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Ask HN: Moving to Spain from the USA, any tips?
I'm moving to Spain in the next few months and I'm trying to figure out what to do for a job. The type of visa I'm getting does not let me work locally for 1 year. I'd really like to be able to join a U.S. based startup and work remotely. Unfortunately, it seems like nobody is hiring remote operations/systems engineers.
Any tips?
- kposehn 15y agoOut of curiosity, why Spain? I ask as the nation has undergone quite a vicious economic cycle and their next door neighbor, Portugal, is in quite bad shape. That said, I'm sure there is plenty of opportunity around. What sort of companies have you approached so far? There may be other firms looking to hire or you could go after some remote contract work too.
- yellowbox 15y agoMy wife has always wanted to move.... I'm along for the ride. It's a beautiful country and I'm very excited to move there. We have some money in savings so we could last a few years even if the economy is crappy. I've approached lots of startups and nobody is really interested in remote employees. I'm starting to think I should try to approach big companies but that will probably be just as difficult to break into. There do seem to be lots of local jobs in Barcelona and Madrid but I'd rather not wait a year to get a job.
- NonEUCitizen 15y agoIn theory, the EU Blue Card goes into effect June this year, and Spain has opted in: http://lexuniversal.com/en/news/10787 http://lexuniversal.com/en/news/10787 Maybe you can work for a local company sooner than one year via that visa. Which part of Spain are you moving to, and what kind of visa does your wife have?
- yellowbox 15y agoThanks for the EU Blue Card link... I'll look into it. We're thinking of moving to Madrid or Barcelona. We prefer Barcelona, but there seems to be a lot more work in Madrid, we'll see what happens. Both of us are in the process of applying for a non-lucrative visa. We haven't actually submitted our application yet, which will take 3-5 months to be processed, because we're waiting on the FBI background check which takes 6 weeks. It's quite the process to move to Spain but it'll be worth it!
- dstein 15y agoSpain is probably hovering around 20% unemployment, and you won't like the pay they're offering. You'd think with all the startups doing mobile/cloud computing there would be more of a market for telecommuters. I'd keep looking and try to line up something before you leave.
- NonEUCitizen 15y ago1. http://www.tecnoempleo.com/ http://www.tecnoempleo.com/ 2. http://www.computrabajo.es/ http://www.computrabajo.es/ 3. http://www.amazon.com/Living-Working-Spain-Survival-Handbook/dp/1905303653/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1304644282&sr=8-2 http://www.amazon.com/Living-Working-Spain-Survival-Handbook...
- pablosho 15y agoHi Yellowbox, Do you have an idea where best to base yourself for employment in Spain? Do you or your wife speak Spanish? There is a free guide about how to successfully move to Spain, that might help you on this blog. www.mymovetospain.com
- yellowbox 15y agoWe're thinking Madrid or Barcelona..... Madrid has more work I think. My wife speaks pretty good Spanish and I'm trying to learn in my free time. Thank you for the link.
- dmarinoc 15y agoI'm from Spain (and glad to help) :) If you hace general questions ask them here, or ir they are more specific feel free to drop me a line (diego -at- ducksboard.com) The spanish startup scene is becoming more mature. I know dozens of them with with 20+ employees. Also, due to the general lack of English knowledge here, a native developer is always more than welcome.
- yellowbox 15y agoAnyone looking for awesome operations/systems engineers? :) Is there any particular city where the startup scene is better?
- fabiandesimone 15y agoI'm in Madrid. Drop me a line if you need anything.