# Relocating to Sant Cugat (January 2016)



## Ani Wilson (Oct 11, 2015)

Hi all

I am new to the forum and trying to get my head around the website.
I apologize in advance if such Thread has already been posted before.

I am a mum of 2 (7 and 9) and, with my husband, we have decided to relocate to Sant Cugat beginning of January 2016. I have a job (my husband doesn't yet).

I would love to meet other families who relocated there and if they could share their experience and tips. 

We are from Dublin, Ireland (although I am originally from France). Our motivation to leave Ireland and move to Spain is for a better (and warmer) lifestyle (I am originally from the Mediterranean area myself).

But we found this move very overwhelming. I have looked at private schools but we had to give this up as the fees were way to high. Now we are trying to look at concertados and public schools. Sorting out school is my priority. I am very worried about my kids being thrown into the Spanish/Catalan teaching with no support.

Any other families went through the same experience? Would love to have a chat.

Thanks so much.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Ani Wilson said:


> Hi all
> 
> I am new to the forum and trying to get my head around the website.
> I apologize in advance if such Thread has already been posted before.
> ...


:welcome:

I'm nowhere near San Cugat, but I am in the Valencia region where we have the same issue with schools teaching in both Spanish & Valenciano (which let's face it is more or less the same as Catalán  ) 

My daughters were 5 & nearly 9 when they started in state school & have never had any problems with having to study in two languages. In fact many English speaking children find that they prefer Valenciano & find it easier to learn than Castellano.

The important thing is to expose them to both languages as much as possible outside school as well, because they are of course at a bit of a disadvantage in that native Spanish/Catalán speakers will speak the languages 24/7, & they won't


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Ani Wilson said:


> Hi all
> 
> I am new to the forum and trying to get my head around the website.
> I apologize in advance if such Thread has already been posted before.
> ...


Yes, It will be quite a challenge for a 7 year old to be starting a new school in January and to be faced with 2 new languages at school. Even more so for a 9 year old.
I don't know if you know, but Catalonia is at present in a frenzy of nationalism and Catalan and everything associated with being Catalan is hot, hot, hot. Everything associated with Spain and Spanish is not.
There are concertados in San Cugat, but the language issues are likely to be the same. In fact some parents in this town took the education authorities to court as the school was not teaching the 25% it was supposed to teach in Spanish
15 menores de un colegio de Sant Cugat recibirán el 25% de castellano | Cataluña | EL PAÃ�S

Maybe this isn't a problem. Maybe children can just learn English and Catalan and not have a third language screwing up the works.

Apart from that the concertados could be very religious catholic schools, even with nuns teaching like this one
Colegio Pureza de María Sant Cugat | Colegio católico concertado
(The language on this page is Spanish, but the video is in Catalan...)
Again, it's not necessarily a problem and could be a plus; it depends on your point of view.

Would it not be possible for your husband to find work before leaving and then the children could start school in the new academic year? The good news is that San Cugat has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the whole of Spain at 5,84% which incredible when in other parts of the country it's at a staggering 30 - 50%
Paro por municipios: Sant Cugat del Vallès - (Barcelona) 2015 | datosmacro.com

Paro por municipios: Andalucía 2015 | datosmacro.com

Mick from Catalonia will probably be on soon giving a different view of things


----------



## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

Ani Wilson said:


> Hi all
> 
> I am new to the forum and trying to get my head around the website.
> I apologize in advance if such Thread has already been posted before.
> ...


Ignore any posts about the political situation here, it's not relevant to your situation. Yes, there is a big push for independence, but there isn't a 'frenzy' and certainly not, as I read on another thread, people frothing at the mouth! Remember there is a lot of anti-independence bullsh*t about in the media that borders on Catalàfobia. 

On the ground here, living day to day, people speak Catalan and/or Spanish without any problems. I live in a village where Catalan is more predominant, however lots of people prefer to speak Spanish and there is no problem. In Sant Cugat, you will find Spanish is spoken a lot. There is a leaning towards the Catalan language of course, after all you will be living in Catalonia! I'm sure there are places in deepest Catalonia where people do not or more likely prefer not to speak Spanish. That isn't a problem you'll have. 

Maybe you have already been through something similar in Dublin with English and Gaelic? The difference here though is Spanish and Catalan have a lot more similarities, both being derived from Latin (and French of course!) so complement each other more.

Your kids will be taught both languages in a state school and will in time use them both freely. Of course it won't be easy but there are hundreds and thousands of other children that have done it. 

I know Sant Cugat quite well, my in laws live there. It is an affluent part of the city and a magnet for young families from overseas. You and your family will be very lucky to live there. Good luck.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Helenameva said:


> Ignore any posts about the political situation here, it's not relevant to your situation. Yes, there is a big push for independence, but there isn't a 'frenzy' and certainly not, as I read on another thread, people frothing at the mouth! Remember there is a lot of anti-independence bullsh*t about in the media that borders on Catalàfobia.
> 
> On the ground here, living day to day, people speak Catalan and/or Spanish without any problems. I live in a village where Catalan is more predominant, however lots of people prefer to speak Spanish and there is no problem. In Sant Cugat, you will find Spanish is spoken a lot. There is a leaning towards the Catalan language of course, after all you will be living in Catalonia! I'm sure there are places in deepest Catalonia where people do not or more likely prefer not to speak Spanish. That isn't a problem you'll have.
> 
> ...


Helenameva,
Whilst I appreciate that you are living it and I'm not, I do know Spanish people who visit Barcelona frequently for business and have been shocked at the atosmsphere and attitude that they have encountered. Of course these are people who are comimg from businesses in Madrid... It's a true story folks!:yo:
Personally I think the political situation of a place is very relevant to those who are going to live there even if you aren't going to be directly involved in it.
A poster can make up his or her own mind what they think of forum members' posts...


----------



## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Helenameva,
> Whilst I appreciate that you are living it and I'm not, I do know Spanish people who visit Barcelona frequently for business and have been shocked at the atomsphere and attitude that they have encountered. It's a true story folks!:yo:
> Personally I think the political situation of a place is very relevant to those who are going to live there even if you aren't going to be directly involved in it.
> A poster can make up his or her own mind what they think of forum member's posts...


I should think a lot of Catalans are shocked at the attitude of some visitors from other parts of Spain too. Or if they visited other parts. There can be a 'them and us' vibe I'm sure, which certainly isn't helped by the politicians and the media. I wouldn't let the political backdrop influence a decision to move to Edinburgh, for example, and neither should it be relevant in moving to Barcelona.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Helenameva said:


> I should think a lot of Catalans are shocked at the attitude of some visitors from other parts of Spain too. Or if they visited other parts. There can be a 'them and us' vibe I'm sure, which certainly isn't helped by the politicians and the media. I wouldn't let the political backdrop influence a decision to move to Edinburgh, for example, and neither should it be relevant in moving to Barcelona.


It's very probably a 50/50 situation and I'm certainly not interested in fighting anyone's battle for them. I will include this in posts I make about Catalonia though because I happen to think it's relevant.
The political situation that Catalonia is living through at the moment is relevant to the OP (in my opinion of course) because at the very least which political party is in power can affect the language issues that she can expect to encounter in schools as illustrated by the link I gave in my first post.
What happens to Catalonia is not a great interest of mine, but if I was going to live there* I *would like info about it.


----------



## Ani Wilson (Oct 11, 2015)

Many thanks for the feedback so far.

My husband is actively looking for a job from Dublin but so far no luck.

My kids speak Gaelic (in school), French (with me) and of course English. So I hope their brain is already wired to absorb other languages!

I am worried for my 9 years old (a girl) to start in a state school.

@ xabiachica, you said one of your girl was 9 when she started state school and she was ok. How did you prepare her? 
Why did you choose the state school?

I looked at Agora a private, trilingual school that I really really liked. But we can't afford it based on one salary (it would work at 1,600 EUR per month for both kids).
So that is why we are now looking at state schools.

I keep myself updated on the current situation in Catalonia without taking any side; it's just to be aware of what's going on around us.

Also if anyone has any recommendation about how to find a place to live, I am a taker again.
I was thinking of renting a holiday apartment for 2 or 3 months.

Thanks again!

Ani


----------



## Ncsl (Sep 16, 2016)

Hi, I'm very interested in finding out how you got in in the end regarding schools and settling in Sant Cugat as a family. We're in similar situation, looking to relocate in a year's time. Any advice will be very welcome  Thanks


----------



## therese1 (Jan 28, 2016)

Helenameva said:


> I should think a lot of Catalans are shocked at the attitude of some visitors from other parts of Spain too. Or if they visited other parts. There can be a 'them and us' vibe I'm sure, which certainly isn't helped by the politicians and the media. I wouldn't let the political backdrop influence a decision to move to Edinburgh, for example, and neither should it be relevant in moving to Barcelona.


Excellent points.
Seems to be exact replica of coverage of scottish Indyref whereby certain sections of the media whipped up hatred and suggested a huge anti-English vibe underlying the whole campaign. The whole thing was framed in how it might affect English folk, how they would be abused or feel inferior going about their business in Scotland. 
All utter nonsense but designed to make Scots feel guilty should they dare consider running their own country without filtering everything through a prism which puts English political, legal and media institutions before their own.
We complained for years about apathy, about folk being disenfranchised or not engaged in their political processes. And when they act, get involved, we get all hand-wringing because they're Catalan, or Scottish or Irish. 
Infact this politicisation makes them more outward-looking and welcoming to incomers, that's been my experience in Scotland anyway. Likewise in Catalonia.


----------



## mickbcn (Feb 4, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes, It will be quite a challenge for a 7 year old to be starting a new school in January and to be faced with 2 new languages at school. Even more so for a 9 year old.
> I don't know if you know, but Catalonia is at present in a frenzy of nationalism and Catalan and everything associated with being Catalan is hot, hot, hot. Everything associated with Spain and Spanish is not.
> There are concertados in San Cugat, but the language issues are likely to be the same. In fact some parents in this town took the education authorities to court as the school was not teaching the 25% it was supposed to teach in Spanish
> 15 menores de un colegio de Sant Cugat recibirán el 25% de castellano | Cataluña | EL PAÃ�S
> ...


The level of spanish of the students from Catalonia is similar or better than other students in other regions of Spain (this version is from the spanish government,not my version)however many spaniards and some forteigners prefer listen the anticatalan version.


----------

