themuirs

Hi All, Just new to the site,moving to the malaga area in january with husband who is a joiner and our 11 year old girl.Looking for a wee bit of advice from you lucky people who have already made the move ie high school,jobs,do we rent at first then buy?Please help internet is a mine feild.

jojojojojo

Hi, Where abouts in Málaga are you planning to move to??? Renting is advisable to start with, then you have more flexibility and can settle and gain some knowledge before you put down any roots.

The work situation here is terrible, especially in the contruction and related industries its a good idea to make sure that your husband has work lined up beforehand or at least you have a financial buffer to keep you going for a good few months.

As for schools, 11 is a funny age (hormones, best friends, physical changes.....). My daughter was 11 when we moved here and she is in state school, but hates it and still refuses to learn or speak spanish after 2 years. I hate to think what this is doing to her education, all she wants to do is go back to the UK, but kids are all different! My son, who was 13 when we came here is in an international school and he's doing great, obviously international schools cost money, but there are some good ones in the Málaga area

Jo xxx

themuirs

Hi Jo,Thanks for your reply.We are looking at alhurim el grande and alhurim el torre,sorry about spelling.My husband andy is looking for work at the moment would be good if he could get work before we take the plunge.I work as a psychiatric nurse here in scotland but dont speak spanish so would do other work if i can get it.Hoping to get over in august to have look around and look at renting i think your right there.Been looking on websites at moment for houses but cant reserve anything to december.
thanks lorraine

jojojojojo

I'm in Alhaurin de la Torre - well a village in between El Grande and De la Torre. Its a lovely area. De la Torre is modern, clean and is mainly Spanish, El Grande looks like a typically Spanish town and has a high proportion of Brits. I'm a trained nurse, there are one or two expat nursing homes around, the pay isnt good and the hours are long, I'm on a couple waiting lists should a job come up, but to be honest, I've had some issues with my aforementioned daughter and my husband commutes to the UK for work, so at the mo, I'm not really able to work.

As for your husband, well the best way to get work here is to make friends and "get in", then he may get bits and bobs and build it up or he may get employed??? Unless he speaks Spanish tho, his work oportunities will be limited?

Jo xxx

themuirs

Hi Jo,Dont know if you recieved my reply trying to get used to this site,not very good with computers as you can proberly tell lol.
Dont really use computer at work still use the old writen work,what area of nursing do you practice?Is it straight forward to enroll at school,skai is ready to start high school in august but will only be there six months and then we move,would she go into high school in spain or is it a diffrent age?

thanks for answering my bombardment of questions.

lorraine xxx

jojojojojo

I found it fairly easy to enroll Ruby. She went to a junior school first, but hated it, so we thought we'd put her into an IES/high school instead. She doesnt like that either, altho she settled better and we didnt have to drag her in kicking and screaming. Anyway, you're supposed to go to the local Ayuntamiento/townhall and they organise the school, but we simply went into the school with an intepreter and they gave us some forms to fill in. They needed Rubys passport, two photos and my NIE number (you'll need to get an NIE number once you're here!!) and that was it, she was in! Spanish schools are different from UK schools tho. They may put your daughter in the year below because of the language thing and if kids fail their end of term exams, they keep them down and they have to do the whole year again - no bad thing??????????

If you move to Alhaurin El Grande, you'll probably find that the high schools there are full of Brits which may help and theres a pretty good Expat information centre which will help you no end - I've not been there but I've heard about it!

You're gonna ask about the NIE number now arent you LOL!!!!

Jo xxx

licinius

I'm in Alhaurin el Grande & absolutely love the place! I'll pm you the estate agent that we used who is very very helpful & knows a lot of key people in the area. Start learning Spanish asap... you'll need it!

Work is hard to come by as my partner has found out.

jay01

My partner and I are also in Alhauring el Grande and we also love it. It suits what we are looking for. Best thing you can do is come out and have a wander round the area,if you get the chance hire a car and just have a drive round and take a good look at where you may want to be. Make a note before you come as to what is important for all the families needs, not just the things like schools, doctors, dentists but things like bus service, where you may want to get to - like the coast, potential hobbies for your children etc.

Also make notes on what you want from your potential home, if you want a a pool, number of bedrooms( taking it that you will get visitors), overall size, style and location then make lots of appointments to view and for the one you like go back at different times to see it as you may find that in the evening it could be next to a popular bar that is shut all day but noisy in the evening, also some agents may take you to places that suit them and not you so do not be bullied into something that is not 100% to your satisfaction, have 2 or 3 that you prefer and negotiate the price it is a tenants market even 50e off a month is 600e a yr and then be prepared to walk away from it if they will not budge in the beginning they may find that losing 50e a month is better than it being empty for a further yr.

I When you visit put your nose into the Black Horse in el Grande by the stone cross we have been able to ask people there lots of questions and they have been a great help in us finding our feet.

Good luck for the future and when you come send a us message and say hi, will try to help as much as we can.

James Salobrena

Now is probably not a bad time to buy if you do not need a mortgage and have decent savings as you may be able to find a true bargain but I would be cautious and see how you get on first. It does take a bit of adjustment and living here is far different from a two week holiday - but if the kids adjust and you can pay the bills it is great (the cost of living is likely to be higher than you anticipate). Learning the language is important though so make it a priority.

Good luck

onlineamiga

Hi,

Good luck on your move out here. The work situation is really really bad. The recession has hit hard. The only place that doesnt as badly affected by the recession is Gibraltar. I was lucky to get a job in Gibraltar before everything went down hill.

Best of luck though!

SaritaBarcelona

We had a long and heated discussion on here recently about the pros and cons of renting and buying, and I would say that in your case definitely rent first, you can get an 11 month contract or less at a bargain price, people apparently are very willing to reduce the quoted price. Then you can buy if you find the right property and are sure the place is right. In addition, it would be a nightmare trying to buy the ideal place whilst still based in Scotland! We house-hunted, bought and moved within Spain and that was bad enough...

jdr

11 month contract is a myth, it`s either holiday let contract or up to five years depending on how long the renter wants.

cricketman

Yes, the 11 month contract is the holiday contract. You have to sign that it is not your main residence.

jdr

You may be wrong there, nobody can afford an 11 month holiday.
But you are right about the habitual residence part, you only have to prove it is your only residence to stay for up to five years if you need to.
The only way the owner can get it back is if he needs it for his own habitual residence and give ample notice of this, or if you default on the rent.

cricketman

The contract I signed was quite clear, it was for use of the property as a secondary residence for a maximum period of 11 months.

Its expired now anyway, but I am happy to live here with no contract, gives us flexibility if we ever want to move out quickly