We are a family of five hoping to move to Sax with three dogs and find work - Page 11

Helz52 wrote on Thu Jun 18, 2020 10:50am:

There are some very good responses on here, and Brexit will make it much more difficult for Brits to attain residency.

My advice to you is do not sell your house in U.K. yet, the prices are crashing after Covid. I urge you to come and trial Spain to see how you settle. Take a winter rental. Rent your own house out for the income. I put mine with an agent who is worth his weight in the payment I have to make to hi...

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...m, and so I have no worries out here.  Everything is much simpler once you are here and living. If you take a rental from September it will give you sufficient time to sort out your residency pre- Brexit. The Ambassador has said that residencies proved to be in the pipeline will be honoured after 31st December if you haven’t then succeeded in getting all your documentation together. 
Personally, I used the services of a tax adviser which was unbelievably cheap, and of course, her Spanish and English were fluent which was extremely helpful when I felt a little stressed by the system. 

In the short term you could home educate your children. By now you will have got used to it. But there are private international schools in Alicante and Benidorm, or throw them in at the deep end and send them to state school. They would soon learn the language. 

The Spanish lifestyle is good and wholesome and it’s fairly easy to live within your budget. I hope you will seek to integrate both linguistically and culturally. Think hard about Sax, it is lovely, but oh so Spanish for a growing family, they may need more excitement than a sleepy Spanish town. 
But first, come and try it. I have seen folk sell everything in the U.K. and then after a short time realise it’s not for them and gone back. It’s more pricey to return than to emigrate to Spain. 

Don’t give up on your dream! 

Villas wrote on Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:22pm:

"Think hard about Sax, it is lovely, but oh so Spanish for a growing family,"

Very true above. This is in Spain.  & therefore is potentially good for a: Spanish living growing family.

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V

Web Designer Guy wrote on Thu Jun 18, 2020 3:50pm:

Have to agree. It's very Spanish-ness is what I like about Sax. That you can walk into a shop, or many of the bars, and meet Spaniards who don't speak English is very refreshing, considering it's still very close to the coast, relatively speaking.

We may or may not end up buying the "holiday home" in Sax, that is still in the balance with other areas in contention, but I'd say we'll definitely be buying the family home there once we permanently relocate in a few years....

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Con T wrote on Thu Jun 18, 2020 1:29pm:

Hi Niki, it appears that "no-gooders" are invading your post for their own childish reasons. Ignore them and concentrate on the helpful advice. This is a major move and you don't need or deserve this.  Poison people no doubt enjoy upsetting the nice. Just hope it goes back to them 100%! 

Web Designer Guy wrote on Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:55pm:

Thank you, im optimistic as the work thing cant be as bad as where I live now

Unfortunately, it most likely is. Imagine being in the area you're in now, looking for work, but not being able to speak the local language. How much chance would you have of getting a job?

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After the crash in 2008 the building sector in Spain shrank by 96%. That's not a typo. It more or less disappeared. Spain for most ex-pats, even those fluent, means hard work, long hours and low pay. Spain is like that outside the big cities even for the Spanish to be honest. Work is hard to find and almost always low pay with zero stability.

I'm not trying to put you off, just being honest. I'm sure you could make the tree surgery business work, but it'll take time and you will need to be able to speak Spanish in an area like Sax.

As for Sax, it's a great place. It's not "picture postcard" Spain as it's a real Spanish working town. The old town is just like many inland old towns: Narrow street, some lovely houses, some falling down houses. Many houses that could do with a lick of paint etc. The new part of the town is fairly architecturally bland, but it's got everything you could need. There does seem to be a small Brit ex-pat community in Sax, there is a bar on the road that runs parallel to the new main street that has what appears to be mostly Brits. Not sure what it's called, never been in it. But generally speaking Sax is a traditional Spanish working town that is a great place to live. It's really cheap too, which is a bonus!

Fingers crossed we'll be out there in July to buy a house. Not for a perm home, not yet, we'll just use it when we visit. But plan to live it permanently once we move out in a few years. At least for a year or two.

There are far nicer parts of Spain to buy in, but few with the same facilities that are only 30mins from the coast. And those nicer parts are way more expensive!

Niki74 wrote on Fri Jun 12, 2020 2:05pm:

We have been learning Spanish, my husband is crap at it...bit like Del boy..haha. We don't mind commuting for work but I was hoping to work teaching English, as I would prefer to live amongst the Spanish, not English (Benidorm isn't appealing at all), I prefer the culture of Spain as apposed to E...

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...nglish. Where we live in Devon the weather is just awful most of the time and I have arthritic knees from working with horses the weather is a big pull for me, and also the drug culture here and crime is hugely on the rise as is suicide rates which is bloody awful, I want to get them away asap. The two teenagers that would come with us are into music, one sings and one is working at trying to produce music so we would be doing a studio for them. The town I researched the most was Sax, and due to low crime and the people all seem so lovely, we thought that was our best bet.

Niki

Helen28 wrote on Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:25pm:

Hi 

Best free app for learning Spanish is Duolingo (green owl) I have been using it and can now have a conversation in Spanish. 

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Helen

Elaine23 wrote on Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:01pm:

Hi Niki

As everyone has said you are not faced with an easy task.  I have lived in the countryside of Spain for 12 years with very few English people around or the language spoken.  I had a friend here who spoke quite good Spanish and a qualified nurse but was unable to get employment.  Th...

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...ey stayed for several years and managed to get along by teaching the locals English but it was not a living.  If it is the countryside you are interested in then look at Pinoso as there are a number of English people there and the language is spoken by some Spanish which may make it easier for you to find some work.  Good Luck and don’t give up as it’s well worth it.