Hello everyone

i would like some advice please

me and my small family are looking for a fresh start and sick of the weather here in the uk we have no major ties now due to mum passing and we feel spain might give us that fresh easy life
we have been looking for a large country home with a rental unit so we can rent out for holiday lets to get some income in we have seen 2 property's one in Huercal-overa area and one in the tallante area and we would like to know if anyone lives in these areas so we can find out more information as i read a web page the title was I HATE SPAIN!! on google and it doesnt paint a very good picture talking abut crime and people being tied up and so on and also says about schools and bullying we have 2 small children 6 and 9 and we plan on putting them in a spanish school. we know spain aint all roses i dont think any country is. we know jobs are next to none but we hope to sell on the markets

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst myself and BEVS moderate Europe. Please read the Site Rules Site Rules | British Expatriate Community adhere to them so that the site runs smoothly. Moderators are there to ensure that the rules of BE are maintained. 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

what gives you the idea that living in Spain will give you “the easy life” ?

That wasn't the question about an easy life that's upto me on how easy or hard I work. My question was more about crime and school

Hola

If you really want to do right by your kids then give them the best education. Once they have had the best education then they can choose their own lifestyle. Education in Spain is very different to the UK; people go to the UK to give their children a better education!

Just my two pennies worth

Davexf

By the time you get there John your children will be 7 and 10, neither will find it easy to 'pick up' the language; they really need to go to an International school which is not cheap. On top of this you need to show you already have a monthly income for each member of the family (around €2500 a month in total) plus private health care for each member.

No need to take offence ! The way I read your post was that you were thinking that by moving to Spain, you would be able to enjoy an easy life. My reply was really meant to open your eyes as to how day to day life in Spain is.

I am not sure,DXF,if an English education can be considered better.My Spanish granddaughter,bi-linqual of course, was educated in Spain until she was sent to the south of England at 14 years old.Here she was an average pupil,yet going into a completely different system,she was instantly considered quite bright & gained 10 GCSE's all academic subjects except"woodwork" at A-C grades.Few English state schools mark on the Baccalaureate system as they do in European countries which is of higher standard according to my niece who is a German,French & Maths. teacher in England.My own daughter came to Spain as she was leaving primary school at age 12,& went into Spanish schooling.But she did have private Spanish language lessons to help her adapt.That was many years ago.The important thing is,will your children remain in Spain when they finish schooling as returning to UK with Spanish school qualifications will not mean much.Likewise,a British style will be unhelpful on the Continent.

Hola

That really is the point of my post; British qualifications are recognised in more countries than the equivalent Spanish qualifications.

Further I will say that it is my prediction for any child entering Spanish education now, expecting to be in the job market in 8-10 years time

Davexf

On that basis the the move should be to Singapore or maybe India!

Good suggestion

Perhaps your granddaughter can teach you punctuation?

I just finished a big SAP project for a major multinational.
The SI (system integrator) was Accenture: as usual, a combination of onshore and offshore.
Here is my point: more than 50% of the onshore team was made by young Spaniards. Very bright, with degrees from Spanish universities (not just Madrid and Barcelona, but Zaragoza too), speaking and writing very good English (the project language was English).
I take this personal experience as evidence of the Spanish education system.

Must blame that dreadful Grammar school,Missile, but I am trying hard with text speak.

Good points about the kids. But our quality of life is better than it's ever been, and I'd never consider going back.

But it's different here, and you have to acclimate. If you ultimately decide to move to "little Britain in the run", then you're going to get precisely that. You mentioned high crime and other difficulties. Well, that would probably be true in "little Britain in the sun". Many folks who try it fail miserably, and that's probably what you're reading about.

For us, we don't live anywhere near an expat enclave, and our cost of living is low, crime is almost nonexistent, and quality of life is quite high. But we speak the language(s), and have adopted the local custom.

As far as the kids... If you chose our path, not sure if the kids will adjust easily. And, we brought our money with us. And that is in itself, pretty important.

Anyway, it doesn't suck at all. As long as you're able to adapt.

Good luck...