New members of the Spain forum, introduce yourselves here – June to December 2017

Hi All 

Thanks very much for your warm welcome, Julien.

I am Sergio, and I'd like to get in contact with expats in Spain. I am a self-employed (Canadian) auditor, and the reason I am thinking of moving to Spain is that a have one big client in the EU who needs me permanently (or at least for several years) there. Therefore, I began seriously considering Spain as a place to live and work. (I am also doing so with Portugal as it seems to be an "easy-going" country.) 

I frequently go from one country to another, and my trips to the EU are short (5-7 days). Sadly, I never get to know places as much as I'd like to know. I visited several cities for business purpose and also for pleasure (Madrid, Barcelona,  Zaragoza), and although I liked all of these very much, I don't know which could be the right choice. Ideally, the city should have the AVE train near my place or an international airport. I won't be looking for fancy/ expensive places at the beginning. I'd rather get to know the city well and later on chose better. A temporary small rent would suit me ok.

I don't know much about taxes for self-employed and work visas. And that's important as well! 

I would appreciate so much the opinion of expats, not necessarily with similar profiles. Feel free to contact and ask more details about me or my job, please. Cause one thing is for sure: it's not the same visiting and getting in love with a place during a short stay than living there!

Many thanks, all! 

Sergio.

Hi just looking to buy a holiday property in Sucina. Any advice on the semi detached repossessions would be appreciated. I.e price, cost of living and socialising aspects.

Hi! My name is Santiago. I work for New York Burger, the American restaurant in Madrid. We are trying to get in touch with americans in Madrid to get them to know us, what we do and how we do it.

We've come to expat.com looking to create events and promotions to everyone involved here Is there anything we should know? Thank you!!

Hi everyone,

@ New York Burger, welcome.

Yes indeed, here are some guidelines. Advertising/promotion of your own services is strictly forbidden on the forum section (It applies to all members). Professionals are requested to register in the business directory, under their corresponding category if they want members to find their contact details and contact them : Spain business directory.

For the promotion of events, the Events in Spain section is the appropriate section, whereby you may select your location and create an event. The administrator will verify/validate or not the event.

You may have a look at the SPAIN FORUM CODE OF CONDUCT or contact us for more info.

All the best,
Bhavna

Hello Everybody! My name is Bernardo Pinheiro, I am brazilian moving to Madrid next month for work. I would love to meet some people who are already living there, hear their experiences and some tips! I would love to meet you guys for a beer and to hang out in the city!

Hello, I am Irish and am a primary teacher. I was recently offered a job in Asturias, Gijon as a teacher in a private British school. Wages are 21, 838 per year, about 420 per week. My hours are 9:15a.m. to 16:15P.M. In comparison to Ireland those wages are v low. I know cost of living there is cheaper, but gosh how much cheaper? 420 a week feels like barely enough to feed oneself. Could people tell me there opinions? Any help/information is really appreciated! People who are already living in Spain please only! ; )

Hi all, I'm a 28 year old male from Loughton in Essex. Having worked for the last 10 years in central London, I have decided to leave that lifestyle, and now have the opportunity to do so since starting my own recruitment company, which gives me the freedom to work anywhere within Europe. 

After researching, I have decided on moving to Tenerife around Q1 of next year. I will be looking to expand my business there, which is partly why I chose the location as there seems to be a number of young, English speaking people that live there full time.

I'm looking to make some contacts/friends before relocating, which will help make the transition less daunting.   

George Hales

Hi Everyone, My names Andy

I am relocating to spain in 2 months, I need help?,im applying for jobs in hospitality,my spanish isnt very good but im slowly learning,I would love some guidance here,I am a top barman and play live guitar and sing in cornwall at the moment,originally from yorkshire.

I would love it if there is anyone there who could give me a job and a roof

hope you're all good and well

Andy Parry

Hi everybody, my name is Pauline (28). I am french and just moved to Sevilla for work after three years in Munich.
I'm completely new to the city and I'm looking to make some contacts, friends, to discover the city, hike, grab a beer and some tapas etc

Cheers

Hi, my name is Yasmin, I'm 22 and I have just moved to Alicante from England. I have moved to start a new job, which I am loving, but I really would love to meet new people outside of work too. I am up for anything (nearly), but most importantly I just want to have fun.

I am new here.Run my own business, What  that is does not matter I am here to try an help those who wish to settle or move to Spain. Especially the forgotten North of the country.Non expat land.

Hi I am and Sandra and my husband is Quintin,
We are moving to Spain on July and srart our property search soon afterwards. We are retiring and plan to split our time between Spain and UK. We are looking at property on La Montanos urb and wondered if anyone on here already lives there?
Any advise would be appreciated, we plan to spend some time in the area to see if is the right place for us to buy a property.
We have pets which will be in kennels so want to buy a property fairly quickly and before everything shuts down in August, we already have our NIE numbers.
Is there much going on on the urb?

Thanks
Sandra

Hi  I am and Sandra and my husband is Quintin,
We are moving to Spain in July and srart our property search soon afterwards. We are retiring and plan to split our time between Spain and UK. We are looking at property on La Montanos urb and wondered if anyone on here already lives there?
Any advise would be appreciated, we plan to spend some time in the area to see if is the right place for us to buy a property.
We have pets which will be in kennels so want to buy a property fairly quickly and before everything shuts down in August, we already have our NIE numbers.
Is there much going on on the urb?

Thanks
Sandra

Hello everyone,
I will be moving to Gran Canaria (Playa del Ingles) as from 1st August,
I presently live in Sri Lanka and have lived here for the past 7 years. Moving to Gran Canaria to be closer to my roots!
I was wondering how to go about meeting other expats there and maybe joining some club or other. For my part I love playing Mahjong and would like to meet like once a week for a game.
I also love reading, going out for meals, etc...
Thanks for any hints
Gisele

Hi, my name is Jose Luis but they call me Joey (51). Born in New York, raised in Puerto Rico, lived in Florida since 1995. I am bilingual (Spanish). Contemplating a move with wife and daughter to southern Spain, Malaga. Looking for some insight about quality of life, jobs ( sales, management, customer service, account management, retail), visas, etc. My mother in law was born in Spain, also I read somewhere that being born at a former colony of Spain (Puerto Rico) my wife would be able to claim citizenship, not sure how accurate is that info. Reason for moving, not liking the tone of new government in the states and the economy in Puerto Rico sucks so it is not a good option at the moment, I think speaking both Spanish and English should help even do job market looks really tough in Spain.

Hi. We recently bought a house in the Cadiz province and our plan is to renovate it and open a small B&B. Im interested in other stories of renovating houses in Spain, especially about heating systems, electricity, water etc. also wondering what its like to renovate when you are not there yourself to manage the project. Whats it like to run a B&B in Andalucia and rules regarding that? I understand there are new rules in force from may 2017. My spanish is not great but Im eager to learn the lingo fast Hope to hear from you!

Hello everyone. I would like to offer Spanish classes online to everyone interested. I have more than six years of experience with Immigration Office of Madrid and with different online academies. it would be a pleasure to help you with this interesting language.

As we are looking to move to Spain it would be great to speak Spanish and probably essential so we are really interested

Thank you

Paul

Hi hello everyone
I am looking for the ideal place to settle in valencia as there seems to be so many places
We are from the UK and as yet do not speak Spanish
Looking for accommodation to rent at first just wondering where is the best place to start and can anyone advise a good place to look for property rental

Many thanks

Paul

Hello! My name is Lydia and I am from the U.S. I will be in Toledo, Spain until September 6. I am seeking a temporary job teaching or tutoring English for the next two months. Please contact me with any opportunities!

Hello! My name is Jaana and I am from Estonia. My plan is to move to Spain in few years. I love Valencia area and right now I use every free time to travel there and try to find the best spot, to buy a place to live and to find a Job. I would love to meet some people, who are already living in this area, hear their experiences and some tips. If everything goes by the plan, I'm in Valencia again in the end of July and hoping to find again great events and meet with interesting people.

Thank you and best regards!

Jaana

Hi

A quick into. Lived in Spain a few years ago and put 2 children in the local school in  Huelva. Moved  back to the UK 9 years ago, but it is not for us. We have a village house in Gaucin but don't want to put our youngest in school there. We are looking for advice re state/private primary schools in the Ronda area, or maybe Aracena. I know that many school say they are part of the Anglo Spanish bilingual program, but it is different in reality.
Any advice?

Hello Everyone

I'm new to expat.com, although I've been living in Spain for a while now. From Australia originally, but spend half my time between the two countries, working  in Australia as a locum doctor and here in Spain running a small record label and publishing house.

Trying to get my degree here recognised so I can finally work here full time, its a long process!

I currently have my flat available to rent if anyone is interested.

Spain is a wonderful place x

Dania

Hello expats. My wife and I live in Victoria, BC, but are planning to move to the Valencia area (Javea and area) in September. Our plan is to rent a vacation rental for a few months in order to gain some knowledge of the area, and then proceed from there. I have never lived out of Canada, but my wife is a UK citizen. Joined in the hopes of getting some good advice and tips from other Canadians who have made the move to Spain. Thanks,

Cliff

Having been involved in building renovations in both Spain and France it is important to note that the Spanish are not into Building Conservation and you may find that you are not getting what you want, or what is best for the building. The Spanish are keen to rip out or tear down and replace with cement rendered block rather than using traditional building materials or indeed recycling. If you are not there to be in control of your renovation, make sure that you have complete faith in whoever is running the project. Find a bilingual local to deal with all legalities and always get a second opinion.
Good luck.

Hello, everyone!

My name is Thomas, and I am from Puerto Rico, living in the States, and hoping to possibly move to Spain upon graduating from Uni in 2-3 years. If necessary, I'll do a master's as well.

Spain is not my final destination in Europe, as my goal is to ultimately move to Denmark, nor is it my only alternative for getting into the EU, but I think it's a good starting point, since there wouldn't be a language barrier, it's a beautiful country, and becoming a citizen wouldn't take as long (for me, as a native of PR) as it would elsewhere. My plan is to find work as an English teacher, since I am bilingual in English and Spanish, and possibly go back to school. Although I'd prefer to work/live somewhere in northern Spain, I'm not picky on the region as long as I have a steady job for two years minimum.

All in all, I'd like to meet people from Puerto Rico, Latin America, or the U.S/Canada who have made it to Spain, or Spaniards/Europeans who can give some pointers or advice, or just make friends with fellow [soon-to-be] expats. Also, if you think there are any EU countries easier to find work and live in, let me know, since right now, Spain and Estonia are my two main options.

Thank you Julien for the nice welcome and for managing the forum.  Already it seems very helpful.  I am considering retiring in Spain in a couple of years.  As a first serious step in that direction, I am traveling there in September.  I will be in Sevilla, Valencia and Barcelona during the second half of the month.  I would really like to meet other expats, especially North Americans, to learn more about the realities of living there.   I wonder if there are meetings of expats in any of those cities or if a member would be willing to meet with me for a coffee or something during my trip. I am also open to any suggestions.

Thank you,

Catherine

Hello to all! I am in love with Spain, food, nature, warm weather, language(I don't speak it but I could listen to it all day). Would love to buy an apparment for 30.000 euro. Heard it's possible-anyone can suggest anything? What are the areas to avoid in terms of living? I would appreciate any help. Thank you.

My wife who works for an estate agent  in Pinoso says that yes there are but they are usually very small and that they usually need renovating.

Thank you very much!

Hello to all! We just moved to Valencia, Spain from San Francisco, USA. We have a 7 month baby boy. We would love to meet other English speaking moms, babies, friends and families.

BR,

Grace

Hi Grace I'm so jealous would love to live there! Our baby is 11 months. We live in Ireland but heard you can buy an apartment cheap enough in Alicante so I'm on this looking for info

Hi my name is Colin, my partner, Jan, and I are looking to move permanently to Spain in about 4 years time, in the mean time we want to buy a static, sited mobile home anywhere close to the coast and lying between Valencia and Malaga ... quite a range ... we have about £16,000 to spend maximum. We want to be able to rent the mobile throughout the year, so would prefer an established site with the usual amenities... pool, shop etc ... what sort of weekly rent should we be looking at and what sort of costs would be involved i.e.. are there businesses that offer cleaning and maintenance, what taxes etc would be payable. The plan is to save any net income from renting and build a pot to buy a second mobile when we move permanently over, rent that one as well while we rent a small apartment using the income from the rentals .. if enough .. to support ourselves.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Hi, hoping to move to mojacar in October, to start a tourism business or boutique, or work in these areas. Would appreciate any advice or contacts. Thanks,Yasmin.

Hi, my name's Belle and I'm planning to buy a flat in either Malaga or Torremolinos to visit but hopefully eventually to move there. I've been told by my Spanish friends that I speak fluent Spanish but I don't think so! I'm still working on my grammar by reading literature and studying.

I live in Alicante, and one can find apartments (pisos) in the 30,000 to 40,000 euro range, but as Culebron says they will normally be small or need some work. I have seen them advertised at local agencies near my home, and I looked on Fotocasa online and using a filter you can find apartments for less that €50,000. Generally,
the "zona norte" in Alicante is the most conflictive, although, by American standards it would be considered a pretty safe area. That includes the neighborhoods of Virgen de Remedio and Juan XXIII, among others.

Hello thank you for your reply. Do you have a website for those appartments? The apartments that I saw advertised are 3 bedroom and look nice. I don't need any furniture. I heard that Juan xiii and another one you are mentioning are very bad areas. Is that true? Are they really bad and not safe?***

Hi thanks for the welcome I am a 27 year old young man and have been frequently staying in tenerife for 6 month periods for the past 6 year now I wish to make it a permanent move. I would like to see about how to make some sort of career or living over there is will fly back out in October with a view not to come back.
Thanks again for the welcome any advice or suggestions welcome.

Stephen ODonnell