Barriej

To be honest its not up to the UK government to give advise for those wishing to leave. Its up to the receiving country to provide immigration advice. Which I did for the OP.
Its quite well laid out and it can't be that hard as loads of US, Canadian etc (i.e. 3rd country citizens have been doing it for ever).

And to be honest 99% of Uk citizens probably don't care about loss of freedom of movement because they are only worried about their two week holiday in the sun.

My wife has enquired about getting an Irish Passport as all 4 of her grandparents were Irish (and her mother was born there) and the wait is around two years in some cases.

As to Portugal, I have a friend who is buying a house there at the moment and he is pulling his hair out with how hard simple things are. Stuff we think is bad here, is 10x as bad in Portugal.

As long as the OP has sufficient income and can provide a solid business plan they should be able to do this.
Ive just gone through the financial considerations for the NLV with a family member and with selling the Uk house, their small private pension and their OAP they can meet the conditions and still have savings to fall back on. They realise that they will pay more tax than I will (because we got here last year) but they are happy as they will be able to move here.

Lou71

I think you misunderstood my point about the UK government. They should have been clearer about the consequences of losing freedom of movement both before and after the referendum, that is what I meant. Perhaps your government feel sheepish about removing part of your citizenship? They certainly should be.

I thinking you are underestimating the impact of Brexit and the loss of freedom of movement. Sure, there are some third country nationals in Spain but nowhere near as many as UK nationals, not least because of the geography.

As for having to wait 2 years for an Irish passport, so what? Despite what you say, most UK nationals would give one hell of a lot for a passport with a harp on the front cover. My Irish passport is my most treasured possession and means much more to me than freedom of movement although obviously that is vital.

Stingychips

By the time you get your Irish passport we probably will have voted to rejoin the EU. The Irish are big fans of constant lockdowns.

SanNico

This article should give you some idea:
The 30 best-rated public, private and charter schools in Spain (elconfidencial.com)

The best are in Madrid which won't tick the coast box. The Seville and Valencia schools may tick all the boxes. I can't speak for Seville but Valencia has a lot of younger expats of various nationalities. If you're in the city it's big enough to only mix with expats when you decide. Outside the city is a little different as they tend to live in enclaves depending on their nationality. With international schools you're going to meet them daily at the school gates but they will be expats with a similar lifestyle and mindset. You're not going to meet an early retiree swigging Sangria outside the school gates. If you do, he won't be there long.

The thing to be wary of international schools is the location. In smaller towns there will be little integration with locals, those schools are just money makers and the kids become very isolated from the real world and struggle to speak basic Spanish. Most of the kids will be fellow expats. In larger towns and cities make sure you check out the schools and areas thoroughly. The students will be a mix of expats and the local rich kids, so they could again become detached from the real world but in a different way.

As Missile suggests, 7/8 years old is still a good age to get in to the local system. If you choose to live in a remote area they will struggle with the language though. Kids learn a new language through play and socialising.

Reviews from other parents will be useless. No parent will admit that they have sent their kid to the wrong school to suit their lifestyle choice. I have sent my kids to all of the above in different countries and the local state schools were by far the best for my daughters but not for my son, but we lived in local communities with few expats of our age.

Aside from education, consider what you like about your life now and what you want to change. Most expat adventures fail because they based the move on a great holiday but miss aspects of their life back home. Usually it's the social and family side, sometimes it's the local pub. Expats often assume that a common language is a friendship in the making. It's not. You will make some good friends but you're unlikely to find them at the local expat meetup. The opinionated pub bore is far more likely to become an expat than your local nurse or teacher. My personal choice has been to always live near an airport with regular routes to family and where I like to spend my holidays.

My final piece of advice is to ignore my advice, everyone is different and you make your own way. If someone is isolated, it's because they isolated themselves.

Emma Reade

wow! This is so helpful, thank you very much.
interesting what you say about meeting people as that is a concern of mine. Would e great to be part of a little community.
ok so you’ve opened my eyes to local schools too. Not sure how our son would feel about it but worth investigating.
currently we are researching Javea to Moriara as it’s areas we know & like. Not as near to the airport as I would like for the easiness of visitors but a fairly straightforward drive.
if you don’t mind, I may be in touch with a few questions?!
thanks again for such helpful info. I will take it on board & ignore it, like you suggested
Emma

SanNico

Sure, no problem.

The being part of a community part is where you're most likely to be disappointed. In expat communities you're counting on finding some like minded people, those of us of working age are pretty rare. Expats who make an effort are accepted in the Spanish community but no matter what, you will always be the outsider.

astera

The other can then arrive on a tourist basis and then apply for residency once here, right?

Free health care only kicks in when at least one person is working or has registered to be self-employed, or are things different?

Lou71

I wrote to the EU about this and they said that if one of you is lucky enough to be an EU national then your partner can accompany you as a tourist and obtain residency in the nice, easy EU way in the relevant country. The non EU partner effectively piggy backs off the EU partner and has equal rights as long as they are travelling/seeking residency with them. Partner = spouse, civil partner or established partner with proof.

We have always had private health insurance in Spain but I think you get free health care once one of you starts paying social security.

amideislas

Mallorca Is a bit more expensive than mainland Spain, but one advantage is that no matter where you are, the distance to the beach is measured in minutes. So, if beachyness is your primary interest (initially) then you don't have to buy or rent an expensive place on the beach.
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In reality, the beach won't be so important in the long run, so be wise and not make that your first priority.