Hello!
I'm a 34 year old man from the UK and I'm considering a move to Southern Spain whilst possibly working out of Gibraltar. My occupation is that of a IT Systems Engineer, with 15 years' experience within the industry. The IT job sector seems to be one for which there is steady demand within Gibraltar. I'm getting married early next year and my fiancé and I are very interested in the possibility of starting a new life in the sun following our wedding. Gibraltar is a fantastic draw due to the wonderful year round weather and also the relative proximity to the UK - no 24 hour journey home as with Australia for instance. We do have however a lot of questions that I'm hoping that some expats currently living / working in Southern Spain / Gibraltar might be in a position to help us with (if you'd be so kind).
1. Education – my partner and I currently have no children although we plan to start a family in the next few years. Do expats living in Spain and working out of Gibraltar send their children to Spanish schools or send them to English, Gibraltar based primary / secondary schools? Are these schools public or private?
2. GP's / Hospitals – does Gibraltar contain NHS GP's / Hospitals that are for use by expats? If this is the case, if for instance in an emergency an expat is taken to a Spanish hospital for treatment, I'm guessing a bill lands on the doorstep afterwards?
3. Commute – what is the experience like for those that live in Spain and work in Gibraltar? Crossing the border for instance – are the Spanish trying to make this as tedious as possible?
4. Where to live – where in Southern Spain would be a good place to live? We're both getting a little old to be too concerned about night-life. I believe our budget would be in the region of £200,000 to purchase and £1000 p/m to rent. Close the coast and not too much of a commute into Gibraltar would be preferable - an area where UK expats tend to settle would be nice.
5. Spanish – what are the Spanish generally like with expats?
6. Taxation – I can only imagine that the taxation of expats working in Gibraltar and living in Spain is very complicated?
7. Experiences – Any experiences of expats that have made the move over and currently live in Spain and work out of Gibraltar would be greatly welcome and fascinating to read. Was is it easy? Was it hard? Any regrets? What do you miss? What don't you miss?
Is there anything else that anyone believes should be taken into consideration? Thank you greatly to anyone that has taken the time to read this post.
Kind regards.