So you are thinking of moving to Spain? There are a number of things to consider before making the big move, work being the most important aspect, unless of course you are retired.
Unless you have your own business already that you can move with you wherever you go, or you work for an international company with a base in Spain you will need to look for employment or self employment.
Unemployment levels in Spain are even worse than the UK, so unless you work in the tourist industry for an English speaking business (usually for a very low wage) you will need to be fluent in Spanish at the very least and even then it is very difficult as so many Spanish nationals are out of work.
Self employment often ends up as the only option for us expats, it doesn’t work for everyone and the market is saturated with “great new ideas” so you have to think outside the box and do some pretty clever marketing to make your own business work in Spain.
I run 2 businesses here in Spain and my advice to anyone starting out is to be flexible, take advice from those who have been there, keep things moving, if an idea doesn’t work then adapt it or move on to something else, keeping moving keeps your business fresh, you don’t need to abandon your original ideas just put them on the back burner for now and refresh them at a different time.
Do your research, there are lots of great resources out there with advice from people who have done it already. Join forums and look up social media people who can advise you. One thing that I did before I even moved to Spain was to do market research leafleting. I asked people that I had got to know to do some leaflet dropping and got lots of info on what products and services the expat and Spanish communities would like to see in their area.
It takes a little courage, often more than a little money and an awful lot of hard work and persistence to set yourself up in business but once things start working for you, you can relax and enjoy your new life in the sun. Are you up for the challenge?