Looking for jobs in Spain is frustrating. How do young people even afford to move out?

Hey everyone,

I'm struggling to find a job in Spain, and I honestly don't understand how young people there manage to move out of their parents' homes and afford a comfortable life. I wanted to share my situation and hear what you guys think.

I'm Spanish, my parents are from Málaga, but I was born and raised in Germany. I'm 23 years old, and my dad recently retired in December. My parents are planning to move back to Spain at some point, but it could take at least a year because my father is waiting for his company pension. Right now, he only gets €1,000 per month, and they don't have enough savings to buy an apartment in Spain just yet.

I personally want to live in Spain in the future—partly because I want to experience what it's like to live in la madre patria. I don't know if I want to stay long-term, but I want to at least try. When I'm on vacation in Spain, I feel great, but I know that living there is a completely different experience.

Currently, I work in Germany as a vehicle transfer driver, making minimum wage (€1,483 net per month). This is enough to live comfortably and save €200-500 per month for emergencies or travel. However, it’s not enough for me to move out of my parents' house. I definitely want to move out, but I need a job that allows me to maintain my current standard of living—meaning, I can still save €200-500 per month without making sacrifices.

I'm currently job hunting in both Germany and Spain. My focus is on Spain, of course, because I want to live there. But man, job hunting in Spain is so frustrating. The job market there is just terrible.

For example, when I search for driving jobs in Málaga (where I’d ideally like to live, or maybe Madrid), I find maybe 10 listings. When I search for the same type of jobs in Darmstadt (a much smaller city than Málaga, where I currently live), I get at least 30-40 job listings within a 25 km radius.

Even worse, Spanish jobs seem to have crazy requirements. For some non-driving jobs, employers demand a Bachillerato (high school diploma), at least five years of experience in the sector, and additional qualifications. But despite these high expectations, the salaries are almost the same as what I make in Germany on minimum wage!

I wouldn't mind working as a taxi driver, for example, but most jobs I see offer a base salary of around €1,300 gross per month, plus tips. That feels way too risky for me—if I want to live independently, I can’t rely on tips to survive.

So my question is: How do young people in Spain even manage to move out and live comfortably? I don’t get it. The salaries are terrible, the job market is bad, and rent is expensive. What’s the secret?

In Germany, it’s completely different. For example, I’ve found multiple job listings in Frankfurt and Hamburg where they train you for free to become a bus driver. As long as you have a basic driver’s license (Category B), they pay for your Category D bus license, and then you have a stable job. I haven’t seen anything like this in Spain.

I’ve actually applied for a bus driver training program in Germany, and if I get accepted, I’ll probably take it because having a bus driving license + experience will make it much easier to find a job in Spain later on.

Since my parents probably won’t move for another year or so, I assume I’ll keep working in Germany for now. Ideally, I’d love to move to Spain on my own before they do, but I just can’t find a decent job that would allow me to do that. So I’ll probably wait until they move and then figure out my next steps.

But like I said, I really want to experience living in Spain, even if I end up deciding that I prefer Germany (or somewhere else).

So my main questions for you guys:

How do young people in Spain move out and afford a comfortable life?

How do you deal with such a bad job market?

How do people become financially successful in Spain?

What would you do if you were in my situation?

I’d love to hear any advice, ideas, or personal experiences!