stuart1973

Hi all im new to this forum,ive been living in gran canaria for 13 months now and im thinking of relocating in the next few months,so can anyone tell me of any web links or any info on alicante and surrounding areas i.e schools thanks a lot stuart

sonia2giselle

hi stuart. we are thinking of relocating from UK to Gran Canaria. How do you find the island to live? Have been about 15 times for holiday to arguineguin, taurito, maspalomas etc. but me and my husband and kids are planning a move for the summer. sonia

stuart1973

Hi Sonia,living here is fine,but we have found that over the last 12 months the cost of living has increased a lot,when i arrived we wanted to start our own buisness,but the cost of renting shop premises was really expensive and all though we have worked since we got here our savings have been severly dented,on the plus side we have met a lot of new people which have become really good friends and i do think its the best thing we have ever done,my daughter has been going to a spanish school for around 10 months now,and she is probably another couple of months away from being fluent in spanish,so for me thats a big plus.If you need to know anything moe dont hesitate to get in touch.stuart

sonia2giselle

HI Stuart,
Thanks for your reply, just a couple of questions:- how old is your daughter? How did she find the spanish school at first? May I ask in what region you live and where the school is (approx answer will do if you do not wish to disclose). And you say cost of living is quite expensive - how is it in comparison to London for example? Cheers. Sonia

stuart1973

Hi there,my daughter is aged 10,at first she struggled but after a month she was learning very fast,im currently in puerto rico near the aqua park,my daughters school is only 5 mins away in motor grande,not sure how to campare costs of living as i come from Manchester and i know thats cheaper than living in London,i suppose you can make it as cheap as you want here if you can live without the comforts of home,all english produce is very expensive here compared to the mainland,but if you can live without them you will find it cheaper,hope this is ok?stuart

sonia2giselle

Thanks for that Stuart. My son is 9 and my daughter is 6. Was thinking of putting them in international school but i would definitely consider a spanish school. my daughter would have no problems but my son struggles a bit as he has adhd. How do you find the language barrier with the school or do you speak spanish? was thinking of living arguineguin/patalavaca.I know Puerto Rico well but was a bit concerned that the English tourists would get on my nerves. How long have you lived here, what areas do you like in terms of living there? sonia

mikelincs

You would be far better putting them in a Spanish school, they will quickly learn the language and catch up, and they would also be a help to you in your attempts to learn the language. We have friends whos son started at spanich school knowing nothing of the language, he is now fluent, and his grades and report have come on very well, his last report showed he was over the language problems he had at the start, he has been in the school just a year.

sonia2giselle

Thanks for the advice. Putting them in a Spanish school would certainly save us alot of money and I would like them to learn the language as quickly as possible.

Schnitzel

we are moving to gran canaria does anyone know if they have play groups and mother and toddler groups? Also spanish schools in Las Palmas for our older children can anyone help if they know any names of schools, also best places to live in the Las Palmas area. Also medical advice on what polices there are. Thanks

bokeh

What, so they can run up and down on the patio bored for 3 hours every day (state school lunch 12:30 - 3:30) and then be too tired to learn anything in their afternoon session?

bokeh

One bit of advice, don't put them in any school where there is not a mechanism in place for a high level of communication between you and the head teacher. The school (and state) has a duty to your children to teach them and if there is not a communication medium in the school for you and your children then your children will fall behind very rapidly. At the very least make sure the school offers special Spanish lessons for non native students.

By the way, in my opinion, sticking a child into a zero-level communication environment (due to the language barrier) for 8 hours a day is nothing short of barbaric and may cause them to end up with long term psychological problems or turn the into recluses.

Schnitzel

I was born in the UK but moved to germany at the age of 7 with my parents and younger brother. there was\is an excellent international school near where we lived (just south of munich) but my parents opted to throw us both into the local state school. We spoke no german at all and this was a small regional primary school so noone spoke english. We struggled at first, but after a month I was able to communicate clearly and after my first school year I was fluent and finished with the second highest german literacy score in my year. To this day I feel more secure speaking german and I know I would never have attained the level of proficiency that I have if I'd attended an international school.

I remember being very sad the first day in a foreign school, but i got over it quickly. you don't half learn quickly if you're put in a position where taking time isn't an option...

Schnitzel

I would be grateful to any former or current residents of Gran Canaria could offer me any advice on where to live. I'm going to be working in Las Palmas, but don't mind a commute of an hour if it improves quality of life. We're looking for a house, not an appartment. Does anyone know any reliable estate agents or property websites?

bokeh

I think it depends on the age. I know a family with 4 kids that have been here 2 years. The two younger ones (7 and 9 now) have a reach a reasonable level but the older ones (12 and 14) have had a terrible time and have really fallen behind with there studies at this critical stage.

bokeh

Hi Stuart,

Did you mean Alicante city or province? The province stretches from Denia to Torrevieja along the coast (about 200 km) and goes about 50 km inland so there is something for everyone. What were you looking for (type of town, house, etc.)?