Out of Pod Experience

Hello.

The reason i'm creating this topic is because of a job opportunity i might get in Fuengirola (30 km away from Marbella) in Spain at the end of this year where i have some questions about working in Spain.

Now you might think 'wtf, are NightmareX really gonna move from Norway to Spain to work there?'. Well yeah, we all knows that the jobs down in Spain these days (specially after the financial crisis back in 2007) aren't really that great. And i'm sure we all can agree on that. However, i might actually get me a job down there that actually are REALLY great.

Lets talk more about this job.

What makes this job so great is that i'm a Norwegian and the job down in Fuengirola is a Norwegian company. Because of that, i only have to speak Norwegian under the job there to (because we only assists Norwegian customers in Norway). That's not the only good thing with the job. The job also provides good payments, free place to live the first month (hostel) while i take the courses i have to take for the job that lasts for 1 month where i also get full payments under the courses to. On top of that, the company also helps me to get the residence & working permits and ofc health insurance via the job.

Now, i have been working for this company before here in Norway, so i might have a bigger chance of getting this job as the Sales Manager i had when i was working for them earlier was REALLY happy with my work there. So if the manager for the job in Spain calls him (as a reference), then he will say good words about me. And if that happens, i will get the job i'm sure.

If that happens, there will be some good things and it will be some bad things happening. Lets start with the bad things first.

1. I will be moving from the beautiful Norway to Spain (Fuengirola). Well, now Spain is pretty beautiful to, so i'm not really complaining .
2. I will go inactive in EVE for longer periods of times. No, i'm not quitting EVE. I'm just taking breaks, so you can't have my stuffs .

Now to the good things.

1. I will work for a company i know it's good.
2. I will live in a place where i can escape snow and cold weathers, lol. The average temprature around the whole year in Fuengirola is @ 18 degrees celcius.
3. I will live close to 8 km of sandy beaches. Yeah, i wont be sitting inside the appartment playing games then.
4. Fuengirola is a tourist place, so there are tons of activities around the place.
5. I will get the oppoturnity to experience something new on how it is to live and work outside of Norway.

Now, i do have some questions for those who does knows alot about Spain though.

1. How much is the payment tax rate at?

In Norway it's at 36%.

2. How many work hours are the normal there?

In Norway it's 8 hours where 30 mins of that are for launch.

3. How much crime are there in Fuengirola?

4. How good is the health care there?

5. How much does a pretty good modern appartment there cost on average?

6. I'am crazy for moving all the way from Norway down to Fuengirola in Spain to work there ?

I'm sure there are peoples here that are from Spain that can answer my questions here. So i'm just saying thanks in advance for answering them.

That was my questions so far. I might add new questions in a new post later if i have more question.

EDIT: As i'm living in Tromsø in Norway now, i found this webpage that compares prices on different things between different places. And the price differences from Tromsø (where i live) to Marbella (about 30 km away from Fuengirola) is insane to say it that way lol: http://tinyurl.com/oeo93wg

Sure i can google it, but i want real answers on my questions and not some random answers from the web that are 5-6 years old. I have been looking through some appartments and such, but i'm not sure what good modern appartment is usually going for each months on average.

So that's why i rather want answers from peoples that are living there now that can give me more real numbers / answers.

Wow, thank you for your answers man

1. How much is the tax rate at?

VAT it's 21% for regular items and there is a reduced VAT of 10% for some essentials. Don't know how works income tax for expats...

2. How many work hours are the normal there?

Shops usually are open 8 to 14 and 16 to 20, roughly. Most office work follows a similar pattern (say, 8 to 13, then 16 to 19). Publi offices open usually 7 to 13. Banks open 7 to 14:00. But also depends on corporate policy.

There is a long break for lunch because of historical reasons: 70 years ago people used to double job, so they needed time to commute from one job to the other; FAI my grand-grandparent would work 6 to 13 in one job, then 15 to 20 in another... That shaped school times, shop opening hours, and so and so; thus, when workers started to afford to work just 8 hours a day in just one job (in the 70s), the lunch gap was there to stay.

3. How much crime are there in Fuengirola?

Low rates, frankly.

4. How good is the health care there?

There is good public health care, albeit it's been severely hit by cuts. I would advise getitng private health care for common diseases.

5. How much does a pretty good modern appartment there cost on average?

Dirt cheap. 6 to 9 euros per square meter and month should get you most of the market, unless you go for something luxurious. Make sure that it haves elevator and AC, though, as some of the housing down there is quite old.

6. I'am crazy for moving all the way from Norway down to Fuengirola in Spain to work there ?

Absolutely not. I wouldn't live there, you know, because I feel my city (Barcelona) is hot enough, but scandinavian people use to love the stuff down there. It's very warm, sunny, cheap, people are nice and there's plenty of places to go out.



Well, the prices there are quite realistic, at least the Marbella part.

Hehe, it's not really that hard if you just have patience.

It's pretty funny though. I saw a documentary on YouTube from where some peoples was moving to Norway from Spain to find some jobs where they can have their new future in Norway. While tons of Spanish peoples are leaving their homes in Spain to find jobs outside of Spain, we from Norway are moving down there in droves to buy all of their houses lol.

nords coming to iberia to work and I want to go to nordlands to work there. heh


anyways, coming from a "neigbour", spain isn't bad. it might be quite good for a norsk too.

just be careful with summer, you guys aren't used to the temperatures we usually have here, moreso southern spain

It doesn't haves AC (Air Conditioning). This means that in the summer you will come back home to meet temepratures up to 40ºC without any other cooling device than a fan...

Tip: AC devices are valuable assets. They *always* can be seen in pictures when they are installed. No visible AC = 90% chance that there is no AC.

Also, location... it's at the outskirts. I would rather think about paying 600 euros and be dowtown with AC.

1. As it's a tourist place, is there any months where the place sees much lesser tourists than other months?

Well, winter is quieter, as most tourism are Spanish elder people (Fuengirola is a well known location for social tourism).

2. How is the party life in Fuengirola in the weekends?

Looking at this, it seems to be pretty cool : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_eawI6WbV0

Heh, can't tell for sure, but going out to drink and chat with friends it's very usual, from the lowest scum (youngsters and teen practiccng "botellón" aka drinking in the street) to European people enjoying a country where acohol is cheap and they feel liberated form social norms... until hey find out that locals are not stupid, women are not easy and Police is sick and tired of dealign with drunk foreigners.

3. How hard is it to learn Spanish?

Well, it's not specially difficult to learn, but then it's a very rich language, and Spanish use it in very imaginative ways, so learning the wildly different meanings of certain words it's a hit and miss process. Also, down there at the south they have their own accent and sometimes it's almost uninteligible even to Spaniards...

4. I have heard that peoples down in the 'Costa del Sol' area is very friendly towards each others there. Is that the case there?

Yes they are.

That's an appartment I would OK after inspecting it. Very relevant the bit about heating A/C, as these beachside appartments often have liek zero thermal insulation and they can be pretty cold in the winter (at least, for Spanish standards... )

This is nonsense.

No, it's not, you are misinformed.