Hello. I’m new to the site and looking to move to spain in December 09.
I have been to various places in Spain many times before and lived in Torremelinos for 2 years when I was a baby.

We are looking for a place that is close to all amenities and full of life & character. We also speak basic spanish and both have has previous experience working in Hotels, and my partner has worked in an Irish bar for the last 2 and a half years. We both eventually want to work in media but for now are hapy to continue with bar or office work.

Based on this information I was wondering if you could recommend some good places to look around for a place to live. We are looking for a one bed apartment and have a small chihuahua so somewhere that would be good for her would also be great.

We both love fashion, music and television & films.

Can you recommend anywhere that you think would suit us? We are in our early twenties and very fun loving.

We also would like somwhere thats near to the beach as well as good shopping. And not too expensive either!!!

(We don’t ask for much!!:))

Hayley & Kym

Also any extra information you have on making the move any easier would be greatly appreciated. x

Hayley&Kym; - 29 March 2009 11:08 PM

Hello. I’m new to the site and looking to move to spain in December 09.

Hayley & Kym

Hi Hayley and Kym,
We have been living in Spain for more than ten years now, first in Costa Blanca and Andalusia. Now we are staying on the north coast and we really like it here. Life is more normal, prices are reasonable and there are neither “tourist prices” nor different prices for foreigners here.
Perhaps you would like to study places like Santander (Cantabria) or Gij?n (Asturias)...
We think, this part of Spain is the most beautiful and we have felt very welcome here.
There are many who think, the weather is awful up here. I do not agree. For example, we have been hikin in December, January, February and March in shorts and t-shirts. If the sun is shining, it is warm enough, and for example this winter, we had at least three weeks of sunshine each month! According to the news, the weather was worse in Andalusia and Valencia.
But, if you want live among other expats, you have to go to Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol.

The first thing you should look for are jobs since these are much harder to find than a nice place to live! As you are most likely aware, the economy in Spain is, like the rest of the world, in a right mess and detiorating all the time.  This makes finding a job - and, in particular - a well paid job very difficult indeed. I would start with this before getting excited about your place in the sun. There are some useful threads on this forum re living in Spain and working in Gibraltar which is an option if you are not fluent in Spanish. However, again, the jobs are limited and no that well paid unless you have specific skills for the gaming or banking industries.

Once away from the holiday costas, you could only be in Spain. In the cities, narrow twisting old streets suddenly open out to views of daring modern architecture, while spit-and-sawdust bars serving wine from the barrel rub shoulders with blaring, glaring discos.

Travel is easy, accommodation plentiful, the climate benign, the people relaxed, the beaches long and sandy, the food and drink easy to come by and full of regional variety. More than 50 million foreigners a year visit Spain, yet you can also travel for days and hear nothing but Spanish.

I would back up Carmenes with the work situation! It is very tough here at the moment. I have been very lucky and my knowing Spanish has helped me to find a job. Here in Valencia, English is not generally spoken, and as Valencia is on a big move to improve its Tourism then bilingual workers are very useful. With great sporting events such as the Americas Cup and now the European Formula 1 (for the next 7years) there are opportunities for English speakers.
The lifestyle is also very good here and the locals very friendly and welcoming. I have lived here for 5 years now and love it, wouldn?t go back. I must admit I don?t know many other areas of Spain, I am still discovering and enjoying Valencia.
Its definately worth a look!

It is very tough here at the moment . lot out off jobs here . about 3.7 million . briths are giving out with pound rate to the Euro ... about 1.10 euros to the pound ...
so have just left , hand keys in two banks and leg it back to Uk ...  work is slowing down , tourists are down .....

jurdy

J?vea, the second healhtist city in Europe !!