I am a gas fitter/plumer with a wife and a 1 year old could we make a good living if we moved to spain?

Question

my wife is a teacher

Answer 1

It would be difficult to get employment as a plumber in a Spanish company unless you speak fluent Spanish, but there are a lot of ppl from the UK. out here , and loads of British service providers who cater for the expats.who use them because of language difficulties  Either you could set up your own firm, or look for work with a building company run by a British person. Look on the web for "Sur in English"  it's one of quite a few free English papers in Spain.  You will get an idea of what's going on in the advertisement section.  If you start your own business, set aside a lump sum for advertising as there is a lot of competition, and base yourself in an area where you have good access to other areas for working purposes.

Your wife may be able to get work at one of the international schools, but I'm sure she will need at least basic Spanish.

Good Luck it's a great life here and your daughter, like all the expat children here will grow up bi-lingual.

Answer 2

Whatever you decide, make sure you can speak the language before you go. This is the biggest mistake made by most emigrants to non-English speaking countries.

Answer 3

Your wife and one yr old would be o.k. but theres not much demand for plumers!

Answer 4

You won;t make a living here, the market place is absolutely saturated with British tradesmen and there is simply no work. It is very difficult to get registration here to work legally a s aplumber, you may find that they will not accept your paper qualification, to work without registration here is illegal and you will be arrested! I'm not joking, many get away with it but they run a risk each time they do get some work. There is also the systems here to negotiate, you will need to have a lawyer register you a company, as soon as the document is signed, you ahve to pay social security contributions, whether you have any income of not, its the law, and its a flat rate of approx 260€ a month, this does cover your wife, if you are legally married that is, if you live together as man & wife, she will need to pay the same to get the access to the health care for her and the child. Company registration can take up to 18 months to complete, you cannot work in the meantime as a plumber...Spanish will always take preference over 'foreigners'

There is a depression beginning here, the numbers of people here are well down on previous years, the wages are lower than the UK, yet the cost of living is virtually the same as the UK now, its not the cheap haven it used to be. New builds are only getting 50% sales and the second hand home market is very slow indeed, with estate agents struggling, we know this because we know several.

You will also need to speak very good spanish, as when you need to go to a ferreteria for plumbing parts, they will not speak English and don't have things out on display to help yourself like they do in B & Q or Wickes.

You would be far better off considering NZ or OZ, far better prospects and far better opportunities for the pair of you, and you dont have to consider the language issue either. DON'T come to Spain or if you still think you can do it, dont sell your home in the UK, but rent somewhere here and come over for say 6 to 12 months, to get a feel for the place, dont burn your bridges whatever you do...2/3 of brits who sell up and move here, go back within 2 years, but we know this figure is rising

Answer 5

DEFINATLY ALL TRADES MAKE MONEY BUT TO BE LEGAL YOU MUST SIT A sPANISH TEST SHOULD BE A DODDLE COMPARED TO HOW THIS LOT DOES THE  FITTING GOOD LUCK

Answer 6

I think you could make a living but probably will not 'make a million'. A very senior Spanish lawyer once told me that there was only 1 way to make a million in Spain, and that was to go with 5 . But, generally people accept a reduced income for the other improved lifestyle benefits like the weather and a healthier outdoor life.

Most homes in Spain are not connected to mains gas, they purchase Calor gas bottles to connect to appliances. Whether this is a good or a bad thing for a gas fitter I'm not sure. Maybe you could view it that there is a boom to come as more homes will become connected to mains gas. As it will eventually happen I guess.

To work for a company you will need to speak Spanish - forget Catalan, any national speaking Catalan will also speak Spanish. If you can, the best way to learn a language is to wait until you get there. Then set 3 months aside with no income and concentrate on learning the language/culture and settling in (get private lessons). To learn a language in a classroom outside the country takes years and years and even then you don't learn the things you really need for living there, classroom education is very formal and people simply do not speak this way.

Your wife would have no troulbe finding employment, my sister is a teacher currently working in Majorca, she has also worked in Madrid. Salaries though for a secondary school teacher are about £900 per month before tax.

Your wife would only be able to work in an International school (English speaking), so make sure there is one close by to where you choose to live. She will not get employed at a Spanish school even if she speaks the language.

It is worthwhile arranging for your child to spend some time in the local guarderia (nursery) even - if you can afford it - if you are not working. Childcare costs are about 1/3 of the costs in the UK and much more flexible. He/she will then pick up the language, no problem. My children were bilingual by the age of 4 and it is a great gift for them. Choose a guarderia that speaks to the children in Spanish (Espanol) rather than Catalan if you move to an area within Cataluna.

All this said, I would thoroughly recommend the move. It is tough and you need to persevere. It's hard and very frustrating at times but worth it. If you decide to go ahead and need any advice (housing, doctors, removals, schools etc) write to me and I will try my best.

For the record we moved to Mallorca 3 years ago. I have 3 children. At the time we moved they were 6, 2 and 1.

Good luck !

Answer 7

If you fancy moving somewhere different why not consider Australia or New Zealand? They' re crying out for tradesmen over there. You'd make a really good living and you'd also be in a much more chilled out enviroment where the weathers good all year round and the opportunities are so much better. Plus, personally, i think it's a much safer place to bring up kids. Have a think about it, i did...... moving over to oz was the best thing i could have ever done for both me and my family.

Answer 8

YOU WOULD BOTH DO WELL , MOVE WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG

Answer 9

1) Do you Spanish or Catalan? If not, you definitely need to.

2)You and your wife can definitely make a good living in Spain.

3) Spain is not the richest country in the world, the weather is good and the people are fantastic though

I've been living here since 1999. New Zealand is always looking to attract people. Spain is crowded in the major cities. My wife is from here and that is why I'm here. Crime is low and Bush isn't president.

Answer 10

Learn the language!!!

It was the biggest mistake I made when I came over but luckily I work in aviation and that is 100% in English. I have however seen many people with good educations, skills and degrees suffer through not knowing the language.

I think for a one yr old you are thinking the right way by wishing to give him/her a chance of another language and Spanish will open up most of S america to him/her in the future.

Salaries in Spain are about 2/3rds of what they are in Northern europe or the USA. Just as well that the cost of living is about 1/2 that of the aforementioned countries. Obviously it is slightly higher in the cities. I gained significantly by coming to Spain both financially and as a person.

One final word on NZ. Yes, you would be welcomed gladly (I am a dual UK / NZ citizen and have lived in both) and I would heartily recommend the Northern part of the North Island. My mother and brother live there at present and have a number of English friends who enjoy the life. The 1st year is a big change but stick with it and you´ll wonder why you didn´tr emigrate sooner! Get in touch with Kamo high school in Whangerei for teaching posts and a as gas fitter / plumber you´ll have no trouble finding work when you get there. Don´t contract a company to do your papers though as they´ll ask 5K sterling for something you can do yourself with around 20 hrs preparation and research!

Finally, If you do move to either, contact me as there is some work needed on both mine and my mothers house. :-)