Hi, any advice here would be ace.

18 yo son has done his A levels, did very well (2B 1 C, very little work!) but doesn’t want to go to Uni. He has dabbled slightly with apprenticeships/degree apprenticeships but nothing especially grabs him. Since Autumn, he’s been working for a local restaurant and drifting a bit. We’ve cajoled him a bit and he’s now come up with a vague plan which he’s excited about:

– go to Spain, ideally Barcelona
– be independent
– learn the language (he’s quite bright and has done GCSE Spanish so not too far fetched)
– work in a coffee shop/restaurant or similar and meet local people, get involved
– do this for a year or so to ‘grow up’ (his words), have an experience, come back with more idea of what to do

So I’d be keen to support him – any advice on how to go about doing this, specifically:

– accomodation
– finding work
– working regulations etc

Thanks

My daughter worked near Barcelona for a bit of an extended summer. Loved it.
She worked with PGL who run a kids summer camp over there. Accommodation comes with the job (a tented village) and they are a UK company so know all the ropes as far as legislation goes.

No direct experience but an ex-colleague runs this website which may have some helpful information on it for you/him.

Sounds fun, you’re really not an adult until you’re 20-something odd anyway.

Sounds fantastic. I was in Barcelona early last year and had a longish chat with the bloke working on the hotel reception. He was Romanian, I think, an engineer, and he painted a grim picture of Barcelona for employment (and a grimmer picture of Romanian employment). Just as something to be aware of. On the plus side there are millions of cafes and restaurants, so it’s probably more of a problem if you want to be an engineer. Brexit might be an issue too, but until then you have the right to work there. I don’t know about the situation with Catalan independence either, but I’d guess that isn’t going anywhere for a while.

Otherwise I’d just say good luck and I wish it were me and I was that age again.

Oh aye – the locals speak Catalan. My daughter said that didn’t help her Spanish much 🙂

Point in him the direction of the Navy, so he can have one in every port? 😀

My cousin did the same thing after uni… hasn’t come back yet. Works as a teacher now, seems to like it over there (live in Malaga)

Could he work for a language school teaching English? A lot of people want to learn or improve their English. Spain is a nice country to live, even with their present government. Certainly interesting near Barcelona at the moment too. Seville is a pretty interesting city with a nice mix of old and modern Spain, smaller but a lot friendlier imo. Anything official in Spain will have lots of paperwork to go through. He will,probably need an N.I.E for work I.D etcetera. This used to be picked up from a police station for under €10. He would just need to take every piece of paper he has. There will be lots of shared accommodation online so he should find something quite easily.

Aus, is step 1 on his route to “growing up” not that he works that stuff out for himself? In the internet era, and with a basic grasp of Spanish he should be able to, if he has sufficient motivation.

A friends son tried moving to Barca last year. Couldn’t find a job at all as he spoke no Catalan and little spanish. Theres a massive amount of competion as you can imagine, many young adults from around the EU would love to live and work there. He ended up moving down the coast and found a job in a estate agent and is pretty happy last I heard. So its well worth a try #yolo

Awesome. I lived in Barca for a year. It was hard to find accommodation but I did eventually. Basically there is more of everything but more competition, jobs included. The red tape for getting a permit was a ball ache too, but all part of the experience!

If I had my time again I would go to a smaller town, in lots of Spain the level of English is very poor , which obviously has it’s benefits for learning Spanish. Barca is the opposite.

Great idea.

Suggest he gets some money together in the UK and then heads off there with some sort of plan.

20+ years ago I saved a pile of cash and then travelled around various countries with a pal. Other friends went off to get jobs in various countries – one guy worked for a French motor racing team. Became fluent and had a great time.

So long as he doesn’t drift forever, then this isn’t a bad way to experience something different. And get it done before Brexit…!

Likes

be independent

[quote]So I’d be keen to support him – any advice on how to go about doing this, specifically:

– accomodation
– finding work
– working regulations etc[/quote] 🙄

Give him a few quid and wish him a good time. He can always come back if it doesn’t work out. Let him figure it out himself.

Living next door to La Poma for a year what a dream!

I live in Southern Cataluña, some thoughts. If your son is set on working in Barcelona, he won’t have a big issue only speaking Spanish, its a very cosmopolitan city, Catalan is more widely spoken in rural areas. Where we live is very Catalan but we are learning Castillano, most of our friends indulge us and we get by. Like most big cities, Barcelona is expensive to live in but public transport is very good so it may be worth looking outside the city centre for accommodation. Good advice above about getting an NIE and fiscal number just in case. Bear in mind that if he wants to do a full year rather than a summer job, it can be quite cold here, Dec Jan and Feb average 10-15° so he’ll need a coat.

Hi, thanks all for the advice and enthusiasm. Poly – very pertinent but reckon if I get some inside info, I can discretely encourage him along with hints!

I did suggest other cities (Valencia being coastal and Seville just for being lovely and usually sunny) as alternatives ref the language and cost of living. Is aiming for Barca adding hurdles?

He’s looked at teaching options and was hesitant as he felt (with little real knowledge) that he would be speaking English more than Spanish so it would slow his language down a bit.

Theres a ” decree ” now in Spain for anyone wishing to stay longer than 3 months.Basically you have to prove that you have enough income/savings to support yourself and have medical insurance.The documentation has to be shown at an Extranjeros office or a designated police station.In return you receive a residency paper.
With regards to working,first off an NIE number would be required.
I the job is legal and through the books then there will be a contract.A basic contract would just give access to healthcare in Spain.
Larger contributions by an employer would give holiday and sickness benefits plus social security entitlement.
I did read that a voluntary payment of 60 euros a month can be paid to get into the healthcare system.

Howsabout applying to go Uni in Barcelona – lots of courses taught in English – Course fees about €2000 p/a last time we looked. Halls about €400 per month.

We investigated it for our son (we lived in Barca 2006 – 2008) but he’s not due to go Uni until 2020 and so I think the Brexit may have screwed us over on that idea.

UAB campus is just out of town but it looks good and its on the train line.

You might just squeeze it in before Brexit …. and save a bundle on Uni debts.

Prolly not a fit for your lad but the best job I ever had was working for Canvas Holidays, who do tent and mobile home holidays, including in Spain. Very little money but accomodation included, in great locations of course, brilliant people too. 🙂

At the same age, I spent two summers working in France with canvas holidays. Several of these companies about; canvas holidays, eurocamp, key camp, vacance soleil etc…

You could easily point him in that direction for summer part of the year -gains his independance whilst provided with job, accommodation and a gentle introduction to living abroad. Many of the other saisonaires flitted between summer campsites and winter ski resorts. There’s no reason why he couldn’t do that for a summer then move to the city for winter.

Going down the Tefal route is also very popular and I know many folk who did the same.

Looking back on my time 15 years ago as a care free 19/20 yr old, living abroad – unequivocally the best thing I ever did. I learnt a lot and when I did return home, turned that experience into far better jobs than my school peers.

thanks again. Great thought re Barca Uni & Canvas type work … will drop that into conversation.

And reassuring to hear so many positive experiences … I feel quite envious of him now!

I did this when I left college straight on a plane went to America …..I’d say let him run with it

ps I have to admit all my stupid **** ideas have come from listening to others people

Do a ski season / summer season.
Great fun.

Further to my earlier post I taught English in Barca. Again, lots of competition, so you actually work hard for very little money, and they know there are plenty of people lining up to replace you. I wouldn’t recommend it to be honest.

A friend was the English teacher for a small town near Valladolid, and we was like a bit of a celebrity. Much more relaxed, much more of a meaningful experience perhaps rather than the conveyor belt of people coming to Barca. If you or indeed your son wants to chat just let me know.

Barca is fantastic, but not working, just hanging out, is the way to go!