D4HWT

Hello,
I, like most in this forum have become disillusioned with life in UK and am looking to sell up and live overseas.
Spain has become the destination of choice due to its closeness to UK and having a fairly large expat community.
I would continue to work offshore and would be bringing my wife and 3 children. I'm not too sure on where to settle but have been looking into the Andalucia areas and will be heading there for some weekend breaks to get a feel for the place.
My main problem is i would like to remain a UK resident for taxation purposes as i would be out of Spain as much as i would be in the country due to my work. Would my wife and children have to get residencia before being able to enrol in any school. I think i would have to pay spanish NI contributions for them but i'm really not sure how the system works.
The taxation side for myself makes this a viable move to give us a better standard of living and i would probably rent for the first 11 months before committing to buying property.
With my wife and children being left for up to 1 month with me being away it is important to find somewhere with a reasonable size expat community.
Apologies for this post being so long, any ideas of areas or info is greatly appreciated.


Dave

jonsol

First of all, wellcome to the forum, and dont worry about the length of questions , While you are waiting for advice have a search in this forum for some of the things mentioned on your question ( schools etc., ), there is a lot of info out there , but be prepared to spend a lot of time looking and reading it ..

Hillybilly

They wouldn't need residencia before being able to enrol in school but they do have to be on the padron of wherever you decide to live.
If you are remaining as a tax resident of the UK you will not be able to pay Spanish NI contributions - you can only do that if you are employed or self-employed here in Spain.
If your wife is not working here and therefore not contributing you will need to sort out your health care - you may be covered here under the state health care system for up to 2 years if your UK NI contributions are up to date but then you will need private cover.

D4HWT

Thanks a lot for your replies...I will indeed have a good search through the forum. I have found some sound advice already.

Cheers

Dave

spain

enrolling into the school is pretty easy (well it was for us) went to the school on the Wednesday and he started the following Monday - didnt have a padron at the time and all the school asked for was copy of his red book from England

but of course as with everything in Spain this will probably vary from area to area

chrisd

Andalucia is a great place to be and it will give the opportunity for your kids to grow up speaking two languages well. It is not difficult to enrol in schools in the south of spain as it is something they are well used to by now. Healthcare is important and you will need to be contributing to receive medical care in Spain however, there are many private medical options at a reasonable cost until you get to this stage. Deciding where you want to be is the most important thing right now, once you have found the area, you can then decide on all the rest. Apart from this site, there are loads of information sites about moving, living and working in Spain. The largest part of your time now will be spent doing research but it´ll be worth the time. Good luck and keep asking....

D4HWT

Thanks again for some more good advice.
I have been looking into schooling as i have 3 kids aged 14,12 and 9.
My eldest has had extra help at school since he started primary school as he has a slight learning difficulty which means he is not as quick as other kids his age at picking things up..Although he is getting much better as he gets older.
I am worried that putting him into a state school may hinder his progress due to the language barrier at the outset. AT 5000-7000 euros each term it is a lot of money to go private when you have 3 kids.
My wife and i are looking to come out next week for a look about and we intend to look round Andalucia coastal areas then head up towards Alicante area.Just to get a feel for these areas and try and find out some more about schooling etc.

Thanks

spain

it quite common for new kids to start at school a year lower than they should to allow them to get to grips with the language

and even the Spanish kids are held back a year if they do not pass their yearly exams

in our school the children that dont do RE are taken out of the class and given extra help in any areas they are having difficulty with - so when my son started they used that time to help him with the language

its natural you will worry but honestly your kids will be fine - I know someone who came over when their child was 14, they are now getting top marks in all their lessons are staying on in the 6th form

poollounger

I have no experience of schools etc but perhaps private tutelage as an extra for you eldest might not be exorbitant ??
I find it interesting that you choose Spain for it's large expat community and proximity to Britain, but have expressed no affection fo Spanish culture or lifestyle. I think this is so important from an integration aspect, otherwise we end up with a replay of the colonialism that created little Englands in countries like India, where resentment grew and grew.

Mitzyboy

Well of course a good point, but lets not forget that different people come here for different reasons. Not everyone wants to emerse themselves in the local culture, and many people want to live in a Brit community and live as they did in England, but in the warmth.

And its not just the Brits, its the same with the Dutch, Germans and to a lesser extent the French. They too have enclaves dotted up and down the costas .... I seem to remember going to Moraira some years ago and thinking I was in Germany

The point I'm making, I guess, is that if someone chooses (and I'm not saying this poster is) to go to a Brit community and live amongst Brits then I guess they have a right to. Not what I'd choose, but there you go!

D4HWT

Hi again, I used to work on a ship for 7 years with a lot of spanish crew , mainly from the north around the Vigo area so i know how friendly they are and i have no qualms about embracing the spanish culture. My main reason to go somewhere with an expat community is really to make things a bit easier for my wife and kids when i am away at work. Obviously the longer we are there then the easier it will become to integrate in the local communities which i think is important.

poollounger

Apologies D4... you seem to have the right initial approach. I personally would love to live in Spain,I think, not because I am disillusioned with Britain, because I am not, but because of the different lifestyle, with a greater degree of predictable weather, and a love of Spanish, in particular Andalucian, culture.
Mitziboy I personally deplore ghettos of any kind, based on race, class, nationality, or any other demarcation,but I recognise that many people need to indulge tribal instincts.
However we constantly castigate immigrants to Britain for creating expat communities, then do exactly the same when we chose to live elsewhere.
And I appreciate that the Brits are not unique. I enjoy meeting the local expats when I am in Spain, some of whom I have made acquaintance with via this forum, but would hate to be without the many Spanish friends either, nor live surrounded by expats, especially the kind who tell you how awful Britain is at every given opportunity.

jonsol

Was that ship the Reina Del Mar D4HWT ?

D4HWT

No apology required, you made a valid point...
Looking forward to be beginning the search on thursday!!
The ship was the Apache and there were about 30 spanish deck crew..unfortunately they all got replaced with cheaper filipino labour but i spent 7 good years with them and found them really nice and very respectful.