Hi there, firstly if you are coming to Spain to live and to work you wont need to apply any more for Spanish Residency but you will need to apply for a NI number to pay your taxes etc. Also it would be good to learn some Spanish before you come and to continue to learn when you are here as going to the doctor, hospital police etc, if you cant speak they wont entertain you but will insist on bringing an interpreter.... quite expensive also all your documentation will be in Spanish too

 

Hola!!!
Have almost been here a year and hubby has been here since July of 2004. We have lived in Benalmadena in the Torrequebrada area for the most part . We love Nerja as it was where we honeymooned.

For DJ work, you are best either close to Malaga, Torremolinos, or Marbella. Marbella definitely more high end and it shows in the pay. It is tough to break in to the DJ scene tho but if you are persistent and make loads of contacts it is possible. Nerja is very quiet and you would find work hard to find as I have friends there who are struggling.

We now live in La Cala de Mijas. It is a little coastal village where everything is within walking distance and everyone is SUPER friendly, Spanish and expats alike. You would be in the in a good position to travel either to Marbella area or back to Benalmadena, Torremolinos or Malaga. The train from Fuengirola towards Malaga is fabulous. I travel to Benalmadena daily using the buses and trains. And my husband travels to Marbella and beyond daily as well on the bus. Life is possible in Spain without a car but it is easier with one.

Another upcoming area you might want to check out is Almeria. Lots of new urbanizations and infrastructure. Might be a good place to start your own business. Not sure about DJing tho but anything is possible.

Benalmadena is very hilly and depending on where you live you may need a car witih your 3 year old. Fuengirola has lots of air pollution within the city center. Gorgeous castle though.

I would recommend checking out the Mijas Costa urbanizations and Calahonda just so you have choices. Torreblanca and Carvajal are lovely as well.

There are so many possibilities here, it really depends on what you want. So describe your ideal location and let´s see what we all come up with to match it.

Oh by the way, will you be renting or buying your first home here in Spain? It is always good to know whether you are in a legal build or whether you even have a foundation under your home. And beware of landlords who want a huge deposit. Our neighbors just moved from UK a month ago and they had to shell out 3000 euros in just a deposit and that´s crazy for this time of year. People do take advantage of newcomers unfortunately. Run things by the locals or even this board before you make any major decisions.

Hope this helps and ¡BIENVENIDOS!

 

Hi all.......Well its intresting reading this because myself and my wife and 2 children are moving to spain at the end of november and like everyone else we will be looking for work not long after we arrive..I am a executive head chef and have done quite a bit on construction also so i would be looking for work along them lines in spain.
We were looking to move to somewhere like benalmadena costa....somewhere where things are close to each other and with a beach.Now we are hoping that work will be ok to obtain there and it sure does look like one hell of a nice area to be ..We would be renting long term for the 1st 2 years and then re consider our options at a later date regarding buying..But our main priorities at the moment are to get there and sort out work ...

We also looked at torremolinos & puerto buena.????

what do you think of benalmadena for what we want ????

regards Adrian