Hello folks,

We're planning a move from Granada province to the north in the next month or so. When we first moved here five years ago, we gave ourselves two weeks in a small flat to find somewhere permanent to stay. In that time, we managed to find a brilliant old house through word of mouth, by asking in bars in the villages we liked the look of.... sounds crazy now.

Anyway, times have changed and we now have two young children in tow. Logistically, it's going to be difficult to approach a move in the same way as before, when we had some prior knowledge of the area. Galicia will be completely new for us and while we seem to be drawn towards Lugo, we're ideally looking for a small village nearby, perhaps with a school. Any ideas?

Again, we don't want to go through an estate agent to find a rental house, simply because we're looking for the kind of place that wouldn't normally be found on estate agent rental lists. I realise that this is a long shot, but if any of you happen to know of such a village, such a house, in the Lugo area, please let me know. It's a long drive from here and we have to make every trip count.

Best wishes,

Pete

I am originally from La Coruna, I dont know much about Lugo, so I cant give any advice about the area.

On piece of advice I will give though, is get your samrt head on, when you go house hunting.

You will find the Galegos very canny when talking readies, they will try and get the best price possible out of you.

More often than not you will not see the price of the rent advertised, they like to get you there and then try to guess how gullable you look before telling you the rent.

They will show you every nook and cranny of the place, in an effort to impress you, so just keep any gleefull expression off your face, and use the glum one that you should start practising in the mirror, as soon as possible.
It will be more effective if you cant get your eyebrows to meet in the middle when you frown, as that really confuses them.

If you take your children with you, instruct them to stand in a corner and whinge that they dont like the place at all, and they they prefer the other house that you have just seen. ( at this point in time a little sob form the cutest one would give you a nice little advantage for when price is discussed.

Your wife, if she is any asset to you, will also have her part to play, she must go into the kitchen and ask about the waste disposal unit, induction hob, double oven, rotisserie, dishwasher, and if there is central vacuuming system in the house.

You can ask about the "sotano/garage" if it is safe to leave you classic car, ie thinking of damp etc, (coz it will be damp most probably.

What ever price they give you ie 900 a month, pretend that you understood 500, and keep repeating the amount 500, then the onus is on him correct you every time you say it to him.

The trick is to make him feel embarassed about the price, and if he tell you that others are interested in the property, tell him that it isnt really suitaqble anyway but it is quite quaint in a primative sort of way, and if the price was right, you might have considered it.

if they ask you how much you want to pay, dont answer, tell them that it is up to them to set the rent and your role is either to accept or reject, but only after taking into consideration the long list of other houses you have seen, as it must be a family descision

If you and the familly play your part, then you can get a realisitic rent, if not the little weasel landlord will make a killing.

Good luck, cheers.

Well, my eyebrows already meet in the middle, so that's something. Thanks for the advice!
P

Tell your wife not to pluck hers, then you can both frown to the required standard. A lot of money could be riding on a few straggly hairs

Some pics I took of Lugo HERE

Lovely pics. Can't wait....

Thanks.

We have been living near Ortigueira in Galicia for a year and a half now. (Leaving because of external factors)
We have found the people the nicest, most helpful and hospitable anywhere (and I have lived a lot of places). We are inundated with fresh produce, fish eggs etc from friends and neighbours.
Just to give some pointers on prices -

Last year we rented a lovely 4 bedroom bungalow with lovely gardens and stunning views on the edge of a popular village for 500 a month.
We are currently renting a large 5 bedroom stone house with garage, large gardens, Central heating etc for 400 a month.

The agents here are, well agents, like everywhere. If you want the website etc of one who is better than most, PM me and I will pass them on

We live near Camarinas in the NW and in general we have found the people very friendly, generous and honest. It's a fantastic area and we are very happy with the tranquil way of life.

We have been to Lugo and it is a lovely town with beautiful surrounding countryside - very English with a diverse selection of trees.

The only point that perhaps may concern me with a young family is the use of Gallego in schools for teaching. I'm not sure as to current practice but my understanding is that it was the case in the past. Whether it would be an issue I would not personally like to comment on, but some older families around here felt it disadvantaged there children in later life.

Good luck

From my experience with 2nd cousins and other youngish relatives is that galego is pushed quite a lot.

It can be abit confusing as DOS = DE LOS,.

A lot of place names have also changed Orsense, has become Ourense.

It is not so bad to understand but more difficult to speak, of course like all languages.
But if your level of Spanish is OK, once you all learn a few grammar rules, ie words ending is ERO and usuall EIRO, as in CARNICEIRO.

That is the lesson for today, MOI BEN..............

From my Spanish I can understand 90% of Gallego and 80% of Catalan as long as the person has a Spanish accent

i.e. I can understand the Catalan of Barcelona very well, but the Catalan of Girona is another thing altogether!

Brano77, I wouldnt worry about kids being taught in Gallego, they will be taught in Castellano too. Which means they will leave school being at least trilingual! That's a great start to life and it will be much easier for them to learn additional languages and will look good on a CV.

I'm Galician so it might seem I'm biased, but I never thought learning another language would be a disadvantage for anybody. Yeah, it might be a bit difficult at the beginning, but Galician and Spanish are not so different afterall. People here are quite understanding, I doubt any kid has been treated different because their Galician wasn't that good. Also, things have changed recently with the new government. At the moment, Galician and Science (Coñecemento do medio) are the only subjects being taught in Galician. And schools here are still good.

Thanks for all the info folks. Fortunately, the kids are young enough to soak up whichever language they're taught, and hopefully our Spanish is good enough to make the transition too.

The village we're living in at the moment is very small - the pop fluctuates throughout the year from 100 to 200. It really is tiny, and we think that we'll aim for somewhere on the outskirts of Lugo City with a few more people and amenities. We'll see.

By all means, keep your advice coming - it's good to hear we're not completely mad....

Best wishes.

Our family, me, OH and three boys, live about 15kms inland from Viveiro in the province of Lugo. We have lived here 4 years and would now never live anywhere else. It takes about 1.10mins to get to Lugo and about 1.20mins to get to Ferrol. The people are always welcoming.

But the Galician language is something that I have regular discussions with the school about. Our middle son's teacher refuses to speak any language other than Galician. Therefore the only lesson where Spanish is spoken is in Spanish class and this is taken by another teacher. I cannot wait for September to come and I have a meeting with this teacher as his passing shot to my son when school ended in June was that he was going to grow up "ignorant" as his Galician was not up to standard.

Yes I agree that Galician should be taught in schools but it is a language that is used only in Galicia - therefore it is useless, on a par with Welsh.

not entirely useless - any more than the Valenciano my kids are taught is

pretty much useless outside the region - but the pure act of learning another language is good for a child IMO - depending in the age of the child, of course!


I have to say though that this teacher sounds like the ignoramus - I would probably put in a formal complaint if a teacher said that to my child

Galician isnt useless at all given that most the people around your child locally with speak Galician as a first language (well, depending exactly where you live).

Growing up in Galicia, Catalunya, Valencia or Pais Vasco, it is important that children can speak the regional language as well as Spanish. It is very important for cultural integration and if they ever want to go to university or get a job in the region when they are older it will be essential.