# The Great Move!



## BartMcAllister (Jun 19, 2017)

Hello, my dearly beloved humans!

Let me start with a little introduction, to make things a little bit clearer from my side!

My name is Bart McAllister. I'm 24 years old and I have come to the conclusion that it's the right time to start planning my life abroad.
I was born and raised in Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom. However at the age of twelve, along with my adoptive parents, we moved to one of the bigger cities in Poland for a permament stay. Due to such a long-term residency, I was able to apply for a citizienship which I attained. So at the very moment, I'm a proud owner of two citizenships - Polish and English.
It's been twelve years, I've been living in Poland now and I still don't feel as if I belong here. Last year, I came back to England for a time being, but it occured to me, that I don't fit there as well. It just didn't feel right anymore. Hence my decision, to find a new home, in a different country.

Why Spain?
Let me give you a little back-story to my place of choice.

You see, I have always been a man, who seeks knowledge and prioritised my grades and studies to the highest level possible. Living in Poland gave me quite a culture shock, which had a tremendous impact on my life perception. 
Forwarding this year, I'm just about to defend my second MA degree in linguistics. Considering years of studying different courses at universities, I gained knowledge in many different fields, however they never were astray from the passion of languages. 
My fields of studies covered English Philology, Spanish Philology, Polish Philology, Psychology and many different language courses I had been taking troughout years of university. Why am I telling you this? Solely because I fell in love with the Spanish language and Spanish culture, I got to know throughout classes. I was amazed to the point of dreaming about it. So I decided it's time to start planning!

Here come a few questions I have regarding my, what I call, Great Move, because I have never moved anywhere all by myself.

Since my eyes have been shut on Alicante in Spain for quite a long while, I think it would be the place for me to be. However I can't discard any other options. 

Edit: This plan for The Great Move is set for 2020. I need to close a few chapters I've started here to make the best decision of my life by moving possible. 

SO:

1.What cities would you, my beautiful nuggets, suggest me to consider? Any pros/cons of those?
2.What do you think about my place of choice? Is it good? Or should I be aware of things I simply can't find on the internet?
3.How is the job hunt? Will I have problems finding a suitable job in Spain with my degrees? 
4.What jobs should I consider for starters, before I get myself into the entire Spanish experience?
5.What about the culture difference shock? Should I be aware of something, that is Spain-related, that would become a hindrance for an outsider? ( I did hear, about the ' don't make any plans for August, because August is a big no-no for plans').
6. How are the Universities in Spain? Would I stumble upon any problems enrolling into a University, If I decide to aim for a PhD? ( I have a permanent Polish citizenship, so basically I'm still an EU citizen, even after the Brexit).

7.What about flat rentals? Will I be able to rent a flat for me (a single room one or a studio would be a good choice for starters, especially since I don't know anyone), considering I would have to rent it from abroad? Or is it better to live for a few days in a hotel and search for a flat while I'm in there? And what about renting a studio for foreigners. Will I have a problem renting a place, considering I'm not Spain-related?
8.How much money should I save and bring with me, to have a safe start without worrying about funds, before I find a stable job?
9. Any good ways of finding friends abroad? Or any ways to find friends there, before I actually move, that could possibly help me with the moving process? I'm a little bit introverted, so some good advice is incredibly welcome!

And lastly, a personal question. I'm a proud member of the LGBT group. How does that look there? I did my research about legality, but how is it in there in general? I live in a country now, where it's illegal and even punishable. So that'd be a great relief to have a place where I won't have to hide myself from the world, in risk of being beaten to death (don't make me elaborate on this. It's pretty bad.)

Thank you all in advance for your advices and help! I will come in daily to check for all the possible answers!

I'm linking my instagram account in this thread! I will erase it the second the moderators let me edit my profile! (IG: bart_mcallister)

Much love!

Bart McAllister.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

BartMcAllister said:


> Hello, my dearly beloved humans!
> 
> Let me start with a little introduction, to make things a little bit clearer from my side!
> 
> ...


Hello there and welcome to the forum. It's great that you have such a lot of background info - it's certainly a little different from the usual profiles! On the other hand you have raised far too many issues to tackle in one thread, I suggest you search a little yourself on the forum and post on threads that are already running and open your own separate threads for subjects that are not covered.
I can say that being a member of the LGBT group will not need to be covered up in any way in Spain, in fact I think it's PRIDE week in Madrid this week and Madrid is the PRIDE world capital. I wouldn't advise coming though as we are currently enduring the worst heatwave I have experienced.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Last Saturday ADANA participated in the first ever Pride celebration in Manilva. We had a decorated float and processed along with other gaily (in every sense of the word) decorated floats and vehicles.
I'm still reeling at the sheer size of the turnout, both participants and spectators. It was a truly joyous occasion and I had more fun than on any other Pride I've attended, London included.

What makes this remarkable is that this was the first such event to be held in Manilva, a seaside town of about 5000 residents. To compare, you have to imagine a small seaside town in Devon or Dorset, Lyme Regis, say, or Bridport (but they are bigger than Manilva).

So LGBT issues are the least of your worries..

P.S. The situation in Poland is indeed dire. I have attended various events there (Krakow area) as part of my previous work. No comparison whatsoever to Spain.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

As was said previously you would do well to research the forum as pretty much all of your questions have been answered in great detail before. Spain is one of the few countries in the world, well at least where I live in Spain, where nobody could care less about sexual orientation. We have several gay friends here and they are very happy and relaxed. But don't just leave it at one post - tell us more about your forthcoming adventure - you never no where such discussions might leave. Oh, and leave my nuggets out of it.... Welcome to the forum...


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Hi Bart, welcome to the forum. This is in response to your question about the likelihood of getting work with your qualifications.

You may know that Spain has been in a deep economic crisis for nearly ten years, with unemployment approaching 50% for people under 30. Two million Spaniards your age have never had a job since they left school - that includes people with outstanding academic qualifications. Many have had to go overseas to find work.

Things are gradually improving, and 2020 is still three years away, so who knows what the job market will be like by then. But your best bet might be to get a qualification in teaching English as a second language, as even after Brexit there will always be people wanting to learn English. 

In the meantime, save as much as you can, and come over and visit different locations at different times of year.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Gosh, that's one of the most interesting " want to move to Spain" posts I've seen.

Keep posting

And good luck


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

In Alicante they tend to speak Valenciano as well as Spanish. You might be better to consider an area where there is more mainstream Spanish and maybe, to start with, get a philologists job with an academy while you settle down.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Bear in mind that post-Brexit UK nationals will be at a disadvantage in the job market as priority has to be given to EU citizens.

Two minutes later....have just read that with your Polish citizenship you are an EU citizen so have no worries about job discrimination

Wake up Mary....

Don't know about other areas but in Malaga Province where I live there is a very pro-active LGBT rights group, ArcoIris -google it.
I'm Vice-President of our rather moribund local branch but after the success of last week's local Pride we're hoping for some fresh faces.
The group has actually succeeded in changing laws relating to trans persons in Andalucia.


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