ChrisCDN

We moved to Canada 5 years ago, and now I want to move back to the UK. Wifey doesnt, although I dont think she's against the idea of moving from Canada.

I was wondering how much the language barrier was a hindrance in Spain? Is it possible to get by with no Spanish, whilst attempting to learn? We're a young family in our 30's, with 2 young children who are already 90% fluent in French.

I work in insurance and looking at Gibraltar (or possibly the mainland) as a possible option for a few years.

Thanks

Domino

I think you may be asking alot of the kids to start learning a third language, but it might work.
Spanish has similarity to French due to the Latin/Romano influences and there are words that are also similar to English.
But it isn't just the word its the pronunciation where you can come unstuck.

The last time I went to Gib it was by boat, but I think you will find it is part of the mainland physically even though there are some pretty tough border controls
Its a good place for Insurance people but can be expensive, I am sure Fred our man in Gib will be along later to give you some info.

But can't you capitalise on the french by going to France ??

jimenato

For yourself and your wife, not knowing any Spanish initially at least would not cause you too many problems - many people don't speak any and get by just fine.

It might be different for the children depending upon their age. If they are very young then probably no problem but if older (I'm not going to say what age because I don't know) they will struggle in Spanish school.

There are International schools in Spain where the teaching language is English and of course in a Gib school there would be no problem.

ETA you would be more likely to find a job in your field in Gibraltar (which is thriving) than in Spain (which is not), but you could still live in Spain if working in Gib.

pete_l

A lot of Spanish get taught French in school, so you might be able to use that as a lingua franca if the Canadian version isn't too different. Apropos not speaking Spanish: the situation is also a lot better now than it was just a few years ago - Google translate is available in most situations on your phone/tablet and I'm sure it will only improve. So there's little chance that you'd get stuck for words (though obviously that's no way to conduct a job interview). The biggest problem is understanding the spanish-speaker you're trying to converse with.