granada

[allan1973]

we are thinking of moving to Granada in the next few weeks we have 2 kids 7 and 12 should we pick Granada or go on the cost as we have a limited budget and want too rent in the first instance would i find work etc am just a window cleaner here (Manchester am sick of it lol) will listen to any advice i can get thanks
Allan

[allan1973]

my wife is a carer looks after special needs kids
could we walk of a plane an find somewhere to rent the same day
kids staying with nan for week or so
thanks again
Allan

[Paula]

I'm tempted to think this is a wind-up

Apologies if it isn't.

[Megan]

The very best of luck, allan. You are 'braver' folks than me Hope it doesn't end in tears if you do proceed as you have posted, or that you have quite a large limited budget to keep you going for a while

[allan1973]

not a wind up a looking for any advice i can get as my budget we will be o.k for a while if we do not buy
i really would appreciate any help
thanks
Allan

[Alan-LaCala]

Don't want to be mean, but asking such basic questions a few weeks before you arrive is really worrying.

Alan

[katy]

Just come over, don't worry about a thing. Usual jobs you can find are ripping off other Brits. Don't bother to sus out the schools for the kids they will adjust and the spanish will wlecome you with open arms. lots of free fruit and veg, free tapas, its all hunky dory, get yourself down

[Chrissie]

Katy...................

Hear, hear!
I like the sound of ironic realism!

[Julie]

If I were you, I would do my homework, lots of people who come to spain think like you, some land on there feet others dont, but its your children that you need to think about, the upheavel and then if it doesnt work out!!!
What are you thinking of doing in Spain? By experience I know window cleaning can provide a very enviable way of life,( my brother was a window cleaner for 30 years and he nows reaps the benefits, great house and a great life style, but having said that hes a real grafter, i dont think you would beable to do that here, maybe you should come over find a place to rent for 12 month, as you have the money to live for a while, rent your house out in the uk meanwhile, then see were you stand 12 months down the line.
I know were Katy is coming from because i have heard the story, as she has so many times, but i must be in a good mood so i am being more charitable with my comments. Good luck sorry to say i imagine you will need it, but nothing ventured nothing gained.

[BENIDORM]

I don't wish to be funny or a kill-joy, but unless you have enough money

to last for at least 2 years, you would be better off joining a Kamikaze

flight......No financial help from anyone here ! !...Better to look at your

life in UK, and make the most of it..

Every time I pass through Calais I see hordes of people trying desperately

to get into UK....Maybe that should make you think....

..You don't have to move abroad to change your lifestyle........

[allan1973]

we have enough cash for at least 2/3 years was planning taking Spanish when we get too Spain we plan to rent for first 12 months sort of suck it and see type thing
my Spanish is very limited

[zanuck]

allan1973 maybe the first half of page one of this thread on a.com will help you....

http://www.andalucia.com/forums/viewtop ... sc&start=0

[BENIDORM]

Allan,
Well go for it then,....but make as many contacts as you can and

research, research and research, before you arrive.....Good Luck..!!!!

ps. Your money may not last as long as you think here....unless you are

very careful.....

[nevada smith]

beni,
another well thought-out
informative, responsible reply -
god help us... or at least alan...

[costapacket]

Allan you must think about the children. If you put them in a spanish school they will get no help to learn spanish. You need to get a private tutor asap and get started on the spanish lessons. It will be awful for them if you don't get them some help.

If you move inland you might find it cheaper property wise and if you live in a spanish village you will pick up the language much quicker because it is likely that the residents won't speak english.

Have you looked into medical insurance etc. for you family? There are a lot of things to consider if you want to make a success of the move. Otherwise it will just end up as a long holiday and a wasted year of your childrens education.

[avellana]

Please think carefully about what everyone is telling you. It isn’t negative but realistic and is intended to help you make the right decision for your CHILDREN.
Here is how I see it.
They will learn to speak with a strong Andalucian accent at school, especially with their peers. This is very different to Castellano which is understood everywhere, whereas many Spaniards struggle to understand Andalucians. Their English grammar, spelling and vocabulary will not advance as it would in the UK where children study English until they leave school. English will be taught as a second language which only covers very basic English. They will learn about Spanish culture and history but won’t learn about British culture and history unless you or a private tutor teaches them.
There are many families who are disillusioned with life here because they have a very limited budget. They can't sell their houses and can't afford to buy back in the UK so are 'stuck' here.
You admit to speaking very limited Spanish which is another problem. Nearly everyone believes it’s easy to learn another language but learning Spanish to a sufficient standard to compete with Spaniards for jobs is extremely difficult. Without Spanish you will be competing with many other unskilled British people all chasing the limited amount of work from Brits with more money than them.
If you are thinking of working as a window-cleaner, many houses have window bars making the windows pretty inaccessible.
Your wife has skills but unless she speaks fluent Spanish she will struggle to find work.
I speak from experience living in an inland village as a qualified Teacher of English as a Second Language and know from personal experience the problems the English children encounter.

[allan1973]

thanks for the advice we have checked out schools on the coast and we have Friends there we have also looked into buying a business for work etc but i just like the sound of Granada village life etc

[peteroldracer]

we have enough cash for at least 2/3 years

If you look through this forum searching for things like "cost of living" "spanish medical cover" and "british cars", you will see that the general concensus is that a family needs at least 1000€ a month to live on, plus health insurance, plus buying & insuring a spanish car, plus a 'rainy day' buffer. I reckon this means you must have at least 60,000€ in hard cash, plus whatever you need to ensure that when you retire you will have a pension to live on, say another 150,000€.
If you have built that much up whilst bringing up a family, and on a window-cleaner's income (although I assume you have never paid tax and national insurance on that?), you are at this moment as rich as you will ever be - unless you stay in the UK, of course!

[olive]

Is that 150000 on top of your Full UK state pension? I can't see how it would buy enough of a pension even out here in free Tapas land. I am no expert on these matters but after tax surely it would be less than 1000 a month.

olive

[peteroldracer]

Is that 150000 on top of your Full UK state pension? I am no expert on these matters but after tax surely it would be less than 1000 a month. olive

That was the point I was trying to make, olive. I was giving minimum figures for general living, and a minimum to go into a pension pot. A full UK state pension is never going to happen, as how is he going to build up the necessary years of payments if he lives in Spain,- and that is if his earnings have been legit, as so many cash jobs like window cleaning are done "on the black", whilst still claiming jobseekers allowance and any other benefits - not everyone, I know, but quite a few.......
As has been said here before, there just is not the same industrial and service industry base here in Spain that there is in the UK. A lot of one-man, or at most one-man-and-dog businesses - not even sweatshop knicker factories for Poles and Brits to work in (á la Coronation Street). It is far easier to 'muddle along' in the UK, with its massive social security system, than here, and it is doing no one any favours to paint anything other than a realistic picture. It is often the kids and wife that suffer, with a disillusioned male enjoying the cheap booze and baccy. At least in the UK there is a safety belt.