# Moving to benidorm



## DIANA MC (Jun 28, 2010)

hi 
just wondering if any one can give me some advice 
we are looking to come and live in the benidorm area at the end of the year 
we want to buy a small bar we are not expecting to become rich or anything silly like that we just want a bar that will pay the rent and give us a normal life style
we have been on a couple of viewing trips and our next one is march and we have decided that this is what we rearly want to do 


please please please could some one give us possitve advise instead of negitive there must be some expats out there who have done this and are still living out there happily 

thank you 
diana


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

DIANA MC said:


> hi
> just wondering if any one can give me some advice
> we are looking to come and live in the benidorm area at the end of the year
> we want to buy a small bar we are not expecting to become rich or anything silly like that we just want a bar that will pay the rent and give us a normal life style
> ...


Hi

I work with businesses in Benidorm and although you don´t want to hear negative things, running ANY bar is not going to give you much in the way of income right now. 

Having said that there are niche opportunities if you know the market, know the competition and know what to offer. My advice is to get good professional help in finding the right bar, the viability of that bar, or starting one from scratch even.

Don´t listen to the agents, don´t listen to the bar owners, and DON´T see a bar that is busy and think it will work... it is common practice to fill bars with friends of the owners when potential buyers are in town.

Whether you use the services of someone like me, or someone else, its true that the people who buy bars are the ones who do their homework, take the right advice etc.. as I said do not listen to any agents... they will tell you anything to get their sale.

Can someone come to spain, buy a bar and make a living... yes but it won´t be easy. Having said that... if you can survive the downturn and ride it until the good times come (whenever that might be) then you could make money... if you can do this then there are some bargains to be had!

Start your search months in advance, and as I said, its worth getting someone who is working for YOU, to be doing groundword in your absence!

Worth saying that there are bars doing ok... not making millions but getting by... i have a number of bar clients who are getting it right, and making the best of the situation... some are quite busy... theres people about on holiday, its about ensuring you have what they want and getting them in!

Good luck!


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## DIANA MC (Jun 28, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> Hi
> 
> I work with businesses in Benidorm and although you don´t want to hear negative things, running ANY bar is not going to give you much in the way of income right now.
> 
> ...


thank you for your advise and i will be thinking on all the points you have made we just feel like we have wanted to do this for so long and we have been humming and aring for a few years now and if we dont do it now we will never do it


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

DIANA MC said:


> thank you for your advise and i will be thinking on all the points you have made we just feel like we have wanted to do this for so long and we have been humming and aring for a few years now and if we dont do it now we will never do it


Now is not the time. If you are a business person then you get an idea of when to take a plan forward. Now is not the time.

Think logically. There are loads and loads of bars in Benidorm, so there is a lot of competition. A cup of coffee costs €1.25, a beer a bit more. How many do you have to sell to cover the rent and your living costs. Maybe start doing the €2 breakfasts that are about?

You want to break even and have a normal life style. What hours do you work now ... because unless you go to the cost of employing trustworthy staff, you will be working from ealry in the morning until ... well ..... early the following morning, 7 days a week.

If you speak Spanish thats great. Otherwise you will have to deal with the authorities or employ someone to do it for you.

Although these simple points probably seem negative to you, they should be regarded as food for thought and maybe in your mind as you decide if you are going to do this.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

As someone who has had a bar in the U.K I can tell you that running any service industry is not a normal life even when you are making money. I have had various "careers" in my life and I can tell you that running a bar is one of the most labour intensive long long hours jobthere is.

Maiden


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

I'll keep my advice simple :

Sure, come and rent for a while but please don't buy a property or a business here until you have been here for at least 3 or 4 months, because :

- Holidays are one thing, but you may find that you are not suited to living in a particular area all the time
- You may find that you are simply not suited to an expat lifestyle (the grass is not always greener ...)
- You may find different or better business opportunities once you had been living here and had the chance to find something.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> As someone who has had a bar in the U.K I can tell you that running any service industry is not a normal life even when you are making money. I have had various "careers" in my life and I can tell you that running a bar is one of the most labour intensive long long hours jobthere is.
> 
> Maiden


hear hear :clap2:

I ran bars, restaurants & hotels in the UK in my 20's & early 30's, in the UK when legal opening hours were much shorter

the hours were still scarily long & physically hard too

my OH & I nearly bought a small seaside hotel when we were in our early 30's

changing our minds was the best decision we ever made

the thought of running a bar here - with the long hours expected of you - even with all my previous experience - not a chance


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

DIANA MC said:


> please please please could some one give us possitve advise instead of negitive there must be some expats out there who have done this and are still living out there happily
> 
> thank you
> diana


Come over and do some research, find out about the workload, the regulations, the costs, the success rate and the feasibility. Ask some of the bar owners how they're finding it and then you can make an informed decision!!! But dont ask the owners of bars that they are trying to sell you! 



Jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

...What I want to know and perhaps you could answer me is, what is the appeal????


Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> ...What I want to know and perhaps you could answer me is, what is the appeal????
> 
> 
> Jo xxx


of Benidorm???

I just discovered that tele series -it's hilarious!!!




but if you mean the town - we're a bit over half an hour away - to me it's great for a day or a night out - but I have to admit I can't see the appeal of living there at all!


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

jojo said:


> ...What I want to know and perhaps you could answer me is, what is the appeal????
> 
> 
> Jo xxx


sticky vicky!


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> sticky vicky!


Please dont ask him to explain!


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Caz.I said:


> Please dont ask him to explain!


actually, i am moving house soon.. was thinking of giving her a call, see if she can help with the removals! Everything will go in the van, but cant quite fit the tv or fridge freezer in!


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## DIANA MC (Jun 28, 2010)

djfwells said:


> I'll keep my advice simple :
> 
> Sure, come and rent for a while but please don't buy a property or a business here until you have been here for at least 3 or 4 months, because :
> 
> ...


THANKS we were only looking to rent a property and then when we were there look for a bar there is three adults and one child so between the three of us we were hoping to share the hours to be truthfull as we live in liverpool and all the bars here are closing down it is for a social life as well as a better life we are looking for my daughter is 34 and has worked and run bars here in liverpool for a lot of years so we do know a bit bout the long hours that are required


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## DIANA MC (Jun 28, 2010)

jojo said:


> Come over and do some research, find out about the workload, the regulations, the costs, the success rate and the feasibility. Ask some of the bar owners how they're finding it and then you can make an informed decision!!! But dont ask the owners of bars that they are trying to sell you!
> 
> 
> 
> Jo xxx


thanks jo we are going to do that next month a friend of a friend has a bar in benidorm and they have had there bar for five years so i have there address and are going to look them up when we are there


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## DIANA MC (Jun 28, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> of Benidorm???
> 
> I just discovered that tele series -it's hilarious!!!
> 
> ...


to be truthfull joe we dont want to live in benidorm we just thought that if we had a bar there it may make us enough money to live but i want to live in a more spanish enviroment 
it is something we have always wanted to do i dont know why cause i have been to lots of other countries on holidays over the years but i have never wanted to settle down and live in any of them


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> actually, i am moving house soon.. was thinking of giving her a call, see if she can help with the removals! Everything will go in the van, but cant quite fit the tv or fridge freezer in!


:yuck::lol::lol::lol:


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