# Advice please



## Dalenjack (Feb 21, 2016)

Hi I know this probably gets asked loads each day but I'm looking for a little advice on moving over... 

I am looking to move to the Benidorm area around March April 2017. I will be moving with my young family 6 year old and 1 year old around the time. 

I will still be earning around £1000/1200 a month from UK so I will only he looking for bar work etc as something to keep me going same with my partner. I'm looking to hopefully rent a carvan one of the British sites as it seems a great community etc.. Does anybody have experience with these and pricing etc... 

Schools also in the area my son is learning Spanish at the moment and it begging to form sentences so hopefully in next 12 months will be pretty decent so wouldn't mind a Spanish school what are they lik amd recommendations 

Money and standard of living in the area would 1600e be sufficient we will have aroumd 10k in savings to support but that's for emergencies 

Any tips or advice for doing this would be much appreciated as at the moment I read one thing one page that contradicts the next 


Sorry If that seems rambles


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Dalenjack said:


> Hi I know this probably gets asked loads each day but I'm looking for a little advice on moving over...
> 
> I am looking to move to the Benidorm area around March April 2017. I will be moving with my young family 6 year old and 1 year old around the time.
> 
> ...


Hi and welcome!

It's nice to hear you are thinking of coming over. A few things though to think about. Do you know the area well? Have you visited? You are right that there are lots of caravan sites where people live in that area (many featured on a TV series recently) but if you have kids then I imagine that you want them to integrate into Spanish life, make friends with Spanish kids, improve their language and establish themselves here. To live on a caravan site you have to buy or rent a caravan (and if you have two kids then you really don't want a 500 euro banger). You then have to pay ground rent which could be anything upwards of 300 euros a month. Add it all up and you may be better looking for a flat or a small house in a village where the rent would not be much more.

If you live in a proper area that is Spanish rather than on a camping area full of Boozed up brits then I think that this is a much better start in life with stability for the kids. Each has their own view but if you really are serious about building a life and uprooting your kids to bring them to Spain then i think you should think twice about a british-filled caravan site for your permanent home.

Others will know more than me on this but I presume for your kids to get into a public school you will have to be resident which means having an income. I presume also that you will need to be working or contributing into the system in the same way that if you are not then you dont get access to healthcare. The UK no longer provide the two years of healthcare in Spain they used to for brits moving out based on your NI contributions in the UK. 

Bar work is few and far between and most is paid cash in hand so won't count to get you into the system. As I said, maybe this is not a requirement for the schools, others will know but certainly if you are coming with kids you will want to be able to register with a Doctor and have access to the healthcare system so your uk income (unless it is a pension or other exportable benefit) and some cash in hand bar work won't get you this.

You will need to check the local regulations re health and education and I'm sure someone on here will know more about the rules there but make sure you do your research to get it all right.

If all is good and you can get it then the Spanish education system is great and not only will it provide a good level of education to your kids but develop them as people (along with the values they will learn from Spanish friends) in what I believe to be a better way than the UK system does!

Good luck and seriously look at houses or flats especially if you are coming with kids!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

At current exchange rates £1000 will give around €1280 but with the uncertainty over Brexit the rate could drop further.
A family of four has to prove an income of €2400 a month, €600 per person, plus health care insurance, to become resident. Once resident you will have to pay tax in Spain on UK income.
UK benefits such as tax credits and child benefit are not exportable.
I think you need to do some serious research and financial planning as an income of €1300 for a family of four with no guarantee of permanent work seems a bit risky to me.
I would have thought trailer park life more suitable for retired folk than for a family with young children but you really have to come and see for yourself.
Young children do pick up languages more easily than adults. The younger the better.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> I would have thought trailer park life more suitable for retired folk than for a family with young children but you really have to come and see for yourself.
> Young children do pick up languages more easily than adults. The younger the better.


I agree, if you re single, group of friends, couple or a retiree then why not live in a caravan park but if you are a family with young children I think they need to be in a more Spanish (or mixed) environment with the stability of a proper family home.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

xicoalc said:


> I agree, if you re single, group of friends, couple or a retiree then why not live in a caravan park but if you are a family with young children I think they need to be in a more Spanish (or mixed) environment with the stability of a proper family home.


Yes, you're right although I have to say that kind of lifestyle doesn't appeal to this old retiree But then I'm a fairly anti-social person in that I like to have distance between me and my neighbours, probably because I lived for many years in a very old detached cottage with very thick walls.
I can see the attraction of that kind of life for retired folk who don't really want a 'Spanish lifestyle' as such, just sun to warm old bones in winter, but not for the young with children. 
It's amazing how quickly very young children can pick up a foreign language and become reasonably fluent in a short space of time. I've seen Romanian, Polish, Russian, Portuguese and children and young people from other countries arrive in a UK school without a word of English and noticed how within a few months they can cope in the classroom and mix easily with British kids - they usually pick up words that aren't that desirable too!
It's the adults who have the problem, in my experience. I've taught MFL to all ages from four to seventy and you can have four-year olds babbling away in French or German in a couple of weeks, albeit with restricted vocabulary but, more importantly, with total self-confidence and no fear of making mistakes, just eager to communicate and show off new skills.
Whereas many older learners are fearful and hesitant. They seem to think learning a language is like learning to play a musical instrument in that you have to get every note right. They don't understand that language is first and foremost a tool for communication and as with all tools you get better with practice and the confidence it brings.
I'm crap at using most tools but I can unscrew things and hammer stuff. Not as well as a craftsman/woman but I get the job done. Ditto with my Spanish. I may raise eyebrows with my mistakes but I get over what I want to say in most contexts now, after eight years almost.
So to sum up....the least of the OP's problems would be the children's education, providing the others can be resolved, which imo won't be easy.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> I can unscrew things and hammer stuff. Not as well as a craftsman/woman but I get the job done..


Can't we all Mary!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

xicoalc said:


> Can't we all Mary!


Yup, just as we can all learn to communicate in a foreign language, albeit at a rudimentary level....

Mind you.....when we moved in we bought two cupboards from IKEA. It took us seven hours to put the first one together, seven hours which involved curses, quarrels, recriminations...
When we had finally assembled the wretched cupboard we sat back and admired our work and said 'Never mind, we'll get the other one done really quickly now'.
It took us six and a half hours.
We have not bought anything from IKEA since.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Yup, just as we can all learn to communicate in a foreign language, albeit at a rudimentary level....
> 
> Mind you.....when we moved in we bought two cupboards from IKEA. It took us seven hours to put the first one together, seven hours which involved curses, quarrels, recriminations...
> When we had finally assembled the wretched cupboard we sat back and admired our work and said 'Never mind, we'll get the other one done really quickly now'.
> ...


I got a man in. 26 years later, he's still here.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> Yup, just as we can all learn to communicate in a foreign language, albeit at a rudimentary level....
> 
> Mind you.....when we moved in we bought two cupboards from IKEA. It took us seven hours to put the first one together, seven hours which involved curses, quarrels, recriminations...
> When we had finally assembled the wretched cupboard we sat back and admired our work and said 'Never mind, we'll get the other one done really quickly now'.
> ...


I bought a new desk recently. My OH was away and I was bloody well not going to give him the satisfaction of failing. Thank heavens there was a YouTube video walking me through every step!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Madliz said:


> I bought a new desk recently. My OH was away and I was bloody well not going to give him the satisfaction of failing. Thank heavens there was a YouTube video walking me through every step!


I don't think I could have done two things at the same time, Liz. Watch youtube AND assemble cupboard...no way......


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## amespana (Nov 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> I got a man in. 26 years later, he's still here.


Hope you're not paying by the hour!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

amespana said:


> Hope you're not paying by the hour!


We have what I suppose you'd describe as a barter system - I do the translation services, admin, finances, etc. and he does the DIY!


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> I don't think I could have done two things at the same time, Liz. Watch youtube AND assemble cupboard...no way......


Hurrah for pause buttons.


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