Will you fail or succeed in Spain

Heres how to tell

This is my 20th year living and working in Spain and in that time i have seen

Many people move to Spain and some do really well and live out their dream life in Spain while some struggle and loose a lot of money here and return back to their home land and have to start all over again.

There are a few things that stand out to me that are a great indicator on who will succeed here and who will fail.

See if you have come across this and what category do you think your in.

I like so many when i first moved to Spain had such high hopes and plans and was very excited to live out my dream life in Spain that i had dreamed about for many years and planned for so long.

Once here there were a few things that hit me hard like the Paperwork and slow bureaucracy that really never ends here. Not knowing Spanish was going to be a problem and i know that and had planned to learn but it was a lot harder than i had thought to get into classes and find what was the best way for me to learn.

Working here as a carpenter and builder i did work for many British people on their homes and got to see just how they lived and what they were planning. There were people with loads of funds and some with very little but there were a few things that first became apparent that separated people.

Here i will give you a few examples of real people.

First the fails

There were 1 couple in there 50s that sold everything in the UK and bought a bar here in a great area right on the beach. They had enough to buy the place outright and a new small apartment near by.

They had only been to that rea once before for a long weekend and had bought on there second day of their second trip here. This was before Brexit, They had me renovate the bar and there was a lot of work to do taking about 2 months. The costs started to rise fast and they started to made major adjustments to the project. They also had to employ a local Spanish speaker as they couldn’t order materials and stock or even speak to Spanish customers.

This couple didnt do the research on the bar and later i found that there was a problem with the power supply that would cost 12 k to fix and that really changed things for them.

The bar did open and the first few weeks they had some customers. Then they started to open later as they would have a few friends stay late for drinking parties late into the night. They advertised breakfasts at the weekends but were always late to open and lost trade to the surrounding bars, Then they stopped doing food and paid another girl to be waiting on tables. So no 2 staff taking a wage as well as them but not much money coming in.

This was a slow down hill trip that lasted about 8 months then they sold the bar and apartment cheap and disappeared over night.

Some basic planning and research would have shown them that the bar was in a highly competitive area with local Spanish bars that were open 24 7 and doing tapas with drinks so were always busy unlike their bar.

Next couple.

Young family with 2 young kids about 10 years old. He wanted to start working as a welder and did ok at first making security grills for clients mostly British as he spoke no Spanish.

His wife and kids seemed to settle in well and loved it here but he was not working as much as he started to get up late and not be as interested in finishing off jobs so started to loos clients.

He was a good welder and his work was good and fair price but he just started to let people down and was so un reliable. This was the first time he had worked on his own and he could had had a monopoly on the market here for these grills on British peoples homes here but his attitude let him and his family down. Then he started drinking with a mate and that was the start of the end.

About 1 year later he split from his wife and she returned to the uk with the kids, he worked here for another guy cleaning rental cars and after about 3 months i never saw him again. There house was taken by the bank.

Now for a few that succeeded here.

British bar owner,

This guy and his wife had 2 young boys and opened a bar here in town near where i used to live. The bar was always the first to open even before the spanish and the locals would stop and have a coffee there first thing . He did basic tapas with all drinks and was always busy but worked all hours. His wife helped out in the bar and he had Spanish lessons from a neighbour.

This guy was here when i first moved here and he is still here now has 2 bars. one he rents out.

He still works all hours but is always smiling and his kids have loads of spanish friends here. I have seen his boys helping out at the bar and they really enjoy their life here.

The retired couple.

There was a couple who retired here from London and had bought a nice 3 bedroom house here and just went on walks and had lunch at their local day most days . They both mixed a lot with local Spanish people and joined a spanish walking club on sundays. They had me do all the decorating at their house and i was often there working on bits and pieces for them.

After 2 years they sold their 3 bedroom house and rented a large apartment near the beach so they could be walking on the flat walkway that ran along the beach walk here. They stopped driving and sold the car but were always out and about with friends and seemed to walk everywhere.

They lived really well and always eat out. I once asked why they had sold their house as it was really nice. They told me that they wanted to life their life to the full and they only needed the 2 bedroom apartment as it was near everything and cheap rent so they had money in the bank to last them and they could life well.

They are both still here not out as much now but i do see then time from time in a bar having a glass of wine and tapas.

What do you really need and want here?

What sort of life will you be happy with?

How much do you really need?

I also bought a big house here when i first moved here and was not happy there it was a struggle and in the end i lost 80k when i sold it to down size.

Its all about being able to adapt once here and having a plan. Research is key here and you cant do enough.

If people have had a struggle in the UK then these people will also struggle here.

There is a guy i know in the UK whos planning on moving to Spain this year and he has a job in the uk and is working on a new business to start here once he is in Spain. at nights he goes out delivering pizzas to top up his savings. he is always following people online and taking their advice and researching areas and property. He knows these areas well and knows just what he needs to do and have and he is not even in Spain yet.

This guy and his family will do well here.

You cant plan for everything and things do change but if you do enough research before hand and are willing to adapt once here you can do well here.

Its not luck that some do well here its that they make their own luck. The harder you work the luckier you seem to be.

Learning Spanish is a must here. Being able to speak the language of the country you live in is a basic requirement to doing well here in Spain.

The more research you can do before hand is also key to success here.

You may love the beach areas but is that where the work is if you need to find a job or is inland where you want to be in the lovely country side. But whats it really like in the country in winter and is it cold or cut off there. you may want to be near or in an area where there is work and once built up some income or job move to where you really want to be.

This is also why i recommend renting first for 6 months so as you can really see what its like here.

So go follow people who are living the sort of life style you want to live in Spain. Ask them what they did and do and do as they do to live as they live.

Getting it right the first time will save you thousands in the long term and research could just make the difference of failing or succeeding here in Spain.

Did you get it right first time here?

What do you think am i being too hard? Let us know what you think in the comments below..

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