kerry207

Hi My name is Kerry I'm a married mum of 3, we have been researching our move to spain for about 8 months now, and as its fast approaching our leaving date I'm feeling more and more anxious.

I know how we are feeling is perfectly normal and we will only feel worse as the time comes, it's like all of a sudden I feel like I don't know anything about what we have researched and I have all these new questions to ask.

I'll just explain that my in laws already live in Benalmadena Pueblo and have done so for 4 yrs now. Its been my dream to move to spain since being a teenager but I just never had the guts to do it, then when I did my husband wouldn't. Anyhow we are finally both on the same page and are coming out in july. It would be fantastic if someone near to the Benalmadena area could befriend us a little. Maybe confirm what we already know so far or even give us new info or tips on our pending move.
Thanks hope to hear something soon

Madridboy

Good on the 2 of you....more ladybirds!



Seriously though, good that you're making your dreams come true and at least you have someone out there to make the settling in period a little easier.

kerry207

Thanks Madridboy,

Do you live in spain????? If so Where?? Are you still staying???

I've read so many threads about people wanting to come back to UK, Good luck to anyone thinking of doing that, it must be a hard decision to make.

kerry207

Sorry Madridboy, just realised your location says Madrid!!! Still getting used to the sights lay out of all info.

mrsjdr

Hi, we are near Benalmadena Pueblo, it is a good area, nice little school, which children can start from the age of 3, also, Nursery school near the Stupa which takes children up to the age of 6.

Good luck with the move and your new life over here

kerry207

Hi thanks mrs jdr,

Our children are aged 9 and twins at 6 (nearly 7) we have visited the Jacaranda a few times but never met the Headteacher yet, we went last september and they told us to come back on 3/4 march to register the children for sept 2010 term, we went back and got the forms however they can't guarantee the school places until we have our nie no. and padrone which we can't get until we are actually there already.

This worried us at first as our children are in good schools in england and we would have preferred to have them enrolled in one before leaving another, it just doesn't work that way.

Also I speak spanish but not as fluent as i'd like, I need to try to speak to the Headteacher as soon as, i'm worried about 1 of the twins as he isn't as confident academically as the other 2 so he'll need more support and we haven't yet established if the teachers speak english to the children who are struggling, (I don't mean all the time, but at times he's struggling would be nice) all natural worries but worries all the same.

paintermujer

Hi Kerry
Cant help with choice of school in your area but have very recent experience of my 9yo(then 8) starting school in Spain.

We came here last september.My daughter took a while to settle,probably because we moved within 3 months and hence another school.So make sure you are happy where you are going.

I think she found it quite overwhelming at first.You know,everyone talking jibberish at her and evrything going completely over her head.

But spanish teachers are very caring people,more touchy,kissy.Something children do not have in the UK because teachers are just not allowed to do these things.They will feel very welcome.

Children are very resilient.My daughter has bounced back now.

She loves school,has lots of friends.She understands a lot of spanish but is still too "shy" to speak too much.

She had her first school report recently and I was amazed at her good grades (bar valenciano which you wont have) after such a short time.

We all worry what we are doing to our children in the beginning cos it does take time for them to settle.We had a massive problem with school dinners cos she is a picky eater.Tears all the time.Now she will try different things and if she dosent like it she deals with it by hiding it or putting it in the bin outside.lol but this is what they do, even the spanish.

They have lots of homework and are constantly monitored for progress so they are not left behind and they have extra tuition also. Mine even has extra maths because the methods are different to in the UK.

A few months and yours wont look back or even talk much about their UK life.Very quickly they dont have a lot in common anymore with english friends they have left.

Everything will be fine for you but there will probably be initial settling issues.

But they will pass.Good luck.

kerry207

Thanks, that is reassuring.

We're going to enrol all 3 in everything going i.e football, dancing other out of school activities etc try to get them used to the language outside of the school environment as well.

Does anyone have any ideas re myself and husband settling in, we've been learning spanish for 1 yr now, I personally was considering volunteering once a week somewhere predominantly spanish so I can develop the language on a more natural basis, I understand well but I'd like to speak more confidently over time.

Any ideas welcome

cricketman

Hi Kerry

Good luck with your move. I've lived in Benalmadena Pueblo for a little over a year. It's one of the most integrated areas in the Costa Del Sol in that it is the only place I've seen British people having a decent conversation in Spanish. The pueblo has a really good and healthy village atmosphere.

However, probably one third of people who live here are foreigners. So much so that it could be difficult to improve your Spanish at all. You may feel yourself speaking to the English speaking parents at your children's school because it will be easier and to be honest the Spanish people here are so used to foreigners not speaking Spanish they may ignore you and not even think of talking to you.

Imo you've made the best choice sending them to the local Spanish school. However, you need to check out how many British children are in the school. The fewer the better. Otherwise they will be tempted to hang out together speaking English and ignore anything in Spanish. The best way to learn is full immersion straight away, so if you can bear to be without English TV and radio then that will be great for you and the children as well.

But do bear in mind that 100,000s of British people live happily in Spain with very poor levels of Spanish so it is up to you what kind of live you want to lead. Personally I wouldnt be in Spain without speaking Spanish.

That's the challenge of living in the Costa del Sol, there has been a foreign invasion which complicates things! However, so many people live here because it has a lot to offer. All the best!

jdr

What a strange thing to say but even then you have a two to one chance of speaking to a Spanish person.
Most of the kids at that school are Spaniards, the school also run Spanish lessons at different grades for the parents to make it easier for them to integrate, so she would have plenty of chance to learn even more Spanish.

cricketman

Great, sounds like a good school

I just wanted to highlight that as a newbee in town it is down to you to go and talk to Spanish people (if you want to) as they won't come bundling over and want to be your friend straight away. Same as anywhere where there are people coming and leaving all the time and the language barrier emphasises this even more so.

And there are loads of British parents who send their kids to Spanish school and can barely scrape 3 words together.

But saying that with the right knowledge and attitude then you'll have no problem at all. We live here for a reason!

mrsjdr

The Jacaranda is a lovely school, our Grandaughter started there last September and really enjoys it, many nationalities attend and they all seem to mix well.

SaritaBarcelona

I live nr Benalmadena and would be happy to meet up one day when you move over! PM me if you have any specific questions or fancy a chat. I haven't lived here very long either and have a son, we are all slowly getting to know people of all nationalities. I think I understand what Cricketman said about people assuming you won't speak Spanish, I have lived and worked in fairly remote areas of Spain (in the sense that there are few if any foreigners) and people there are interested in you and want to "practise" their English, whereas here they have seen it all. However if you are a nice, friendly person who makes an effort then I am sure you will be fine (just like life in general I suppose!). There is a cancer charity Cudeca that would possibly be a good contact for voluntary work (anybody work with them?), the ladies in the shop I go into in Arroyo are Spanish so might be a good way to meet Spanish speakers/ people. Good luck!

JustinTime

Hi

We are planning to move down to the Malaga area at the end of June and we too have done lots of research. Like you also we think it has come around really quick. We have found a good school that we like but we have decided to start our youngest daughter off in an international school. We still haven't decided whether or not to move all of our furniture down or start again when we get down there. Arrgh all of these decisions that we make daily and change our minds the day after! We are a family of four and will be taking our dog and cat along with us. The cat isn't big on change so she will be really freaked out when she arrives.

Just thought I would let you know that we are going through the same issues, hope you have a very successful move!

JustinTime.