# should we move to malaga ? if so where ?



## babykylo (Jul 25, 2015)

Hi all, my wife and I and our 8 week old baby are thinking of moving to the Malaga area, we have been many times on hol and even got married there 2 years ago. we love it. We've always toyed with the idea of moving there. Should we ?
My wife's a staff nurse so she should get work quite easily and I'm willing to do pretty much anything . 
We would like to live near Malaga city and the coast but want to live somewhere which is mainly spanish. Any ideas ?
Also should we buy an apartment in Spain now and just trial it by flying out for long weekends / weeks at a time or just take the leap, sell up here and move ??

Please help. Any advice would be much appreciated ?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

babykylo said:


> Hi all, my wife and I and our 8 week old baby are thinking of moving to the Malaga area, we have been many times on hol and even got married there 2 years ago. we love it. We've always toyed with the idea of moving there. Should we ?
> My wife's a staff nurse so she should get work quite easily and I'm willing to do pretty much anything .
> We would like to live near Malaga city and the coast but want to live somewhere which is mainly spanish. Any ideas ?
> Also should we buy an apartment in Spain now and just trial it by flying out for long weekends / weeks at a time or just take the leap, sell up here and move ??
> ...


Will your wife be able to get work quite easily?
I know that Spanish nurses are leaving for the UK in large numbers...
Meet the Spanish nurses desperate for a job in the NHS | Society | The Guardian_
As young Spanish nurses struggle to gain a foothold in the country’s job market, dozens of recruitment fairs have sprung up to bridge the gap between unemployed healthcare workers in Spain, and the UK, where qualified nurses are in high demand. 

_Staff say Hola to new Spanish nurses! | Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
_*A group of 11 nurses from Spain have chosen to make the life-changing decision to move to Yorkshire and work with our local community based here at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust.*

The Trust began a large scale recruitment drive late last year to drive up the numbers of full time nurses at the hospital and in our community services to ensure that staff could spend more time with patients and provide the personal care and attention patients deserve, which the Trust is always striving for. 

The 11 are all qualified nurses with directly transferable skills. In addition, they will all undergo an intensive induction with our colleagues here at Rotherham Hospital,..._
Will you be able to get a job that pays a decent salary with some kind of minimum conditions with 28,7% of Spanish men in Andalucia unemployed?
I'd look at employment prospects before looking at apartments myself, but see what others say...


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## babykylo (Jul 25, 2015)

Great advice. Thanks loads .Will look into it now.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

babykylo said:


> Great advice. Thanks loads .Will look into it now.


I have no idea if this is useful or not, but look here
Angels Nursing and Healthcare Spain

and infojobs.net


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## el romeral (May 8, 2012)

In terms of location (and being "Spanish") Alhaurin De La Torre fits the bill.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

el romeral said:


> In terms of location (and being "Spanish") Alhaurin De La Torre fits the bill.


Over thirty per cent of the residents in both the Alhaurins are foreign, mainly British. Ask Jo.
Everywhere in Spain is ' Spanish'. To think otherwise is a delusion. Benidorm is as Stpanish as Burgos.
Do you think Rochdale or Birmingham aren't 'English'?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

babykylo said:


> Hi all, my wife and I and our 8 week old baby are thinking of moving to the Malaga area, we have been many times on hol and even got married there 2 years ago. we love it. We've always toyed with the idea of moving there. Should we ?
> My wife's a staff nurse so she should get work quite easily and I'm willing to do pretty much anything .
> We would like to live near Malaga city and the coast but want to live somewhere which is mainly spanish. Any ideas ?
> Also should we buy an apartment in Spain now and just trial it by flying out for long weekends / weeks at a time or just take the leap, sell up here and move ??
> ...


First of all, it has to be said that spending holidays somewhere is not the same as living there. I visited Prague and stayed with friends for over forty years before relocating there and the experience of actually living everyday life came as a shock. I spoke basic Czech too but that didn't help much as speaking and understanding a language takes years.
Then there's the work situation. I live in Malaga Province and it has unemployment at over 30%. ' Turning your hand to anything' is a phrase often heard from would-be immigrants but in practice it means cleaning houses and pools or bar work on the black for as little as €4 an hour.
Getting a job here requires fluent Spanish and depends on who you know more often than not. It takes time to make contacts. Almost six million people, Spanish people, are in the job queue before you. As PW has said, many Spaniards are leaving Spain for the UK in search of work. Nurses are leaving in droves.
Then there are the formalities. To live in Spain legally you must prove an income of around €600 per person paid into a Spanish bank...that includes your baby. Then you must also show evidence of savings of around €6000 and have health insurance ...your EHIC can't be used once you are resident.
I'm not saying you won't find work, some people do but I think your chances are slim. Many immigrants come with high hopes but end up working cash in hand, illegally, low pay, long hours, living from hand to mouth. Not much of a lifestyle. Spain's welfare system is nothing like that of the UK, it's contribution not residence based.
These are more or less the facts as they are. If itwas just the two of you I'd say 'give it ago but have a plan B ' but having a young baby brings in many considerations such as who will look after the child, will you be relying on one income.
So not impossible, of course, but something that needs a lot of thought.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Over thirty per cent of the residents in both the Alhaurins are foreign, mainly British. Ask Jo.
> Everywhere in Spain is ' Spanish'. To think otherwise is a delusion. Benidorm is as Stpanish as Burgos.
> Do you think Rochdale or Birmingham aren't 'English'?


It's a bit pedantic, but you're right. Of course there are people who'll say that Birmingham for example isn't British any more, but Britain, like many many places has changed and is changing its demographics.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> It's a bit pedantic, but you're right. Of course there are people who'll say that Birmingham for example isn't British any more, but Britain, like many many places has changed and is changing its demographics.


I just find it amusing and a tad annoying when people prattle on about the 'real' Spain or say they want to live somewhere 'Spanish'. London is now I believe populated more by non-British born residents and residents of British nationality but non-British origin, cities such as Birmingham, Leeds, Rochdale, Bradford, Slough have high percentages of 'foreign' residents but nobody says 'I want to live in the 'real' England' or 'I want to live with the English' - you'd probably be prosecuted for saying that
Perhaps what people mean is that they would prefer the country rather than big cities or the Costas, fair enough. A long-term Brit resident once told me that some people who live in rural areas and boast of their authenticity would really like to live on the Costas but can't afford to....but I think he may have had an axe to grind, being somewhat impecunious himself.
It's not just about statistics either, it's about proportionality on the ground. A village with 2000 residents with 200 immigrants living there will obviously appear to have more immigrants than a big city with a higher percentage as they will stand out more.
Our village is small, according to the padron, 1008. I'm sure the true figure is much more. In the summer we get a lot of people visiting from France, the UK and elsewhere as there are small communities on the other side of the A7 which are very popular for family holidays but in winter a week or more can pass and we literally see no-one walking in our street and just a few cars passing through. The few resident Brits meet up daily for coffee in the local bar but the village goes back to its dozy norm. But summer or winter, whatever the number of foreigners, be they tourists or immigrants, it is still Spain.

Once we were walking in the remotest campo, far away from any habitation, following a vague and not very helpful walking route map. We got lost (often happens with me). We came across an isolated finca and stopped to see if it was featured on the map. A woman emerged from the door, saw us and shouted in pure unadulterated Glaswegian: 'Are you lost? Would youse like a cup of tea?'
The previous day, lost again in the wilderness, we flagged down a passing vehicle. Explaining our plight in my best Spanish, I was answered in tones of pure Essex.
We Brits get everywhere but it's still Spain. Different Spains.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

babykylo said:


> Also should we buy an apartment in Spain now and just trial it by flying out for long weekends / weeks at a time or just take the leap, sell up here and move ??


I wouldn't recommend just selling up and moving until you get the work situation sorted. Wages are very low even if you do find work, most jobs are on temporary contracts and you have no security. Remember there is no child benefit or housing benefit here as a safety net. 

If you have the money, however, it's definitely a good time to buy an apartment to use for holidays until things improve. Prices are still low and the exchange rate is good. But don't expect to be able to sell it quickly if your circumstances change - there are 2 million empty homes in Spain and it's a buyer's market!


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## el romeral (May 8, 2012)

mrypg9 said:


> Over thirty per cent of the residents in both the Alhaurins are foreign, mainly British. Ask Jo.
> Everywhere in Spain is ' Spanish'. To think otherwise is a delusion. Benidorm is as Stpanish as Burgos.
> Do you think Rochdale or Birmingham aren't 'English'?


Unbelievable reply and way off the mark. Surprised you never got a Prague reference in though!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

el romeral said:


> Unbelievable reply and way off the mark. Surprised you never got a Prague reference in though!


Believable and not off the mark. Google the statistics. If you can show otherwise, fair enough. Both Alhaurins and Coin have a high percentage of British immigrants amongst other foreigners. We had a look round when we were deciding where to live when we first came *from Prague.*
*When I lived in Prague,* there were also many British immigrants there. Funnily, they didn't talk about the 'real' Czech Republic or try to avoid each other.
Didn't want to disappoint you.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Had a look but couldn't find the more recent figures I saw some time earlier this year which gave a higher figure for foreigners in both Alhaurins. These figures are from 2009 and both towns have grown since then. ALT had 20% foreign population, mainly British, AEG only 10% but these figures are from six years 
ago:

Alhaurin de la Torre 33.567 (foreigners: 3.278)
Alhaurin el Grande 22.785 (foreigners: 5.081


Whilst looking, I found these hilarious comments from a couple of sites about the Alhaurins:


_'We chose Grande over Torre. Grande has more of a feel of Spain, Torre reminded me of the film Stepford Wives, everything looked the same'

'I've never come across a village that looks and feels as rough as Alhaurin El Grande - and I've been to a lot of places in Spain. The only place I can equate it to was when I was in the Gypsy neighbourhood of Barcelona called Besós'.

'We surely can agree they are both better than Coin'[/_I]

Seems we were right about Coin....or not?

SB you are so predictable.....I love it Consistency is imo a very important quality


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## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

Sorry old girl I don't believe anything you say.I am still waiting for you to show me the post where I said I had lived here for 26years.It's not nice telling lies about people but whats new for you..Respect,certainly not for you girl.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Play nicely children please.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

babykylo said:


> Hi all, my wife and I and our 8 week old baby are thinking of moving to the Malaga area, we have been many times on hol and even got married there 2 years ago. we love it. We've always toyed with the idea of moving there. Should we ?
> *My wife's a staff nurse so she should get work quite easily* and I'm willing to do pretty much anything .
> We would like to live near Malaga city and the coast but want to live somewhere which is mainly spanish. Any ideas ?
> Also should we buy an apartment in Spain now and just trial it by flying out for long weekends / weeks at a time or just take the leap, sell up here and move ??
> ...


I doubt she would get work, it would be extremely hard for her to do so. As for you, there are millions of local people 'willing to do anything' and yet finding nothing.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

soulboy said:


> Sorry old girl I don't believe anything you say.I am still waiting for you to show me the post where I said I had lived here for 26years.It's not nice telling lies about people but whats new for you..Respect,certainly not for you girl.


I think it's pointless spend too much time getting hung up on trivia. I made a mistake which seems to have deeply offended you. A thousand apologies.
But mistakes are not lies.
To say 2 and 2 make 5 is a mistake. Not a lie. Ditto with your undoubtedly very long period of residence in Spain which it seems is not 26 years. 


P.S. You can believe quite a lot of what I say if it is fact and derived from reliable sources. Try this: the earth is not flat.
Trust me on that


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

bob_bob said:


> Play nicely children please.


He's really upset about that...but I've apologised. 
As I do when I'm wrong.


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## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

bob_bob said:


> Play nicely children please.


Of course Bob you are in charge.Perhaps you could point me towards the post where I said I have lived here for 26years and like I said it's not nice telling lies about people.But what's new.


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## el romeral (May 8, 2012)

mrypg9 said:


> Had a look but couldn't find the more recent figures I saw some time earlier this year which gave a higher figure for foreigners in both Alhaurins. These figures are from 2009 and both towns have grown since then. ALT had 20% foreign population, mainly British, AEG only 10% but these figures are from six years
> ago:
> 
> Alhaurin de la Torre 33.567 (foreigners: 3.278)
> ...


What a load of guff, even these quoted figures can't back up your sensationalist opening saldo of "over 30% foreigners in Alhaurin De La Torre" lol:roll:
My initial reply to the OP was based on my 16 years of living in Alhaurin De La Torre (rather than your random assortment of irrelevevance and perhaps a flying visit?). It feels Spanish to me and I am sure to most others. I think that this is what the OP was getting at, rather than maybe some of the places nearer the coast which do not always feel this way, not that there is anything wrong with that. Don't know why you bring El Grande into this as I never mentioned it (and for good reason).


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Here are the 2014 figures for Alhaurin de la Torre. Total population over 38,000. Foreign population (those registered, that is), 3,016 so less than 10% of the total. That will include all nationalities and not just British, of course.



Instituto de Estad?stica y Cartograf?a de Andaluc?a. SIMA - Alhaur?n de la Torre (M?laga)

Strangely, the site shows the foreign population as a percentage of the total to be 26.49%, however. How they arrive at that given the other figures quoted is a mystery to me.


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## chica escocesa (Jul 23, 2012)

Poor mathematics? Bizarre! Definitely one way of ending the argument Lynn!! ??


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## babykylo (Jul 25, 2015)

Thanks to each and everyone of you for your replies .Really helpful advice . Sounds like something we need to look into a hell of a lot more which tbh we would have done anyway obviously but my OP was just a general question looking for this kind of advice . My comment about the Spanish location was purely we want to live somewhere with lots of Spanish people and not some little England commune . That's all. Like the post says we Dont want to see English breakfast and the old queen Vic pub everywhere like some coastal areas . That was all . Thanks loads everyone I shall continue my research and more importantly job search ?. Thanks


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

babykylo said:


> Thanks to each and everyone of you for your replies .Really helpful advice . Sounds like something we need to look into a hell of a lot more which tbh we would have done anyway obviously but my OP was just a general question looking for this kind of advice . My comment about the Spanish location was purely we want to live somewhere with lots of Spanish people and not some little England commune . That's all. Like the post says we Dont want to see English breakfast and the old queen Vic pub everywhere like some coastal areas . That was all . Thanks loads everyone I shall continue my research and more importantly job search ?. Thanks


Thank you for your thanks!
We all appreciate a little positive feedback now and again.
Please let us know (if you can) where you look for work and if you find any.
Quite a few people in the nursing profession come to the forum and it would be useful to them.


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## babykylo (Jul 25, 2015)

Will do ?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> Here are the 2014 figures for Alhaurin de la Torre. Total population over 38,000. Foreign population (those registered, that is), 3,016 so less than 10% of the total. That will include all nationalities and not just British, of course.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ah, having looked at the figures for a couple of other places (including where I live) I understand it now. They quote the nationality of the largest group of foreign residents (in the case of Alhaurin de la Torre, that's Reino Unido) then show what percentage of the total number of foreign residents they represent.

So therefore the foreign population of Alhaurin de la Torre is less than 10% of the total.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

At one time there were a lot of the wrong type of Brits in Alhaurin el Grande but I have heard most left when the recession started. Our friends hated it and moved back to the coast. I always had the impression that Alhaurin de la Torre was a bit more upmarket but don't know it well. Once read that a lot of professionals from Malaga had moved there. AEG feels more British than Fuengirola


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

babykylo said:


> Hi all, my wife and I and our 8 week old baby are thinking of moving to the Malaga area, we have been many times on hol and even got married there 2 years ago. we love it. We've always toyed with the idea of moving there. Should we ?
> My wife's a staff nurse so she should get work quite easily and I'm willing to do pretty much anything .
> We would like to live near Malaga city and the coast but want to live somewhere which is mainly spanish. Any ideas ?
> Also should we buy an apartment in Spain now and just trial it by flying out for long weekends / weeks at a time or just take the leap, sell up here and move ??
> ...


I assume that unless you paid for childcare, with an 8 month old baby only one of you would be able to work anyway. 

Apart from the job situation, I'd wait until your baby is a bit older if possible. Just so he/she can have all his/her jabs, etc and generally get a bit stronger and is not such a handful. Taking an ill baby to the hospital in the middle of the night is stressful as it is, doing so at a hospital where maybe nobody speaks English and you can't communicate the problem is a lot worse. And then you've got to try to understand the advice they give you.

I'd say wait until the baby is about 2 if possible, and the you can send him/her to a nursery where they'll start to become bilingual.

And don't bother buying a property until you are sure you are staying in the same place for at least 5, preferably 10 years. They cost a lot to buy and are difficult to sell.


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