Expat Valencia – Living and Working in Valencia

The teaching scene in Valencia seems to be pretty buoyant at the moment and lots of opportunities are out there for native speakers of English.

The scene in Valencia seems to be dominated by childrens’ groups but we have read that in-company adult teaching is possible if you have the right contats.

The minimum hourly rate is around euro 11.00 and if you can legally work in Valencia then you should not accept less money than that.

A good place to start is ESLCafe where there is a dedicated Spanish board with lots of information on teaching English in Valencia.

Spain’s airports have witnessed impressive traffic growth of between 7% and 10% for each of the last five years, but many industry pundits expect 2008 to be the year when growth finally slows down. Total airport traffic passed 200 million passengers in 2007 and at current growth rates Spain could overtake the UK as the biggest country in Europe for air travel by 2010.

Valencia’s growth was up at 19%.

Last year the UK’s airports handled 242.9 million passengers but growth was just 2.3% compared with 8.9% growth in Spain. The growth in air travel demand at Spain’s airports, especially since 2002, has been driven primarily by LCCs.

Valencia airport is currently under construction and is continually welcoming flights from more and more airlines, flying both internally and to the rest of Europe.

The cheapest way to get from the UK to Valencia and vice versa is with Ryanair or Easyjet. Also look at Spanish airlines for returning home for holidays: Spanair and Iberia are two of the biggest and most reliable companies.

Spain´s main language is the principle tongue in Valencia. It is advisable to learn what you can before you arrive as, although more Valencians speak English than English people speak Spanish, few have enough English to hold a proper conversation and you certainly cannot rely on them to get you by.

The locals will really appreciate you making that little extra effort and having a grasp of the language will help you to integrate into society. There are many language schools in Valencia offering comprehensive classes for everyone from beginners right through to proficient speakers and the fees are fairly reasonable. Once you have learnt the basics you should have little difficulty in picking up the rest through simple day to day living.

To add to the twist of living in Valencia, the city also has its own language, Valencià, a dialect of the Catalan spoken in Catalunya. There is no need to learn this one before you arrive or even when you are here as there are very few Valencià speakers who are unable to speak Castellano although it is interesting to see the similarities between Valencià, Castillian and French. It will be useful (and interesting) to be able to recognize words on signs and in shops, just to make life a little easier for you.

So our advice at Expat Valencia is to dive in, learn Spanish and embrace the friendly locals who will really like you for having Spanish and love you for a bit of Valencia!

Welcome to the newest site for English speakers in Valencia City and the region.

We are aiming to provide useful information for all things Valencia.

We are about to publish an online Forum for discussions.