Few questions about moving to spain.

[Beth3735]

We were originally looking at moving to gibraltar mainly due to the fact that we wanted the kids to stick to their GCSEs in school. Our girls I feel would be too far through their secondary school to throw them into a spanish school right before their exam years. The main thing putting us off was the lack of property you get for your money. We would need to sell our home here and use all our savings, plus take another mortgage and both work full time just to fund moving to gib, and that defeats the object of wanting to better our lifestyle.

So now we have come to the idea that we buy a property straight out in Spain as we would get more for our money, keep the house here in the UK, and also stay here till our girls have done their GCSEs.

Questions I have about moving to spain are,

How do we find a genuine house that is legally built out there? Any reputable estate agents to work with. ( watched too many scare stories about homes being bulldozed )

My son currently receives treatment for Tourettes, speech therapy and dental care for a birth condition, how would I go about getting him the help out in Spain?

I am currently learning spanish and I will take the time to help my husband and children learn it too. Would my children truly struggle and not be accepted by the kids out in Spain?

Jobs - what sort of Jobs are available? My husband currently works in banking, I just work in a supermarket around the kids at the moment. We both have a chefs qualification from being in the Royal Navy if we ever needed to fall back on that. Would we struggle for all year round jobs?

Sorry, these seem random questions but my head is full of negatives at the moment as the fear is there shout what if it all goes wrong. But we both know this will be our only opportunity to get away from where wears now.

Thank you in advance

[gus]

Is this for real?

[chrissiehope]

Why wouldn't it be ?

Welcome Beth - sorry I can't help with your questions as I don't live full time in Spain, but hopefully you will get some useful replies

[El Cid]

Is this for real?

That's a really helpful response

If you can't offer any useful advice then don't post.

Sid

[IreneD]

Yes, the questions are a bit random, Beth First of all, welcome to the forum.

I gather that you are not happy with your current lifestyle and want to make changes. Do you know Spain at all, have you been here for holidays? What sort of lifestyle here do you envisage? Will you need to find work from the off or will you have savings to see you through - say - the first year?

The job market in Spain is dire, as I expect you realise. Care for your son would depend on whether you can afford private medical care, possibly, as you may not be eligible for the Spanish version of the NHS. As for your children being accepted by their Spanish peers, I don't see that being a problem. It is, of course, possible to buy a fully legal house here but maybe you need to narrow down exactly what you want and where you want to be and then no doubt forum members can point you in the right direction for reputable Estate Agents etc.

There is a very good website which might help you focus your thoughts a little more. Check out their files. Good luck, Beth.

http://citizensadvice.org.es/

[truebrit]

Possibly look at the price of properties close to the Gib. border. That way you could possibly arrange schooling for the children and maybe find jobs there.

[Beth3735]

Thank you everyone (apart from gus ) for your replies,

Irene, we would have a bit of savings so we wouldn't need to work from the off luckily. We also don't want my husband to need to work full time as we are using this move to make things better for him. He currently works full time, and this move should mean we can both take on part time jobs meaning more time to spend as a family.
We have holidayed a good few times in Spain and loved what we have seen. We do know that living and holidaying in Spain will be completely different, but we genuinely believe it will better the whole families lifestyle.
We really don't enjoy where we live at the moment and even the option to move anywhere else in the Uk just isn't something we would want to do.
We would get private health care for my son till we know where we would stand with the Spanish NHS type of care.
Thank you loads for the link I will have a good read

My husband mentions trying to keep close to the Gibraltar boarder, then talks about living nearer Marbella. We just need to make sure we have a 3/4 bed home, close enough for the children to be able to get into town or transport links.

Sorry I do ramble which is maybe why gus wondered if I was for real I think once we have visited the areas we would hope to live things may seem more easier to get my head round it.

[flyeogh]

Beth first a warm welcome.

But second, meant in the most positive way, please do not cast Gus into the bad people file too quickly. He is in my experience over many years a very knowleagable person with regard to expats coming to spain with rose tinted glasses. The fact he found your post unbelievable (and do bare in mind there are many trolls on these forums) means you have an enormous amount of research to do.

Your logic for leaving a moderately rich country which despite cuts still has good wellfare to live in a third world country (and with a spanish wife and family I couldn't be more integrated here so my classification of spain is not chosen lightly) from admittedly the minimum you have offered is fundamentally floored.

The majority of Brits who have the greatest success in Spain have their economy in the UK and rely on Spain for absolutely nothing.

But enough of that I'd suggest you consider a scenario before you jump.

The pound is already off its high and continues to fall (even if you exchange today you are paying 9% more than the high).
The UK leaves the EU
Your children want a UK university education.
A PSOE/Podemos government increase taxes.

Wishing you all the very best but if you seriously need any work, even part time (which for many Spaniards is the best they can hope for) please assume the worst.

[gus]

Cheers folks - rap over the knuckles duly accepted

My major concern was the the scenario of" selling up, using all savings, taking out a mortgage and both working full time to fund the move" being replaced with " keeping the uk property, buying somewhere outright in Spain and both working part-time". It didn't seem quite right to me - perhaps I'm missing something?

I any event, I think flyeogh has made a valid point about the amount of research needed and the key issues for consideration.

[Miro]

We really don't enjoy where we live at the moment and even the option to move anywhere else in the Uk just isn't something we would want to do.

None of my business, I know, but my concern here is that your location may not be the real reason for your unhappiness. I can think too many cases of people who came to Spain to get away from some problem or other, only to discover that the problem followed them and became amplified by the stress and hassle of adapting to life in a strange country (strange as in either unfamiliar, or weird - take your pick!)

[katy]

i have put comments in bold

Questions I have about moving to spain are,

How do we find a genuine house that is legally built out there? Any reputable estate agents to work with. ( watched too many scare stories about homes being bulldozed )

most of the Agents are inexperienced or don't care. Houses built before around 2003 are generally legal. You never know for sure. An example is Marbella where recently 16000 houses were made illegal at the drop of a hat

My son currently receives treatment for Tourettes, speech therapy and dental care for a birth condition, how would I go about getting him the help out in Spain?

dental care is not free or subsidised even for children. No knowledge of the other but would imagine speech therapy would be less stressful in his native country. You cannot just get into the health service unless you have a job


Jobs - what sort of Jobs are available? My husband currently works in banking, I just work in a supermarket around the kids at the moment. We both have a chefs qualification from being in the Royal Navy if we ever needed to fall back on that. Would we struggle for all year round jobs?

virtually no jobs available. Unemployment is around 27% in Andalucia. Thousands of Spanish have left to work n other countries. Work is available in Gibraltar, there is always Morrissons supermarket.



Thank you in advance

Gus and a few of us have been around a long time and have seen many similar posts from families who have children with special needs. You will have to forgive us as sometimes it appears we are being "tested"

Saying you feel negative should tell you something.

[wollie]

I have being travelling to Spain several times a year for the last 8 years or so, I love the place and the people and would encourage anyone to move to Spain but personally I don't think I would like to live there full time.

To your question?
I think the first thing you need for one of you get a full time job as you will then know in advance of a likely income and can budget accordingly, I do not want to discourage you but I have seen many couples sell up in uk, come to Spain and buy a house, then for various decide it not working only to return to the uk to discover it very difficult to get back into property.
There is also a Spanish lade I know very well, she works in the library and her husband in the town hall so I assume they doing well. They have teenage kids and I was asking her one day about what the kids do and she said the kids had very little money, I know little of this as I obviously was not going to ask intrusive questions.
To me having a reliable regular income is the key to success or failure.

I hope it works for you.

[Manchesteral]

One piece of advice I would offer is never, ever sell existing U K property to fund a move to a country where you have little on no knowledge of the culture, it would be much more prudent to rent out your U K property and use that money to pay your rent in Spain !

In general, with the current financial situation in Spain especially when it comes to employment, I wouldn't do it.

Some of the above posts may seem negative but many of the posters have lived there for years and know the score!

[pilgrim2]

This may be helpful regarding your children www.mumsinspain.com

[LITTLEMO]

Highly recommend this company

http://www.costaluzlawyers.es/

[Tala Orchard]

There are always those around who will tell you one thing or another, advice about lawyers is fine, but advice on moving there is nobody who can advise you, you have to have faith in yourselves. Being ex forces such a move is not unheard of as I am sure you must have moved about during you time.

As for the children they will adapt, I for one was moved with consultation by my parents when they decided to emigrate to Australia, no idea of the vast cultural difference it was an almighty wrench but we kids survived.

My wife and I are about to sell all in uk and move to Spain been planning for over 12 months although only been to Spain twice, so go with your heart, if you want help to decide then you already know the move is not for you.

Best of luck.

[elusive]

If your looking for work in gib you might be luckier. There always seems to be adverts re the gaming industry but in mainland spain unless you can work online then interms of work theres nothing and interms of legitimate work ie with contracts to earn you healthcare etc theres even less.


I would still rent even if you are able to buy without having to sell you uk home. Renting is very cheap in spain compaired to the uk. You could make a decent profit without the hassle of owning a property. Renting allows you to move if you have picked the wrong area /style of house or because of work.alot of rents can be brought so you could try before you buy!

I would wait until the girls have finished school and see what they decide to do next. But how do they feel about been left in the uk in the first years of work or college etc.

Dont put all your eggs in one basket and do alot of research imo thats the key to being where you want

[markwilding]

Beth first a warm welcome.


Your logic for leaving a moderately rich country which despite cuts still has good wellfare to live in a third world country (and with a spanish wife and family I couldn't be more integrated here so my classification of spain is not chosen lightly) from admittedly the minimum you have offered is fundamentally floored.

The majority of Brits who have the greatest success in Spain have their economy in the UK and rely on Spain for absolutely nothing.

But enough of that I'd suggest you consider a scenario before you jump.

.

First of all Spain cannot be considered as a third world country. It is a developed country. The problem is things are done differently and this can be very frustrating to us Brits.

Andalusia and southern Spain has very high levels of unemployment so it isn't the best place to survive unless you have independent financial means. It's also the first choice of destination for many foreigners so the few opportunities there might be will be sought after.

Madrid, Barcelona and The Basque Country will offer more but even then it's extremely difficult. Apart from teaching English, I know English speaking engineers are highly sought after.

The strong pound and the current low cost of the housing market should actually work in your favor. However, I agree with the general consensus that you really need to think this through and not jump into something that is full of pitfalls

[peteroldracer]

Quite simply, don't do it to your kids. They can struggle with the education system, will be very unlikely to get a worthwhile 'career' (dismissing cash-in-hand jobs) and even if qualified will get passed over for vacancies in favour of a Spaniard. Friends came with two lads, gave up after nine years and went back to the UK - both parents got good jobs within a few weeks (instead of him "building", her working part-time in a shop) and one young man is now a manager with a big pub chain with own house and fiancee, the other succesful car salesman.
It would NOT happen here.

[Wicksey]

As for the children they will adapt, I for one was moved with consultation by my parents when they decided to emigrate to Australia, no idea of the vast cultural difference it was an almighty wrench but we kids survived.

Difference there is that they speak English and I imagine that the chances of getting a good job and career there are far better than in Andalucia. I can't imagine what it would be like as a teenager to be taken out of a UK school and put into a Spanish one without knowing the language. Also prospects here aren't good and practically all the couples I knew of here over the years with children chose to go back to the UK when they got to 16 or so in order for them to continue with higher education there. There are international schools here where they follow an English curriculum but they are private so would be another expense to consider.

We took the risk of giving up our careers and coming here relatively young but then we don't have a family to think about. We also already owned a property here outright, so could use the UK one to fund rental properties to give us an income. If you need to work here and get a reasonable salary to support a family I personally wouldn't recommend coming here.