Questions for anybody who made the move with children

Hi

Just wondered if anybody out there can help me with a few questions about the little un's......

Mines will be 9 years old and is football daft, seems to have a talent (ok I am biased) and plays/trains a lot here through the Local FC and the School. On top of that we have good access to all sporting activities now. I am wondering how this side of things are in Spain.....do the kids have good access to Sports and football without having to pay lots of money?

How did you Kids settle when you moved? Did they settle in well at school and get on with the Spanish kids OK? (I know there will be other nationalities there also) Did they pick up the language well?  Did they pine for home?

Did you opt for the State School or pay for international school? Is there much difference?

Lastly are you glad you made the move? was it all you thought it would be?

This sounds like I am conducting a survey!

Any info gratefully received!  Margaretx

Oh wow - I think a lot of this was covered in other threads - might be worth doing a search to find it but anyhow, I came here to Spain 12+ years ago with littl uns. The state schools are great, very friendly especially the smaller ones, its the secondary schools that can get a bit ahiry - ideal to move to private for those 4 years if you can afford it. If yours go to Spanish school then private spnaish schools are way cheaper than international ones.

The sports are very behind, no playing fields etc, but many after school sports not too expensive and held at the local athletics gournds usually. My lad went to the football which is taken very seriously here from all ages - twice a week triaing then games. Now plays rugby.

Daughter did badminton, then running for the town!

Kids settled straight away, got the language quickly but then they were younger - most schools have non spanish europeans and put on special calsses to help them catch up. I feel the system is very good academically and keeps on top of the kids with testing. They never pined for the UK (not home now)

Went for state as hated the thought of paying for it and glad I did that although both went to private secondary schools as not enough encouragement to do well. Daughter now studying last year Bachillerato heading for Uni in Science subjects and will do well, aslo speaks frenach and some german too as well as fluent english and spanish.

Yes glad I made the move - never looked back and never regretted it despite the tough times and there have been loads!

Good luck!

Hi Rixxy very interesting, thanks.

I am getting loads of positive feedback about moving to Spain and I really am looking forward to it now   Margaretx

P.S did you learn Spanish before you went? Are you fluent now?

Hah - language! Well I took a 10 week course in the UK only to be told by the tutor that when you do arrive in Andalucia its the equivalent of learning english then going to Glasgow!

I finally managed to learn numbers, and as long as I could say quiero (I want) and then point to the article, ask for a beer/wine and then say ma duelle (it hurts - again pointing to where!) I realized I could get by!

Came here and then tried my hardest to avoid looking at the till at the shops and get used to the language, bit by bit picked it up and practised words/verbs.  Had some real howlers in mistakes - as we all have - but now Im about 85% there. Nearly all my clients are english so its lack of practise, but I can pretty much do whatever needs doing and Im one of those pains in the backside that wants to know the system inside and out, so I make a point of finding out how to do things at least once - then if I pay someone I know Im not being ripped off!

Both kids are fluent so anything really awkward or if Im feeling ill and cant be bothered then I stick them on the phone or send themto do it - good learning for them!

But I do find a few glasses of wine REALLY makes me fluent - in any language!!! 

hi margaret

i cant answer the kids question - as you know i dont live in spain ... yet!

but in terms of learning the language, i have found that having a spanish tutor i have learnt 10 times as much as going to a class which i found quite boring.  I am not fluent by any stretch of the imagination, my spanish is very basic, but after a few months with a tutor i found that i could manage the basics fairly well.  The only trouble is that as i could make myself understood the Spainish people i speak to sometimes think i am more able than i am and launch into a great long conversation at double quick speed and i am entirely lost!

I also got into the habit of watching Spanish TV and listening to Spanish music to try to "immerse" myself in the language ... at first i hadnt a clue what they were talking about, but now im begining to pick up words and phrases and can make sense out of some of it.  Not a lot though!

Last week i went so far as to buy myself a spanish novel to read.  It may take me some considerable time to get anywhere with it, but its a start.

I like the idea of a Spanish boyfriend ... but i dont think my husband would agree!  So i will have to make do with a Spanish tutor (when he comes back from his sabbatical in Spain!)