Wanting to move to torrevieja

Good morning Baz,

Welcome to the forum. I know the west of Ireland fairly well, in fact I attended a boarding School in Sligo many, many years ago and loved that part of the world.

Well, you’re a brave man!  You are also lucky that you are still permitted to move to and work in Spain coming from another EU country.

Ok. Forget the bar work etc.,and concentrate on your carpentry skills. If you want to work in Spain, you will probably have to create a job for yourself. There’s not a lot of wooden windows left but still some do you could possibly make and supply off sizes. Kitchens... you could start your own kitchen fitting service or advertise on this site as a carpenter who can make/ create items eg bookcases, new modern wardrobe doors and more. People using this forum constantly ask for recommendations and you could do very well if competitive and good at your job. 

You should rent for a year and buy yourself a van/ car for travelling with sat nav. You can live relatively cheaply in my view so that will be a help. Bring winter clothing with you as it’s cold at nighttime during Dec, January and February.

Quesada may be your best bet to choose to live in as mostly English speaking but perhaps you studied Spanish at school which would be a massive help.  

Benidorm might also be worth considering as masses of English there and bars which could need refurbishing. 

Please make a plan.  You are a skilled tradesman so decide where you could use your skills.

I wish you all the very best of luck but if I were you and really wanted a change in direction , I’d go to Australia. One of the most wonderful countries and full of opportunity. 

Good luck. 

Agreeing fully with Grannyrose I'd like to add that there is a huge internatioal expat community in and around T. where good craftmanship is honoured. Spaniard work cheap but all they can produce is junk (some rare exceptions possible - I don't know any). It will take some time to make yourself known. It's very easy to set up a self-employed activity, and a garage would do for the beginning. Used tools and machinery should be no problem to get. I live 45 mins. driving away from T.

Hello Baz. I have lived in Torrevieja for 21 years and have seen many changes here over the years. As a result of the Covid, a huge percentage of bars and cafes have closed, some permanently, so as Grannyrose rightly says, please forget about any chance of finding bar work as it won't happen. As it is now, the bars have to close at 6pm so for many it is not even worth them opening and thousands of people that worked in the hostelry sector have lost their jobs. If you have a trade, that is your best bet but it will not be easy. There are already dozens and dozens of companies that offer the same services that you would be offering so you will have to be prepared to put yourself out a lot to make yourself known and probably charge a lot less than you would in Ireland just to find work to build up a reputation. Even though I assume your market would most likely be the British or at least English speakers, I would recommend learning Spanish. I learnt some before I came here and studied very hard once I arrived and apart from having a part time job with a contract, I also teach Spanish and English and have done so for the last 17 years so I obviously don't regret learning the language as it has given me that opportunity. Not all Spaniards speak English contrary to what people will tell you, and it is hugely advantageous to be able to communicate with them in their own language, I can assure you , you receive totally different treatment than someone that automatically speaks in English. It could benefit you in finding work. You can probably find somewhere to rent at a reasonable price as a lot of people are advertising their properties to rent now that haven't done so before as they can't get out here and it is a way of making some money from an otherwise empty property.

I wish you luck, but please be realistic and not expect it to happen quickly. The situation here at the moment is very difficult for anyone needing to work. 

Hi Baz

I can understand.  I'm from Dublin. I'm a retired schoolteacher.  You should think about Australia. You  are young and if you have a genuine trade as a carpenter then that's the place. The language barrier here would be a terrible problem. My son is 37 and went to Australia almost 20 years ago. He's a carpenter and is doing very well at the construction.  Spain is full of chancers. Ì don't believe any of the workers are genuinely qualified.  How would you manage if you had to go to the tax office. Directions first.  You need a car.  You'll find nobody speaks English in these places.  It's a big move and especially if you need a job. Then filling out forms. Think about Oz.

Agree 100%