Moving to Spain

How many of you are living in spain now just out of interest ?  Would like to hear from anyone that have children that  have moved over to spain recently or are thinking of moving . I have and always will put my children first just looking for some advice and hear other peoples experiences and your right no one knows what is going to happen with  the whole Brexit thing tbh but then again no one knows how their lives are going to pan out sometimes we just have to go with what we feel is right for us at the time x

The answers you have received come from people who know what life is like in Spain

the advice given appears to suggest that it is not a good idea to bring children of that age to Spain to live, because of the reasons given

you seem to find it hard to accept that advice 

If Spain was that good, why do you think thousands of Spanish have left, with many of them landing here in the UK.

Spain is brilliant for some, but certainly not all.  For a start you need to be self sufficient cash wise and not need employment - as you probably won't get any.  If you do, the wage is likely to be a fraction of what you expect.

Spain seems to suit the newly retired and perhaps those who've won the Lottery.  There are quite a few Brits who've started their own business, some do OK, but those who have opened restaurants have tended to struggle.  Some contractors do OK, particularly if they gain a good reputation with the British market, but this is very limited and the day rate they can charge is usually about half what they would earn in the UK.

Not sure many move to Spain with school age children.  Besides anything else I suspect that the Spanish schools might be reluctant to accept the children if they don't speak fluent Spanish.  They would disrupt the class.  Also some Spanish schools avoid British children as they don't tolerate their bad behaviour.

You were doing alright, Acer, until that last paragraph. There are loads of school age children from UK here. The school bus comes by us each day and it is packed full of Brit kids. Most of the Dads, however, work back in UK and commute here either weekly or monthly. The schools do take Brit kids and they seem to integrate quite well.

However, 14 would seem a very bad age to do so. The disruption in education would be massive at that age. I have a 14 year old grandson back in UK who is preparing for his mock GCSE (or whatever they are now). Younger kids pick up the language very quickly  but 14 would be a bit too old to do that. Also, here in Spain, kids who don't do particularly well are held back a year and many of those held back are Brits, not because of the language problems but because of the the poor standard, especially in maths. (I get this from some of the parents I talk to). 14 would need to be at an international school which is expensive.

"Not sure many move to Spain with school age children.  Besides anything else I suspect that the Spanish schools might be reluctant to accept the children if they don't speak fluent Spanish.  They would disrupt the class.  Also some Spanish schools avoid British children as they don't tolerate their bad behaviour."

What the ?????

Ignoring the above quote, we chose to come to Spain seven years ago - only really as we had an apartment here and were relocating back to Europe from the Middle East and hadn't lived in the UK for decades.  Our son was ten years old when we moved here and we chose to put him into an international school as we didn't want to stress him out any further by putting him in a Spanish school.  It was the best decision we ever made!!  He is in his final year of IB Diploma and will be heading to University next year, probably in the UK. 

Not everyone moving to Spain is coming from the UK and not everyone moving to Spain is retired or a lottery winner and not everyone moving to Spain needs to find work, and to label someone moving to Spain with their family as "pure self indulgence" is insulting!!  Some people on here should open their eyes and realise that not everything in Spain has to be compared to the UK!

If there is nothing to stop you moving here and a great experience to be gained by doing so, then why the hell not????

Kazza72 you have had Lott's of advice ,so when you have made the move please come back and tell us on EOS how you are getting on ,we seem to get at least 1 post per week on hear regarding this subject but know one  comes back to say how well they are getting on .

On EOS the idea is that each person expresses their own opinion, this might not necessary have to be the same as Pitby's.  

It's likely that a move mid way through their school studies will be disruptive, particularly if the children are not fluent in Spanish.  This might be minimised if an International School is used, but not everyone can afford that option.

If you don't make comparisons with the UK how else do you decide what's best?

Kazza72 has already stated :  

"i know we would have to put him into a private international school but i am wondering if this will benefit him much more than staying here ?"

As Ian has said, if your son is up for moving, then this can only be beneficial for him.  He will have the opportunity to speak another language in his daily life (as opposed to just during a school lesson and if he doesn't already know Spanish), he will engage with multiple nationalities (there are over 40 nationalities in my son's school) and the education (at least at the private schools I know of) is of a very good quality, with excellent results being achieved at most.  I can certainly vouch for my son's school!

I can't compare the lifestyle to the UK as we don't know what it's like to live there with a family - but comparing it to the Middle East, Spain wins hands down!!!

As has been said before, though, this is a decision that has to be made with your son - our son was just 10yo when we made the decision, but your son is older and will have a valid opinion to consider.

I am accepting all the comments thank you Camposol and appreciate peoples opinions as i said in my original post i am new to this and am taking everything into consideration its helpful to me to hear other peoples experiences just like to add that Not All Children From Britain are Bad Behaved Acer and yes Windtaker i will gladly put on hear my thought once we finally make the move thanks every much appreciated x

"Not All Children From Britain are Bad Behaved"

Kazza, of course they're not!  But there is a perception amongst a few Spainish schools that their classes are being disrupted by some British children who come from a different cultural background.  

Wider than that is a minor anti Brit niggle in some areas, particularly in the touristy parts.  To be honest whenever we go into a restaurant we prefer to try to sit amongst the Spanish who are usually far better behaved.  I think they only tolerate us as we contribute quite substantially to their economy. 

Pitby - we had a similar decision to you a few years ago and decided we would go with what we thought was best for the children's education and return to the UK.  I'm not vaguely saying we are "holier than thou" just that these decisions are based on different perceptions, priorities and experiences.  Our choice seemed the safe option at the time.