weneedtomove

Help! Utterly confused. Considering moving my family to Spain or France. Craving insight from those who've done it!

We're an English family of 4 with 2 kids (12 and 7) and 2 dogs. We've been craving life in a warmer climate for years. We're very unsettled here in Doncaster! We love travel, new cultures, people, places and food.

We plan to move in 12-18 months time and learn the language of our chosen country between now and then. In France we've visited Provence and Dordogne - loved both. In Spain we've visited Marbella, Estepona, San Pedro, Mijas - quite a bit of that area. We love that too!

We plan to put the kids into an International School - at least for the first couple of years and see how that goes. Our eldest is in private school now and the other is in state school for the time being. We think they will settle relatively easily as they are fairly confident kids.

We plan to rent for 12 months while we explore and learn about our new home. Then, if we settle, we will buy.

We are unsure which country offers the best solution. We hear people say the French are generally less welcoming to expats / more frosty but I have not experienced this personally during our holidays there. Does anyone have any experience of integrating into a French community?

We hear the Spanish are warmer and more sociable. Spain has the better winters but summers seem stifling - not sure how our kids / dogs would cope with the heat.

France seems to offer much more property for your money but has colder winters. Climate is a big thing for us. I am not sure if the longer, warmer summers in France would make the winters seem less of a hardship. How bad are the winters in the middle/south of France?

We want to be close to sea and / or mountains ideally.

The dilemma is how the hell to choose out of all the possible towns and cities without visiting them all which is not practical! Hence we're reaching out for some opinions that might help and guide us.

Access to good schooling is obviously important and we need a home with a garden and room for the dogs to exercise as well as a pool. We realise this means we need to live a little outside the towns/cities. But we don't want to be a long trek from schools and entertainment. Rent budget is probably up to 1,800 Euros per month. Purchase budget would be up to 600k ish, maybe a bit more if necessary.

Help!!!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A puzzled.....but enthusiastic, would be expat family.

dmu

Hi and welcome to the forum!
You might do well to post on the France forum as well. Before you do, google "Ecoles Internationales France" to find out exactly where the International schools are located in France. AFAIK there aren't all that many near the sea and/or mountains. And give more info about your source of income, on which your healthcare coverage will depend. If you'll be job-seeking or working from home, or simply "inactive", all situations need researching.

weneedtomove

Ok thanks, we run a few businesses in the UK (software development, web design, adverting sales), we plan to maintain at least one of them and work from home in our new country or possibly hire a small office.

dmu

Then come over to the France forum for info. You'd have to set up a business structure and those in the know will be able to advise you. If you rent, you'd have to get written permission from the landlord to run a business in his property.
I'll leave it to the Spain members to advise on Spain!!

weneedtomove

No problem, just posted in France forum, thanks.

Boseley

The climate in the Canary islands might suit you better, we do not have really hot summers and well, winters are just not permitted.

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

rachelk

Agree. At 12, unless your son is already fluent in French/Spanish, settling into a local school might be a problem.

International schools tend to be located where there are populations of expats but this is not excusively so. You could maybe look at those in the north of Spain (there's one in Asturias for example where there'd be fewer expats than on the costas) you'd also avoid the stifling heat of the south in summer.

weneedtomove

Thank you very much, looking at Asturias now.

Fredbargate

Hi
You have considered Estepona but if you move closer to Gibraltar it will give you more options with schooling.
There is an international school at Sotogrande or you could have your children educated in Gibraltar where they teach the UK syllabus
The climate close to Gibraltar does not suffer the extremes often found in Spain

andyr35

. May I suggest that you spend the next year trying to narrow your options a little, by at least visiting both countries during their most extreme seasons, to see how you cope? My wife and I have already decided on Southern Spain, have visited in winter, and return in two weeks to sample the summer heat. Having settled on one country, throw yourselves in to language lessons and that will help your integration when you make your move. You will only get out of it what you put in. Best of luck!

mikelincs

You will also need to look at health charges, you will need to become an autonomo in Spain, for which you will pay into the Spanish SS, this will give you and the family health cover in the same way Spanish people will get it, you also need to look at what taxes you will have to pay, as a Spanish resident you will need to do tax returns every year and pay tax on your world wide income, no matter where it is generated.
However, if, as the opinion polls are showing, the UK votes to leave the EU, then all of this might/will change, and at the moment no-one knows just how this will affect expats living within the EU or wanting to move withon the EU, you will hear people saying nothing will change, but they really have no idea, they are just making a best guess. which may, or may not be right.