Thread: Any advice :)?

Hey all, Im living in Ireland and am 22 years of age,
I've become frustrated and bored with the lifestyle here in Ireland,
Ive been holding a job here for the past 4 years, and have been renting my own apartment in the city center
where I currently reside.

I have my sights set on Murcia, I plan on saving for an initial four months of this summer to see how things go,
If I find work(even part-time), I plan to never ever come home
Having enquired a little about an apartment offering long term lets of 299 a month, which is even less than the rent I pay here.

I have a very little amount of spanish, but in the four-five months Im setting myself to continue saving here,
I plan to improve on my Spanish, which Im finding easy to pick up because alot of it is spelt like its pronounced.
I was worried that I would be the only English speaker in the whole country, but thankfully - It seems alot of british folk
choose to retire there. I want to be far enough and close enough to the hustle and bustle of nightlife, but that would be last on my
list of priorities.

I gave up alcohol several months ago, and as I approach the one year mark- Im looking to up and go,
while Im still young and have the motivation.

Im really just looking for any advice you would give me on my situation.
Gracias!

Originally Posted by Nicholasfierce

Hey all, Im living in Ireland and am 22 years of age,
I've become frustrated and bored with the lifestyle here in Ireland,
Ive been holding a job here for the past 4 years, and have been renting my own apartment in the city center
where I currently reside.

I have my sights set on Murcia, I plan on saving for an initial four months of this summer to see how things go,
If I find work(even part-time), I plan to never ever come home
Having enquired a little about an apartment offering long term lets of 299 a month, which is even less than the rent I pay here.

I have a very little amount of spanish, but in the four-five months Im setting myself to continue saving here,
I plan to improve on my Spanish, which Im finding easy to pick up because alot of it is spelt like its pronounced.
I was worried that I would be the only English speaker in the whole country, but thankfully - It seems alot of british folk
choose to retire there. I want to be far enough and close enough to the hustle and bustle of nightlife, but that would be last on my
list of priorities.

I gave up alcohol several months ago, and as I approach the one year mark- Im looking to up and go,
while Im still young and have the motivation.

Im really just looking for any advice you would give me on my situation.
Gracias!

Bienvenido a Nicholasfierce!

Murcia is a diverse province with something for most people, however Murcia (like many regions of Spain) has been hit very hard by the recession and therefore it's very difficult (but not impossible) to find work. A positive attitude like you have will help, but be prepared for knock backs Some tips that may help:

• 
  1. If yes live in a Spanish area, property rental will be much cheaper,
  2. If you shop where the Spanish shop (Mercadillos, small local house/shops etc then your food bills will be lower,
  3. Do come with enough money to survive for 6 months (even though you mention your intent is only to come for 4 months initially, it's always better to be prepared),
  4. Learn the language, this will enable you to read the local newspapers (for example http://www.laverdad.es; http://www.laopiniondemurcia.es), converse with the locals and maybe this will lead to a job opportunity,
  5. Use the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) websites, they have lots of useful information i.e. http://www.murcia.es/Inicio/index_.asp. Many towns within the Province have their own websites (but generally they are in Spanish),
  6. Do lots of homework upfront and use the web resources to search for jobs for example http://www.infojobs.net/ofertas-trabajo/murcia
  
  There are a couple of major investments in the pipeline (Paramount and EU Wide Rail Freight Network) but don't expect to see any benefits from these projects for 2 - 5 years. Also there is a new International Airport opening late 2012 (San Javier will revert to a Military Airport at this time).
  
  Best of luck.