# Where to go?



## chrisnlisa (May 29, 2010)

Hi everyone, this is my first post so i'll try n keep it short and too the point!

My family and I are looking at moving over to mainland Spain (costa Blanca) either end of this year/ start of next. We have a couple of questions and were hoping some of the members here could help us out?

1.What area would you suggest would be suitable for a young family. Schools not too far away but somewhere where is still a bit of life?

2. would the area around Javea, Denia etc be suitable? i've read they are both nice towns.

3. my wife will be looking for a job when we get over there and was looking into doing english teaching or class assistant. Is there opportunities to do this? (She is a qualified law accountant/paralegal, would this assist in getting work somewhere?)

4. Is it really worth all the hassle!?

sorry, i realise that was hardly short or to the point!

Thanks in advance for any comments.


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

chrisnlisa said:


> Hi everyone, this is my first post so i'll try n keep it short and too the point!
> 
> My family and I are looking at moving over to mainland Spain (costa Blanca) either end of this year/ start of next. We have a couple of questions and were hoping some of the members here could help us out?
> 
> ...


hi and welcome aboard

1...impossible to answer as each area has it's own good and bad points
2... lovely area but suitable for what?
3... jobs over here are rarer than hen's teeth
4... definately YES if you plan it right


sorry if that sounds negative, but in true Glesca fashion "ah'm no gonnae lietae ye pal, it's nae skoosh case but if ye huv yer heid screwed oan, it cun wurk fur ye"


 


be a bit more deatiled about what you want and what research you've done. It will help us help you


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Hi and welcome. I think first of all you need to come over and take a look and see if you can find the answers to your questions. Work as a teaching assistant I would say is impossible. International schools dont need them as the class sizes are very small and Spanish schools dont use them, but if they did, they'd use someone who is better than fluent. Other than that, the work situation in Spain is grim. Is it worth the hassle?? well, it will be a hassle and it wont be cheap. Moving everything over, renting or buying isnt cheap. But is it worth it???????? Thats up to you to decide - I'm glad we did it, I love it here, but it hasnt been easy or anything like I thought it would be. Same sh*t, different place! Theres still the washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, food shopping, school runs, kids squabbling............ and once the novelty wears off, lifes much the same on a day to day level. Thats not meant to put you off, but thats the reality that we found

Jo xxx


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

DEAR GOD...... Jo is using bad language


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dunmovin said:


> DEAR GOD...... Jo is using bad language



No I wasnt - I put a little asterisk in there 


Jo xxx


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

but the thought was there:ranger:


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## chrisnlisa (May 29, 2010)

That was fast! thanks for the speedy replies. What we are looking for is somewhere that isn't too far away from a good school and local shops etc. Being close to some bars and restaurants would be a bonus too. Basically just the perfect place! We don't want somewhere too secluded as my job requires me to be away from home and wouldn't want the family on their tods out in the sticks somewhere.

Our research has just started really. Lisa has a friend who has been advising us on some of the financial problems and what can be involved in purchasing but we are still wet behind the ears really. Basically any and all information will be much appreciated!

I had a bad feeling about the job front. That is something we will have to really look into. It doesn't affect my job apart from adding extra travel time. A bit of a pain but I'm willing to overlook it!

The only reason I was asking about Javea and Denia was that I'd heard they were nice places but wasn't sure what it would be like to live there on a permanent basis. We are definately open to other suggested areas including places more inland.

Cheers again for your replies


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I am moving to Spain but I have the good fortune to already have family living there so of course the area was chosen for me, I had a couple of business ideas but in reality I think now the best thing would be for me to put those on hold and just enjoy a year out with my grandchildren, learn Spanish, relearn to look after myself as I am leaving the land of maids and drivers and find my way around.
Whats' a bit of life? My daughter has always lived in isolated locations and still does and yet she has more of a social life in Spain than she ever had in the UK, the weather of course helps and friends are always having BBQs and Spanish friends do what we used to do many years ago in the UK, they just pop in if they are passing.

Maiden


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

chrisnlisa said:


> That was fast! thanks for the speedy replies. What we are looking for is somewhere that isn't too far away from a good school and local shops etc. Being close to some bars and restaurants would be a bonus too. Basically just the perfect place! We don't want somewhere too secluded as my job requires me to be away from home and wouldn't want the family on their tods out in the sticks somewhere.
> 
> Our research has just started really. Lisa has a friend who has been advising us on some of the financial problems and what can be involved in purchasing but we are still wet behind the ears really. Basically any and all information will be much appreciated!
> 
> ...


Yes Javea would tick all your boxes - it does ours & our boxes were pretty much the same as yours - we came here with 2 little kids in 2003 & are still here

the only BIG problem would be work - I know a paralegal who has been working for Spanish lawyers for some years who recently became unemployed - no new jobs on the horizon

I used to work for the oldest language school in town - until it went bust & closed down - there are some others - but they are almost one man bands & only use other teachers for a few hours a week

most language teachers work privately

jojo is right - the chances of getting work as a classroom assistant in an International school are pretty much nil due to lack of need - & some of them are even cutting teacher's hours down due to lack of students - & you would need fluent Spanish *& *Valenciano to work in a state school

to us, it's worth the hassle - but my OH doesn't work here

he worked abroad when we first came here - got sick of the travelling (which he'd been doing for 10 years by then already) & tried to get a business going here & eventually gave up & is travelling abroad again


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## Jewel003 (May 24, 2010)

A lot of us seem to be moving to Spain soon  

I think like Jo said, in order to get a good sense of where you would like to settle down, it's important to visit Spain, several times.
What I did was to decide for myself what was important to me, ie, near the coast, near Intl school, near airport that has daily flights to N. Europe, the all year round temp (it does differ between north Spain and South Spain)etc...

Spent a lot of time researching the areas that were left, participated in forums, asked anyone I knew who had visited Spain what they thought about their experience...

then I visited and drove around the areas that I felt matched my wants, (for me it meant spending a lot of time in the car as I wanted to be able to see, do a lot in a short period each time I was there, so if you do it that way, not really suitable to take the kids with you) (did make the mistake of doing that a few years ago and haven't had time to go back recently - due to living outside Europe)

and now have come to the conclusion that though my preference goes to the area north of Alicante with regard to most of my wants, I am STILL not 100% that it's where I will relocate to! In all fairness I think this is because I didn't give myself enough time all the way down in South Spain (due to the bad reputation Marbella and surroundings has/had, I went to that area with a less than 100% open mind, I admit)

Still, checking out more of the area that Jo (one of the moderators on this forum and a real nice lady!) lives, I am having second thoughts on north Alicante  )

Spain is so vast, there are so many beautiful areas in Spain, and people who live in that particular area favor it for a reason, so this makes it harder to know where is best for someone personally. 

Maybe I am just making this more challenging than it really is, I think that it's just me, not that I don't want to move, I do! (though that doesn't help you any :eyebrows

So, other than confuse you even more :confused2:, I hope I have given you some food for thought. I guess what I can tell you for sure is - There will never be a 100% certainty that where you move to is the ideal location for you and your family. Peoples' wants and needs change, areas change, weather changes!, what you may feel is important now may not be important to you in 5 or 10 years time, so go with what feels good now...




chrisnlisa said:


> That was fast! thanks for the speedy replies. What we are looking for is somewhere that isn't too far away from a good school and local shops etc. Being close to some bars and restaurants would be a bonus too. Basically just the perfect place! We don't want somewhere too secluded as my job requires me to be away from home and wouldn't want the family on their tods out in the sticks somewhere.
> 
> Our research has just started really. Lisa has a friend who has been advising us on some of the financial problems and what can be involved in purchasing but we are still wet behind the ears really. Basically any and all information will be much appreciated!
> 
> ...


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## chrisnlisa (May 29, 2010)

Yup, sure is a hell of a lot to think about. My head is bursting trying to get everything sorted! I also heard some horror stories about costa blanca south but I suppose there would be no harm in looking. Can anyone recommend any areas on the southern side that would be worth a look?

Our plan is to come over and rent in the area we are looking to buy for a month or so, hopefully then we'll see if it is what we want.

Just so much too think about, it makes my head hurt!:confused2:

thanks again folks

Chris.



Jewel003 said:


> A lot of us seem to be moving to Spain soon
> 
> I think like Jo said, in order to get a good sense of where you would like to settle down, it's important to visit Spain, several times.
> What I did was to decide for myself what was important to me, ie, near the coast, near Intl school, near airport that has daily flights to N. Europe, the all year round temp (it does differ between north Spain and South Spain)etc...
> ...


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## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

chrisnlisa said:


> Yup, sure is a hell of a lot to think about. My head is bursting trying to get everything sorted! I also heard some horror stories about costa blanca south but I suppose there would be no harm in looking. Can anyone recommend any areas on the southern side that would be worth a look?
> 
> Our plan is to come over and rent in the area we are looking to buy for a month or so, hopefully then we'll see if it is what we want.
> 
> ...


Rent for six months....minimum. You can't really suss a place out in a month but you can also use it as a base to explore areas you haven't thought of yet.:clap2:




Doggy


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