Living in Spain Advice for Parents

Starting a new life, packing up lock, stock and barrel and going to live in Spain is a passion and a dream for many people and if you’re finding the tug of Barcelona’s busy streets or the picturesque and laidback Spanish countryside is getting to be too strong for you to ignore, then jetting off and spending time exploring Spain is not a bad idea!

If you have children however, you might very much want to consider this decision a bit more closely!  This article is all about living in Spain with specific advice for parents of school age children…

Whether your plan is to live in Spain, America, Bulgaria, Canada or wherever, relocating abroad with children is very different and far more difficult than moving when in retirement or when you’re single or still childless. 

And when school-age children as opposed to babies are involved in the mix then the waters can get even muddier to say the least…

Recent widely reported news items about the rise of bullying in Spanish schools – especially bullying directed at expatriate children – has many British parents reevaluating their decisions to move to Spain altogether. 

A recent study of harassment in Spanish schools put the bullying factor up by an estimated 23% year on year and while this figure might seem shocking to you, many experts say bullying is actually a fact of life in most European schools - so seemingly it’s something you have to live with.

Worse though is that fact that it is expatriate children that seem to take more than their fair share of bullying particularly in Spanish schools.  The reason to this according to the experts the answer is quite simple…it’s because expatriate children stand out and they are perceived as being different.

Having understood therefore that bullying is likely to be an issue when living in Spain and sending children to local schools, what’s a parent to do?  What is the right move and what is the wrong one what’s the right advice for parents?

Well, there is no easy answer to that question.  What is right for you and your family has to come from you – you know your child, you know what they can and cannot cope with and you are the best person to counsel and advise your child at the time. 

Living in Spain can be an incredibly life enhancing and culturally broadening experience for you and your children, but it does really come with some precautions – just like living anywhere else does for that matter!

Here are a few things to think about carefully before choosing to live in Spain or before deciding to relocate anywhere abroad with children: -

• Carefully weigh up all your options.  Ask yourself, ‘is my child well adjusted enough to live in a different culture?  Is he/she confident enough to withstand bullying?  Is the move something that really would be good for him or her?’
• Consider international school based education.  Look around the region where you’ll be relocating to for international schools and the caliber of them.  If you want your child to integrate into his or her new culture then you can try local schools on for size, but if problems do arise having an international school as a fall back option is a solid way to preserve the new living arrangement.
• Decide how to create a support network.  No matter how glamorous a move to a new country might seem on the surface, once you get into the culture you and your children are likely to feel a bit out of place at first.  If your desire is to making living in Spain your lifelong pursuit you no doubt will need to integrate into the culture, but even so, having a strong support network for yourself and your children is not a bad idea.  Find out about other expatriates living in the area, see if there are any clubs or organisations that you and your family can join and get a very good feel for the support system available before taking the plunge.  The more you and your children learn to embrace your old culture whilst learning to love your new one, the more likely it is the adjustment will go more smoothly.

Living in Spain is a dream come true for many – after all who can ignore the inimitable lure of such a stunning and sun-kissed nation?  But unfortunately not everyone with children finds that life under the hot, Spanish sun is to their liking.

Carefully explore the possibility of moving to live a new life in Spain and all that can entail before taking the plunge – especially if an entire family is involved.