I want to move to Spain someday, what do I need to do to make that happen?

Question

I currently live (and have always lived) in the US. However, I would very much like to move to Spain someday, within maybe 5-10 years. I'm a grad student working on my PhD in Political Science, so teaching at a Spanish university will be an option for me (though I've heard it's incrediby difficult for foreigners to get academic positions in the Spanish university system).

I've been sort of obsessed with Spain for some time now, so I've done a bit of research about this on my own. But what kinds of things do I need to be aware of? Have you moved to Spain before retirement? How did you do it? Any information will be helpful, gracias!

Answer 1

I'm from Spain. As you have been told get european citizenship will help you a lot as you will be able to get a job easier around here. Other than that you'll need a work permit that the spanish embassy in us will explain how to get. Being a native of a developed country and being highly educated will help you in the process.

Honestly, getting a position in the Spanish University system is really difficult for everyone, not only for foreigners. I study environmental science, and my political science teacher was british, though. Also one of my English teachers was American and she actually was studying a PhD in a spanish university. She was hoping to teach in the university. It's not easy, I must tell you, but you don't lose anything on trying. Having friends in Spain is important, specially at that level, so any chance that you get during that time to get close to anyone in a political science department in Spain will be worth it:exchange program, visit, conference.... In Spain people will usually choose you over another people if they know you even if your cv is not as espectacular as theirs.

Other options - You could find a job as an English teacher quiet easily, as you have a degree and you are a native speaker. A lot of academies and private schools will give you that job. That will give you some money (depending on the place, between 1200-3000 euros a month, 14 pays a year).

As you have been told, there are some us universities where you can also try to find a job. You can also work in the US embassy in Spain, or any diplomacy job which can bring you here.

And really important, before you come, learn Spanish.

Answer 2

save up money...so u can fly over there...;)

Answer 3

One of the first things you should start to do is look at how to live and work legally in Spain. If you have any claim to a European passport, this is a good place to start. Do you have Irish greatgrandparents? Everybody seems to have at least one. Since Spain is part of the EU, European citizenship, in any country, makes you automatically eligible to work legally.

If you can't claim European citizenship, you should get a company to send you a job offer, this is turning into a really long response and I'm a bit tired to explain it well. I do this for foreigners that work for our company, maybe I'll try to make this clear tomorrow.

One more quick comment, you could get a teaching position with an American University in Spain. Which would probably much easier than trying to get one with a Spanish one. Just off the top of my head, I know the University of Chicago has a building in the center of Barcelona. Also try word of mouth, go on a site like www.linkara.com or .es, I can't remember, and ask people if they know of any work and just come over. At the end of the day, everything in Spain comes down to  who you know.