How would it be like to start up in spain meaning place to stay,work and schooling for a teenager?

Question

any feedback appreciated.

Answer 1

Ist as adults you must learn the language and depending where you want to live a second language i live in Catalonia and everyone speaks Catalan.

work is very hard to get here on the Costa's you have more of a chance but it is only seasonal.

inland unless you either speak the language its much harder.

2nd schools in general are excellent and i have a 6 yr old who speaks Catalan to perfection .

our 14 yr old also can have a excellent conversation and i use him as an interpreter regularly .

we have been here 3 yrs.

3rd housing you can either rent or buy and mortgages are excellent value but always a but house prices have gone daft.

so shop around.

the standard of living is also going up every week so its making it dearer to live here.

Don't sell your UK house unless you really have to just in case.

here is a couple of websites that i still find excellent and they should help you also.

don't let this put you off i my family and i would never return to the UK.

http://www.idealspain.com/

http://www.thinkspain.com/

good luck tonyxxxx

Answer 2

Great opportunities to teach English - either working for a language school, or setting up on your own.  (Better to at least start with a recognized school if you can).   Immigration is not too difficult.

I would recommend your teenager learned a minimum of Spanish first, then put him in a Spanish public school.  An interesting challenge, but Spanish is one of the easier languages to learn for a European, and that would be the easiest way to learn it.  Your teenager might hate you for it the first three months, but will be grateful after.

English private schools are extremely expensive,  and the students end up with the attitude of the 'overpriviledged'.  Generally a fairly good education, depending on the school, but if a teenager doesn't learn to mix with the people in the country he or she is living in, they lose something.  Also, the Spanish public school system is excellent.  My kids found that when they came back to Canada, they were way ahead of other students.  (If you are a Brit, then that will be different, but I don't think your teenager will fall far behind even in that case).

Answer 3

I live in Barcelona and I'm 22, I arrived when I was 18. It's very very beautiful, no problems to learn Spanish, lot of good schools and nice places absolutely no problem for English speakers. Lot of young people and relaxed environment.

If you are thinking about Catalonia, be aware that here people use to speak Catalan. They all speak Spanish thought but when the young people go out together they use to speak Catalan....so you would have to learn two languages...or at least understand....

I finished my secondary school here and started the university, so now i study here is Barcelona.  The level of studies is very o.k. They let me make the final exams without Catalan.  

You can find a lot of information on the different webs, both in English and in Spanish

I highly recommend Spain myself, I love it here.....

p.s : about the work, better if you learn Spanish but you can easily find job as a English teacher even without proper studies. They only want native speakers and do no care about studies.

Answer 4

Take a look at:

http://www.spanish-property-today.com

http://www.spanish-property-for-sale.tv

Answer 5

I live in Benidorm and there are a lot of young people here. There are also English schools, English media, English just about everything! I have heard Ibiza and Mallorca are similar but more expensive. There are Brits all over the costa so any town from Denia to Malaga could do. But i recommend the Benidorm area because of the amount of young people and the big English community.

Answer 6

Spain have higher unemployment rates than the UK. I would strongly reccomend finding a forum for ex-pats in the region you want to move to and get the specific info you need about that area from people who've done it already

Answer 7

Unless you speak Spanish, forget it. You will not get employment. Unless you want to wash dishes ...wait on etc.