# hi new on here and plaaning the move to majorca!



## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

hello everyone.

we are hoping to move to majorca in the next year or so. would love to hear from people already there that have made the move. we have 4 children 5,7,13 and 14

they will be going to a state school and we like the alcudia area. we will be setting up a business and also have a small business in the uk.

have read about the winters in majorca, are they as bad as i have heard???

how much does it cost to ship a car over?

thanks for reading


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Better to sell the car in the U.K. then buy a Spanish registered one, the cost of changing a U.K. car to a Spanish one is prohibitive and even is done the steering wheel is still on the wrong side.


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## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

was thinking of buying a left hand drive one here as would be cheaper. just looking at the options. is it hard to register it over there for spanish plates?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Without a doubt your two eldest really need to go tpo an international school - even if they are fluent in Spanish. The education system itself is very different and that close to their exams..... 

As for the car, its costly to get it over there and altho I'm not sure of the cost ofchanging the plates, its time consuming and fiddly and unless you know what you're doing, its best to employ a gestor.

The winters in Mallorca - hhhmmm, George Sands wrote a book about that lol!!! Wet, cold and windy. 

Jo xxx


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## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

there is no way we could afford to put them into an international school, anyone else out there have experience of children of ths age going into state school?

wet cold and windy - mm sounds like england lol!!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

This might help you with the weather.

El Tiempo en Palma de Mallorca - 14 días


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## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

great thanks, doesnt seem too wet and windy. at least the sun is shining!! cornwall is just so wet and dreary!!!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

shelleps said:


> there is no way we could afford to put them into an international school, anyone else out there have experience of children of ths age going into state school?
> 
> wet cold and windy - mm sounds like england lol!!


In fairness, its not as cold as the UK during the day, but the nights can be. Also the houses arent geared for the cold. Tiles and no central heating or insulation make it hard and costly to heat. There are many times when I've had to go outside during the day to warm up!!

The school thing is going to be a problem. You know your children, but in the UK at 14 they'll be just about to start their GCSE course work. Move them to Spain, with a foreign language, foreign lessons and a different exam style.............. how do you think they'll fair - and what then????

Jo xxx


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## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

yes of course i understand what your saying about the schools and the ages of my older 2 children, not ideal at all, and wondered the outcome of children of similar age going to the state schools

the thing is we have no other option, apart from wait till we move over there, but then my younger 2 will be at that crucial age then. lots to think about i know, but am really interested to hear other peoples experiences with this

thankyou x


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

shelleps said:


> yes of course i understand what your saying about the schools and the ages of my older 2 children, not ideal at all, and wondered the outcome of children of similar age going to the state schools
> 
> the thing is we have no other option, apart from wait till we move over there, but then my younger 2 will be at that crucial age then. lots to think about i know, but am really interested to hear other peoples experiences with this
> 
> thankyou x


the younger ones will be fine - but the older ones 

I know one child who started in Spanish school at age 13/14 - she graduated a year or two late & is returning to the UK to do A levels I believe (at the age she should be starting uni) 

she is rare though - most children who start Spanish school already in secondary struggle desperately & fail miserably giving up at age 16 & leaving with no qualifications at all

it takes most kids that age a year or two to become confident in the language - let alone fluent enough to actually study & pass exams

I certainly couldn't do that to my children


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## 111KAB (Aug 3, 2012)

Suggest you post on bonygraph.com - many of your questions will be answered there.
HTH


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I dont think there's anyone on the forum who has put children over the age of 13 into a state echool. I do know one lad who came over at 12, he didnt get on at the school and ended up going back to the UK to live with his nan. I came over with a 10yo and 13yo. The 13yo went to an international school and we put our 10yo daughter into a state school, which she hated - the english thought she was snobby and the panish didnt associate with the Brits. We moved her to another state school, which she liked better, but by then she was anti spanish, refused to speak or do the work - her homework was a mystery to us, so we had a tutor in at home to help her. In the end we put her into the international school, she finally settled there. 

The logistics of it are obvious and altho I dont want to sound negative, I assume you've got two children who have followed the english curriculum since they started school. To move them and put them into a foreign school with all the differences in the last two years of their education is going to mean they leave with no qualifications - maybe they wont need them, altho if they wont be able to go on to further education, either in Spain or the UK and unless they go into your business, they will find it hard to get jobs in either country.

I understand about the timing, we had the same. I have five children (we left the eldest behind as they were grown up) and elderly in laws and we had to wait/balance it all out - in fact we moved just as the recession started, which ruined everything lol!!

Jo xxx


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## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

great thanks


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## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

mm yh its hard isnt it jojo. need to think more about it i reckon, although its what we all want, i dont want to jeapordise the kids education. thanks for your reply


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I wonder what language they use in schools, Castellano or Mallorquin. When I was last there all the sign posts were in Mallorquin, which is what the locals spoke, however they did converse with me in Castellano.


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## shelleps (Oct 10, 2012)

im starting spanish classes next week, will i get by if i can speak spanish??


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

shelleps said:


> im starting spanish classes next week, will i get by if i can speak spanish??


Spanish is also referred to as Castellano, now if you were in the Canary Islands yes would be the answer, the Baleares Isles, I do not know. 

They all speak Mallorquin which I could not understand at all, even though my Spanish is pretty good. It was somewhat like being an English person in a remote part of North Wales.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

shelleps said:


> im starting spanish classes next week, will i get by if i can speak spanish??


 when are you planning to move?

how many hours a week are you going to be studying?

I couldn't speak Spanish when we came here - but once here I took 4.5 hours a week of lessons, & pretty much studied full time outside those lessons

no English TV, radio, newspapers - almost total immersion, except when out with British friends 

I spoke to anyone & everyone in Spanish - the girls on the till in the supermarket, the pharmacist, in bars & restaurants & best of all my neighbours - I didn't have to, English is pretty widely spoken around here - but I _needed _to

I'd say it was 2 years before I was confident enough to really 'get by' & another year before I was confident enough to go for an interview which required spoken Spanish




I got the job


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