Newbie to here and hopefully to Spain!

Hi I'm Ros. Me and my daughters have made the decision to move to Spain! I'm doing lots of research into all the legal stuff, but don't really know where to look to live! I've found a nice town called Alberic, seems to have a nice expat community and schools. Can anyone recommend any other towns please? My kids are 9 and 12 and I'll also be bringing my mum (she's 70 and not great at walking). Many thanks for any advice and info. x

Hello Ros and welcome to EOS.

That's like asking what numbers should I pick for the lottery. You will get the usual telling you how great it is where they live, not sure if they are just trying to convince themselves.

How long's a piece of string? How many towns are there in Spain? These kind of announcements seem to be so frequent and the replies so pointless, so rather than add to them, I'd like to ask a question instead: I'd be interested to know exactly why you've decided to move to Spain? And how did you hit on Alberic? Seems a bit random.

Yes I know its like asking how long is a piece of string, but I have to start somewhere. And so peoples view on where they live and why they are nice could be a good start. If not this approach, then I might as well just stick a pin into the map of spain and go there!

I have always liked Spain, the food, the culture,and always said I'd retire there. My life in England is dull, I work to pay for a house just so my kids can go to school. I don't have much going on here. So why not follow my dream and expand my kids horizons too.

I found Alberic whilst searching for properties that matched my list of requirements.

Hope that does't sound too pointless.

Hi Roz

It doesn't seem pointless at all.  It's easy to forget that we all had to start somewhere when we were looking to relocate to Spain.  I remember how eager I was to hear from others doing, or having done, the same. Hopefully, you'll get some feedback from people that live in the sort of area you seem to be looking for ie; where there's a good expat community with good schools nearby.  You must have spent some time in Spain if, as you say, you like it.  Where did you stay and how do you feel about being back there?  When are you hoping to go?  As has been mentioned many times, learn as much of the language as you can before going.  The languages differ somewhat in different areas of Spain so it may not be Castellano that will be your number one language.

I have to admit, I wish we had moved to Spain when my kids were younger and my Mum said she would come, too.  We waited until the children were grown up, by which time my Mum wasn't fit enough to move to another country.  We came back after a year because her health was failing and I wanted to spend time with her.  Now, we go to Spain for several weeks or months during the cold, winter months here.

Good luck and hold onto that dream.

A 9 and a 12 year old. You may need to look into schooling for them. The 9 year old would probably get up to speed in a year (they seem t o do so) but the 12 year old may struggle. Unless you are putting them in private (international) schools then it will all be done in Spanish with the added complication of the Valencian language in that area. 

From what I've heard, most kids of that age are put back a year in schooling until they catch up with the language. It also won't be long until the eldest is looking to either go into further education or leaving school (time will fly and it's only 4 years of so) and the youth unemployment in Spain is running at around 37% even now (was up to almost 50% not so long ago).

Just something to think about and you'd have to check on international schools where you are looking at or put them in a Spanish state school straight away.

Lovely idea to move to Spain and it's great for family life. Just when they get older is the problem and I have seen many middle teen Brit kids hanging around with nothing to do. 

Hi Ros.

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately some people seem to enjoy belittlng new members for asking genuine questions, and they don't offer any advice. I would agree with mariedav regarding your childrens education and the youth unemployment rate in Spain. Unfortunately our place is in Murcia so I can't offer any insights about Alberic. Good luck in your search.

Ros, Most folk, when asked why a particular place, say it was because when actually there it felt right.

Unfortunately this doesn’t apply when choosing a place to live via www however appealing a photograph is, or asking others whose ideal of utopia might be quite the opposite to yourself.

From your last post you obviously know Spain so why not start in the places you are already acquainted with and search for international schools in that locale.

Hope whatever improvements you desire, in your life, will happen.

Good luck

You did not mention ...if you are looking at renting or buying ..I also take it that you are under retirement age and have taken the cost of living and private NHS care  into consideration .. maybe if you could give the members more information on how you are going to finance your move they will be able to give you more help.

You did not mention ...if you are looking at renting or buying ..I also take it that you are under retirement age and have taken the cost of living and private NHS care  into consideration .. maybe if you could give the members more information on how you are going to finance your move they will be able to give you more help.

Jarvi: I don't know if you were referring to me when you said some people enjoy "belittling" new members, but as you can see, it would appear that my question prompted not only further info from the OP, without which it would be almost impossible to offer anything constructive anyway, but also some responses from other members that probably would not have been forthcoming otherwise, including some sound advice regarding the youngsters.

Of course it's great to hear from others who have done / are doing it, but it's all too easy to hear the positives you are hoping for and filter out the negatives. I clearly remember hearing all sorts of encouragement from the wrong people, and then one day having a random conversation with a German chap who had no reason to be negative, but just happened to unwittingly give me a serious reality check which probably saved me making a huge mistake. I was and am forever grateful to him - even though others would probably have labelled him a pessimist.

So, at the risk of being slammed for my negativity....

"I found Alberic whilst searching for properties that matched my list of requirements." - do not forget the old adage, location, location, location! I know absolutely nothing about Alberic, but perhaps you should be searching for the right place first, and then looking for suitable properties, rather than looking for properties that match your criteria, and hoping that the location is OK too. 

Hence why I've been asking about nice places to look at so that I can then look at properties there. Obviously excitement on making a decision leads you to property websites.

I'm not feeling very welcome here, this post has gone a bit sour in a very short space of time :o(

Rozzymoo a family of 4 ..if they are renting will need a minimum of €25,000 per year including rent ...if you can buy a place outright ...then you should get by on €20,000 ,as you are under UK retirement age you will need private NHS for you and the kids ..if you can get a full time  job and pay into the Spanish system this will cover you and the 2 kids for NHS ..your mother will get free NHS and keep her UK pension which is Taxable in Spain ..any benefits that you are receiving from the UK for you and the kids are not transferable to Spain including family allowance ...we get at least 2 Post's per week on EOS from dreamer's with the UK winter blues that think the sun Shine's everyday in Spain ..at this moment it is ( 6 )above freezing in you chosen Spanish location.good luck .

Children under 18 who are resident in Spain get free healthcare (under 26 if in full time education). 

Rozzymoo, please don't he disheartened, me and my family are doing exactly the same thing you are doing, don't he put off by some of the negative comments on here, there are some helpful people. At the end of the day, if it doesn't work out for you its not the end of the world, at least you will have given it a try and your children will have had a life enriching experience. I don't know why some of the people on here stay in Spain when they have nothing positive to say. You go for it.

Mark Twain said: "Learn from the mistakes of others - you won't live long enough to make them all yourself." That's not negativity, that's good sound sensible advice. There are people on here with a wealth of knowledge on very specific issues that you can tap into as and when you need it - based on very real experiences, unfortunately not always good. Moving to another country, especially with kids who you are responsible for, is going to be full of challenges and problems that you probably won't have anticipated (even if you think you've covered all bases), so if you are disheartened by a few seemingly negative comments - then you should give up now. You need to be able to take the rough with the smooth. One day you'll probably look back and realise that the negative comments were the most useful!

It is not that easy to become a Resident of Spain... Google ( do I need proof of income to become a resident of Spain) ..each member of the family including children must have approximately €4,000 each per year to live on ..so a families of 4 will need to have a minimum of €16,000 paid into a Spanish bank account at least  3 months before a residence application will be considered this was implemented last April ...what that basically means is you will not be able to send you kids to a Spanish school of get free Spanish NHS until you. Pay into the Spanish system for 3 months you must prove you will not become a burden to Spain.…why Doe's someone like me have to tell you this ...I thought you people had done the research ....for your sake and the children's stop dreaming and looking at sunny pictures of Spain ...in some parts of Spain youth unemployment is over 80% ...average unemployment is around 30% .across Spain.

I have many Spanish friends who have lived in the south of Spain all their lives. In the last 10 years the economy has declined to such a drastic extent that has made their lives very difficult.

I know highly qualified very bright people who cannot find decent employment and when they do it's usually on short term 3 month contracts at the minimum wage. In Spain that's €7 per hour.

If local people struggle to make a living it will be twice or three times as difficult for expats. Please consider the likely difficulties you will face before making a move that will very likely cause you substantial financial hardship. You may find bar work in the summer season but that would not support a family.

It's good to have dreams but they need to be realistic. Perhaps if you considered moving to Madrid or Barcelona employment may be easier if you have skills employers want. However I doubt you would get preference over fluent Spanish speakers with the same skill set.

Recently Bloomberg published a list of the ten most miserable economies around the world. Venezuela was at the top. Spain was number 8 just below Greece.

Spain is a wonderful country to retire to with an income. Anything else will be a life long struggle.

Well ! I for one am confused by this sentence, rozzymoo. 

I'm not feeling very welcome here, this post has gone a bit sour in a very short space of time  !!!

WHY!!!

Of all the responders only 3 are Spanish residents and none of us  has written anything remotely negative.  If highlighting facts for your consideration is upsetting then relocating to another country with children and a parent with mobility issues is going to be traumatic.   Trust me.

15 + years ago there was no-one to ask when I desired to relocate to Spain but if there had it would have saved lots of problems.  Took 2 years of personally investigating and visiting Spain and I suspect it was much the same for Roberto and Mariedav.

Instead we had, and still have, to find out the hard way but through this are willing to share our knowledge.

Then to be accused of making folk feel unwelcome ( or worse as recent queries by folk who appear to have stuck a pin in a map of Spain, show ) backed up by other apparent “newbies” and U.K. tax residents, is it any wonder we are slow to respond.

Have a dream....GO for it.....BUT when responses to your  questions are not to your liking ..then, without complaint, either take it on the chin..or throw in the towel.

Good luck.

Rossymoo 

You only have to look at my SITUATION to realise its a NO GOER I lived the DREAM you TALK ABOUT but decided in my infinite WISDOM to return to BLIGHTY as I COULD see all this coming A MILE OFF 

SPAIN is ok for a WEEKS holiday but as ROBERTO says its living satndards are VERY LOW and the place is back to FRANCO like times

Also the BENEFITS system does not exist so REMEMBER THAT

Love Hugh xx