DublintoIbiza

Hello everyone,

Hope you're all doing well and enjoying life wherever you may be.

My wife and i(46) are thinking of moving from Dublin to Ibiza with our 2 children(both 12) roughly this time next year.We know we face a number of obstacles,namely employment,language,schooling and community but hopefully we will overcome them with some guidance from this community.

We own 3 houses in a good location in Dublin,2 of which are rented out while we are living in the third which we have a smallish mortgage on.Along with a few quid in the bank,we will rent out all 3 houses in order to fund our life while looking for employment in Ibiza,although we would like to secure part time work prior to moving if possible.How much would we need a year to live on?Would the 3 houses in Dublin provide enough to live on(45,000 pre tax) if we don't secure employment?What is employment/unemployment like at this time?

We don't speak Spanish but have signed ourselves and the kids up for lessons which start in a few weeks time and plan on continuing with further courses up until the move which will hopefully give us a basic understanding of the language.
This lack of Spanish leads us to another problem,the kids schooling.They are currently in primary and will be moving into seconday school in a year,in a new country with only the basics at best.We feel it would be very difficult for them to enter the public school system with such little understanding of the language but cannot afford the English speaking school on the island.
We have planned on getting in touch with a private and more affordable Spanish speaking school in the hope that their approach(includes a fair bit of English) would enable the kids to intergrate and pick up the language a bit quicker and easier.Are we crazy?Will they pick up enough of the language in 12 months without affecting their education during the move and subsequent year or 2?

We think now is the time to make a permanent move to Ibiza before the kids begin the next stage of their education as to move them in a few years would be unfair.

Any advice would be appreciated,go easy on us.

your new neighbours

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

Pulaski

In my opinion, at age 12/13 you have already left it 4-5 years too late for them to transition painlessly into a school system which teaches in another language.

Personally I wouldn't willingly move a 12 or thirteen year old between English speaking countries, or even to a different school in the same country - it's tough enough being a teenager without tearing them away from all their friends!

DublintoIbiza

Making a move at this point is not ideal but shouldn't be impossible. I'm sure many have done it in the past,hopefully their experiences can help make things a little easier than it could be without their advice.

As for taking the kids away from their friends and the issues surrounding that, this will come down to individual circumstances /situation and is something we have already considered and discussed at great detail with the kids.Causing them unnecessary turmoil is not in the plan, if they are not happy to do this it won't be happening.

Thanks for your response and your honesty,every bit of advice is appreciated.

mikelincs

Your biggest problem will be the kids and education, they are too old to seamlessly integrate into Spanish school unless they are already fluent in Spanish, so would need to go into an International School, which will be very expensive, you also need to consider Health costs, unless either of you get legally contracted Spanish jobs, then you will need to provide private health cover, and unemployment is high in Spain so you will be competing with native Spanish speakers, who are very likely to have very good English skills as well. I suggest you have a good look at the Spanish job market there before committing to anything.

Rosemary

I do not think that we have many members living in Ibiza so you may find that the information you receive will be from our members living on the mainland who have experiences of the school system.

Rosemary

DublintoIbiza

Certain things i'm hoping would be similar no matter where you settle, although I know there will some differences,with a bit of luck they can still be overcome.
So advice from anyone who has made,researched or considered a move to spain is greatly appreciated as most people's situations will have some similarities to our own.

Maybe a tweak of the thread title is needed.:-)

Rosemary

PM sent.

Rosemary

DublintoIbiza

How long do you think it would take to pick up enough of the language before moving abroad. As you have said it really is about the kids,their education,how long and how well they can integrate into the community and school.

morpeth

Depends a lot on the children in terms of their aptitude and diligence. We had one child move to a new country/school/language at that age- first year very difficult, by second year somewhat tolerable- by third year everything fine. We found that non-school activities helped enormously in the child becoming comfortable in the new language, in our case it was football. We also "forced" immersion, no English language television nor movies, and we secured a secondary school student to tutor the child regularly along with the school. We didn't allow our children to play video games, but if you do, then perhaps have them play the Spanish version. We would watch films , initially with subtitles in the local language before the move, The Spanish accent is a pain in the neck ( compared to say Mexican or Colombian accents). You may also consider carefully whether a private or government school more appropriate in terms of language immersion. We also chose a location with the least amount of foreigners so that child had more opportunity to be surrounded by the local language.

My wife teaches Spanish online at university level, often with some of her students she locates students at same age in Spanish-speaking country she is from to practice with the student via Skype- one conversation to practice Spanish, one to practice English. Seems to work well with younger students to get them used to language and realize the similarities in youth culture any where.

Good luck !

dougal03

I think it is not quite correct to think that children of 12years etc.find it hard to adapt to a foreign language/customs.There are loads of us grown ups who have done just that.In my area,near to Benidorm,there are plenty of my Spanish granddaughter's pals who are also Spanish born but with each parent a different nationality so they are at least tri-linqual.Even I must have picked up a few hints because I can understand my Australian brother-in-law OK!

mikelincs

Yes, you are correct, but these are two children at a very specific and difficult time of their education, learning the lessons is difficult enough, but when they are in a different language and you are not fluent, then it just becomes so much harder. Much simpler if one of the parents is Spanish as they will pick up the language just by talking from a very early age.

dougal03

Our daughter was 12 & just about to start Secondary school.She is now fluent Spanish,married a Spanish man & operates a business with 2 of her employees Spanish,catering for all nationalities.I would be more concerned that DublintoIbiza can get Health care cover sorted out promptly.

DublintoIbiza

It's not something i had thought about in great detail as i didn't think it was as complicated as others seem to suggest.I take it it's not as simple as upping my current health insurance to take in international cover.

Pulaski

I think you were lucky. Others have huge problems even without their teenager having to learn a new language. ..... One BE'er reported that taking her teenage son to the US was pretty much a catastrophe, leading him to give up/ drop out.

A highschool fiend of mine went on to become a doctor, his younger brother a teacher, but their older brother, who moved around age 15, never settled and went on to achieve pretty much nothing .... and that was only a move of a couple of hundred miles across the UK!