Job Discussion Forums

[oreads]

Recently I got a job offer teaching English in Spain. The salary they offer is US$1000 with one-bedroom apartment.

I don't know much about Spain and I wonder how much livng cost is there.

Anybody can help?

[jonniboy]

You need to be more specific. Where in Spain will the job be based? If it's a smaller place the you could probably live okay on that while not saving much money. If it's one of the big two cities (Madrid or Barca) it'll be more of a struggle.

[CharlesTESOL]

I have lived in Barcelona for several years now and think US1,000 (which is about 750 euros) PLUS an apartment would be do-able here, especially if you avoided restaurants and bars geared more towards tourists and expats AND if you did your marketing at hypermarkets like AlCampo or Carrefour instead of Corte Ingl�s. In other words, if you wouldn't be paying rent, then 750 euros could get you through a month if you are good at managing money. Perhaps you could supplement your pay with earnings from teaching a private student or two.

As Jonniboy said, if you�d be living someplace other than BCN or Madrid, then it would be even more manageable.

Good luck,

[Moore]

A one bedroom apartment in Madrid or Barcelona would cost you at least 650 euros so that plus 750 euros really isn't bad: that makes a net salary of 1400 euros. I imagine the school is taking care of the deposit on the flat so that's a big help, plus not having to look for a place to live.

I suppose the one thing is that normally a teacher tends to earn an average of about 1300 a month here (good months, not Christmas or Summer) and usually they live in rooms in shared flats where the rent runs at about 350 a month, leaving them 950 to play with and save up for the slimmer months / flight home.

I think it's a pretty good deal, but you might find 750 euros a month pretty tight to live on, so bring some savings to get over the inevitable financial bumps.