Question - has anyone moved abroad to a country where they don't speak the language?

[lunavix]

Dh and I really want to move out of the UK, but he's struggling finding a job that utilises his degree. We ideally want to move to a European country, but neither of us have a second language.. we'd both learn but I feel we won't gain fluency from a night class (which could take years anyways) and I was wondering if anyone could give us advice re: moving abroad.

The main problems being dh doesn't have a job lined up, we're worried that we may both have to get jobs such as bar work etc to help learning the language and then he could hunt for something better... but is this realistic at all?

Any advice appreciated!

She's 42 and has 4 kids!
She loves teaching in a state school.Good pay,loads of holidays,no extra duties.
Best thing she did she reckons,otherwise was doomed to a life of singing nursery rhymes for peanuts in private primary schools and doing business English with suits.

hi sansouci ! I don't do footie but dh and ds are, sounds like a dire match though. ds wants a CH/England final ! At Euro 2004 dh took ds into the office to watch their match on the big screen and he had both shirts with him , just in case

tell me more, MD! this sounds like what I've been looking for, now that ds will start nursery school in August.

LIZS, imo CH & England will never make it to any final (even Wimbledon looks dodgy for Federer this year) but it would be interesting if they did.

I can almost see the weight lifting from your shoulders, cf !

CF - that's what I suspected, but to be honest Germany isn't too high up our list. I struggled picking up the language at school too, found french a lot easier lol.

I presume you have a degree SS?
You just need to study for theexam.It is bloody tough though.My sister is very smart but failed first time.
Ask someone to tell you more.I am hazy on details and sister did it about 6 years ago.

oh please Moondog! give me a website at least you lazy... dog.

It's the French education system fgs!
It can't be that hard for you to do a bit of research.
You're there!!!

merde

don't misconstrue my merde. I meant it in a Charlie Brown banging his head against a tree and saying rats kind of way.

In Europe I've lived in Holland, Germany and Italy.

I've always had a job lined up though. Holland is great, everybody talks English and they don't expect you to learn Dutch because it's fiendish. I'd go back like a shot to Utrecht or Amsterdam (we lived on a houseboat, which was fantastic). The cafes, the cobbled streets, the rare glimpses of sunshine

I hated Germany with all my heart. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I don't know whether it was just Dusseldorf, as I've enjoyed trips to Munich very much. The people in my apartment block were horrible - they used to have a go at me all the time about bins, buggy, doors, keys without ever telling me what the rules were. They hated me for not speaking fluent German and were just downright xenophobic. Same in shops, cafes etc. Even when I was speaking German! I point blank refused to extend my contract under any circumstances and would never go back.

Italy was fun but it's also difficult if you don't speak the language. I'd go back though, the Italians are enthusiastic and great to be around.

You have to remember that you'll have to work out lots of things when you get there, like how to pay rates, bin days, utility bills etc and if you don't speak the language it can get very challenging - think of your local government website and how baffling it is and then put it into another language. In Holland for example, if you don't do bins correctly you get a fine - which you also have to work out how to pay. I got my car towed and had to work out how to do the pound in Dutch (and where it was, how to pay etc).

I would do your research first - look on expat websites for the local info and difficulties faced by expats before you decide on a country.

How is OZ Arf??
Where to next??

SS,yes I know what you mean. Don't worry!
Sorry I can't be more help.I'm sure your colleagues/friends will set you on track.

well at least you recognise it can be a problem. You would not believe the number of people who move to spain without speaking spanish, expecting to find a professional job where they don't need the language, or expecting to be able to run a farm at a profit or something. gets right up my nose.

Anyway if you don't fancy bar work, the teaching english is an option like people have said. BUT in many parts of spain the pay for that is the same as pay for bar work and the hours are cappier. But unless you move to a tourist area, you do need spanish in spain to get almost any work. You don't need to be fluent to start with, but those night classes are a good idea.

Hi Moondog. Thanks for asking. Oz is great, really great. I love it here, DD loves it here. We even shipped the cats, who also love it here.

Not sure next. I turned down contracts all over because it was time for DD to start going to pre-school regularly. . We're here for now. We'll either settle here or in Holland I expect.

The first time I came to Brazil I couldn't speak a word of Portuguese but started to TEFL and eventually set up my own school and made a fortune. Lived in Denmark for 7 years and couldn't speak any Danish but every one there speaks perfect English (no excuse at all but very helpful) Danish is virtually impossible to learn. Lived in Italy for 3 years and couldn't speak Italian but did manage to learn it. In both cases I was working for various United Nations agencies where the working language is English. There are many agencies all over Europe including Spain (I know World Health Organisation are there at least). Now living in Brazil again and, although this time I speak Portuguese, I am working for the British Embassy. My general conclusion from all that would be that language is not a problem because there are a lot of international agencies around who work in English.

Unless you are moving for the Sun what about The Netherlands. Fantastic people, very very friendly 99% speak beautiful English food good, beer good. You can rent and live there easily as and English(european). I did for most the 1990's and yes I now speak Dutch. I'm sure you could get a job there without too much hassle your dh too. Let me know I can always think of a few good areas for you.

I have lived and studied in Canada, Spain, more or less in the US, here and, of course, in my own country.

What I can say is that Spain could be a dream or a nightmare depending on what do you intend to do. My first language is Spanish, I never had a problem finding a job in my speciality there. Now, there are some places that harbour extreme nationalisms (not speaking here of the Vasque Country) and I have noticed that sometimes is a blessing not to understand the language!.

Canada and the US were fantastic, I enjoyed every minute of it. My experience of Canada was so good that I thought the UK would be more or less similar.

Now, I have had quite a bad luck here, I lived in London which I loved but I'm now in a small town out of it and, although I have 2 postgraduate degrees and quite a few years of experience, the only jobs opened to me were either washing dishes in a restaurant or cleaning hotel rooms. So I guess some times, it's not just about the language... Now being fair to it, although my last offer before comming here was to direct a department of a national newspaper, now, after 7 years of trying with no luck I have landed a job in... admin! and after so much struggle I'm loving it! but can't wait to leave (to anywhere even if it's just 20 miles away of it!), sadly DH won't so here we are...

So my advice would be go... but find a place full of expats where you don't become the local panda bear.

LOL CF. I watched your escape with great interest and felt your joy, believe me!

in defence of germany, i've been living here for the past 3.5 years. we moved because DH got a job (in an english-speaking company) and i found freelance work (also in an english-speaking company).
i would say that on the whole things have been difficult but worth it - trying to do all the administration, opening bank accounts etc with only evening class german was tough, tough, tough but having come out the other side i feel proud of what i have achieved.
my german is now ok, not perfect by any means, but good enough to get by day to day and to discuss subjects as far-ranging as football, MMR injections and art-directing photo shoots!
HOWEVER, all of this would have been much harder/impossible without those english-speaking companies that we found work at. when i was learning german, i was the only one in my class who had a job that matched her qualification, everyone else was either unemployed or working way below their level due to language problems. so i do count myself incredibly lucky.
it will be tough, but there is so much to be gained form seeing another culture from up close. plus there's the hope that DD will grow up in some way bilingual.