A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

We have a dream. My good Wife and I have decided we need a break from Blighty and our loosely devised plan over a glass or two of red is as follows. Please feel free to advise, laugh or generally pick holes in our plan.

We will rent out our house for a year and rent somewhere in Spain. Our eldest child still at home will have left education soon, so will have a most interesting gap year. Our youngest will be 10, so will need schooling. A rental stumbling point may be our middle aged, well behaved, labrador.

We have a business that will survive without us for a year and provide a modest income on top of the surplus from rental income.

Reasonable distance to an airport will be useful for keeping an eye on the business and saving a long drive home. We'll bring a car so info/advice on that would be great.

We aim to live frugally, not spending the whole year like we are on holiday.

An English speaking expat community will be required so that we don't feel completely isolated whilst struggling to learn Spanish, but we very much want to immerse ourselves into the Spanish culture where possible.

We are drawn to the Costa del Sol but are not fixated so are open to ideas.

Thanks for reading.

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

So you are intending to take a 10 year old child, at one of the most important times in their education, and put them in a Spanish school for a year. Is that correct?

And you are doing that because you feel you want a break from "Blighty" and your major concern is for your Labrador.

I really don't know what to say, or perhaps I do but it would not be acceptable on this forum.

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

OK, so you want a year long holiday, but are taking your child out of school, and dumping them in a school where everything will be in a language alien to them, so the kid basically loses a year as the best thing would be to keep them out of school for the year as, even if you put them into an International school, cost somewhere aroung €5000 a term, they would be learning a curriculum totally different to the one back n the UK. I fell as though that would be a most irresponsible thing to do. Sorry if I'm being blunt, but that is exactly what Fred was meaning. But hey, it's your life, or rather your childs..

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

I think you over-estimate the current quality of the UK education system at primary level, which is why our 10 year old is currently home schooled, as were her two older siblings, both of whom passed the Kent test before attending grammar schools. Although not necessary, we would like her to experience a Spanish school.
There was I thinking all the conclusion jumpers and flamers had moved to Facebook.
Been out of teaching long Fred?

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

But does she speak Spanish fluently?

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

One obvious problem with a year in Spain is that you will automatically become a tax-resident after 6 months and liable to Spanish taxes on your worldwide income & assets.

You may have a problem with insurance for your car as very few, if any, UK companies will provide cover for that long. There are Spanish/Gibraltar companies that might. You will have to maintain your car as street legal - ie with current tax, MOT etc so get it MOT'd just before you leave. Strictly speaking you should register your car in Spain as well.

You will need health insurance for the whole family as the EHIC would only provide emergency cover and it would be stretching it a bit to claim you are on holiday for a year (eve if you are)

Of course you could fly under the radar as I'm sure many did in the past, but the authorities are much hotter on that these days and you might find yourself in serious trouble if caught

[Also, it's not considered polite to join a new forum and immediately slag off a senior moderator :rofl: ]

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

#1 says "whilst struggling to learn Spanish", presumably meaning that the child hasn't been home-schooled in Spanish.
If Spanish Primary schools are the same as the French, she just wouldn't cope in Final Year Primary.

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

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

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

If you arecontinuing home schooling your child why not look at an area where your child can continue or take up some activities outside of the time you are home schooling. When my 10 year old started school here it was hard but the teachers told us that she would learn spanish quicker by making friends through play and activity rather than listening to lessons. In her case youth club and riding lessons. I think home schooling in a different country with opportunities to visit different museums, areas etc sounds good, especially if the child is going to be home schooled anyway. I brought a 17 year old cat she was fine even enjoyed the summer heat! However the tax situation is a stumbling block and you will need to factor in health insurance. Remember that flights to check on business will draw on the budget and check the winter timetables as they can become limited from some airports.

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

Losing a year of UK education at age 10 isnt really a big deal

However, it really isnt fair on the teachers or classmates to have to deal with a student who doesnt speak Spanish. It will require a huge effort from the teachers to improve their Spanish, and then you b*gger off back to Blighty

Either consider an English speaking private school for a year or continue to homeschool

Homeschooling isnt officially legal in Spain, but it isnt illegal either. There are support groups, but of course, in Spanish

Apart from that, I would say go for it, why not? As long as you don't mind declaring and paying taxes on your businesses in Spain, which will be a pain in the backside to set up. Or you could just hide it from the authorities and cross your fingers ;)

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

Hi cracle,

A few thoughts:

1. Some of the best plans are hatched over a glass or two of red.

2. When considering the tax position you will find yourself in, the main thing to work out is the difference between the UK and Spain. Spain will tax you on your worldwide income and assets but so does the UK. Spain will want tax on the profit you make from renting out your UK home (and in fact will assume you rent it out whether you do or not!) but then so would the UK if you rented it out and moved into rented accommodation elsewhere in the UK. Spain’s tax starts lower than the UK and the top rate is higher, so in almost all cases you will pay more tax in Spain, but it actually works out at very little more for most people. But, you’ll need help doing the tax paperwork, so factor that in.

3. If you home school your son then presumably you can carry on doing so in the evenings and weekends whilst also putting him into a Spanish state school. Whether this is all too much depends on him. One year in a foreign school only to then go back to the English system (albeit home-schooled) seems an unnecessary distraction. Why are you thinking of sending him to school in Spain? If you (the parents) are the ones teaching him at home now, why not continue with that in Spain and not send him to school? If you dismiss the English state system as inadequate what have you done or will you do to satisfy yourselves that the Spanish system is any better?

4. If you think you will utilise that nearby airport for checking on the business, then factor in the price of flights. I know they look cheap but they do add up. I gave Monarch and Ryanair 1.5k last year.

5. Immersion in Spanish culture. Forget it. If you arrive for a year with no Spanish the only immersion you’ll experience is eating more fish and pork.

6. Ignore grumpy old folks on Britexpats, they’re just having their version of fun.

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

I actually have no opinion on whether your plan is good or not but...

in the OP you said

'Please feel free to advise, laugh or generally pick holes in our plan.'

and yet when they did you couldn't help yourself and said

'There was I thinking all the conclusion jumpers and flamers had moved to Facebook.
Been out of teaching long Fred?'

I find it ironic when people come here for advice or opinions the minute they get told something they don't like, the flaming starts.

As for your OP well like others said if you are already home schooling why not continue, and this is something I really rarely say but Cman made an excellent point about it being unfair on others if you sent him to a Spanish state school with out any Spanish at all

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

Please tell me that stupid comment is a joke.

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

This sort of idea will undoubtedly provoke a different response amongst those of us who already live in Spain with or without children. I moved to Spain with three children years ago and within one year the eldest age 16 went back and the other two who went to local Spanish school had a terrible time, refuse now later in life, to even hear Spanish. We on the other hand had a great time and realised that what we thought was a dream for the family was really a dream for ourselves. We still love Spain and are glad to have made the initial decision but also realise now we are older how selfish we were being.
Good luck but remember things never quite work out quite as you plan them
and it will be very interesting to read your report in a few years time as to how things went.
We love living in Spain and will never go back to the UK to live but our children all live in England and love living there. So much for our thoughts on the Spanish experience for them!

Re: A year in Spain with kids - advice please
 

:goodpost:

bob-bob, it depends on the child of course

I speak as someone who found school very easy and a bit of a waste of time. Got straight As in everything. I always viewed school (and still do) as a bit of a prison or "holding area" for children so that parents can work

It also depends on the parents. If parents and children have a learning atmosphere at home then school isnt so important. If time is spent mainly watching TV and playing computer games then school is hugely important