the big move with 2 kids? is it worth it?

[merlindale]

good evening everyone, we would love to move to spain, we have around 70k equity at the moment which is falling daily due to the house prices in uk.

We have two kids, 14 and 11 who do not speak spanish, we are looking at moving to benidorm or surrounding areas, im nipping over to benidorm on sunday for a week, and wondered it anyone could suggest any areas to go visit, also which schools are best, international schools or spanish state? We have really itchy feet and are hoping to make the move around jan
/feb.

thanks for everyones time, im new to this so all replies are thanked for in advance. shane and diane

[jojo]

Have you got a job to go to?? 70k isnt gonna get you very far, cos although house prices are falling here too, I dont think you'll find anything even half decent under about 150,000 euros. Mind you different areas tend to vary in price conciderably. Also, to buy in Spain you have to have around 10% above the purchase price to pay all the "sundries" that the government have put on. also watch out for "so called" bargains, there have alot of "illegal" builds over here and a lot of building regulations - I'm not clever enough to explain all that, but I know if something is too cheap here - there is a reason!

As for schools, we came over in Feb with a son of 13 and a daughter of 11, we put them into an international school, which in retrospect may have not been the best choice, these schools tend to keep kids feeling segregated from spanish society in my opinion, they use english as their first language and my kids really havent grasped spanish atall and of course, although cheaper than a private school in the UK, they still have to be paid for. If I did it again, I'd go for Spanish state, but it depends on your kids, the 14yo might find it hard to adjust - thats a difficult age!!!!!!!

All that said, life is much better here, more relaxed, sunshine, views, cost of living a tad cheaper ... BUT, it hasnt been easy and still isnt!

I think my top tip would be DONT BUY, RENT FOR NOW!

Good luck

Jo

[Big Pete]

I would say jojo has said it all , i agree 100% with every word that came out of her pretty head .. 70k is gonna be tough unless you rent and have work ..

Why are you wanting to get out the UK , just out of curiosity

[merlindale]

hi,
thanks for the advice, we want out of the uk due to a number of reasons, we do plan to rent for a while, and we have started spanish lessons, im a nurse, hubby a class 1 driver, we would not make the move until we have done our homework, my parents are currently spending 6months of the year in uk, six in torrievieja(spell?) they are both retired and in good health and it all sounds great every time i speak to them, they are thinking in moving over full time, ive heard some horror stories with the schooling there, and we have been over a couple of times and its a lovely area, but we would prefer to go somewhere we could drive and meet them rather than be on their doorstep. We have spoken to lots of families from britain, who have made the move, but their kids are toddler age, and i feel its a bit easier for them to fit in. We have been thinking of the move to spain for a long time, years in fact, and we wish we had done it when the kids were young. If we do some more homework, and we feel its not right, then we will not do it until the kids are older and out of education, but, it brings you back to the same old question, when is the right time? thanks for your replies and we have a pile of homework to do on this, and ill keep you posted as to how we are getting on,

regards diane, shane

[jojo]

I wish we'd done the move earlier, mainly cos of the kids! There is no doubt that the younger they are the easier they settle, but hey, when is the best time????? there's always something in the way!!!!!.

My two, have actually settled quite well, although as I said, because theyre in an international school, they arent learning the language or culture very quickly. they're shy of the spanish kids that live near us and keep to themselves, only visiting their english school friends by appointment. They've now broken up from school, so this is gonna be a loooong summmmer with them hanging around bored!!!!??? But they are happy and pretty much settled

When we first got here we had a lot of "I wanna go home" and "I'm missing my friends" tears and tantrums, but thats not happening much anymore. Life here is better for them, but I wish they would intergrate a bit more. We are seriously thinking about putting my 11yo into state school in the autumn, my 13yo son will stay at the interhational school as he's now doing his GCSEs and I think a move would cause too much disruption - and he's quite a shy, sensitive flower!!!!!

I also have to say. when we moved here, the kids were really excited about the big garden. the swimming pool, the weather, nearish to a busy tourist resort.... well, thats ALL boring now and left to their own devices, they'd sit in the sitting room watching UK tv or on their PS3/Xbox most of the time - if I let em!!!! So, once the novelty's worn off - its not much different to being in the UK!! LOL

Jo

[merlindale]

hi, my 14 year old is going into 4th year, sitting gcse next year, my 11 year old is just going into first year, so dont think it would be much of an up hill struggle for him, what part of spain do you live in? and if im not being too nosey, what made you go?

diane

[jojo]

Originally Posted by merlindale

hi, my 14 year old is going into 4th year, sitting gcse next year, my 11 year old is just going into first year, so dont think it would be much of an up hill struggle for him, what part of spain do you live in? and if im not being too nosey, what made you go?

diane

We live in a town called Alhaurin de la Torre, which is about 20 mins inland from Malaga/torremolinos/benalmadena and nestles in the mountains. Although there are quite a few brits here, it is predominantly a Spanish town and of course, we're not too far away from the "bright lights" and tourist entertainment on the coast - if we feel the need!!!!?

We came here for the same reasons as most do I guess, sick of the UK, the weather, the government...... wanting sunshine, a relaxed lifestyle, space and we wanted a better life for our kids and ourselves, We've wanted to do it for years, but you know how it is... we have older kids who didnt wanna come, then we had the elderly parents we couldnt leave, work, financial ties...... My husbands mum died last summer and that was the catalyst, I felt if we left it any longer, my 13yo would be difficult. So we left our older kids (23yo and 25yo) in our UK house cos we couldnt sell it and have taken out an 11 month rental here. Husband commutes to the UK for two weeks a month to run his business over there and has plans to transfer it here - one day, although in this economic climate thats gonna be later rather than sooner!!!

I'm glad we've done it and I dont want to go back, my husband has had some second thoughts. He commutes so much, that he hasnt entered into things over here and has not settled. He slao feels that the financial and property crisis in the UK are gonna be far worse in Spain???????????? I dunno, thats our ongoing issues, which only time will sort out!

Jo

[jojo]

P.S. I would definately look into an international school for your 14yo, GCSEs are done there and could probably just be continued

Jo

[crookesey]

The renting advice is sound, the wife and I have been looking for years and have just settled on an area, you need time to look around.

Sorry £70,000 will not go far, nearer to £125,000 plus 10% in extras. 'A Place In The Sun' has much to answer for, most of the episodes were shot 6 years ago when prices were cheaper and the pound was stronger. Amanda Lamb is now advertising high back chairs "I got it from Shackletons you know".

Try up to 5 miles inland off the Benissa coast north of Altea, good motorway links, nice countryside, very little high rise (Calpe excepted) and chav free (unlike Benidorm). Public transport is spot on and cheap so try to find somewhere with good links to schools.

Good luck, watch out for the property sharks.

[Stravinsky]

There are apartments for sale in Raffelcoffer, near Gandia, going for €70,000