# Help in moving to Spain! ANY ADVICE APPRECIATED!



## ellet (Jul 21, 2009)

Hey there.

My name is Elyse, and I me and my boyfriend are dead set on moving to spain next year.
I'll explain my situation a little first before I ask my million questions. Please read on cos I need all the help I can get!

Well my boyfriend and I are both 23yrs old and from New Zealand... so as you can imagine organising the possibilty of moving to Spain is quite difficult from the other side of the world.
We are wanting to move to the east coast of Spain, somewhere (yet to be decided) at the beginning of next year. New Zealand and Spain have just recently signed a working/travel visa agreement so getting a working visa will not be an issue.
We have just begun Spanish lessons and plan on continuing these right through unitl we leave. We are also planning on beginning a TEFL course via the internet in the coming weeks.
I have just graduated from University with a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning so I am a qualified teacher, and my boyfriend is a qualified machining engineer.

OK questions, as I am clueless living in NZ

Will finding teaching work be difficult for me and my partner?
Will my boyfriend be able to find engineering work over in Spain with basic Spanish?
Where would be a good area on the East coast to live? (Somewhere that is busy and bustling, somewhere where we will make friends, both english and spanish, and somewhere where there is work)
Where do all the young expats live??? (we need to make friends)


Well I know there are probably many threads similar to this but I would like to start my own so I can get information specific to me and my situation.

Like I said... ANY ADVICE WILL BE APPRECIATED!
We are excited to start our OE and the Spain, the people and culture looks AMAZING.

THANK YOU HEAPS TO ANYONE THAT ANSWERS!!!!!!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Welcome to the forum. first of all, there are very few jobs in Spain and thats for the Spanish nationals, not to mention the 1000s of existing expats who are desperately searching, many of whom are pretty much fluent. There really is mass unemployment, 20% out of work and things are fairly grim

I dont know if you´ll need work visas to come here, probably, as you´re not EU citizens. That generally means you´ll need to be sponsored to work here??? Sadly, I really dont hold out much hope of either of you finding work easily to be honest!

Most of the Spanish coasts are busy and bustling with both young and old english speaking and spanish, so any of the coasts would suit your requirements in that repsect.

What you should do and of course, from NZ it´ll be a mammouth task, is to come over for a visit and see what its really like and what maybe available... You never know??

Sorry its not what you want to hear, maybe others will come along and have a more positive outlook for you??

Jo xx


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## ellet (Jul 21, 2009)

> Welcome to the forum. first of all, there are very few jobs in Spain and thats for the Spanish nationals, not to mention the 1000s of existing expats who are desperately searching, many of whom are pretty much fluent. There really is mass unemployment, 20% out of work and things are fairly grim
> 
> I dont know if you´ll need work visas to come here, probably, as you´re not EU citizens. That generally means you´ll need to be sponsored to work here??? Sadly, I really dont hold out much hope of either of you finding work easily to be honest!
> 
> ...


Hey Jo.

The working/holiday visa between NZ and Spain allows NZers between 18-30yrs old to live and work in Spain for 12months without being sponsored by someone first.

Ideally like you said we would love to visit Spain first but as you can imagine being in New Zealand means we are absolutely miles from anywhere and couldn't afford the $2000+ for the airfare alone while we are trying to save for our OE.

It sounds like finding jobs will be our biggest problem. Im almost ready to simply just try my luck on the job front as I just want to go so so bad.
If we cant go for a whole year, even working holiday work such as summer camps we be great.

Cheers =)


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

jojo said:


> not to mention the 1000s of existing expats who are desperately searching, many of whom are pretty much fluent.


.....in English.....nothing else!

A Brit expat fluent in Spanish is very rare indeed Jo.

As for the query.....you'll have to do your own thing in terms of business. Certainly keep your eyes open for employment opportunities.....but don't bank on it.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

XTreme said:


> .....in English.....nothing else!
> 
> A Brit expat fluent in Spanish is very rare indeed Jo.



I have to disagree with you Xtreme, if I may/dare!!?? I´m talking about the "next generation" expats. The kids of the expats who moved over here at the turn of the century lol!! I know an awful lot of expats who are now in their 40s, 50s or so, who came over with their small children, who went thru the spanish education system and are now in their late teens, early 20s, totally fluent in both languages (probably better in Spanish in many cases), but unable to find any real self supporting work!

Jo xxx


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## ellet (Jul 21, 2009)

OH DEAR sounds like I am going to struggle if I go to Spain.

Its so hard tho cos it is like this anywhere in the world, sounds like it is impossible to get a job anywhere.
We are both 23, both well educated, and are both qualified in good careers. We need to do our OE next year so we can eventually settle down buy a house, have children etc. If we don't go next year it will put a real spanner in the works.... DAMN RECESSION!


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

jojo said:


> I have to disagree with you Xtreme, if I may/dare!!?? I´m talking about the "next generation" expats. The kids of the expats who moved over here at the turn of the century lol!! I know an awful lot of expats who are now in their 40s, 50s or so, who came over with their small children, who went thru the spanish education system and are now in their late teens, early 20s, totally fluent in both languages (probably better in Spanish in many cases), but unable to find any real self supporting work!
> 
> Jo xxx


Agreed....there are some of those about....not in this part of the world though. But they're in a very small minority compared to non-fluent Expats and native Spanish.

And with those sort of skills (a foot in both camps) I'd have thought their future would be in the big cities rather than on a regional level.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

XTreme said:


> Agreed....there are some of those about....not in this part of the world though. But they're in a very small minority compared to non-fluent Expats and native Spanish.
> 
> And with those sort of skills (a foot in both camps) I'd have thought their future would be in the big cities rather than on a regional level.


Interestingly, its these kids and in my area there are loads of them, who are, rather than having a foot in both camps and able to get work, seem to be the ones who are left behind. Some friends of mine who have a daughter in this situation are going back to the UK in the hope that she´ll be able to get work, go to college, cos she´s now left school and would have to pay to go to college here and as they say, there is no work!!! She´s a bright girl too. she did get a job working in a kennel and they insisted on total fluency in spanish and english (er... why???), but at 3€ an hour and 6am starts was simply too much. 

It seems that so many people here, both spanish, brit and others are "multi" lingual, that there is no great appeal to offer work. I suspect its the same all along the costas. Maybe inland?? but not here. Bilinguals are two a penny these days

Jo xx


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Ellet. Don't give up hope!! 

Maybe you could give it a little more time before moving over and the recssion has abated somewhat?? If you are planning to start a family, buy a house etc in the not so distant future your husband would need a secure job with a contract. Could you not hold off for a couple of years, save enough to support yourselves for say 6 months with the hope of finding work in the meantime but without closing doors behind you in case you need to return to New Zealand? I would imagine jobs in your husbands field would be advertised? Keep your eyes on the spanish newspapers and see what comes up in the meantime. That would give you a good indication of what's going.


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

jojo said:


> Bilinguals are two a penny these days


Not so sure about that Jo....don't think that just cos someone can speak Spanish better than you that they're fluent.

In my experience they are very rare.....bit like people who work in my area of business. They _claim_ things.....but their knowledge is only better than the layman.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

XTreme said:


> Not so sure about that Jo....don't think that just cos someone can speak Spanish better than you that they're fluent.
> 
> In my experience they are very rare.....bit like people who work in my area of business. They _claim_ things.....but their knowledge is only better than the layman.



Anyone can speak spanish better than me!! Seriously, most of these kids have been thru the spanish education system since they arrived when they were 5, 6, 7... yrs old. In fact I know of another girl, who´s been here since she was 5 (she´s now 15), she´s on my facebook and she has real trouble writing in english, cos she has only learnt to write english from her Spanish school! I have trouble understanding what she writes half the time!! 

The problem with a lot of these kids tho is they do miss out a bit on education due to the transision I think?? What they need are qualifications, skills and a profession to follow. And thats what I´m saying, its simply not enough to be bilingual

Jo xxx


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## ellet (Jul 21, 2009)

> Ellet. Don't give up hope!!
> 
> Maybe you could give it a little more time before moving over and the recssion has abated somewhat?? If you are planning to start a family, buy a house etc in the not so distant future your husband would need a secure job with a contract. Could you not hold off for a couple of years, save enough to support yourselves for say 6 months with the hope of finding work in the meantime but without closing doors behind you in case you need to return to New Zealand? I would imagine jobs in your husbands field would be advertised? Keep your eyes on the spanish newspapers and see what comes up in the meantime. That would give you a good indication of what's going.


Well, in New Zealand after completing my teaching degree I need to two years teaching registration in New Zealand in order to become a registered teacher. I do not need to do this straight away however, this is why we would like to do our OE now as in another two years time we will be 26yrs old and by this stage we would be looking to marry, have children, buy a house etc in New Zealand.
We want to do our OE now (next year) while we are young with no commitments, and can have fun and experience the world. 
I am afraid if I wait a couple of years my priorities will have changed and it may be a long time unitl i get to travel again as we ultimately want to live in NZ (The most amazing country to bring up kids, if we have children we won't be moving around the world for a very long time I would say)

Im hoping with a teaching degree, extensive experience with children, and a TEFL cert I may be able to pick up teaching jobs fairly easy. It is my boyfriend I am more worried about for finding work.


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

In your initial post it does seem to imply that you want to live in Spain :confused2: so sorry if it's a misunderstanding. Also, I'm not sure what OE means. Does it mean oversees experience?

Just lately there have been quite a few posts re: teaching in Spain. Have a browse thru' the forum and you can get some good info on the threads relating to this.


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

ellet said:


> Im hoping with a teaching degree, extensive experience with children, and a TEFL cert I may be able to pick up teaching jobs fairly easy. It is my boyfriend I am more worried about for finding work.



HELLO !

Well finding jobs is not easy an thing to do these days, but you have a lot more chance in a city. Someone has posted a thread this week talking about whether to go to Barcelona or Valencia.

Barcelona is the 2nd largest city and Valencia the 3rd largest city in Spain, so both will be busy and bustling; just not full of Brits - lol

Castellon is rarely mentioned as a place to live, but I would take a guess that as few expats live in this city then there may well be more opportunities for work as an English teacher 

Benidorm would tick more boxes on your wish list; but more difficult to gain work I imagine as its full to the brim with expats

Your life, your choice


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

I am struggling to think where all these bilinguals are. I know very very few Brits who I would call bilingual in the true sense of the word - which would include being able to work in a Spanish office/factory (NOT bar!) and become an integral part of the work environment. Remember I blogged on a friend who thought he spoke excellent Spanish who walked out of an interview recently because the written test was too tough. 

My Swedish is much better than the Spanish of 99% of the expats I have ever known but I would not be willing to call myself bilingual. If I were to work in Swedish environment again it would realistically be because I AM a native English speaker. 

Just because somebody has got past the "Dos cañas" stage does not make them employable sadly. 

To go back to OP, your chances are very slim indeed (ignoring the language issue) but I wish you well. Surely, the UK is a better option. There are huge numbers of your countrymen there - some have even stayed sober at the weekend it is rumoured - and I am sure your chances of finding a job in somewhere like London, M4 corridor or Hemel Hempstead would be much much greater. Kodak at Hemel used to have a big NZ contingent and in our Rugby Club we used to have a permanent vacancy offer with them. They even used to pay us 50 GBP (?) for each new employee we found them. Halcyon days! 

Remember, you only need one break - go looking for it!


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

I'm pleased to say that in the UK, certainly in the caring proffession, applicants are not rubbished because they are not absolutely fluent in english. As long as they have a good grasp of work related english and if they have the relavent experience, they have a good chance of getting a job. I would like to know if it's recipricol here in Spain but I very much doubt it.

I have worked with people from all walks of life who speak english but not fluently and they have learnt very quickly on the job.

Is there too much emphasis placed on this one area? !?!? I fear there is a lot of wasted expat talent here that is being ignored because of that one issue and there is a certain amount of snobbery from some that think because you don't speak the lingo fluently you are not worth of employing!!! End of :rant:


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> I am struggling to think where all these bilinguals are. I know very very few Brits who I would call bilingual in the true sense of the word - which would include being able to work in a Spanish office/factory (NOT bar!) and become an integral part of the work environment. Remember I blogged on a friend who thought he spoke excellent Spanish who walked out of an interview recently because the written test was too tough.
> 
> My Swedish is much better than the Spanish of 99% of the expats I have ever known but I would not be willing to call myself bilingual. If I were to work in Swedish environment again it would realistically be because I AM a native English speaker.
> 
> Just because somebody has got past the "Dos cañas" stage does not make them employable sadly.


Yes, agreed, but I think Jo's point was that there are now a lot more young people (of British or British/Spanish parents) who were either born here or came here at a young age and have been educated in the Spanish schools system, and are now competing in the workplace, as they are now 18+, and are totally bilingual in spoken Spanish and English and have good written Spanish (but not English usually). Their parents probably aren't bilingual but they are. 

My son is fluent in Spanish, but not in English yet, that is the problem! So cant say he is bilingual either!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> I am struggling to think where all these bilinguals are. I know very very few Brits who I would call bilingual in the true sense of the word - which would include being able to work in a Spanish office/factory (NOT bar!) and become an integral part of the work environment. Remember I blogged on a friend who thought he spoke excellent Spanish who walked out of an interview recently because the written test was too tough.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where are you looking for heavens sake?? Come to El Grande, AdlT. What do you think happened to all the kids of the expats who came out here in the hey days, five+ years ago!!???

Trust me. I can name at least ten 15 - 20 yr olds who ARE totally and wholy fluent in Spanish cos they´ve been educated in the Spanish school system. These are just the ones I know!

I´m not talking about the expats themselves, they dont even try anymore, cos their kids do all the translating, domestic paperwork, phone calls etc..!!! I know for a fact!!


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

I am not what I would call fluent in Spanish even though I have lived here for eight years, read the papers daily and listen to the radio comfortably ..... and have even taught it. The point that I am trying to make is that many expats are just not realistic in the amount of Spanish you need to speak to become a key employee in a company. 

Many moons ago I was amused with a lovely lady from Derby who had been a dental receptionist most of her working life and thought she could stroll into the same job in Spanish Spain without being able to order more than a coffee (badly!) When I tried politely to explain that Spanish would be an absoute necessity, she replied "I could learn on the job." I just hope the dentist was not learning on the job too!

Close your eyes, guys. Go back to the jobs you had in the UK, Ireland or wherever. How much use to your company would you be if you could not speak fluent English? 

Good luck to all learning Spanish, I have even set a web-site up to help us all


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

jojo said:


> Where are you looking for heavens sake?? Come to El Grande, AdlT. What do you think happened to all the kids of the expats who came out here in the hey days, five+ years ago!!???
> 
> Trust me. I can name at least ten 15 - 20 yr olds who ARE totally and wholy fluent in Spanish cos they´ve been educated in the Spanish school system. These are just the ones I know!
> 
> ...


**Exactly!

Jojo, you are aware that I know the president of the Alhaurín de la Torre football club; I am a season ticket holder there. He is appalled at the number of expats who speak Spanish. He was nearly losing it one afternoon about that. 

They have a SUPERB initiative at that club where in the after-school football club they have free Spanish or English lessons for the expat and English kids respectively. One hour of football and then one hour of the foreign language. One of the best attempts to promote integration I have ever seen. Good luck to them


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Chica said:


> I'm pleased to say that in the UK, certainly in the caring proffession, applicants are not rubbished because they are not absolutely fluent in english. As long as they have a good grasp of work related english and if they have the relavent experience, they have a good chance of getting a job. I would like to know if it's recipricol here in Spain but I very much doubt it.
> 
> I have worked with people from all walks of life who speak english but not fluently and they have learnt very quickly on the job.
> 
> Is there too much emphasis placed on this one area? !?!? I fear there is a lot of wasted expat talent here that is being ignored because of that one issue and there is a certain amount of snobbery from some that think because you don't speak the lingo fluently you are not worth of employing!!! End of :rant:



The difference is that in the UK they are simply not allowed to discriminate because of language, birth place, race etc...!! There are are directives banning it. My OH who has his own business in the UK has had government directives making it clear to him that if he were to dare not grant an interview with someone of foriegn decent he could face fines and penalties!!! Its even implied that should two people with the same skill set see him for an interview, he should look at the foriegn applivcant more favourably so it brings his percentage foriegn emploment rate up!!

In most other european countries, from what I´ve seen, they look after their own!!


Jo xx


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> The difference is that in the UK they are simply not allowed to discriminate because of language, birth place, race etc...!! There are are directives banning it. My OH who has his own business in the UK has had government directives making it clear to him that if he were to dare not grant an interview with someone of foriegn decent he could face fines and penalties!!! Its even implied that should two people with the same skill set see him for an interview, he should look at the foriegn applivcant more favourably so it brings his percentage foriegn emploment rate up!!
> 
> In most other european countries, from what I´ve seen, they look after their own!!
> 
> ...


Yes. Positive descrimination!!! I don't agree with that. IMO we have gone too far that way, but I think spain needs to loosen up a bit and they do definately look after their own primarily. Great for spaniards but not for expats.


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

The difference is that in the UK they are simply not allowed to discriminate because of language, birth place, race etc...!! There are are directives banning it. My OH who has his own business in the UK has had government directives making it clear to him that if he were to dare not grant an interview with someone of foriegn decent he could face fines and penalties!!! Its even implied that should two people with the same skill set see him for an interview, he should look at the foriegn applivcant more favourably so it brings his percentage foriegn emploment rate up!!

**Absolutely ridiculous, isn't it? 

Imagine I walked in and wanted to buy an expensive system and the "assistant" could not even understand that I was looking for, say, Dolby sound. I'd be out of the door before he could say, "Pliss, watt before the owning man comes her" 

In most other european countries, from what I´ve seen, they look after their own!!

Jo xx 

**Spain most definitely does! 

It's probably one of the reasons we are both here. I had the same xxxx about employing disabled people. With 400+ employees we were obliged BY LAW in the UK to employ x% (sorry, forgotten) of disabled workers. Now that I AM sympathetic to but we employed an asthmatic guy. Top guy, nice as you could meet and very consciencious ------------- but was off 2 days out of 3! I spoke to his case-worker who bold as brass said, "Agh but you don't pay him for the days he is not here" She absolutely missed the point completely! I employed him because my customers NEEDED an engineer on their premises to fix their phone systems. They did not want to hear, "Sorry, Bob's asthma is bad again. Hope he'll be back tomorrow." I ended up having to employ another field engineer because I could not risk losing customers and Bob became a floater and spent most of his time tidying the workshops, preping new units etc. Really sad, TOP guy and a most diligent worker ...but only on the days he was well enough to come in. If an abled-bodied worker had his attendnce record I'd have had every reason to march him PDQ.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

XTreme said:


> Not so sure about that Jo....don't think that just cos someone can speak Spanish better than you that they're fluent.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Totally agree with that! People don't seem to realise that learning a language is an open ended (and complex) task. They think you can learn how to speak Spanish like you can learn how to install a telephone or bake a victoria sponge. If you've got a low level in something it makes everyone else look brilliant


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> XTreme said:
> 
> 
> > Not so sure about that Jo....don't think that just cos someone can speak Spanish better than you that they're fluent.
> ...


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

ellet said:


> Hey there.
> 
> My name is Elyse, and I me and my boyfriend are dead set on moving to spain next year.
> 
> ...



Hi there,
Try looking at my post (number 7), and others on this thread
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/26061-advice-barcelona-valencia.html


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> Pesky Wesky said:
> 
> 
> > LIKEWISE! I totally agree with that!
> ...


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> SteveHall said:
> 
> 
> > yep I agree! All I was saying is that there are lots and lots of expat kids now who "are" spanish, they hang around with spanish youths, have spanish best friends, their spanish is as good as the next spaniard, the only time they speak english is to their parents and they even think in Spanish. I´ve got several friends who´s teenagers are just that...
> ...


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

It's nice when we all play nicely, isn't it?


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

Did you know that only 20% of the Spanish workforce are actually good employees with a decent work ethic?

And the other 80% are just stupid, lazy *****?

_(Let's see who blunders into this one)_


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

XTreme said:


> Did you know that only 20% of the Spanish workforce are actually good employees with a decent work ethic?
> 
> And the other 80% are just stupid, lazy *****?
> 
> _(Let's see who blunders into this one)_


........:tape2:


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> It's nice when we all play nicely, isn't it?


Yes it is!!!! I ust sometimes feel we on here, tend to berate our fellow expats a little harshly. Ok I know alot of our generation expats are just about able to get by with speaking Spanish, but they came out here whenever, bringing their two or three kids with them and stuck em in Spanish state schools. We are forgetting and underestimating those kids, who are now the new work force generation and can flit between languages easily and without thought. 

Jo xx


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

...........but these kids generally get extremely poor results and few go on to university. Yes, I KNOW there are some superb results from the top-dollar international colleges but as for the state schools....... 

I know a lot of the teachers and a lot of what I hear is not pretty


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> ...........but these kids generally get extremely poor results and few go on to university. Yes, I KNOW there are some superb results from the top-dollar international colleges but as for the state schools.......
> 
> I know a lot of the teachers and a lot of what I hear is not pretty


Not from what I´ve seen! They do as well as their spanish peers in the main and they have the bonus of being bilingual! 

Anyway, if what you´re saying is true, we should be telling prospective ex pats with children, NOT to come as it will have a detrimental effect on their childrens education, but we dont say that do we!?????

Jo xxx


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

jojo said:


> Yes it is!!!! I ust sometimes feel we on here, tend to berate our fellow expats a little harshly. Ok I know alot of our generation expats are just about able to get by with speaking Spanish, but they came out here whenever, bringing their two or three kids with them and stuck em in Spanish state schools. We are forgetting and underestimating those kids, who are now the new work force generation and can flit between languages easily and without thought.
> 
> Jo xx


Jo....you miss the point here. Just cos someone is 16 and can speak Spanish doesn't mean they're employable.
They have no work experience, no life experience.....they bring no more to the table than a 16 year old in Britain would.
And that generation are certainly not competing in the same job market as a 35 or 40 year old person.
As for longterm expats who's children have grown up here....yes, I suppose there are a few about. But like fluent Spanish speaking expats....they're in a minority here. It's not the norm.


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

jojo said:


> Not from what I´ve seen! They do as well as their spanish peers in the main and they have the bonus of being bilingual!
> 
> **Show me the results. Show me the number that go on to further education.
> I know a lot of the teachers and I have trained a lot of the kids at football. They will end up stacking shelves (which in Spain is considered "un puesto digno") I KNOW that is not what you want for your two
> ...


Who doesn't? 

*"If you bring kids over here between the ages of 12 and 16 you are playing Russian Roulette with their education and their future". * Punto, final. 

How much clearer can I be? I know how difficult it was for me to study for my O and A levels in a language I had spoken from birth, in an all-English environment and with a father who was a headmaster. What chance have they got if they are trying to study maths or science when they don't know the word for an equation or lens and their parents can't help?


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> ...........but these kids generally get extremely poor results and few go on to university. Yes, I KNOW there are some superb results from the top-dollar international colleges but as for the state schools.......
> 
> I know a lot of the teachers and a lot of what I hear is not pretty


Just as a matter of interest do these teachers tell you why they get bad results? Could that not be down to teaching methods? Are they saying that these children can't read or write very well in spanish? What about the spanish, spanish kids? What are their results like?

Very sorry ellet to encroach on your thread like this . We always get 'round to this subject time and time again


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Sorry, I was a bit slow with my last post. Ignore it please.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> Who doesn't?
> 
> *"If you bring kids over here between the ages of 12 and 16 you are playing Russian Roulette with their education and their future". * Punto, final.
> 
> How much clearer can I be? I know how difficult it was for me to study for my O and A levels in a language I had spoken from birth, in an all-English environment and with a father who was a headmaster. What chance have they got if they are trying to study maths or science when they don't know the word for an equation or lens and their parents can't help?



I´m not talking about the over 12s, I´m talking about the younger ones!! And I didnt have any trouble studying for my Os and A-levels or passing em with flying colours and my father was a plasterer!!! So there!!!!!

And yes, we have now officially taken over this thread and I´m really sorry Ellet  !!

:focus::focus:

Jo xxx


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

SteveHall said:


> "If you bring kids over here between the ages of 12 and 16 you are playing Russian Roulette with their education and their future". [/B] Punto, final.
> 
> 
> What chance have they got if they are trying to study maths or science when they don't know the word for an equation or lens and their parents can't help?



Exactly. 100% agreed 

I have read the comments of many people on this forum who have all said that they are moving here to provide the kids with a better way of life.

It cannot possibly be better if once they become adults and they don't have any qualifications worth having (due to language difficulties) and are virtually un-employable 

Dave - keeping it real
lane:


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## ellet (Jul 21, 2009)

To all of you. 
I didn't actually ask about the expats children going through the Spanish education system, and knowing about it (although interesting) does not help me in my quest to moving to Spain.... for only 1year I might add.
Now I appreciate you are all obviously passionate about this topic, but as it is no real relevence to me is it possible to share information with me that may help.

Sorry if I sound rude but when I checked my emails earlier and it said I had 40 responses to my question I got quite excited wanting to hear peoples advice, but it wasn't really advice.


Like I said earlier any advice regarding my situation will be much appreciated.

Thank-you


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

ellet said:


> To all of you.
> I didn't actually ask about the expats children going through the Spanish education system, and knowing about it (although interesting) does not help me in my quest to moving to Spain.... for only 1year I might add.
> Now I appreciate you are all obviously passionate about this topic, but as it is no real relevence to me is it possible to share information with me that may help.
> 
> ...


I´m sorry we do have a habit of getting carried away on here. I think my original point wasnt about the educational system, I was relating to the fact that there are so many totally fluent, bi/trilingual expat "children" coming up to adulthood/early 20s now, that they will be your serious competition in the workplace.

Jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

...... another thought, is what about international schools??? you could "google" a few and send your CV. 

Jo xxx


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## grahunt (Jan 22, 2009)

*International Schools*



jojo said:


> ...... another thought, is what about international schools??? you could "google" a few and send your CV.
> 
> Jo xxx



I know of one here in Valecia that had 26 vacancies this year for fully qualified teachers. There are jobs out there but you need to have your niche and be a specialist.

Talking of education for kids although it is off topic. I did an interview recently with a writer in Spain who agrees with Steve that bringing kids over in the age 12-16 bracket is suicidal and asking for trouble if they don't go into international schools but those younger than that should be OK


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

grahunt said:


> Talking of education for kids although it is off topic. I did an interview recently with a writer in Spain who agrees with Steve that bringing kids over in the age 12-16 bracket is suicidal and asking for trouble if they don't go into international schools but those younger than that should be OK


Very interesting.
Do we have access to the interview??


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I´m gonna close this thread for a little while, simply cos the OP is getting all the e-mail notices and we keep going off topic!

Jo xxx


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