Moving to to Spain (near malaga)

[Knighty]

Hi,

I'm moving to Spain near Malaga in a couple of weeks time with my husband and three young daughters 4, 2 and 1.

I am very excited/scared re our lifestyle change but would really like to hear from other mums who live in/near the area as I need and more importantly my daughters need to make some new friends !!!!!!

I am also keen to hear any advise that anyone may have for me to make out transition into spanish life as easy as possible.

Thanks to all
-x-

can't help but just interested, what are you doing there?

Hi,

My husband runs a headhunting company and deals mostly in Europe, we get paid in euros and thought why not move for a better quality of life, the weather is better and cost of living is much cheaper ........

I will be doing much the same as here .....Looking after the house and kids !!!

The kids are at the right age and if we don't go now we'll never go !!!

None of us speak spanish so were all going to have to lear quickly !!!

Take care
-x-

Hi,
We live in Cordoba which is a couple of hours away from Malaga so not much good for day to day contact I'm afraid, but am happy to answer any specific queries you have. Good luck with the move. We've never regretted our move 3 years ago.

SenoraPostrophe lives in Granada now but used to live on the coast, quite near to Malaga. She has a DD of 4 and a DS of 2 and a third on the way. She'll probably be along later

Good luck, Knighty - I envy you!

Hey guys ....

Nice to hear from you all .....

I am new to this site and wasn't sure if anyone would reply .....

Cordoba girl - Have you any children ?? I've been told that the children will pick up the language quickly, which is why I NEED to learn quickly too as my daughters will be chatting between themselves and if mum doesn't understand then I've got no chance !!!!

JanH - Thanks for your kind regards - where do you live ??

Have you guys found the spanish school/nursery system good ??

Take care all

-x-

Hi again, Yes I have 3 children too (DD1 5, DD2 3 and DS1). Both DDs are in school now. They started learning Spanish when we came 3 years ago (although DD2 was only 10 months at the time so not exactly speaking at all then). They only speak it in school (5 hours a day) as we speak English at home with them. DD1 is fluent now, although her vocab is limited to school type stuff. DD2 is getting there; she understands a lot and is starting to be able to express herself more freely in Spanish. I guess I'm saying that it's not an overnight process and still takes time for them, but of course when they get there it is completely native - correct and with the local accent - unlike mine! HTH.

Hi...

You sound as mad as me having 3 kids so quickly .....

Sounds hopefully re them picking up the lingo and that should give my husband and I a chance ....We plan to get some lessons and at least we can practice everyday when were out and about !!!!

Have your kids made friends easily ?? And have you managed to meet other mums ??

-x-

hello

like Jan says, I live in Granada and have 2 children with a third on the way. I know Malaga area quite well though: whereabouts are you moving to?

re preparation: I suggest you give your 4 yr old as much exposure to Spanish as you can - unless you plan to keep her at home or send her to private school she will be at state school when she arrives and there is not usually an enormous amount of support for children who can't speak Spanish. there is some support, but classroom assistants are few and far between so the foreign children often just get left to do their own thing at the back of the class. The other 2 should pick Spanish up with no problem in a nursery.

also of course you should start learning spanish now - that will also mean you'll be able to help your children. are there any evening classes near you?

Hi, yes it's hard work with them so close together isn't it, but the reward for me is that they get on so well and play together for hours.

They've found making friends at school absolutely fine. They are both shy-ish but seem to be thriving. TBH they're quite a novelty here as most English kids we know go to the British School, where I teach from time to time, but we wanted ours to go to a Spanish school, at least for the primary years, so that they get a real chance to learn the lingo / feel part of the culture etc.

In terms of us making friends, we have lots of expat friends (although the expat community is quite small here) but making friends with locals is harder as they tend to be v family-oriented here. We know quite a few to have a friendly chat to, and we teach some of our neighbours' kids English so have quite a good relationship with their parents, but I only have one close Spanish friend here. Having said that, we're getting to know more people as time goes on, especially other parents at the girls' school.

Are you planning to live in Malaga or outside? I guess the expat community there is huge. I can definitely recommend learning Spanish though. We have friends who hardly speak a word but they really have to rely on other people at times, especially at difficult times like when your child is ill / in hospital. IME they are the ones who are more likely to go back to UK. Although in Malaga I epect the locals are much more likely to speak English (here the level of Englsih is v low, which I like as it forces me to speak Spanish).

Temperature today was 27 degrees and blue cloudless skies BTW!!

cg: snap on the Spanish friends! Well, we have a few but they're all married to foreigners. we also have a few friends who rely on us and others for a free translation service: it's very annoying.

how long have you lived here? we've been in granada for 3 years and were on the coast in malaga for 2 years before that. I'm thinking of going home in a couple of years though. too feckin hot for me and too far away from my family: being around spanish people seems to make that worse.

Hi there ....

Nice to hear from you...and congradulation of you third bump, how far gone are you ??

We are moving to Alhaurin El Grande, it's about 20 minutes from Malaga Airport.

Where do you live ??

We are planning on sending the kids to Spanish school as I want to integrate them in the system and I want them to have local friends .....

My 2 year old is only learning to talk and my 12 month old only sais daddy but my 4 doesn't stop talking and I hope she picks it up quickly.

From what I'm told it is easy to get spanish lessons where we are going to live, I haven't booked any yeat as just want to get the move over with and then I'm going to sort everything out.

Do you think I should get my 4 year old some lessons ??

When did you move to Spain ???

-x-

we're near granada. alhaurin is nice.

yes - get your 4 year old some lessons - i know they "pick the language up ok" and all that but they really do tend to be completely left out in the meantime.

lived here 5 years, both kids were born here and the next one is due in august (how silly was that - I'll be lovely and fat and sweaty in july and will miss my beloved summer trip home!)

Hi, I live about 50 minutes drive away from Malaga, in Estepona between marbella and Gibraltar. So i'm probably the nearest to you. I have 1 dd who is five. She is at an international school after having been in a Spanish infant school for a year. She didnt really settle or intergrate that well as she was quite shy and was very aware of the language differences. She tended to stick with other English speaking children. That is the main Problem with the Costa del sol, there are an awful lot of expats. I have friends with kids who are at Spanish schools and have settled amazingly well, learnt the languange fluently but outside of school still tend to stick with other expat kids unless they live in a very Spanish area.

The majority of our friends are northern European or Spaniards married to Northern Europeans. The Spanish community is very difficult to break into. It is also very easy here not to learn the language here so do what ever you can to start learning straight away, I recommend Michel Thomas Learn Spanish cds.

On a more positive note, the lifestyle here is great, the weather is fantastic and we have a real outside lifestyle. If there is anything that you need to know just ask. Where are you going to be?

we're 30 mins away if dh is driving

Hi CG,

Yep having three close is hard graft, I managed the three in three badge and unlike yours mine do NOT get on at all ...!!!!

I spend all day planing referee .....I'm an only child and did not realise what kids fighting was like !!!! They do however love each other and I'm sure it'll get better when they get older !!!

I'm hopeing that moving to spain and having a bigger house / garden might help things as they can spend more time outside playing in the sun .....Heres hopeing ???

There is a big expat community where we are movning too, we are going to rent for a year and then buy a place ......We need a large house as I also have 2 step daughters that are going to be spending all their hols with is and I want them to have their own rooms so we are going to have a good look around and I think where we are renting may work out too expensive for us but we'll see .....

Do you like where you are ??

Oh and my the way the weather here was 4 degrees today .......FREEZING !!!!

Hi SP,

Well you don't sound like your too far away ...

My DD2 was borne on the 13/08/03 and that was a HOT one here in the UK but i bet thats nothing compaired to how hot it gets in Spain !!! You enjoy it as I'd love another one but my husband has band me !!! I supose the poor bloke has got a point as he has got 5 daughters !!!!

Hi Lucy,

We are going to be living in Alhaurin El Grande, it seems nice but I only pent a day there when we came over and viewed the house so well see once weve moved ......

Thanks for the advise re schooling .....All seems like a mine field and I hope to god the kids settle ok as it's the only one real worry I have ?!?!

Anyway if any of you guys fancy meetin up with the kids once I'm out there then give me a shout.

Take care to all

-x-

Hi everyone,
Yes I like Cordoba. We lived in Granada for our first year, SP (in centre) and then moved to Cordoba . We've been here for 2 years. We are pretty settled here now and I can't imagine going back to the UK. We have a much more family centric life than we ever could have had in London. The summers are HOT here though. Cordoba is known as the frying pan of Spain and it's a fair description. The temperature gets into the fifties, but we are back in Blighty by then (we spend July and August there, which suits us perfectly).

We didn't give our children any extra Spanish lessons when we arrived, but DD1 was only 2 1/2. IME how well they settle in school / nursery depends on the adults involved. We had 2 good nursery experiences and one bad, and our school experience has been excellent. At the nursery we didn't like the teachers treated DD1 as though she was stupid because her Spanish wasn't as fluent as the native kids. They had no idea how good her understanding was and used to say things to us in front of her like she could only say three words , even though we had heard her chat with the neighbours' kids. By contrast, in the other nurseries and at school, the teachers were at pains to help her and also to explain to the other children why it was difficult at first. Now she's near the top end of her class and her Spanish reading is above average.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I guess I'm saying it's worth spending time to find a school / nursery you really feel comfortable with. They do exist. Encouragement and support from teachers is the key IME.

Hi,

Thank you for your good advise and yes I think you are right .....It all depends on the teachers, which is much the same as England !!!

The kids are my only concern and once I'm happy that they are settled then I will be able to get on with enjoying our new life ....!!!

Do you teach in spain ??

What was the weather like today for you guys ??

I went newt hunting with the girls and froze, it's only 4 degrees here .......?!?!?

Anyway take care

-x-

Hi Knighty,

Sorry to hear about the four degrees - still you will be in the sunshine soon. 27 again here today.

Yes, I teach here sometimes. I started out teaching English and then did some maternity cover at the local British School teaching English and French. Now I do the occasional supply teaching for them but basically I'm home looking after DS who is 1. Our DDs finish school at 2pm so all three are home in the afternoons, which is lovely (usually!). DH is also a teacher.

What is your moving date? Are you brining loads of stuff or starting out light?

no, it depends on the age of the child, not on the teachers. in public schools there is not much support at age 4 (there is more support at age 6 and above), and contrary to popular belief, children do not pick up the language instantly. please give your child lessons.

Well I guess we all have different experiences. Our DD1 was given a lot of support at age 4 when she started in her public school. She had a really good teacher and we opted her out of religion as we are not religious, so during the RE classes she had 1:1 support from her teacher. I think that and the teacher's general attitude made all the difference.

I agree with you, SP, that it is not an instant process though. DD1 has taken 3 years to get to her current level of fluency. Also some children cope better with the feeling of being out of their depth with the language in the beginning.

sorry, cd - it's a bit of a bugbear of mine as you can tell. Your dd did already speak some spanish though didn't she? you said she was 2.5 when you moved. the problems I've seen are in the lessons where there is one teacher and 25 pupils - the state does not pay for extra staff for special educational needs for infantil classes (i.e. the under 6s). In my experience that is most lessons.

sorry, cg !

As You know SA I agree. For my dd it was sink or swim and she sank.

I teach here. I worked in an international school, not my dds and it was terrible. It was a brand new school though. Good teaching work is hard to find, getting into the state system is virtually impossible but there are academies and private work.

Sorry on re-reading this post it sounds terrible. I would suggest asking around and see what other expats do and find out the reasons behind why a school is classed as good or bad. Is it strict, are there after school activities, what provisions are made for non- Spanish kids etc? Here in Estepona, April is enrolment time for schools, so I would find that out too. Best of luck