# Moving to Spain , work not an issue - Family is, advice needed



## Dexta (Jan 2, 2013)

Hi folks, I realize this is vague but we are at the early stages of upping sticks from the UK and moving to Spain.

I'm fortunate in that I don't need to work in Spain, my income is made online and safe, so finding work etc isn't an issue.

I'm going to lay out my criteria and situation below and hopefully this will give some structure to my families requirements and anybody who feels they can help out , especially based on experience, that would be great.

We intend to rent initially, for around a year, I would need a 3 bedroom + office or 4 bed home.

I would like to be either sea view or within 5-10 minutes walk of a nice safe beach.

I would ideally like to spend no more than 1,500 euros a month on rent and rates, electricity if possible. I would like a small garden as I have two young children and a dog and if we could squeeze a teeny pool into that rent, that would be great but it's not mission critical, just after feedback as to whether that is possible.

I have to a solid, reliable , fast internet connection, at least 10 MB or so. That isn't an optional requirement.

I have two children, 1 is 5 years old, while I like the idea of mixing into state schools, I'm not sure immediate dunking into all spanish speaking is viable , to much of an upset so I guess private is the only solution and the schooling is important.

As a 40 something, with a family, the club scene is pretty far behind us, while we do occasionally go and shake our stuff once or twice a year, it's far from our list of important elements to be near a lot of nightlife of that kind. 

We do want to be within 10 minute walk or so of a more quiet scene, late night resturants, good food, civilized drinks in the evening sun etc..

I want to be near a safe beach I can take the girls swimming etc.

Our reason for moving are that.. I guess we can.

We're all a little bored seeing the same grey skies every morning and while we can , we want to go out and try a new scene for at least a few years.

I can speak a little Spanish and existed in Northern Africa for a year on it, I'm sure it will come back and we will both be attending Spanish speaking lessons prior to leaving and once we get there to help us find local friends.

My biggest concern is my wife, she has many friends here and is concerned about meeting friends in Spain, I can totally understand that, I'm not really worried about that end but she enjoys her flits into two with her friends for coffee and goes horse riding and dozens of kids clubs etc , I want her to be really happy so we don't move and then have a fractious time with her feeling she is isolated.

We have looked at Barcelona as it seems to have a lot on offer, and various areas around it seem interesting and worth checking out but we are totally open to suggestions from people with experience who might be able to help us out.

Thanks in advance.
Dex


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Dexta said:


> Hi folks, I realize this is vague but we are at the early stages of upping sticks from the UK and moving to Spain.
> 
> I'm fortunate in that I don't need to work in Spain, my income is made online and safe, so finding work etc isn't an issue.
> 
> ...


:welcome:

I'm going to pick up on just one point - I'm sure others will soon chime in the rest

school: 5 years of age is a great age to start your child in Spanish school - they are like sponges at that age & just absorb the language - the older the child the harder it becomes - so if you were to start in International & change later it could be a problem

mine were 5 & 8 when they started in the Spanish system - now they are 13 & very nearly 17 & trilingual

if I were you I'd try Spanish school at first - it isn't always easy but the vast majority of children that age adapt _very _quickly, & if it doesn't work out you can always go back to International - much easier that way than the other


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## Dexta (Jan 2, 2013)

Thanks, we did consider this, but were really concerned it's dropping her in the deep end, new home, all her friends gone , and a new languge that it would really impact on her ability to learn maths, etc , plus we do need to keep her English up.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Dexta said:


> Thanks, we did consider this, but were really concerned it's dropping her in the deep end, new home, all her friends gone , and a new languge that it would really impact on her ability to learn maths, etc , plus we do need to keep her English up.


well - we thought the same when we first came here too - we'd been in the US for a while & ended up in the UK for a few months before we came here, so they had already had a fair bit of upheaval

we did put our girls into International school for the first year we were here & tbh it was a waste of money - neither of them learned a thing that year (it wasn't exactly the best school, although we obviously didn't realise that when we chose it - it certainly had a good reputation at the time (it doesn't now)), although I guess it did give them a bit of breathing space

however - when we decided that we were staying it was natural for them to go to local schools & make local friends - not many kids actually live near the international schools, so meeting classmates after school is a bit of a challenge

obligatory school doesn't start until age 6, so mostly they are learning through play at age 5, so it's the ideal time to pick up the language


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## Dexta (Jan 2, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> well - we thought the same when we first came here too - we'd been in the US for a while & ended up in the UK for a few months before we came here, so they had already had a fair bit of upheaval
> 
> we did put our girls into International school for the first year we were here & tbh it was a waste of money - neither of them learned a thing that year (it wasn't exactly the best school, although we obviously didn't realise that when we chose it - it certainly had a good reputation at the time (it doesn't now)), although I guess it did give them a bit of breathing space
> 
> ...


Thanks, how did they deal with the other subjects, without understanding Spanish early on?

I am sure she would pick it up fast but in the interim?

I guess your situation was a little different in that they had a year to leanr spanish naturally before they hit the state school?

Do you think they would have been ok just going directly in ?

Mind me asking how much the private school set you back approximately,. where did you end up in Spain?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Dexta said:


> Thanks, how did they deal with the other subjects, without understanding Spanish early on?
> 
> I am sure she would pick it up fast but in the interim?
> 
> ...


my younger child didn't learn a word of Spanish at the International school - not even colours or counting - though we did do that at home - when she started Spanish school at age 5 I taught her how to ask for the toilet & that was that - in at the deep end & never looked back

yes, the older one could speak quite a bit of Spanish by the time she started at state school - that's pretty much all she did learn that year - but she was very nearly 9 by then so it was a different situation entirely - she wasn't fluent though, but of course it helped

we're in Jávea - been here 9 years now 

I think that year of International school cost about 10,000 € in total for the two of them 

have a look at http://www.nabss.org/ - a lot of the schools do put their fees on their websites


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Hello Dex.
Wait until the good lady wants to move !, if not you are doomed to failure (IMO)


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Tossing a 5-year-old into school without the language is no problem at all. We've done it several times (at ages 3, 4 and 8) with our daughter, in German. If all goes as planned she'll be doing it again next year at 12. At 5 they'll maybe fall behind on reading at first while they grapple with the language, but would likely be caught up before the year is out.


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## Dexta (Jan 2, 2013)

Hi all

So the plot thickens..

We are going to come over to Spain probably around late May for 2 weeks and try two primary locations.

Barcelona and Alicante.

From Barcelona we intend to explore Barcelona, Sitgets, Badalona and Casteldefls , any other suggestions based on the critera in my first post are welcome.

From Alicante, Alicante itself, any suggestions on good areas there would be great then also Javea and Denea.

While it's impossible to know form just reading, I think, possibly Barcelona might be funkier and suit us a bit better, especially Sitges way but its' all guesswork right now so any input appreciated.

A few more questions.

1) We have a Dog, a springer spaniel , how are the Spanish and dogs generally, can he walk on any beaches with us? Is there a specific process to take a dog from the UK to spain?

2) Are spanish trains slow, I looked at say Alicante to Barcelona, and the train takes nearly as long as it does to drive, is that right?

As we are initially holidaying, what area is better for the two kids, Alicante or Barcelona, or is it much of a muchness?

Is Late May early July a good time to visit?

I'm thinking for the sake of travel to basically book two hotels, a week in Alicante to explore that area, and a week in Barcelona, then fly from Cardiff into one of the areas and back out from the second area.

That seem the most sensible?

ALL input on any thing that might help is appreciated, even just experience of living in either.


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