65cents and they done the job for a chilled out evening on the balcony.



Hiya,
think i might be dragging up an old thread, but just joined the forum and wanted to send a pm to drooby about his post here, can anyone tell me how to do it because i cant work it out!! :confused2:

thanks, and yes i am normally this slow lol


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## jojo

cajam said:


> Hiya,
> think i might be dragging up an old thread, but just joined the forum and wanted to send a pm to drooby about his post here, can anyone tell me how to do it because i cant work it out!! :confused2:
> 
> thanks, and yes i am normally this slow lol


Because you are new to the forum you are unable to send PMs, if you want to write to Drooby its a matter of writing it on the open forum, if its personal then you need make more mosts on here until the PM is enabled on your account

Jo xxx


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## cajam

jojo said:


> Because you are new to the forum you are unable to send PMs, if you want to write to Drooby its a matter of writing it on the open forum, if its personal then you need make more mosts on here until the PM is enabled on your account
> 
> Jo xxx



Ah ok, thanks jo. I was just gonna ask him about work that was all, he said there seemed to be a few chefs jobs around last year, my husband is a chef, he's working at the moment but being laid off in a few weeks, so he is looking for a new job so i was gonna ask him what the work situation is like down there now. We live in another part of Spain at the moment but are thinking about moving as its so quiet where we live, we've been here nearly 3 years now but i think its time for a change!


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## DROOBY

cajam said:


> Ah ok, thanks jo. I was just gonna ask him about work that was all, he said there seemed to be a few chefs jobs around last year, my husband is a chef, he's working at the moment but being laid off in a few weeks, so he is looking for a new job so i was gonna ask him what the work situation is like down there now. We live in another part of Spain at the moment but are thinking about moving as its so quiet where we live, we've been here nearly 3 years now but i think its time for a change!


Hi Cajam,

I have recently left my position as head chef at a local restaurant to pursue my own business and it was a real problem trying to find a chef to fill that vacancy we found a real lack of chef's in this area i also know of another couple of restaurants that had the same problem.
Needless to say those jobs have now been taken but it did take a few weeks to fill them. There is another one i know of but at the moment the name escapes me.
It really does depend on when your thinking of coming. I can email you a list of local restaurant to phone if you like.

D


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## cajam

DROOBY said:


> Hi Cajam,
> 
> I have recently left my position as head chef at a local restaurant to pursue my own business and it was a real problem trying to find a chef to fill that vacancy we found a real lack of chef's in this area i also know of another couple of restaurants that had the same problem.
> Needless to say those jobs have now been taken but it did take a few weeks to fill them. There is another one i know of but at the moment the name escapes me.
> It really does depend on when your thinking of coming. I can email you a list of local restaurant to phone if you like.
> 
> D


wow thats shame we missed that. If you could send a list that would be great, i dont think i can pm yet so i'll carry on posting and pm u my email once i can! 
Thanks drooby


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## Chica

Hi cajam and :welcome: to the forum

Now, if you thank me for that you will have another post under your belt.


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## cajam

Chica said:


> Hi cajam and :welcome: to the forum
> 
> Now, if you thank me for that you will have another post under your belt.


aahh thanks for that


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