safe in spain

kentmaid · #1 (**permalink**) 13th March 2008, 02:37 AM

hello,I am 48 yr old married woman with 11yr old daughter.
My husband and I wish to re-locate to Almeria.
The problem is,because it is difficult to find employement in spain,my husband thinks it would be better for him to continue to work in the uk,and for myself and our daughter to live in spain,with him commuting to spain at weekends.
can anyone tell me how safe it will be for myself and daughter to be on our own,with minimal knowlege of spanish??
It does make me vey nervous,especially if we have any poblems ie;illness,burglary etc .
Maybe I am worrying too much,but not having anyone to turn to makes me very nervous.
Am I worrying too much??
thankyou

Two_In_Spain · #2 (**permalink**) 13th March 2008, 10:30 AM

No disrespect meant, but if thats what you intend to do, then you'd leanr Spanish. Firstly as your daughter would have to go to school, and she'll pick it up a lot quicker, but anyone considering moving here must learn Spanish.

I hear all the time about all the people moving into the Uk and how unhappy people are if they don't speak English. But we're no different here, and there are (sadly) people who are proud they don't speak spanish. We signed up for lessons and in 6 months learnt so much. You'll pick it up, and as far as health issues are concerned, along with anything else, if they can see you're making an effort then they do help you out. To start with you have a good dictionary with you anyway!

As far as safety is concerned, well that does depend on the area. I can't pass comment on Almeria, but you'd ideally like to be within walking distance of amenities and other people in case you needed it. You're at no more risk out here than you are in the UK with regards to safety and being alone during the week.

rowlandsbb · #3 (**permalink**) 14th March 2008, 10:09 AM

That is good advice, if you are going to live in Spain then it is best to try to speak Spanish , certainly if you are going to be on your own
As far as being safe , then may be best to buy in a small gated complex where other UK expats live also
Some nice ones around
Even in a small villa development you will have neighbours but best to avoid a development which is mainly holiday homes
Polaris World Resorts have all the facilities and are well looked after and may be OK These are in Murcia nearby and there is the odd very good buy at the moment

jojo · #4 (**permalink**) 14th March 2008, 02:21 PM

Thats what we're doing. My husband commutes, 2 weeks here and 2 weeks in the uk. He leaves me here with my two kids, a boy of 13 and a daughter of 11. So far, so good. The first time he went was a little scary, the weather was awful, I kept getting lost, I was driving on my own, I didnt know anyone, I couldnt/cant speak the language so it wasnt great. But, this time has been much better. I have a friend, the kids are more settled and the weather is lovely.

My advise would be to move to an ex-pat community for starters, you know the sort of thing, with a communal bar, swimming pool, so that you have faces that become familiar and arent alone - I wish we'd done that. I'm stuck in a villa on the outskirts of town and dont really know my way around yet

Jo

jojo · #5 (**permalink**) 14th March 2008, 02:26 PM

.......... just one other thing, my husband was gonna commute and just come back at weekends, but after his first commute, he felt it was too stressful to do such long journeys in such a short space of time - hence 2 weeks here and 2 weeks there - mind you, yours may have more stamina LOL!!!

Dont be scared, Its great!!

Jo

kentmaid · #6 (**permalink**) 25th March 2008, 11:26 AM

Hi all,
thankyou to all who have been kind enough to reply to my posting.
We are all struggling to try to learn basic spanish at the moment,but hopefully will be worth it.
I have yet another question,sorry about that,my daughter is home educated now,as was my now 20 yr old,I am not sure if I wiil put her into school in spain,but if I dont,is there anyone else who home educates??
Does anyone live in the Roquetas de mar area,that can tell me which area,s have ex-pat communities and more of the area???
Once again thankyou all for your time to reply.It is all a great help.
Thankyou

Stravinsky · #7 (**permalink**) 25th March 2008, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentmaid

Hi all,
thankyou to all who have been kind enough to reply to my posting.
We are all struggling to try to learn basic spanish at the moment,but hopefully will be worth it.
I have yet another question,sorry about that,my daughter is home educated now,as was my now 20 yr old,I am not sure if I wiil put her into school in spain,but if I dont,is there anyone else who home educates??
Does anyone live in the Roquetas de mar area,that can tell me which area,s have ex-pat communities and more of the area???
Once again thankyou all for your time to reply.It is all a great help.
Thankyou

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