Move to Spain?

After visiting Spain, (we went to Barcelona and Sitges, and I had not been to Barcelona in over 20 years), we have kinda decided we would like to move there.

I speak Spanish - I spoke Spanish before English. I'm a Latina.
My hubby is one of those really annoying people who has a natural gift for languages, and he has begun learning Spanish, and he has already corrected me a few times. 

Anyway...
It was so sunny, and the people were all so friendly, and there were so many affordable places to eat and drink, and it is warmer - and there are no slugs.

My only concern is that I know how hard it is to switch countries, and I am afraid to put my hubby through it. I'm afraid that HE will be treated, or seen, as a 'second class citizen' there - although the expats we have met have all told us that if someone learns Spanish that it is a very welcoming society... For whatever reasons, I have often felt VERY unwelcome in England.
I don't want to put him through that!

I know, their economy is bad - but it is bad here too, and it is MUCH more expensive here - so, in the end, for us, it would most likely all even out.

I can teach English there, and I would actually make more there, and pay less in bills.

I'm assuming after I have my little red passport that we can legally move there, right?

Has anyone on here spent any time in Spain?

I know, their economy is bad

Bad is an understatement!

I'm assuming after I have my little red passport that we can legally move there, right?

Yes you can! 

Do not underestimate just how bad the Spanish economy is right now - it is much worse than Britain's at the moment. 

I love Spain!  We've done a number of holidays there & we love travelling all over & I agree with you on many of the points that you have made.  However, being on holiday somewhere can be so different from living there year-round.  I would love to live there myself but I think we are on better economic footing here...and the future of the Euro seems so uncertain at this time.  DH is the Spanish speaker, not me.  Maybe when we retire... 

We met an American Latina who owns an American ESL school in Barcelona, and when I told her I went to Smith College, she totally offered me a management position for when I am legal there - a contracted position. She went to Wellesley - a sister school.
She said her school is doing great, and that they WANT the American accent there... And the pay was WAY better than ANYTHING I have been able to find here, in a year and a half... But I would need my passport first!

She said the economy is bad if you are unemployed, but fine, and presently super cheap for flat rentals, and eating out, if you are employed.

So... It got us thinking...

I mean, I hardly met her so she could be full of it, and a lot can change in a year and a half... but, it is sooo tempting.

I just would not want my hubby treated like a second class citizen. That WOULD be a deal breaker for me!

I'm sure others will have more direct personal experience. All I can say is that my sister-in-law and her partner live there and rentals are quite expensive. They both work, but they do online work for themselves, working freelance, and their clients are all in the UK. Even though they've both got great CVs and are both university educated, I think they'd find looking for jobs a real challenge.

I'd keep the idea in the back of my head but not lock myself in to anything.  The next year and a half could see significant changes to the eurozone. 

So... It got us thinking...

I mean, I hardly met her so she could be full of it, and a lot can change in a year and a half... but, it is sooo tempting.

I just would not want my hubby treated like a second class citizen. That WOULD be a deal breaker for me!

Sounds promising - all things being the same when you get to that point.  What would your hubby do for work there?  Would he be willing to be the unemployed one if it came to that (not saying it would)?

I love the weather in Spain, lots of things about the culture, always found the people very friendly & welcoming (not saying that people here aren't friendly & welcoming because I find them to be so here as well) - and I don't even speak much Spanish at all.

From my view, there's such a huge cloud of uncertainty hanging over the Spanish economy just now...but as you've still got time until you'll be a British citizen, you can wait & see how things go.  I have heard some things are cheaper there nowadays - which may be owing to just how bad the economy has become.

As far as whether people (outsiders) are accepted in Spain, I think this does depend somewhat on what region/area of Spain you are talking about.  Barcelona is in Catalonia - which can be argued to share more culturally & linguistically with the south of France than what is 'middle' Spain.  If you were to go to say - Madrid and the Castilla–La Mancha area, a typically conservative stronghold & area that was a centre of Franco's power, you might feel more of an 'us' and 'them' sort of divide...although someone from the US/UK might feel that less sharply than someone from, say northern Africa or perhaps Latin America.  For example, my friends from Rio de Janeiro felt that - and he was a director over a huge European subsection of a major multinational corporation there...they lived in the wealthiest part of Madrid & still felt very much as outsiders -- they ended up sending their children to the American school rather than Spanish schools...

I do think that regionality in Spain (perhaps much like in France?) plays a much bigger part in cultural issues there than what we are accustomed here in the UK - not saying that regions don't play a role here - they do - but perhaps less so.  Much like people here might identify with being English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, etc rather than British...only think about how many more little provinces & subregions there are in Spain & people not infrequently identify with those more than the idea of 'being Spanish' -- although just like everywhere else, folks are moving around more now, moving to cities away from the country, becoming more cosmopolitan.  Additionally, even though Spain is very many years on from the Civil War & the Franco era now, its ghosts are still lingering about (IMO) beneath the surface in ways that an outsider may not really recognise - but certainly from one region to the next.

historyenne - Very true. The changes could be huge.

chary - I know it is not easy there. But, it is not easy here for us at all, and it is warm there. I hope they both find jobs!

Mrs Robinson - Thank you for all of that info! We would be in the Barcelona area... If it ever happened.

My hubby owns a building and design company here. Dead industry here, and there, as no one can get loans from banks to remodel.

So, dunno...

It was just so nice to be around so many friendly, chatty people. Especially the women! In one week, I exchanged info with 15 different women, who have ALL sent me facebook friend requests - That has NEVER happened to me in England. Not even close.

It was so nice to be liked.

chary - I know it is not easy there. But, it is not easy here for us at all, and it is warm there. I hope they both find jobs!

They have jobs. My point is that they're self-employed with UK clients. If they had to look for jobs in Spain, they'd probably move back here.