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Living overseas

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Relocating to Spain

7 replies

CaptainOatFlosser · 26/05/2021 21:01

Hello,

Has anybody else moved from the U.K. to Spain with young children? How did you find it? What were the nurseries/schools like? Did your children enjoy it?

We’re moving due to DHs work and I’m a bit scared! I have rudimentary Spanish but obviously will squirrel away to learn as much as possible. We’ll be near Barcelona. Any experiences/tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

OP posts:
DawnMumsnet · 27/05/2021 09:59

Hi OP, we're moving your thread over to our Living Overseas topic and giving it a bump to get it back into Active Conversations.

Best of luck with the move Smile

CaptainOatFlosser · 27/05/2021 12:49

@DawnMumsnet oh thank you very much, apologies!

OP posts:
reelora · 27/05/2021 12:54

Thanks for wonderful share

oystercatcher44 · 27/05/2021 13:21

Barcelona is a lovely area! You are so lucky!

If you are British and do not have EU citizenship I imagine the admin will be more complicated than pre Brexit. Easier if you or your DH have EU citizenship.

I am assuming your DH’s employer will organise a work permit.
Will you and the children need visas? Will you need a work permit if you want to work?
Will your DH’s job provide health insurance for the whole familly?
Will you have to sit another driving test or will you be able to use your UK driver’s licence (I think the deadline for swapping without a local test is end June 2021)

mamawithfive · 30/05/2021 22:39

Hi :)

We moved to Spain in 2018, so pre-brexit, when it was a fairly simple process as no visas needed!

My children were all 10 and under, youngest ones were 14months old.

They’ve all loved it from day one. They go to a local Spanish school.

We live on an urbanisation and they have a mixture of Spanish and English friends. Always out and about playing, swimming etc.

We aren’t near Barcelona so not sure on prices there, but nurseries here for around 9.30-2.30 five days a week is 100€ for the month !! So a lot cheaper than U.K.

Children can start school from September they are 3, so if you’ll have school aged kids I’d recommend any Spanish lessons they can get before starting school. The more they know the better they’ll settle.

Of course there are also International schools, British schools and private & semi private Spanish schools, but the local schools are really good and worth a look if you are planning on staying long term and want them to learn the language.

Join FB forums in the area you’ll be living, really helpful, or expats in Spain group on FB is helpful too.

sombrilla · 10/06/2021 14:25

Hi OP,
I moved from London to Mallorca in 2018 so the process was easier back then, but as you are moving with your husbands work you should be able to get residency easily enough through him.
We moved with our son who was 8 months at the time and have since had another boy who is now 7 months.
Our eldest goes to the local school and they start in September the year they turn 3. So he was 2yrs8mos when he started. He loves it now but struggled a bit with the language at the beginning as his nursery was mostly in English. Be aware that if you enrol your children in the public school program it will all be in Catalan NOT Spanish. His current teachers are fairly good about speaking to me in Spanish as I don’t speak any Catalan but I have heard stories from friends that sometimes they can be a bit difficult about it.
School is free 9-2 and then I pay an extra €125 a month for him to stay until 4 and eat lunch which is catered by a local restaurant and is very good and healthy. He gets a 3 course meal every day!
I would recommend getting a gestor to help you with all the paperwork as it is never ending and they are fairly affordable. My husbands work covered the cost of this for some things but not others.
On the driving license, I think you had to register “intent” to change by the end of last year to qualify for the extension but apparently there is an exchange agreement in the works. As otherwise you would need to retest and take driving lessons which are very expensive.
I don’t have any experience of the public health care system as we have private but I think it is very good although you are not guaranteed to get a doctor that speaks English. For me, although I do think that if you move somewhere you should speak the language, medical things for me and children are too important to risk not understanding or communicating properly.
Happy to answer any questions! It was a bit of an adjustment period at first but now I am so grateful every day to be living in such a beautiful place. The lifestyle is amazing with children and everyone has been so welcoming.

Cormoran · 10/06/2021 21:39

@CaptainOatFlosser as PP has already pointed out, there are two languages, Spanish and Catalan. Some people will be accomodating and talk to you in Spanish, others even in the administrative offices, library, paediatrician will totally refuse (as it is their right) to speak Spanish.
Schooling, even private , cannot be done in Spanish. Catalan only. Some bilingual private school have half Catalan Half Spanish, and then there are the international schools.
Catalan will be more dominant outside Barcelona.
Pre-school in Spain (as in the majority of continental Europe) is free, you only pay for the meals and they are quite cheap.

Health care is absolutely amazing. Kids are seen by a paediatrician as their main doctor, everything is free, and you don't have to wait long for specialist or exams.

One of the main difference for a British family might be the time distribution. Lunch is at around 1.30-2, and for many even later, and dinner after 9. You will see a lot of kids around at any time of the day or night. Kids don't go to bed as early as in UK
Shops open late in the morning and close late at night.

It is a very relaxing and enjoyable way of life. I am in Sydney right now and still Barcelona tremendously.

IMPORTANT as much as I love Barcelona, the pickpockets and bag snatchers (in cafe, beach, bus, in the stroller at a park..... anywhere and everywhere) is a massive pain you need to be aware. NEVER put a bag on the floor, behind your chair, next to you on a train, always close your bag, always have in at the front.
Once you know it, you can prevent it.

We used to be members at the beach clubs (sounds posh but actually very cheap) so we would have a locker to leave bag in.

Lucky you, Barcelona is fantastic.

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