JK2014

Dear All
I am new to Spain and the Expat Forum.
I am looking at moving to Valladolid in the coming months, anyone got any advice on living in Castilla y Leon? Valladolid? Teaching English in the city? Is there a demand for English teaching?
Many thanks for any advice in advance.
JK

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Retired in Euskadi

Any reason why Valladolid? Is it because it has the reputation of an area where they speak the best castellano.?
I´m sure there are lots of opportunities for English teaching if you´re a "native" speaker. Equally, Salamanca is a vibrant city, much like Cambridge or Oxford.
Castilla y León is full of culture.
Many people on this site tend to live along one of the "costas" which of course have differing tastes, but tend to cater more for "ex pats" than areas like Castilla. You'll certainly be more surrounded with a Spanish culture without the temptation of resorting to English as much as what one finds on the Costas.
I live in the Basque country because that´s where my wife is from. We almost never meet English people, which has its pros and cons.
You won´t be too far from the Cantabrian coast and the Picos de Europa, all of which offer great outdoor activities.

mvilma6

Hi,

my name is Isabel, spanish from Valladolid living in the uk.p
im just checking the forum cos im planing to move back to Valladolid with my british fiancee sooner rather than later (well thats me lol)

i wanted to get to talk to some british living already there who could give a real view of Valladolid/life in Spain to my fiancee.

Hope u r all enjoying living in Spain

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

mvilma6

Hi,

are you living in Valladolid finaly?? Hope so. Im from Valladolid living in thr UK, but looking into moving back 2ith my soon british husband.

hope u r enjoying it

britishlondon30s

hi all,

Im new to this forum! I've moved to castilla de leon over a year ago with my spanish hubby (im from the UK). I live in a more remote village so life is much more different. I love Valladolid! as it reminds me a little of home with the Ikea & primark, not to mention theres a cinema that shows English movies!!! You also have the Cambridge exam centre there so there maybe work opportunities- i now work teaching english! We are quite a young couple & i like to go to Valladolid when we can! Wouldn't mind meeting/speaking to people in similar situation as there are not too many natives where i am! :-)

EsuriJohn

Over the years there have been a couple of threads of Expats moving to Valladolid and finding fellow expats. I think the answer was an Irish pub in the city where a few got together and I think organised an Intercambio Spanish/English. We often stop off in Valloadolid and think it is a beautiful city. Do a search on Valladolid you might turn them up.

mvilma6

Hi, good to hear some british living near Valladolid. Where exactly do you live?? Im from Valladolid but live in the UK with my future british husband. We are thinking abt moving back to Valladolid in the near future and it would be great to meet up with more british people. How are you finding life in Castilla y Leon? How was finding a job? Thats the thing that most worries us. How is ur level of spanish?? Sorry for so many questions lol. Adios

britishlondon30s

Hi :-).. yes i find it hard to meet other brits round my area, i find they are more towards south than north of spain.!. my hubby is basque so we have links to the basque country too. I think your husband will be fine in valladolid- its a nice place and i know theres quite a few english people there because of the exam center being there..its just a case of finding them i guess. I live in a village (towards palencia) so its much more different but we drive out when we can.

First year is usually hard...documentations like NIA, PADRON and even converting our english marriage certificate to spanish had to be done..but we got it all sorted within the year!

He may feel learning the language will never happen, but actually after a year i am now able to hold conversations with people & i feel its less of a struggle..i can also understand most things now too but still have a long way to go!!
I still watch my English TV so that probably slowed down my spanish..Being able to go to the doctors and things like that on your own is impossible..but i guess that will come when your able to speak the language better!

I would imagine there is a demand for native speakers, maybe u could contact a school before you move there, also private classes are in hot demand too (not too sure about jobs outside the teaching field though ) I didn't actually come here to teach, but was approached by a local neighbour who had contacts..when are you thinking of moving & where do you currently live in the UK..? :-)

britishlondon30s

Thanks! I have heard about the irish pubs! i will try to look into this :-)

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

mvilma6

Hola,

We live in Chesterfield right now. I would love to move back to Valladolid tomorrow if we could, but my bf doesn't speak enough Spanish to get a job there (I guess teaching would be the option but he is not too kind on that) he works on IT. And the job market in Spain is so bad that the idea of leaving UK and moving there is a bit daunting.

All my family lives in Valladolid and we would love to live closer to them, I miss the family feeling

How are you finding your new life there?

rebekah_84

Hola!
I am a newbie to the forum (and Spain!) I have just moved to Valladolid and I'm just wondering if there are any other expats living locally, my Spanish is not very good and it would be nice to meet up with other british people for food/drinks etc

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