Considering a move to Spain

[izzywotnot]

Has anyone any experience of moving abroad, particularly to Spain. My husband and I have been thinking about it for quite a while now but not sure if we've got the confidence to follow it through!

As far as income (because I know jobs are almost next to none out there) we have a business which we could run from there (largely online/on the phone) so not too much of an issue but obviously kids, schooling, health, lifestyle, friend network and all the other stuff we take for granted is under the spotlight while we consider whether it's the right thing for us.

I know there's never going to be a 'perfect' time unless of course we win the lottery (money has a way of opening up so many more options!) so looking really for anyone else that has either just gone for it and has a story to tell (good or bad!) or anyone else that has thought about it and if/why you didn't go ahead.

Not sure if I'm just being too cautious and just need a push and let the cards fall as they may, or if I'm just trying to live the dream without taking into account how it really is!

Any advice anyone could offer would be really helpful! Thank you to everyone who replies!

[BegoniaBampot]

agreed i need to do a lot more research. glad the local school has worked out for you. I would just be nervous about taking a gamble with my childrens education and hoping that it worked out and didn't set them back. Thanks for your candid responses.

[gordonpym]

There are plenty of Spaniards in the international schools (even the King's grand-children go to the French School here in Barcelona), many are second generation. Their parents went to that school during the dictatorship to avoid state school and now their children are going to the same school. Yes , they are losing some friends every year but making new friends as well. They are used to new kids arriving during the year and my DSs know very well that one day it will be their turn to go to a new school in a new country and they are learning from this inconstancy.
Nothing lasts forever.
It's easier for us mothers as well. There isn't really a social life during the week in the local schools (from what my friends tell me) as more mothers work so nobody goes for a coffee after dropping the kids at 9 am and we have kids at home after school at least 3 times a week, whilst Spaniards don't invite so much.
Parents are more involved in school activities and help in many way. I teach IT for free, help with the computer lab and all the media activities. I know so many children, so many parents, all the teachers.
My children have 3 hours spanish and 3 hours catalan / week, and go to local sport centers for their activities and they are perfectly fluent in Spanish. It's not like Mexico or Nigeria where you live in your gated compound 24/7.

[BegoniaBampot]

gordonpm - that was my past experiences of International schools where the parents and the children became very good friends as they tended to rely more on each other than locals who were so caught up in work, their established friendships and strong extended family obligations. can be difficult to break into.

[gordonpym]

That's the way it is.
And it works. You don't feel so lonely and you have people knowing what it means to be far from home, family, friends,...
And you don't miss the local culture. You live in a city, eat local food (ham, ham and more ham) at crazy hours, go for a walk at midnight and the streets are full, go a for run at 5.30 am and streets are desert. You can buy alcohol, books, chips, shampoo at 11 pm but won't be able to find a bottle of milk at 7.30 am.
I hear and see the protests, the police charging bystanders, smell the cars and containers burning, hear the helicopters and screams, so I am living Barcelona with my 5 senses. I dance with other thousands during concerts and sweat at the gym, ...
It's not because your children go to an international school that you live in a bubble.
Nobody should be judgmental. Every family is unique, and what works for one, may not work for the other. So I can only share my view, and the critics I make are linked to my present necessities, past expat experiences and the next country we'll be sent to.

[fussychica]

My son went to Spanish state school at 10 and went right through to Bachillerato but has returned to the UK for Uni (studying Spanish/French/German). He did well and is fluent but many British kids didn't settle so well, particularly those who arrived at 12/13/14 missed their friends and struggled with the language.

As I said in my earlier post I wouldn't go the same route now due to the decline in the state system because of the economic situation in Spain. I think it will still get worse.