Hi I'm just after. Bit of advice please. I'm considering moving to Spain in next 6 months with my partner and 3 children. I have been looking at the Ariana grande area and flying out next month to have a look at properties and schools.
My children are 10,7 and 5 and just wondering if anyone has moved out with children and how they cooed with the move and schools. Any advice would be much appreciated as the only worry I have is how the boys would settle and fit in xx

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

Hi good luck in your venture. Only fly in the ointment at the moment is the EU referendum. Don't make any commitments until we all know a little bit more.

Thankyou for your reply Clive, yes we will be waiting until after just wanting some ideas at the moment as its a big move for children. I would be away tomorrow if I didn't have them to consider haha

Kids are quite resilient and soon mix in. It's us who have the weight of the world on our shoulders.
Brexit quite a worry for some of us in Spain as we would not have the automatic right to move to Spain if the vote is to leave. But a lot of immigrants to Spain are not from Europe, so who knows?

Any idea what happens if your already a resident in Spain before hand?

Nobody knows. Our Spanish Prime Minister has recently hinted that Brits, if we leave the EU, might not be allowed to keep property, which is of course rubbish as non EUs can still buy in Spain. I think that the real worry is that in fact no one knows anything. If the pound drops, Pensioners loose their healthcare and have no further pension increase we won't have to be thrown out as there could be a mass exodus back to Blighty! A couple of million extra pensioners will bugger up the NHS for sure and smash the immigration figures. Ha ha!

Haha thanks for your advise Clive. Do u have any knowledge of that area?

You need to choose between state and private schools

Most private schools in that area teach either partly or fully in English, and cost between 500 and 1,000 euros per month per child. Academic standards are similar to British state schools although usually with smaller class sizes

The state schools in Andalucia are not particularly good but it really depends on the exact area you will be living as you will be assigned a school depending on where you live. To be assigned a school you need to have all your residency papers and apply at the correct time of year (usually between Feb and April for the following year)

Remember that unemployment is incredibly high in Spain and those children who do not go to university have a very low education level and very few options of work, so you need to think carefully about your children´s future

Thankyou for reply, I have a good well paid job and I work from home and private schools will definitely be an option but I was told if I were going to settle in Spain then I should consider state school, I'm coming out next month for a few days just havnt a clue where to start. Would it be better putting them in a state school for primary and private for high? Also what are the state schools like at the moment as they currently go to a little country school and are not used to rough kids, is the alhaurin el grande a nice area to live? Xx

Alhaurin El Grande is probably the worst and roughest areas of Spain that I have come across

I have young kids in Spain. There are some excellent state schools, but it depends on the exact area. I have a friend who works in a state school who has no Spanish children in her class and she struggles to teach them anything because they dont speak Spanish

But my nephews live in a professional area of Barcelona and have an excellent primary school. However, they will be sent to a secondary school in the middle of the biggest gypsy neighbourhood in Spain, so their parents are having to think of private schools.

Spain has many social problems just like other countries do. The danger as a foreigner is that initially we are oblivious to them, and so we unknowingly put our children at a huge disadvantage

Omg really haha thanks so much for that. What other areas do you consider nice? sorry for all the questions xx