The following article is taken from Eye on Spain, www.eyeonspain.com

No Job, No Money, Let's Move To Spain - Part 3

This is the third part of a series:

Click here to read part 1

Click here to read part 2

Well hello all.  So sorry I haven't been on in a long while and I know from your kind comments some of you have been waiting to hear what ever happened to us!

Well we settled into life here in Spain and me being Irish started networking asap! The gift of the gab it's called or the curse of too much conversation I call it! I met many people and one I came accross was a well know estate agent who summised that with all my experience he should have something I could do!??

Relaxing in SpainWell, 2 weeks later I was his new holiday lettings department!!! I had landed on my feet a job with a contract and salaried, no commission but in the economic climate of the day wow!!  A salary!!!  We moved from my dad's house to a lovely 2 bedroomed apartment in Punta Prima, again another lucky find beachside for €350 per month!!!!

It was at this point I began to realise that all our luck was changing.  Could the book I had been given at Christmas by my daughter really be working? The book was "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. I decided whatever it was we deserved it and I went along with it!! The other half got work through me as our handyman/cleaner for our holiday lets as usual we made a great team.

Grateful as I was for the job I wanted to work for ourselves again as we had in Ireland. This kept playing on my mind as I checked in and checked out a sucession of holiday makers into various apartments.

Life was good, very good.  We were making a good living settling in nicely even learning some Spanish:  "Lo siento no hablo muy bien Espanol", mostly impressive eh??? ok maybe not :-)  and as you can see I can't spell in Spanish any better than I can in English!

We decided we would wait until my daughter came over to join us during the summer to all get lessons together as a family. This decision was soon revised to "ah sure let her have the summer off she has been through so much we will all go in September" the deadline is now looming!!! But I do now know that coche is car, leche is milk and that if you truly try, the Spanish will help you all they can!! The dream has turned into a reality, we're loving it here!!!

We worked away happy as Larry (Larry is a lucky guy hes always so happy!)  We were as smug as a cat with creamy whiskers when we logged onto Facebook to tell all our friends back in Ireland and the UK that it was another glorious day in the land of the palm trees. We sat in little Spanish cafes in little Spanish towns on Sundays eating ice cream and just walking for hours.

My daughter came over with her boyfriend. My family almost complete again except for my 21yr old son back in Dublin working his way through college but sure hes a man now.

We found our regular spots to go out, made friends with many bands and through them met more friends. I have met a wonderful woman who is one of my best friends; we were truly welcomed and truly blessed we had found our home!

Still something kept niggling at me, I wanted my own business again but with no money how would it ever happen??? I remembered the book my daughter had given me and I came on the forum and read all the wonderful comments for the first time of all the people cheering me on (a huge thank you to you all btw!!)

I knew I could find a way.  We had come here with virtually nothing and look where we were!!! I had come to Spain in an economic crises, got a contracted job, a gorgeous beachside apartment and the old loser cruiser, the lovely Lucy, was still running!!!!

I could do this I resolved!! Jesus, I had done the maddest thing ever by just packing up and going. I knew I could do this and I knew what I was going to do!!!

 


Comments:

CommentDateUser
also from ireland (north), fair play to you and i hope it continues to work out. we moved here 9 years ago and live near denia/orba. best of luck.9/9/2010 1:00:00 PMian galway rafolian@gmail.com
Well done I would love to live inSpain full time but don't speak the lingo (only very little) and would need work to support myself. Got a place in Torre Blanca two bus rides from Punta Prima do you know of any work coming up that I could apply for.9/9/2010 1:41:00 PMJulie
well done people like you give me inspiration. as a family we inted moving to the Alicante region once we get our house sold. worrying about putting my children into schools in spain as we dont speak spannish although we are learning. anyway thanks for your positive attiude.9/9/2010 1:56:00 PMArchie Dunsmuir (Glasgow)
Well done Rachel Im sure your efforts will reap their own rewards .. give it time. Be sure that you are well established before you launch into your own business...slowly slowly catchee monkey. Learn as much of the lingo as you possibly can.. tip.. dont be afraid to use the phrases that you learn... it will give you the confidence to try more and more and the Spaniards are only too willing to help you when they know you are trying. So many of them speak English anyway but nonetheless it is so rewarding when you can speak to them in their own language. I have been here 9 yrs.. am 71 yrs old and if I can learn it ANYONE can.. Learned the basics from a SPANIARD (dont take lessons from the English) I picked the rest up as I went along.. albeit not fluent but I can get by.... jump in the deep end and you will find YOU CAN swim. 9/9/2010 2:20:00 PMDee Kingston
Hi we need more happy stories like this about time for positive actions. Well done. I will try my luck soon in Lora de Estepa north of Antequera.9/9/2010 6:40:00 PMchris phillips
Nice to hear a successful story as there is so much doom and gloom about. I'm from the North of Ireland and have a beachside apartment in Guardamar some 30mins from Alicante but unfortunately only for holidays. Would love to have your courage but don't think I ever live in spain permanently but will keep on holidaying out there. Hope everything continue to go well for you and wish you all the best for the future. cynthia.9/9/2010 9:13:00 PMcynthia watt
Nicely done Rachel! well you had some good luck.. I moved to Alicante in 2006 and was a struggling battle all the way through... being a single mom is no cup of tea in Alicante.. the jobs were hard to find, the pay low and the contracts were very short.. had to move back to the USA ..YUUUCK!!! I really want to go back but they tell me to stay put.9/10/2010 4:12:00 AMLISA
Hi Rachel, I`m very interested to know what your monthy cost of living expences are where you stay,if you don`t mind passing that info on to me please include everything. Thanks alot, Ken Birmingham.9/10/2010 8:52:00 AMKen Birmingham
Well done, Love your story & wish you lots of luck. You must be good workers to be able to do this on a low budget. One query I have is:- why is it that so many Spanish people are out of work, not paying their Community fees, yet run big cars & smoke. They are bleeding those that do pay and live according to their means.9/10/2010 12:59:00 PMDoedoe
Hi Rachel.Great reading about your adventure! My wife Sue and I live in La Zenia and really love it. Although due to my job..(semi retired Flight Academy Instructor for Flybe) I still travel a lot to deliver training for the airline but Sue is an artist and has her studio at home. She will be having an exhibition in the near future in San Pedro...maybe you would like to meeet us some time? Although we commute between our home in Bristol we feel Spain is our 'real home'.We are South African/Zimbabwe and there is a large group of us who meet once a month at Cheers bar in San Miguel..anyone is welcome to join our group and is a lot of fun especially when the Rugby is on! Our e mail address is mally.hide @hotmail.co.uk so hope to hear from you or anyone else in meeting up.Cheers and thanks for sharing your story with us all!Good luck in your biz ventures! Mal and Sue Hide9/10/2010 1:18:00 PMMal Hide
So enjoyed reading your articles. You have a great style & obviously the Irish gift of the gab. We took the plunge in 2001 and my husband absolutely loves it...no regrets! We've definitely had our share of ups and downs and family crisis, but I have been lucky enough to be able to go back to Scotland for family "fixes" when I (or my family) need them. Realise how lucky I am to live in Spain when I'm not there, lol! Must get my hands on "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. Good Luck, though I don't think you'll need it & look forward to more articles x9/12/2010 2:19:00 PMClaire, Mijas Costa / Scotland
I've only just come across your story but really enjoyed reading it and now as I see the story is back to 2010 I wonder how you are and whether you have managed to set up your own business and if so how you are doing. We are planning to move to inland southern Spain next year and really looking forward to it. We should be in the position where we won't have to work as I think the work situation has got worse. I would love to hear more from you so keep writing! 8/18/2012 2:22:00 PMLouise
I've only just come across your story but really enjoyed reading it and now as I see the story is back to 2010 I wonder how you are and whether you have managed to set up your own business and if so how you are doing. We are planning to move to inland southern Spain next year and really looking forward to it. We should be in the position where we won't have to work as I think the work situation has got worse. I would love to hear more from you so keep writing! 8/18/2012 2:24:00 PMLouise
I've only just come across your story but really enjoyed reading it and now as I see the story is back to 2010 I wonder how you are and whether you have managed to set up your own business and if so how you are doing. We are planning to move to inland southern Spain next year and really looking forward to it. We should be in the position where we won't have to work as I think the work situation has got worse. I would love to hear more from you so keep writing! 8/18/2012 2:24:00 PMLouise
I've only just come across your story but really enjoyed reading it and now as I see the story is back to 2010 I wonder how you are and whether you have managed to set up your own business and if so how you are doing. We are planning to move to inland southern Spain next year and really looking forward to it. We should be in the position where we won't have to work as I think the work situation has got worse. I would love to hear more from you so keep writing! 8/18/2012 2:43:00 PMLouise