Moving To Spain! Advice Please....

Hey

I was not sure where to post this so bare with me, I am a 26 year old male from London, and I am moving to spain with my friend who is 23, we are going to move to Malaga city in Malaga, we dont currently have jobs waiting for us, but we are flying out there on Monday, just for 4 days, to look at the area etc.

Heres what were doing on this short trip:

1, applying for a NIE number.

2, opening a Spanish bank account.....which one is the best/biggest?

3, Applying for residency.

4, applying for jobs....is there a job centre in Spain like we have here where we can just walk in and apply for many jobs?  If not, where is the best place to apply?  Were after anything, bar work, office work, airport work...

Then were going to fly back to England and wait to hear back from any jobs, and pay a deposit on an apartment in Malaga city.

We have found some apartments in Malaga city for around 500 euros a month, split between two people isnt so bad really.

I do have a driving licence, and may rent a car on a month per month basis, any ideas on this guys?

I have lived all over America, NYC, Texas etc, but never anywhere in europe, so Spain is going to be an entirely different kettle of fish for me!!  So any advice is welcome.

Oh, and do you have to pay 3 times the rent on all apartments in Spain?

Whats Malaga city like? Can we get a cheap shuttle from the airport to the city?

Thankyou

Matt

Hi Matt

Welcome to Eye on Spain.

Lots of questions there.  You're probably better off starting new threads for each of the different questions you have.

NIE:  Find out where you have to go and get there early.  It's normally done at the local police station but it does tend to get very busy quite quickly.

Bank account:  I don't know about individual differences in currents account in Spain.  Many banks cater for foreigners, such as Solbank, Barclays, etc.  Maybe pop into two or three to see what they offer, although I assume most of them will be pretty much the same.

Jobs:  Maybe read this article!.  Also you should be aware that Malaga City is no particularly big for expats.  It's very Spanish and doesn't have the concentration such as Fuengirola and Benalmadena so I think you will really struggle job-wise in Malaga.

Cars:  Some friends of mine were paying 450 Euros per month for a hire car.  However, I'm not sure if that is still the sort of rate you'd be looking at as it was a couple of years ago.

Rent:  Yes, most of the time you do need to pay 3 months up front.  You are paying for the first month, the last month and the security deposit.  I think they take the last payment up front in case you leave without paying the final instalment!

Malaga City:  Love it.  Great place, loads of things to do and see, great atmoshpere.  We like it a lot as a city but many expats on the coast never venture there!  Watch this video that we recorded in Malaga recently.

Airport bus:  Yes, there is a bus that takes you into Malaga center.

There are loads of articles and videos on the site here which you should take a look at as there is some very good information there.

Hope that helps and the very best of luck with your move.

Justin

Jobs are very hard to find, telesales and bar jobs are about all you will get unless you speak Spanish. You probably wont earn more than 5 euros an hour. Some telesales come with a basic, others are commision only. My daughter came to Spain last year and stayed about 8 months. She tried tha airport having worked for easyjet in the UK and having a degree in Travel and Tourism, but they only take on fluent Spanish speakers!! Malaga is not really the place to be for work as it is not really a tourist area. My daughter worked for www.clublacosta.com doing telesales, she worked a five hour day mon-fri and got 150 euros a week basic and commission which looks good on the surface, but if you didn't get 5 sales a week you got kicked out. You could always give them a try.

She rented an apartment in Fuengirola for 500 euros a month it had 3 double bedrooms, was fully furnished and had a pool shared between 10 flats. She had to pay 2 months up front.

Forget Malaga city if you do not speak fulent Spanish you will really struggle to find work. 

Mijas Costa is definetly better.  There are pelenty of great apartments ranging from €400 to €600 a month and most only take one month deposit if you take one direct from owner.  Check www.surinenglish.com for rental properties and jobs.

Here are a lits of job recruitment agencies for spain:

www.infojobs.net - www.ambientjobs.com - www.recruitspain.com

With regards to a car i would not rent, you can buy a cheap car and that will cost you less as rentals are normally around €400 a month or more. There are plenty for sale in the surinenglish or on www.segundamano.es, also www. canalcar.es

Joan

Wow great replies, thankyou.

That video is brilliant! Thats the first time ive been able to see Malaga city like that so thankyou for that, is it always that windy???

Ok so the problems I can see that will arise is:

1, I dont speak fluent spanish (just a basic understanding)

2, jobs, I was hoping to work in one of the bars, clubs or shops in the city.

Im getting a bit confused about where I get a NIE number from, some people are saying the town hall, and now your saying the police station?  lol, what time do you think I should arrive to do this?

Yeah, I understand its not really touristy, but thats what I wanted, I didnt want it to be completely full of Brits, I want to feel like im in Spain you know?? So thats ok, I also want to improve my Spanish.

Thanks for the job agencies, I am going to sign up for them, and try that telesales job (even though I am not great at tele sales, at least its a start lol).

I dont need to hire a car, its ok, If im in the city I shouldnt really need one.

What is the nitelife there like?  It seems like kind of an old town?  Are there clubs etc?

Thanks

Matt,

You can also get an NIE from the Spanish embassy in London.  I think this would be the easiest way to get it.

Glad you enjoyed the video!  It does get windy quite often.

The NIE is usually at the police station.  The "empadronamiento" is at the town hall.

There are lots of great bars there and I'm sure there are plenty of clubs too.

Justin

Spanish Embassy is the easiest way to get your NIE.  Call them and they will tell you what you need to do Tel is 02075898989

 I was going to say that the consulate route for the NIE was the best, but then I looked at their web-site and found this:

Taken from this site:

http://www.maec.es/subwebs/Consulados/Londres/en/MenuPpal/Servicios/Legalizaciones/Paginas/nie_legalisations.aspx

Please DO NOT apply for a NIE at this Consulate General if your reason is one of the following:

• You intend to live in Spain. Once you are in Spain, you must register (empadronar) with the local Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) where you intend to live in order to obtain a "Certificado de Residencia".
• You intend to open a bank account. A NIE is not issued for this reason.

Should you wish to apply for a NIE  through this Consulate General, please come in person with  the following documents:

1. Valid passport and a photocopy of the page containing your personal details.
2. Two NIE (EX-14) application forms. The forms must be fully completed online or on a typewriter.  Handwritten forms will not be accepted.
3. NON EU citizens with UK residency must present a certified copy of the residence permit in the UK and written proof of why the NIE number is required.