boxer - 22 July 2008 11:17 PM
I work in computing so could always commute or live near a largish city .
Its possible to get work in IT from the UK based On Line gambling outfits in Gibraltar without needing to speak Spanish.
Without a Spanish name, seriously in demand CV you`ll find a good job hard to come by as there is high unemployment in Spain.
The only way to learn a language is to stop using your own, until your brain is tuned in, you`ll always struggle.
I always find it funny that on Expat site`s people state they can`t learn Spanish etc, yet spend all day on the net reading English or have UK tv or that because there in a brit family everybody is speaking english and watch english tv.
You need to stop, only speak Spanish 24/7, read Spanish, watch Spanish tv and hang around Spaniards.
There great people.Easy to get along with and will usually be willing to help and show you there culture.
Buying in the Costa`s in an Urb will simply depress you, unless your one of the thousands of brits who don`t like/understand Spaniards and only live in Spain for the weather.
Currently life is all built round work and that is really not good enough . Time for ourselves is important . 😊
My working day is typically Spanish.
I leave for work at 7.50 ish, usually meet some collegues for a coffee ,sometimes churro`s, at around 8.15am, in work by 8.30.
Breakfast usually 10.15ish for around 20 minutes.
Lunch at 1pm until 5pm.
Finish work 8pm, usually home around 9pm depending on traffic.
I work around 2-3 hrs more in Spain than in the UK.Expats working in Spain tend to struggle with the timetable, it can be a difficult adjustment working at 7pm when in the UK I was home usually around 5.30pm.
Weekends though are generally not worked, they tried suggesting the odd Saturday, but the unions soon pointed out the error in that.
They can suggest changing the convenio, but like the bible it cannot be easily re written, the mere suggestion by managment is enough to turn the office into a communist revolt.
Thats in the south, the further north you go to say Madrid or Barcelona more companies operate 9-5 with 30 min lunch breaks.
Spaniards tend to work similar hours to the UK, there seems to be a myth of the family unit, not always true, I work with men who always go straight to the bar after work and get home around 11pm, don`t get involved with there kids much.
Malaga is a very male dominated area, the wife is very much the person home lookin after the kids, cooking and cleaning.The husband rules the nest.