Living in Spain for a year

George,

It's not so easy to spend a year in most countries in Europe. Spain is part of the Schengen Zone. Without a long-stay visa, Americans can spend only 90 days in that entire area within any rolling 180-day period. Otherwise, substantial fines can be imposed, and folks have been banned from returning for quite some time as a result of overstaying that time limit.

You can poke around on the internet and find information on Spain's requirements for a long-stay visa. I would expect them to include proof of medical insurance, proof of substantial assets, and a lease on a place to stay, based on reports from people who've gone through the application process for other Schengen countries.

George, I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, and I really hope you have success in this. But, I must mention a few practical problems.

• Visa. A US citizen is allowed to visit the Schengen Area (including Spain) for a maximum of 90 days in any 180. That is as a tourist, you are not allowed to work. If you want to stay longer, or work, you need a visa.
• In order to get a visa to work, you need a job first. Your prospective employer then applies for a visa under the rule that allows visa if the employer cannot find an EU citizen for the job. That involves paperwork. The visa is only valid for that job, you cannot change jobs.
• If you do not want to work, but live off your savings, a visa will be easier.
• Language. Do you speak Spanish? Surviving as a tourist on English is simple, most people in the tourist and travel trade speak a bit of English. Living there is another problem. Finding accommodation (unless it is expensive designed for foreigners) requires Spanish. As does shopping, transport, bureaucracy, bank account, talking to utility companies, bills, tax forms. And you need Spanish for work. A job may be advertised as "English required", but that is in addition to fluent Spanish. You need to be able to talk to your colleagues and your boss.

I am not saying it can't be done, I did it! But it is not a matter of just getting off a plane, it is a lot more complicated than moving within your own country.

Great advice guys.

I speak Spanish and I don't think I will struggle finding a job.

George, I am not sure you understand the posts above... it's not a matter of struggling... it's a matter of being legally able to work (and live) here. On a tourist VISA, you cannot work and must leave within 90 days or risk fines and deportation.

To get another type of VISA (ie student, work, etc) you need to go thru the legal requirements -which are far stricter than those in the US. Do read them in the official government website: http://extranjeros.empleo.gob.es/es/InformacionInteres/InformacionProcedimientos/Ciudadanosnocomunitarios/residirtrabajar.html Note that your current passport does not warrant you any special treatment.

Also note that given the risk of hefty fines for those hiring foreigners without the proper papers, you're not going to find any job until you have a residence permit and a job permit -unless a company hires you (and sorts out the paperwork) BEFORE you travel to Europe as mentioned by Chris above.

Needless to say that moving with a family -although I see it's not your case- would increase the difficulty in obtaining the proper residency papers as requirements are then harder (f.e. you need to prove the financial means for sustaining each member of the family -there's a chart for that).

The Economist newspaper reports a 17.7% unemployment rate in Spain. The rate for young people has been about twice that number. They have no reason to let a foreigner take a local's job.

Have you researched teaching English in Spain?
You need a TOFEL certificate which is not that difficult to get. You might be able to find a place in California that offers the training.

... I don't wanna seem the grumpy smurf but, again, for any non-EU citizen, to work in Spain (or many other EU countries for that matter) you need either to be hired by a company before you travel, or else, if you intend to become a self-employed worker you still need to comply with certain requirements, among which you need to have a professional qualification in the field you intend to work on, to present a credible business plan, to demonstrate you have the operational cash to start your business, etc. and obviously to fill up a tonne of forms attaching all sorts of certificates and sworn statements. You can read all the details here: http://extranjeros.empleo.gob.es/es/InformacionInteres/InformacionProcedimientos/Ciudadanosnocomunitarios/hoja029/index.html For info: "ciudadanos no comunitarios" mean non-EU nationals, so you'd be one.

As with many other countries these days, migration for work reasons is generally not encouraged and our different governments (national, regional and local) tend to rather trammel the efforts of those trying. I'm afraid that's the way it is. So, George, it's not as easy as in "your" movies... "Help wanted, inquiry inside", on the contrary, it's far more complex and certainly much more bureaucratic. Ah yes, if you're here on a tourist VISA and then decide to apply for a work permit, you'll be forced to return to your country and start the procedure from there.

If you want a sabbatic, you should find a different approach (ie enrol in a postgraduate course at the university and apply for a student VISA, purchase a property over 500,000€ and declare you want to move here, etc.) In any case, I strongly advise you check with a Spanish immigration lawyer BEFORE you do anything foolish (or not) :))

Yes, we're all citizens of the world, blah, blah... but states' sovereignty still exists and moving around the world is not easy peasy.

PS: Yes, of course, we all know about cases in which a foreigner hasn't gone thru all the loops above mentioned and he is illegally working here, but I wouldn't recommend you follow that path...

Speaking about a student VISA, should you choose to move to Catalonia, you might want to further your "other" career here: http://www.escac.es/en it's the Escola de Cinema & Audiovisuals de Catalunya (School of Cinema and Audiovisuals of Catalonia) attached to the University of Barcelona. A bit of background about this school: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-a-fresh-wave-young-188425 and also http://www.catalannews.com/culture/item/inside-the-catalan-filmfactory-the-escac Note however, that although some classes are taught in Spanish and some also in English, many are taught in Catalan, the local language here in Catalonia. If I'm not mistaken, the school is located in Terrassa, a medium-sized city (pop 215,000) located at a 40' metro ride from the centre of Barcelona.

One of life's never ending problems- If you have money, you don't have time. If you have time, you don't have money. Sigh. Welcome to adulthood. (Smiling with you, not at you.)

George,

You cannot simply visit Spain (or Europe in general) and look for a job. You need to have a job offer prior to visiting. Most countries stipulate that a company cannot offer a job vacancy to a foreigner unless they can prove that there is a good and valid reason to employ them over a native (or fellow EU citizen in the case of Spain).

I'm afraid your options look like it's back to the corporate world whilst you continue to seek employment opportunities in Spain. However considering the high unemployment rates in Spain I wouldn't hold out much hope.