# move



## claire/ben (Mar 7, 2015)

Myself and my son are looking to move to andalucia next year and would love to hear safe place to settle, good schools, best type of accommodation to rent. My son is ten and we also have a Yorkshire terrier we can't be parted from!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

claire/ben said:


> Myself and my son are looking to move to andalucia next year and would love to hear safe place to settle, good schools, best type of accommodation to rent. My son is ten and we also have a Yorkshire terrier we can't be parted from!


With your son being 10 now (11 next year), you will have to move near to an international/British school unless he is already fluent in Spanish.

Have you thought about his schooling?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Theres a whole host of things you need to think about. As snikpoh says, schooling is something to be concidered as, unless you choose an international school, all lessons, homework and the curriculum will be in Spanish. Andalucia is a big place, have you any ideas whereabouts you would move to? Employment? Healthcare? 

The dog will be fine tho lol!!! s/he will need a passport, which you can get from your vet along with the necessary jabs etc

Jo xxx


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

claire/ben said:


> Myself and my son are looking to move to andalucia next year and would love to hear safe place to settle, good schools, best type of accommodation to rent. My son is ten and we also have a Yorkshire terrier we can't be parted from!


Well don't worry about the dog, Yorkies are very popular here and he will soon make friends. 

As for your other questions, there are lots of factors to consider. 

Do you speak good Spanish or will you need to be somewhere with English-speaking facilities?
Do you have a secure income (finding work is incredibly difficult with 33% unemployment in Andalucia)? 
Countryside, city or coast (inland is cheaper, but in a city or coastal resort you probably won't need a car)?

An English friend of mine with little Spanish moved to the city of Cádiz with her 5-year-old daughter a couple of years ago. They settled in a treat and haven't looked back. She made lots of friends through the school, and everyone was very helpful. But with your son being a bit older, as pointed out above, he will be at a big disadvantage unless you can afford the fees for an International School.


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## littlecritterz (Nov 29, 2012)

I moved over here about 18 months ago with my youngest daughter (who was then 11..almost 12), 2 dogs and a cat. 
The pets were easy enough to sort out. I took them to the vets and got them all new passports and made sure they were up to date with all their vaccinations (they also need to have a microchip before travelling). I brought them over via a pet courier which worked out cheaper than flying them over. Dogs are quite popular in this village and almost everybody has a dog.
We live inland and living costs are much cheaper than on the coast or in the cities. We live in a little village in Andalucia. There is an intermittent bus service into town (which is only 15 minutes by car but somehow takes several hours by bus) and a train station (although it seems no trains actually stop here) but to be honest we have most facilities in the village so having a car isn't essential (although sometimes it's good to get out and about).
My daughter couldn't speak Spanish when we moved but joined the local Spanish school in the village. It was a struggle for a few months while she got to grips with the language but the school provided extra Spanish classes for the English kids. Within 6 months she was almost fluent. She has repeated her year at school but this is quite common here (even amongst the Spanish kids) and this year she is doing so much better and is getting much better grades. She has settled in well. However, she does have a natural tendency to learn languages quickly so this made the transition easier for her. I had discussed the language barrier with her primary school teacher in the UK, prior to moving over, and she had said she thought my daughter would do well as she was quick to learn the languages they taught at school (Gaelic and French). 
I think the ability to learn a language fluently enough to have their education in the target language can vary from child to child. However, in saying that, I always said if I had not moved when I did (if, for example, I hadn't been able to move for another year), then I would not have made the move as I felt that she was getting too close to an age where it would have been much more difficult for her to integrate into the school. 
I do know a couple of English kids that moved over aged 13 and have done well in a Spanish school but suspect that this is the exception rather than the rule.

Do you need to work when you move over? There is high unemployment here and finding work can be very difficult so I wouldn't make the move unless you already have a stable income or have a job offer (and contract) prior to the move.


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## claire/ben (Mar 7, 2015)

thankyou for all the information. I have lived abroad before but not child. I a looking the mijas area and my son will be attending Spanish school. I hope to get him Spanish lessons before we move, but he is top of his classes over here and very responsive to languages. I am retired and have a regular income on England. 
all your info has been v useful, im now saving up for the move. more investigation needed re healthcare, local schools, property to rent accepting pets.


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## littlecritterz (Nov 29, 2012)

If you are on a state pension from the UK then I think you can get healthcare over here..and I presume your son would be covered as your dependent (but I'm not sure how it works with pensions so hopefully somebody with more knowledge will come along and give you the correct info)
Quite a few properties accept pets as a lot of people have them, I didn't have any problems renting with 2 labs and a cat.
I would recommend coming over for a visit before the move. it will give you the opportunity to look around the area and perhaps even check out some of the schools that are available in your area and get an idea of the types of properties they have for rent. One site you could look at is thinkspain.com as they have property listings all over spain. There are a few sites with listings in various areas so worth looking through a few of them.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

claire/ben said:


> thankyou for all the information. I have lived abroad before but not child. I a looking the mijas area and my son will be attending Spanish school. I hope to get him Spanish lessons before we move, but he is top of his classes over here and very responsive to languages. I am retired and have a regular income on England.
> all your info has been v useful, im now saving up for the move. more investigation needed re healthcare, local schools, property to rent accepting pets.


Have a good look at the FAQ's. Lots of info about education, renting, taxes, required paperwork... Then start another thread if you have more questions.
Happy reading!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

littlecritterz said:


> If you are on a state pension from the UK then I think you can get healthcare over here..and I presume your son would be covered as your dependent (but I'm not sure how it works with pensions so hopefully somebody with more knowledge will come along and give you the correct info)


Don't think there are many state pensioners with 10-year-old sons!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

I will be a state pensioner when my son is 7 so steady on.....


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## littlecritterz (Nov 29, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> Don't think there are many state pensioners with 10-year-old sons!


She said she was retired but I was unsure whether it was early retirement or because she was of retirement age. Quite a few women are waiting until later in life before having kids now. One of my mother's friends has a child younger than her grandaughter so I didn't want to make an assumption about her age


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## claire/ben (Mar 7, 2015)

Sorry guys!!! Im retired due to ill health! Lol. Only 42*


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

I retired due to ill health when I was 16 but as nobody believed me I had to go to work anyway. But now I am retired. And nobody is going to stop me...


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## HarryB (Jan 17, 2013)

It will be very difficult for your son to fit in at Spanish school, International Schools would be your best option. We moved to Spain when my eldest was nearly 12 and she found it too hard, and she is very good with languages. The difficulty is having to learn all subjects in Spanish, even the maths is taught differently. My younger daughter was only 4 and fitted in well at Infantil school. However we decided to move back to Scotland for the sake of my eldest's education. She continues to study languages at home and will probably return to Spain in gap years of Uni. We will return to Spain, but only as a couple, when our kids leave home  We lived in La Cala De Mijas, where the kids also went to school. I dint know if that is the area you are considering.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Claire/ Ben, you say you will have to save up for the move ;without seeming nosey, do you know the financial requirements for residency?
Assuming you are unable to work due to ill health, You will have to have private health cover for a year before you can pay into the Spanish system, and existing conditions are often not accepted or are at a very high premium. You will also pay a % of your prescription costs.
Have you checked with the DWP about healthcare, and any possible benefits andwhether they can be exported. Some advise having enough money to last for a year when you plan to move
Sorry if you have this all in hand, but so many on here aren't aware of what is involved with moving to Spain


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