Advice on emigrating to Spain? - Whats it like Living in Spain

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27/04/2008 18:33

	tranced
1 posts

Advice on emigrating to Spain?

Hello,

Could you please offer me any advice on emigrating to Spain? Myself and my wife have been contemplating this for a year and if we were to go ahead we plan to move next year with our 2 baby daughters 2yrs and one to be born any week now.

We plan to sell our home and rent long term in Spain and use the capital that we make on our sale to keep us until I find work. Worst case, the capital would last us a year if we didn't find work. I currently work for myself as sole trader of my Ironing Business. I would hope that we might be able to set this up in Spain or find a suitable job to pay our way.

We have read much literature but the best advice would be of course from yourselves, expats and people who have always lived in Spain. I am currently learning the language and carefully researching. The questions that we would like to ask are below.

What are my chances of finding work as a 35yr old male or to be able to set up a small ironing service?

Where would be the best place to live in Spain?

What are the schools like for english children?

Would I be able to find reasonable rental accommodation?

We are deciding on this move because we are unhappy with bringing our children in the UK because of it's danger on the streets, high cost of living, high mortgage rates and the appalling weather.

Many thanks for your help!

Carl & Kaila

28/04/2008 11:44

	shar
30 posts
www.livespainforlife.com

Re: Advice on emigrating to Spain?

Modified By shar on 28/04/2008 09:54:26)

Hi Carl and Kaila

Whilst researching we satisfied ourselves that up 12 most children pick up languages much more easily and in the two years after having learned from an early age our two youngest have now become bilingual, that is, speak their second language the same as they do their first. Even out eldest who did go to the British School has really impressed us. This means that most children of this age would probably manage quite easily in a Spanish school; both our children are now 13 & 15 coped exceptionally well, much better in fact than we could ever have hoped for. All children are different though and only you can gage this with yours. There are plenty of schools for all ages in this area and they welcome children from foreign countries quite readily. Much the same as in the UK it`s a case of whether or not you are in the catchment area for entry into the schools or as is quite common in Spain just as it is in the UK, it can also depend on who you know!

The majority of Spanish state schools, allowing for the influx of foreigners, make provisions for extra Spanish lessons above and beyond the Spanish curriculum. Both the schools our children attend have extra Spanish lessons every day and the children will not be moved up to the next curso (year) until the teachers think they are ready so they can resit the year. Renting is an excellent idea to start with and saves any expensive mistakes, (you can read a previous article about this subject in the archives or on my website) as the taxes are high when buying here so best be sure if not only the area is right for you but also the house and lifestyle and you should be able to find a rental property within your budget there are plenty available at the moment and for long term rents you can usually negotiate pretty reasonable deals. The most important thing you have hit on in your email in my opinion is where you say your husband would be willing to try anything please remember there are many wannabe expats and they will or many of them, need to work, so there is fierce competition amongst expats for this work and as well as many people coming over to be reborn a builder or plumber etc there are people here already who are actually well established and are qualified so you need to be aware of this and do your homework well... I don´t want to sound negative and I see this and say this on a regular basis but moving your family over here can be a very rewarding experience if you have the means to set up properly and don’t set yourself too high standards and are realistic with your budget . You maybe need to think more about what you will do here for work first and perhaps look in the expat newspapers to see if there is already someone doing what you are thinking of, there are links on my website to help with this and also the forums where other people will give lots of unbiased advice. I also have a forum where there are other people who have relocated would I´m sure be happy to give you unbiased advice which is after all the best advice of all....You can find more detailed advice on renting and schools on the website good luck! Sharon

Shar sharon@ivespainforlife.com

01/06/2008 12:20

	Tracycake
1 posts

Re: Advice on emigrating to Spain?

Hi Carl & Kaila,

I also have young children, aged 5 years and 3 years, we have lived in Albatera for nearly a year now and absolutley love it! My eldest daughter has been in Spainsh school since september and she really loves it, she is picking up the language really well even though she is a very shy child. The teachers in her school are all really lovely and really help the children to settle in, there are only 2 other English children in her school and they keep them all in seperate classes to help them learn the Language quicker! My youngest will be starting in September and I think she is really ready for it! I think that your children are the perfect age to be making the move as they can learn the language sooo quickly!

My eldest Rhianna really enjoys all the school trips and Fiestas that they have, and really enjoyed the carnaval parade through the town, everyone gathers to join in the celebrations and it's a great atmosphere.

As for where to live in Spain I really think it depends on what sort of life you are looking for, we chose Albatera because we wanted somehwere we could have a large garden for the kids to play and where there were enough English people that we wouldn't feel isolated. We didn't want to be in the heavily populated urbanisations with small gardens and very little privacy! Albatera is such a lovely little town with plenty of bars and near enough to beaches that you can go for the day! We have made some really good friends here and are really grateful to Sharon as we could never have managed without all her help!

My husband Colin is a mechanic and after a shakey start with a partner and premises is now doing very well doing mobile work from home, we learned that word of mouth is the best advertising as the problem is there are too many people who rip you off and you have to prove yourself to be reliable before you can be trusted.

Hope this was of some help and good luck with your plans!

Tracy x

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