# Spain move from US - & work



## CooleyCasa (Jul 28, 2015)

Hello everyone! My husband and I are thinking of moving to Spain. We'd like to move anywhere that's not the US and chose Spain based on...I'm not sure what criteria.  We visited Barcelona earlier this year and plan to go back next year to help narrow our city search down. Quite frankly, we're not sure what to do as far as the process goes. We've been researching on the internet and purchased a couple of books. The idea of moving is wonderful, but the process seems daunting. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

CooleyCasa (because home is where we make it)


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## amespana (Nov 10, 2009)

The first thing to investigate is your possibility of a visa.Nearest Spanish embassy should help you out.Good luck,it's a great place to live.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

CooleyCasa said:


> Hello everyone! My husband and I are thinking of moving to Spain. We'd like to move anywhere that's not the US and chose Spain based on...I'm not sure what criteria.  We visited Barcelona earlier this year and plan to go back next year to help narrow our city search down. Quite frankly, we're not sure what to do as far as the process goes. We've been researching on the internet and purchased a couple of books. The idea of moving is wonderful, but the process seems daunting. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! CooleyCasa (because home is where we make it)


Hey guys, my wife and I have been living in Jaca here in the Pyrenees. Personally I would stay away from the larger cities but that is a personal taste. We are about three hours from Barcelona. We sold everything stateside and retired here. Where we live we no longer own a car and live quite nicely on SS income, not touching investments. Life here is much better than stateside. I guarantee we have been where you are headed and would be glad to give some direction. We can give you correct answers to many of your questions. Our preference is to live IN the culture and away from many expats. One can survive here easily. Spanish classes are free to extranjeros (foreigners) through the Escuela de Adultos which is good because we all need them. We have become part of our community here and love it. Living here three years now. You will find more Brits here than Americans and many of them live in expat communities. Again, a choice. Later---off to the doctor in Huesca


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## CooleyCasa (Jul 28, 2015)

Elyles, thanks for the response. What I failed to mention in my original post was that my husband and I are no where close to retirement. Unfortunately, neither of our US jobs can be done remotely so we'll have to wade through the Spain job market. For now, we'd like to be no more than 1.5 hours away from Barcelona. We've researched that Barcelona is the best coastal city for concerts which is one of the things we love to do. We'll keep researching and working towards our goal of living in Spain.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

:welcome:

I've given your post its own thread

It will likely get more response that way


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

You will soon discover a general lack of employment for Americans here unless either of you are in the medical field.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

CooleyCasa said:


> Elyles, thanks for the response. What I failed to mention in my original post was that my husband and I are no where close to retirement. Unfortunately, neither of our US jobs can be done remotely so we'll have to wade through the Spain job market. For now, we'd like to be no more than 1.5 hours away from Barcelona. We've researched that Barcelona is the best coastal city for concerts which is one of the things we love to do. We'll keep researching and working towards our goal of living in Spain.


Very unlikely you will get a work permit as jobs have by EU law to be offered to EU citizens first and there are over five million jobless EU citizens in Spain.


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## CooleyCasa (Jul 28, 2015)

myrpg9, that's an awful lot of jobless citizens. I guess we will look into either finding jobs we can do remotely or becoming entrepreneurs.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

CooleyCasa said:


> myrpg9, that's an awful lot of jobless citizens. I guess we will look into either finding jobs we can do remotely or becoming entrepreneurs.


Believe it or not, that figure shows an improvement!! Last year national unemployment peaked at 26%, in some provinces such as Malaga where I live it was over 34% and has dropped below 30% in the past couple of months because of seasonal, temporary jobs in the hotel and catering industries.
The EU is very protective of its citizens and for a non-EU citizen to get a job the employer has to prove that he can't find an EU citizen capable of filling the post.
As many EU member states have high unemployment suitable EU applicants are easily found.
Spain is a comparatively low-wage economy and it's not so easy to become an entrepreneur. Many bureaucratic procedures to comply with. Plus you have to find a niche in a market that isn't that accessible to outsiders.
It's also important to have more than a basic, transactional level of Spanish and there are regional dialects that predominate over Spanish in some areas.
To be honest, it's not a good time to move to Spain unless you have a good income from existing work or retirement income. EU citizens wishing to live in Spain have to satisfy requirements such as a sum per person including children of around 600 euros a month paid into a Spanish bank plus savings of 6000 euros as well as having comprehensive medical insurance cover, unless you are a retired EU citizen.
It's not just a case of moving over, unfortunately....


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

CooleyCasa said:


> myrpg9, that's an awful lot of jobless citizens. I guess we will look into either finding jobs we can do remotely or becoming entrepreneurs.


you really need to get in touch with your nearest Spanish Consulate before going any further

there isn't a visa which allows you to work remotely - & the 'entrepreneur' visa (so-called Golden Visa) requires an investment of 500,000 € (cash)


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Everyone here has added some good information. It's not that you guys aren't welcome, you just need to have outside income to live here right now. In the next few years it is doubtful that it will change.


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## CooleyCasa (Jul 28, 2015)

Thanks for the encouraging words, Elyles. Obviously my husband and I have our work cut out for us.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Facts are facts. The economy here is really tough. You might be able to get by on $2000'a month in larger cities but the further you get away from them, the cost drops significantly. We planned everything for a couple of years and even forewent owning a car any more. Don't need it here. We own our flat here and that cuts out rent as well. Just be realistic and not rely on your dreams. You can get certified to teach English and make some money here.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Elyles said:


> Facts are facts. The economy here is really tough. You might be able to get by on $2000'a month in larger cities but the further you get away from them, the cost drops significantly. We planned everything for a couple of years and even forewent owning a car any more. Don't need it here. We own our flat here and that cuts out rent as well. Just be realistic and not rely on your dreams. You can get certified to teach English and make some money here.


Agree with everything but your last sentence. Nobody seems to 'make money' through English teaching, not that much anyway. Wouldn't it still be difficult for a US citizen to get a work visa? There are plenty of UK citizens and other EU citizens teaching English or seeking teaching jobs.
And what about the financial requirements and medical insurance?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Agree with everything but your last sentence. Nobody seems to 'make money' through English teaching, not that much anyway. Wouldn't it still be difficult for a US citizen to get a work visa? There are plenty of UK citizens and other EU citizens teaching English or seeking teaching jobs.
> And what about the financial requirements and medical insurance?


if they can get a work visa then they'd have a job & wouldn't have to worry about the financial requirements and medical insurance

but as you say, the chances of getting one to teach English are slim to non-existent


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## chica escocesa (Jul 23, 2012)

Is the English teaching situation really that dire? On another thread someone is saying demand is high in the Barcelona area? I also see quite a lot of vacancies advertised online?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

chica escocesa said:


> Is the English teaching situation really that dire? On another thread someone is saying demand is high in the Barcelona area? I also see quite a lot of vacancies advertised online?


there will always be demand for English teaching - though it is often badly paid & not regular / guaranteed hours

in the cities it's better paid & demand is higher

but a non-EU citizen needs a work visa - which would mean an academy would have to pay to apply for it on their behalf - & convince the govt that there are NO EU citizens available for the job


it isn't hard to work out how likely it is for a) an academy to spend money trying for a visa, or b) the likelihood of one being granted


even if an academy or school was prepared to do it - the job applicant would have to leave Spain & return to their home country while it was in process 

how likely is an academy or school likely to wait for that to happen - when there are qualified EU citizens walking through their doors looking for work every day


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## chica escocesa (Jul 23, 2012)

Totally. Yip, that's not going to happen. I think non EU's definitely need to have a sponsored employer or income already.


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## CooleyCasa (Jul 28, 2015)

We're both hoping that our current jobs translate over to Spain, in some way. My husband is a chef, which always seems to be in demand. I'm a CPA and know I'll have a more difficult time finding a job. However, I am hopefully that my knowledge and experience will come in handy.

We're giving ourselves 2 years to figure this out and hopefully we'll gather useful information along the way.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

CooleyCasa said:


> We're both hoping that our current jobs translate over to Spain, in some way. My husband is a chef, which always seems to be in demand. I'm a CPA and know I'll have a more difficult time finding a job. However, I am hopefully that my knowledge and experience will come in handy.
> 
> We're giving ourselves 2 years to figure this out and hopefully we'll gather useful information along the way.


chef work is as likely to get a visa as teaching English tbh, unless he's highly specialised in something that isn't readily available here in Europe

for instance, Indian restaurants can usually bring chefs from India

your qualifications probably don't transfer to Spain either  

good luck though - let us know how you get on


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Would it not be a lot easier for Americans to relocate to Costa Rica?


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## CooleyCasa (Jul 28, 2015)

I'm not sure if it's easier, Bob Bob, but Costa Rica certainly doesn't provide the travel opportunities that Spain does.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Makes sense if you want to 'do' Europe, I've done that several times over but I don't know South America (USA and Canada I do, or did).


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