| The Comments |
Hi I'm Gail,
I'm a 27 year old mum of 2 girls aged 5 and 8 I am married to Andy and we live in West Yorkshire,
I am currently a student Nurse at in the and I qualify in September 2009,
When I qualify we are hoping to move permanantly to Spain, I have been wanting to move to Spain for a few years, I love the thought of the climate the and the relaxed lifestyle, we have a mortgage in the UK and also a lot of equity so we are hoping to buy a cheaper house in Spain and hopefully reduce our mortgage, so then we will have less stress etc.., I am hoping to find work in a local hospital or health centre, and Andy will be in charge of the kids and house until he finds work,( he is a bit worried about the language barrier), we are also unsure about Spanish schools?, will the girls find it hard to fit in as they don't speak Spanish, can anyone recommend a Spanish language course for children?,
Also we are not sure where in Spain to move? have been looking at Murcia and Costa Calida, does anyone live there?
sorry for all the questions!!!,
Thanks, Gail xxx 
0
Like
|
Hi Gail, welcome to the forum. We're just about to move to Spain having spent the last year organising it, so I know how many questions are going through your mind. Have a look at the articles on Living in Spain, from the menu above, there is a whole section on kids in Spain and covers schooling etc, plus a really good article from the kids pint of view. There is also a thread on here about the best ways to learn Spanish and you will find a number of suggestions on there.
I found just reading all the various threads on here made me aware of questions I didn't even know I needed to ask, and there is always someone with an answer, a lot of the basics will have already been covered and the information will be here, it's just sometimes a case of finding it.
We were originally thinking of moving to Murcia but after a few trips have decided we like to countryside of Almeria better, and so we are of in 2 weeks.
Best of luck with your research and I hope you all achieve your dream.
Jacqui
Edited: Spelling mistakes - oops!
_______________________
Jacqui
http://relocatetospain.blogspot.com our adventure from deciding to move to Spain to being here and moving back to the UK.
0
Like
|
Hi Gail,
Some of the Spanish schools now have classes for international pupils were they are taught in Englaish, but get to integrate with the Spanish and learn the language. I have a friend who has a 2 yeard old who goes to a Spanish nursery, he didnt speak english or spanish before they moved over to spain (they are icelandic) and now after a cpl of months he is talking in Spanish more than in Icelandic, he has done really well, at a young age they seem to pick it up very easily.
All the best
_______________________
www.casasmanuel.com
0
Like
|
_______________________
0
Like
|
Thanks for all the replies!,
Does anyone know more about the Murcia area? I am open to ideas and suggestions so if anyone can reccommend any other areas with good schools and facilities I will be grateful x
0
Like
|
Hi Gail,
Have tou tried contacting Torrevieja Hospital.
It hasn't been open that long but is winning awards and praise for it high standars in cleanliness and quality.
The reason i am posting this as i know they were recruiting for both British and English speaking staff.
There are some lovely surrounding areas to live in with great schools about 30 mins drive to the hospital.
Just an idea
Regards
Georgia
_______________________
www.taylorlandandpropertygroup.co.uk
still here after all these years!
0
Like
|
As a qualified nurse you will find good jobs anywhere in the world including Spain
The Spanish schools cater for young children and the language is normally only a problem for the parents even after a relative short time
Costa Blanca is probably the best location as you will be close to all the up to date [ Sports Centres etc] that a family needs and you can live a little inland and still have a Spanish environment
Almeria which I like a lot does have all the facilities but is a touch quieter and about 25 mins you can get a 2 bed 2 bath villa 400m2 plot close to a busy town with Sports Centre. Olympic pool from circa £136.000
Costa Blanca 2 bed maisonettes from circa £84,000 and a really nice 3 bed villa with pool about 10 mins or so from coats from £192.000
Plan your move... many have found the life style change great.....but only those who take a realistic approach stay and never look back
_______________________
0
Like
|
Hi again,
Georgia- I will definately contact the Torrevieja Hospital to enquire about the possibility of work there in the future, is this a nice area to live?,
rowlandsbb- Costa blanca and Almeria both sound good, I like the Idea of Almeria being a bit quieter, the house prices sound okay too,
Ive seen a loads of cheap houses and ruins on Spanish property websites for around £50,000 but they seem to need loads of work and are in the middle of nowhere!
0
Like
|
Cheap country properties and ruins come with problems..they can be sorted but you have to make sure that there is a good title and with ruins that you comply with all the legalities....not an easy option and one that most people find gives them a lot of worry ....do not take any risks!
_______________________
0
Like
|
hi gail,
The area i live in is about 25 mins from the hospital and the Spanish call it the "huerta de europa" orchard of europe, you can get property with beautiful surroundings but also close to all the amenities,ie banks,shops,schools,dance clubs and on and on.......
Its a happy medium between being out in the mountains and slap bang in the middle of the town.
You will find some ruins very cheap but also very isolated and a lot of work.
I wouldnt recomend this to anyone with a young family as it can be a very painstaking process.
Moving to a new county with a family can be stressful enough without taking on a building project in a somewhere that you are unfamiliar with the associated rules and laws.
Good luck.
Kind Regards
Georgia
_______________________
www.taylorlandandpropertygroup.co.uk
still here after all these years!
0
Like
|
Where abouts do you live Georgia? could you give me more info about house prices, schools etc.. Thanks x
0
Like
|
Hello Gail
You could still buy in Murcia and travel to Torrevieja hospital from Murcia if you use the new motorway. There is a toll of about 2.5 euros in summer and less in winter but you could be there in about 40 mins. We had our first property in Cuidad Quesada but decided urbanisation life was not for us. We also looked in Almeria for country properties but decided we prefered Murcia. Now we have good shopping facilities, motorways and new airport due late 2009 /2010. If you need any further info please PM me.
Jean
0
Like
|
|
So you find Murcia easier to fly into than Alicante More.Then I assume you hire a car at the airport.Just asking for obvious reasons.
_______________________
If you're going through hell keep on going, you might get out before the devil even knows you're there.
0
Like
|
Murcia airport is much easier to get in and out of than Alicante although it has limited facilities. Hiring a car is easy as, all except one, are on the airport and in the baggage arrivals bit. The off airport one is moving into the airport very soon. You can get your car sorted while the bags are arriving which saves time. About 20 to 25 minutes drive to Torrevieja as opposed to 40 from Alicante and even less to places like Cartagena, Murcia and Almeria.
Regarding work as a nurse, not just the hospital in Torrevieja but some of the medical centres were advertising for British nurses last year due to the high proportion of expats in the area. Quesada was one such place but don't know if they are still looking.
Schools in Torrevieja are plentiful but look on the threads regarding this. Also look at Healthcare. Murcia and Almeria don't give carte blanche healthcare regardless of age, unilke the Torrevieja/Alicante areas which provide free cover to all residents. This may change in the future. You don't need to live in Torrevieja itself, even though there are some nice places there, as there are lots of towns in the area with good facilities. El Galan, San Pedro, Quesada, San Miguel, Guardamar, Rojales to name just a few. I know El Galan has a regular school pick-up bus and quite a lot of kids (all nationalities) use it to get back and forth and I imagine most of the other places do too.
House prices are no longer cheap in Spain. The days of the 50 grand house with swimming pool are long gone, I'm afraid. Prices are not that far behind UK with a 3 bed house costing £140,000 and up but, due to the so-called housing crisis, there are some bargains to be found with decent ones around 120K. Don't forget to add 10% for expenses and taxes.
Would also agree that rural housing (ex finca etc.) can be very isolated and not much good for kids who will be looking to mix with friends and have swimming pools/beaches etc close by.
Good luck with your search.
0
Like
|
Hi Acapulco
We find Murcia so much less stressful as it's so much smaller & timings from Bristol & back to Bristol are more to our taste. We generally arrive at Murcia 8.20pm, depending when we travel, Sundays a little earlier. We often get back into Bristol 10.25pm too so home by prearranged taxi for 11.30pm or before that as we're only a 25 min drive at Weston Super Mare.
Only one flight into Murcia, one flight out each day unlike Alicante that has two each way daily. Murcia only has flights on alternate days in winter too from Bristol. We then fly into Alicante though time's now not the issue it was, so Murcia for us.
From Murcia you can get on the AP7 motorway & drive all the way to the exit for Quesada too. We tend to drive so far on AP7 then come off onto the N332 just before the toll booth as we enjoy driving through the built up areas of Playa Flamenca, La Zenia & Cabo Roig. Plenty of supermarkets often still open if you're lucky too. We aren't far from N332 either just outside Guardamar.
We have been using Auriga Crown, the off site hire car (through http://www.doyouspain.com/ ) It's going to be within the airport soon but we are going to try Econorent through http://www.hirecarsinspain.com/ Econorent guarantee a full/full fuel & only charge 16€ per hire period for extra insurance to cover tyres, underside, windscreen. Janeb on here recommended them to us on the forum. Cheaper too.
This message was last edited by morerosado on 4/27/2008.
_______________________
0
Like
|
|
From what I've read on forums, Gail, most youngsters of that age cope well. At least there'll be two learning & at the same school. There will obviously be some who don't but you will have time to help them before going.
Look in HERE all about children learning Spanish, words, songs etc. See Spanish toys too which have lots of things for kids in Spanish so you can prepare them.
_______________________
0
Like
|
Hi Gail, my youngest son was 9 my eldest 11 when we moved here and they both love it here, after a couple of months of private spanish classes we threw them in at the deep end and sent them to spanish school. I think the first day was harder for us parents than the boys and we spent all day worrying about them only for them to come home full of it. Looking back they took it all in their stride and it only took a couple of months for them to be talking enough spanish to do the same school work as the spanish children. 5 years on my eldest is due to leave school in june and go to college and i couldnt be prouder of them both. I know you will worry but im sure youll find it easier once you are here. Good luck with your move
_______________________
mazz
0
Like
|
Thanks for the reassurance,
Its nice to know that other people have been through the same thing and things have turned out well, My eldest daughter has been bullied at school in the past so is quite sensitive, I'm less worried about my 5 year old as she is younger and quite easy going, nothing seems to bother her!,
I'm going to do some more research on areas, and then hopefully have a few visits later on in the year,
I really like the sound of Almeria and Murcia- is Torrevieja in Murcia?, and does anyone live in the surrounding towns/villages of El Galan, San Pedro, Quesada, San Miguel, Guardamar, Rojales? 
0
Like
|