Thanxs fer thu corektsion, Catalina! And yes, I know how "annoying" teachers can be - both my parents are retired high school teachers (my Mom in ENGLISH, too!! heheheehe..).

And thank you for the compliment about ladyfriend . She really is a sweetheart.

I wish great LUCK to all those wishing/wanting/searching/dreaming of working in Spain. I remember a thread long ago (too lazy to search for it right now ) where someone suggested starting a company with the multiple message board members, thereby (hopefully) giving us ALL the opportunity of moving to Spain.

All right all right. Madrid Man, what do you do at this job of yours? You are being too... shady.

MM- your ladyfriend is truly very pretty, and it sounds like you're both lucky to have each other, confidant enough in your relationship to be so far apart yet still 'together'.

Sorry for the trek back into 'love lives of the not so rich and moderately famous' (or is that infamous?). I've been trying to figure out how to open my own business myself, maybe several of us can go in on it together, helping with the overhead. I'd love to have a translation business or something of the sort, but I'm not sure that could support me over there either...

i read so many posts regarding this subject and it seems to me that many people want to find the easy way to move to spain and have a job. the reality of picking up and moving to another country is never going to be easy. if people are looking for a job before they get here or a "well paying" job whatever that means, it´s not going to happen. you need to come here first and start here. the living costs aren´t as high as everyone thinks, it depends where you want to live and HOW you want to live. If people are looking for a job and everything to be set up before they move here, it´s most likely not going to happen, but that shouldn´t discourage anybody from trying to accomplish theri dreams and go where their heart desires. Many people are scared to move to spain cause they have a job, but why stay living somewhere where you are unhappy cause you have a job? you can always get another job if things don´t work out. you will find work eventualy in spain, but it all takes time. i make a third of what i was making back home, and i am 25 times happier here than i ever was back home. IT was very difficult for me to sell everything and leave and move to spain with 900 dollars and no idea on how i was going to work or live. it was HARD, but it all takes time. i am just barely getting my head above water, but i am soo happy. the days where i only had bread to eat, i was still happy cause i moved to this country becuase i was in love with it´s culture and people, the best things about this country are free, and i enjoy them everyday! the days where i find myself dancing to palmas on the street and talking to bartenders in mesons drinking sangria, makes it all worth every struggle and peseta being saved. i encourage everyone to really find what it is that they feel is goign to make them happy and try to do it, if it doesn´t work out you can always go back home and try again. you only have one life!!! aproveche!!! i am always here to help those who wnat to come here and start a new life. i have an extra bedroom and tons of resources!!! i wish you all well and que viva españa!

missmadrid98,
I don't think that any of us who are seriously considering the move to Spain assume that it will be "easy"...that is precisely the reason that some of us are scared. I know that my chances of finding a job before I get there (let alone legal employment) are next to nil, but that is not going to stop me from exhausting all possibilities before I go jetting off to Spain. As futile as it may be for me to mail my CV to potential employers, I'm going to do it anyway, because what if it DOES work?

And regarding finding a "well-paying job", I wouldn't BE an educator if I wanted a well-paying job, so I'm not expecting to move to Spain and find my (monetary) fortune.

Finally, bear in mind that not all of us want to drop everything in the US and leave for good...not all of us are "unhappy" in our current jobs. I have a life here, but for various reasons I want to establish a life there as well. Most importantly, I have family here, but I have people who are dear to me there as well. I can't simply live in one place or the other. I suspect that there are many others in this situation. This makes everything all the more difficult for me, because I have to have the means now to live in TWO countries, not to mention find my way back and forth between them.

Yes, this all scares the hell out of me. I am not unrealistic, I am well aware of the challenges I am facing. But if I can make any of this easier on myself or slightly less risky, I'm going to...maybe I'm just a big sissy, but oh well!

LaProfesora,

I think you're saying what most of us feel. We don't want to give up our lives here in the US, we want to enhance them and add Spain to them as an added dimension, not a replacement for what we have.

Wolf

I have to agree with Profesora and Wolf- when I am in Spain, I am thinking of the family and friends that are in the US, when I am in the US, I am missing Spain and my friends there very much and counting the days until I can return. I so dearly want to go to Spain, but I don't know what that can offer me, which is freightening for someone who's worked and saved for the last 6 years. What I do know is that now I have a fairly well paying job that I like and a life here which can enable me to return to Spain (almost) as often as I wish, yet still be here with my family and friends for the important times. We are looking for both, which may be a lot to ask, but I don't think it's unattainable.

How can I meld the two together-job security and happiness in Spain? I'm not sure. But what may help, as profesora said, is sending out any resume I can in hopes/dreams that one of them will be accepted. It's a longshot, but it's a first 'baby step' which is all some of us are up for right now...

I think that the key to moving to Spain for an extended stay is to save enough money so that you do not have to worry about finding a job right away. With my job as a teacher here in the U.S., I have managed to save over $10,000 in the last couple of years. I am moving to Madrid this August, and like missmadrid, I am just going for it. I do not have any jobs lined up, but I have a place to rent set up already. Yes, I am nervous about just going there with no prospects, but I really think everything will work out.

When coming to Spain to live and work as a Teacher...

1. Timing: Choose the time of when you plan to come to Spain more wisely.
- If you plan on coming to Madrid to take a teacher training and / or language course and continuing on afterwards for example you should take into consideration which months people in Spain offer the new contracts, interview for new teachers, and do the most job hiring.
There are definately some noticeable differences and you wouldn't want to come to Spain and be stuck taking your preparation courses while most of the people are doing their interviewing / hiring and then find that most of the better jobs are already taken by the time you have finished your training and can begin your search.
You would do far better picking some slower work month(s) to do your preparation / training courses leading into the good work month(s) so that as soon as you finished your preparation / training courses you could be in the prime position to begin your job interviewing / search.

2. Bring Enough Money: (Spain is more expensive than you think).
- No matter where you plan to go in Spain to try and live and find work bring enough money to support yourself with for 3 months to a year.
Spain is different from where you are coming from. You will waste money just getting used to your new environment and getting used to how things are done in Spain. (This requires some disposible income).
It also takes a while before things will start comingtogether for you in Spain.
It takes time for you to get enough hours / money or a good enough contract.
You will want to have enough money saved up before coming to Spain to afford the luxury of turning down the jobs that will take you out of the way, or will force you to run around, or pay less, etc.
There are enough work offers (in Madrid for example) that if you had enough money and savings to live off that you could put together an ideal work schedule within the course of 3 month's to a year only accepting the classes that you liked.

WARNING: If you do not come to Spain with enough money saved up to live off of and support yourself for 3 months to one year you will be forced to accept any work / jobs that come your way, which means, running around all over Spain chasing hours, lower pay, fewer hours, less stability, etc. which all leads to finding it harder to make ends meet and is a formula from frustration and disaster.
Rocco.

I have been crazy for years to move and work in Spain. I'm one of the lucky ones. My company here in New York has offices in Madrid and I've tried several times to get that job...but the head honcho saw me as a party-animal, single and young.

Years later, I have a beautiful wife, a beautiful son and now there's a position open again in Madrid. I've contacted the head honcho and we shall see what happens next.

I am not unhappy here in my daily routine. I have my family all here, my wife has hers here. But we'd like to experience something else before we end up having more kids and me and her get fat and grow old here in Jersey...
My wife is from Costa Rica (I'd love to go there but the situation isn't as strong and healthy as Spain) and she's always been dying to go to Spain. I'm born and raised here in the States and I had a chance to go to my parents' homeland in South America...but declined at the last moment.

Now this is it! I pray that everything works out for the Madrid position...then I'll be back on these boards to ask you good people for some guidance.