Hi from a possible expat

Welcome Dimi!

Yes, reading expatriate blogs is a fantastic way to find out how's life in a foreign country, much better than a travel brochure isn't it?

You should browse the different local forums, and do not hesitate to ask questions

Would you prefer a mediterranean or a scandinavian country? Or maybe  the UK or Ireland where it will be easier to integrate?

If you like this website, you should speak about it on your yahoo group

Best of luck in your project!

Julien

Welcome Dimi!
I hope you find what you're looking for!

Hello and welcome. I am currently Living in Germany, having moved from England. I have heard it said that it is much closer to the US than the UK. I also moved here without knowing the language.

As with alll places i have had positive and negative experiences here, most people here can speak English to some level but moving there without any prior knowledge of the language will be very hard indeed, i learnt german for 2 years at school and I still have probems 8 months on. My advice would be to move to a big city where there will be a better chance of finding an expat group to make you feel a little more at home until you can master the language.

However in my experience, foreigners are generally well recieved here.

Hope that was of some help

Hi there! First, Julien, I have told the Yahoo group about this blog and one woman has already created a link here. Second, thanks for the welcome from Jo Ann and Lydia.

I'm starting to think more along the lines of Spain now. I've heard that it's at least a bit cheaper than the rest of Europe and it definitely has more job listings. I used to speak Spanish and I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to get back up to speed with it so, like Argentina, it seems a bit easier to adapt. And Spain has the advantage of not being below the equator! Seems like it'd be hard to adjust to seasons being the opposite of what I'm used to.

I like Germany and most people seem to think I'm German--altho it's just the usual blond/blue thing--but the language is hard, especially when you're older. This expat project just might be something I start working on now in preparation for a big change when I turn 50 in the not-too-distant future.

Anyway, thanks to everyone! I look forward to finding lots more friends here.

Dimi

Dimi, Life in Spain is absolutely fantastic! People are friendly, food is so good, everything is cheaper (Madrid is cheaper than Barcelona). And the different regions are so rich and different!

About working there, you can find a job but it might be a little bit more complicated if you don't speak the language, and also note that the salaries are lower. But it's definitely worth (I used to live in Barcelona in 2000 and in Madrid last year)

Julien, would you then recommend just picking up and moving...and finding a job once I'm there? That's a scary thought! Would you think it best to have, say, two or three months of living expenses before arriving and assuming a good job will come up within those two or three months? And how much in Euros would that be?

I'm not worried about the language. I can still understand it, to a point, so I'm sure some immersion classes would be just the thing. Oh, my previous Spanish instructors did not use Castillian Spanish--is that more widely used these days? I remember it sounded funny to my ears.

If you can find a job from the US I think it would be much better, but I am not sure it won't be easy.

Can you allow yourself to come over and spend a few months without working? About salaries it depends of which kind of job you're looking for. (you should consult google results to see how much you could get).