Maybe this topic should have been in "working in spain", but this is more than just working, maybe i could call this "living in spain" ?

This is my first post by the way, and im glad to have discovered this board.

I'm 25 years old, from Quebec province. I ve made a 2 month trip to spain last summer, from north to south. Always liked travelling, felt in love with Spain in my last trip, can speak castellano pretty well, not perfectly though.I studied and working now as a graphic designer.
And like my title said, i was thinking about moving in Spain next year, for at least one year... but i dont know where !
So is if theres any of you guys have some suggestions, and could answer some of my questions, or just put some links that could help me...
- Where to move? Good and bad things of each cities? ( i know its a big question, but i ve seen plenty of cities and comunities of spain... i still dont know wich one to choose. I liked them all. I woulnt live in a small city though.)

- good and bad things of living in Spain

- The costs of an appartement depending of the cities and location? ( which city or region is the cheapest / expensive)

-Is it easy to find an appartment well located, next to the center, or should i move more to the suburbs where its more affordable and easier to find?

-find jobs? easy? Like i said i dont speak spanish perfectly but i can handle conversations. Since im there for only one or 2 year,a job in graphic design would be perfect though, but i ll start with anything.

- jobs: what are the working hours ins spain.. i ve heard it was from 8 to 6 , or 9 to 7... And what is the minimum wage of salary in the country?

- Barcelona: do i have to speak Catalonian to live and work there? I know that they are all good in spanish, but for a long term stay, should i learn the language?

i know there s a lot of stuff, but feel free to answer what u know or fell like.
gracias!

Hi, I don't know now how easy is to find job for a graphic designer, in general it's harder now to find a job, although there's need of workers for some professions, I think your Spanish will be good enough to find a job.
A room in Madrid could be around 300€/month, an apartment much more, it will be hard to find any of them I think.
For Barcelona a lot of people speak catalan, but you can live speaking only Spanish, probably you will finish understanding catalan in a few months.
The work time usually is as you said, and the minimun salary is around 420-480 € I think, I don't know who can live with that in a city like Madrid

Janlo, you've got your work cut out for you!

Here goes- jobs in graphic design, yes, many. However, going over there and landing one, is not going to be easy. Let's start with the job sit. in Spain.

Jobs- Spain is not doing well right now. Jobs are hard to get and find, ESPECIALLY for those who are not Spanish citizens or a part of the EU. When looking for jobs, you're competing with all of these people FIRST! You will be far down the list when an employer is looking to hire people.
Why is this? Aside from Spain always having trouble with high unemployment, the influx of immigrants the past few years has only made everything more difficult for foreiners without papers. And now being part of the EU, there are new laws they have to abide by, and that is hiring an EU citizen before someone from the outside. If you have a British passport, its a different story, you didn't mention anything, so I'm assuming that your Canadian through and through and this is not a possibility. If it is, get your Brit. passport!

Cities to live in:
Well, not wanting to live in a smaller city, and considering you want to work and prefibly in graphic design, Madrid and Barcelona would be your best bets, then probably Sevilla. Madrid is one of the most expensive cities in Europe, Barcelona isn't too cheap either- here Sevilla would be the least expensive of the three.

Housing:
Well, depending on where you'll live. To get an idea of rental prices, check out www.segundamano.es. They have listings of apartments and people looking for roomates and will give you an idea of how much costs what and where.

I hope that helps. Its a start at least! Good luck!

I would add to your list of possible cities to live Valencia and Málaga.

The bigger the city, the better the chance to find a job as a graphic designer (but the more expensive the housing is).

I would try to search for a job first in big transnational companies, in which your nationality might be a plus, since they usually like to have a diversity of cultures in their staff.

Fernando

thanx guys.
yeah i ve thought about Valencia... i really like it there. nice weather, sea next to the city. pretty relax.

so hmm seems pretty hard and expensive he?

is sevilla and andalucia really more afordable?