My wife and I are relocating to Barcelona. What decent paying jobs are available? We speak English so maybe a job in the tourist industry? We are both coming from jobs dealing with people, and like this type of work. Hotels? Restaurants? Tourism? Any response would be greatly appreciated.
Also, are there inexpensive places for rent?

Thank you.
Fullerton

Fullerton - 18 July 2010 12:21 AM

My wife and I are relocating to Barcelona. What decent paying jobs are available? We speak English so maybe a job in the tourist industry? We are both coming from jobs dealing with people, and like this type of work. Hotels? Restaurants? Tourism? Any response would be greatly appreciated.
Also, are there inexpensive places for rent?

Thank you.
Fullerton

You’ve got papers and work permission, right? Speak Spanish or Catalan? That’ll help you in this rotten economy. Just take into account that you’re coming over at a really tough time. Unemployment here is roughly double what we’re seeing in the US.

Regarding inexpensive places to rent - what’s inexpensive for you?
You can start your research with places like idealista.com or loquo.com

I should say, strongly inclined towards moving there. We truly love the area. We are still looking at the pros and cons. We do not have papers or work permission yet. We speak close to no Spanish.

Thank you for your response by the way, Halydia.

Fullerton - 18 July 2010 02:43 AM

I should say, strongly inclined towards moving there. We truly love the area. We are still looking at the pros and cons. We do not have papers or work permission yet. We speak close to no Spanish.

Not a problem.

Work permission may be extremely hard to find. Regarding Spanish, if you’re looking to move to Spain you’ll probably find life a heckuva lot easier (especially when navigating the bureaucracy) if you speak the language! Take advantage of your extremely privileged location and learn some Spanish before you come. 

It’s a gorgeous area. However, take a good long hard think and decide whether the adventure is worth the bureaucratic headache. Start looking at American businesses with offices in the Barcelona area. They could be a ticket in!

On the other hand, let’s just say it all together : you’re smoking something great, please pass it over here. 😊

There are almost no jobs for anyone. English-only bar tenders are making 4? per hour and it’s competitive. Teachers are having to look further and further outside the city for work (in the black).

Halydia is definitely close to the mark - the only way you’ll really make it over here is if you find work with a US company that needs to move you to Barcelona. So what are the chances of that? Alternatively, if you have a ton of savings (20,000?), you can probably ride out the economic storm and find a niche for yourselves.

Here’s another way to look at the non-EU citizen immigration issue in Spain right now:

I’ll be getting married in Spain to a Spanish man in early fall 2011. I’ve been living and working in country for the last two years on a study visa. It is unsure whether or not I’ll be able to renew my study permit in September, and I’m starting to think I may have to spend some serious time away from my fianc? - unless we get legally married earlier (which would be fun to explain. Surprise everyone!)

Things aren’t easy here for someone who has been here two years. As a North American, legal work is darn hard to come by. Illegal work exists, but is low paid, risky, and in my mind just not worth it. The local police have been setting up shop in the local bus station pretty regularly to check peoples documentation. They’re looking for people in country without papers.

Unless you’re independently quite wealthy, this might not be the time to make the move. If you are, lucky you and have fun in Barcelona!