Hi Everyone! :)
Great looking forum!
My partner and I are living in the UK for 2 years now (we are Portuguese). Went to Fuerteventura in April for a 7 day holiday and we decided to relocate there.
I know that employment is an issue in Spain and I have been saving (more) in the last couple of months to make sure we are safe (financially) while we look for jobs in the island. We have decided that we are going to try and move to Fuerteventura. Obviously if things go awfully wrong we can always go back but we are really determined on "building a life" in Fuerteventura.
We are looking for a long term let (something between 6 months and a year) at caleta de fuste or corralejo.
Bearing in mind the difficult situation in terms employment, do you think that we are going to struggle to find a job in a restaurant/bar/hotel in the summer? We are going to move in the begginning of July.
Really sorry about all these questions but just trying to know what you think as I presume that you are living on the island and have a much better understanding of how things are and work.
Please kindly let me know if you have any house/apartment to let around Caleta or if you know anyone who has properties to rent. My monthly budget will be around 350/450 Euros.
My email address:ruicsantos@gmail.com
Thank you so much in advance! :)
Rui
Good luck to you, Santos - It's lovely to be able to make the dream come true and I hope it does for you. "Country-hopping" is a real advantage of the EU, or it would be if they'd simplify things a little.
But what sort of job is it you're looking for? There are very, very few jobs available that will give you an employment contract. Without an employment contract you will have no access to state health care (you only get that if you contribute, unlike in the UK). Without the contract/entry to the state system you will only get your residency papers (required to stay longer than three months, although in practice there must be a lot of "illegal immigrants" here) if you can prove that you have not-inconsiderable income from elsewhere PLUS longterm private health insurance PLUS you sign to say that you will never in the future take anything from the state. It doesn't sound as though that's feasible for you.
OTOH, I'm sure the restaurants and bars with the worst working conditions will be happy for you to work all hours of the day and night for a couple of euros per hour (I believe 5€/hr is probably way too much to expect). You won't have to pay tax or insurance on it, though. Jobs like that change hands very frequently.
Your budget should be enough to get you a roof over your head though. Maybe you'll strike gold, but please don't come over with too high hopes. Unemployment on the island is over 50% in the 18-25 age range, and not much less for older people, and most of them will probably be better qualified for the available jobs than you.