Moving to Spain with 4 kids to Costa Del Sol or Costa Blanca

Might look at Elche. Small city, inland, close to sea. Beautiful area, good government, Close to altet airport (lots of traffic). Probably good schools. I live in Alicante, but like Elche. My children went to public school in Alicante and I am very happy with their education. Other possibilities are Murcia and Lorca.

I am curious what has drawn you to those 2 locations?   They do meet your needs and also have some quite touristy areas, but also some gems.  I would look just about anywhere on the southern coast, but really envision what you want your day to day life to be like. 

Do you want a small town, some expats, not expats, a community and social life for the adults. full immersion for the family and kids, partial day to day immersion and so on.  What is your lifestyle now and what do you want it to be?  The list goes on and it is tough.

We live between the two areas you have mentioned, in Costa Tropical.  Our kids have been in public school for the past 5 years and there is an international school in our area as well.  I think it may be worth a look for you too, but it is about an hour to the east of Malaga and an hour south of Granada, so further away from city life.  Think about how close you want to be to Movie theaters, airports etc... (that is why I say your daily life).  what things to you like to do now, habits you have and would like to continue or change.   etc. 

Sorry, that probably isn't much help, but there are so many great places you will discover on a scoping trip, which may not be in the "online" world much to find.   I would do a general sweep between the areas you mentioned when you come to visit.  See what "feels" right.  Most towns of 30k plus will likely have the activities you desire for your kids with music, sports etc.., but not likely a shopping mall.  Estepona, Rincon de la Vicoria, Velez- Malaga, Nerja, Almunecar, Salobrena, La Herradura and so many more with many inbetween.  good luck

Dear Wagonersabroad!
Thank you so much for your prompt reply! 😇😇😘😘🤗🤗It touches me so that you took so much time to answer with many new details and points of view I didn't think over. 👐✋👌👍🖒
Yes, you are completely right about the importance of the life style. And the airports in case if my husband still needs to travel.
I'll look through the towns you 've mentioned.
And think over .
Im certainly not looking for chic shops and restaurants, but more for a warm hospital neighbourhood,  where children still can play on the street or little local playgrounds and ride a bicycle to school or to a shop.
About expats: I'm quite a cosmopolitan person (born in Moscow, living for 17 years in Luxembourg, visited about 20 countries). Maybe it would be good to get some contacts with Russian community so that the kids have some contacts in their mother tongue, as well as french, german and english ones - they speak all these languages now with friends.
I wonder if all the local schools are so near that the kids can walk there or it's too far/too dangerous ? Do they come back home for lunch hour?  ( here they do 12.30-14.00)
How you choose a college? From what age? Does every region (Andalusia,  Valencia etc) have its own schoolplan or they are the same fir the whole country?
May I ask you a few questions later on, as I'll work through new ideas and information?
Need to sleep now )

Dear Claxnes!
Thank you so much for your quick reply! You guys are so nice and helpful here!😊😊😊😘😘🤗🤗
Ill look this town.
A question about Alicante : why did you choose this place? Are you glaf you did it ir you would change something if you can/could?
Is it too crowded with tourists , kind of no parking to find in summer and half empty/closed in winter?
Thanks again!

Alicante is a medium sized city and I love living here. I have lived in Barcelona and Valencia as well. Barcelona is too large for my taste, but I did like Valencia. The reason that I live here is that my wife had a home here and lived here when we met. We also have a home in Rio Rancho, NM that I hope to sell soon. There is a lot of tourism from April through September, but in winter things slow down. Tourism doesn't bother me. All cities must have an industry and I consider tourism to be a good industry in that it doesn't bring pollution as many other industries (except noise pollution in certain areas of the city) and there are some benefits, such as competition between restaurants that brings exvellent cuisine at very reasonable prices and a resurgence of local fishing, agriculture, etc. Many smaller towns mounted mostly for beach tourism become somewhat abandoned in the winter, so this is something to investigate. Other things I like about Alicante are the international ambience, Valencian (Catalan) culture, good public transport, the castle, musuems (MARQ), excellent theatre and ADDA, and culture.. Lots to do and much for free.

Thanks a lot!  😉😊😊🤗
Our itinerary gets more and more consistent!

Hey Tatiana! I also have a Maximilian! Love that name! We are moving to Spain from the US and right now we are strongly considering Valencia. From all my research it looks so family friendly and a nice balance between big city and rural (we are coming from big city). Definitely stay south for nice weather and beaches.

Hi Jacksonwest! Nice to hear from you!
Maximilian is a very cute and masculin name, completely agree with you )
Have you already made a trip there to see it in live? If yes which places and and what time? Where are you from? I mean where do you live now?
Is a climat of a big importance for you?
Have you also considered Costa del Sol? If yes which facts did incline you for Valencia?
How many kids and their age?
Hope to hear from you soon! And don't hesitate to ask me as well )
Hugs
Tatiana

Hey Tatiana,

My boys are 2 and 4. We've been to Madrid, Barcelona, and most of northern Spain, but never Valencia. We need to be in a big enough city with an airport/easy to get to Madrid for flights back to the US since my husband will need to come back regularly. Weather is a huge factor for me, which is why we're staying south, as well as having the beach close.

How did you decide on Spain? How did you teach your kids 4 languages, that's incredible! We are struggling teaching them Spanish and my husband is a native speaker, they and I are starting Spanish classes next month to prepare. How do you like international schools? No idea on choosing public or private in Spain.

Hi,
I see you are more experienced in Spain than we are. Does your husband or you have to go back to the Us sometimes? He is a native Spanish speaker you mean?
About the languages- it's quite a story how they speak 5 languages,  nothing difficult but i can better explain you in a voice message. Do you have WhatsApp or Telegram?

Or email where i can mail you? Mine is ***

Tatiana.lux.1456 wrote:

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Sent you a message 🙂

Hi Tatiana.lux.1456,

I saw your post and wanted to reach out as we too are planning a move to either Malaga or Alicante in the coming year.  We have two girls (6 and 9) and currently live in the US.  I have heard wonderful things about Spain and am looking for the opportunity to expose my children to another culture and language.  Have you had more feedback about Costa del Sol or Costa Blanca? We recently visited Malaga and liked it a lot.  There were public bilingual schools (English/ Spanish) that seemed very good.  I am also considering Alicante as it seems that the cost of living is better there.  The only thing is that the main language taught in schools is Valenciano.  I am wondering if there are any public or Concertado schools that teach either (Spanish/ English) or Trilingual (Valenciano, Spanish, English)?  I am also trying to understand the best neighborhoods to live that are family friendly with good schools.  If you have found out any additional information in regards to these places, it would be great to hear.  Spasiba and good luck with your move!

On schools in Alicante, the principle language in public schools is Spanish. You do have the option at some schools to have your children taught in Valenciano (Catalan). My son and my two stepchildren went to elementary school at Joaquin Sorolla in what is called la "linea Valenciana". The kids are taught Valenciano in class, but outside of school, mostly Castellano is spoken, except in some families. As an American, I am very satisfied with the school system. My son learned Valencian and Castilian Spanush in pre-school up through 3rd grade, went to public school in the US for 3.5 years and then returned to Alicante for the ESO (middle school) and high school, which can be difficult years in the USA. In ESO and high school (11 and 12 grades) he learned German, and was the only child in his class at his level, because all the other students were learning English, which he could speak like an American. Upon graduation, he could speak 4 languages fluently, and is now studyung physics at the Univ. of Valencia. Of course, a lot has to do with the child, but he had quite a few good teachers and some bad ones. In Spain in elementary school, kids form social groups and the groups stay together as they move through the school system. There is not a lot of movement like in the US. That has some advantages. My kids were in the Valencian line because there grandparents spoke that language, and also because the kids in the Valencian line tend to have parents that are middle class professionals. I recommend that you interact with the school administration, teachers and APA (Spanish PTA) ti help get you kids accomodated. They will learn the language surprisingly fast. My son moved out of ESA classes in The US, in his second semester.

There are also public bilingual schools in Costa Tropical and the cost of living is likely less than both locations listed.  It is just next to Costa del Sol along the Granada Coast.  So about 1 hour east of the Malaga airport and 1 hour south of Granada airport, city and ski resorts.  You may want to check this area too.

Dear Claxnes,

Thank you so much for all the great information about the school system in Alicante.  I was pleasantly surprised to read that one can also find Spanish taught in the public school system and loved to hear about how well your son acclimated to all the different languages both in Spain and in the US.  It is very impressive that he speaks 4 languages and hope someday to say the same about my girls:).   It sounds like you have been in Spain for a while and are happy there.  Do you know of any public schools that you could recommend that teach in Spanish off hand and better yet Spanish/ English?  Also how was it for you when you first moved?  Was it difficult to adjust?  My husband is from Argentina and I am Brazilian/American so we both speak Spanish amongst other languages.  I am hoping this will help in our adjustment to our new lives in Spain.  Although it is exciting, the uncertainty of it all is often daunting and I guess one really doesn't acclimate completely until about a year or two living in a foreign country. I so hope that I will reach that point that I can say that I am so happy about the decision to move and we feel "at home" in our new home.  Time will tell.......

Dear Wagonersabroad,

Thanks for your reply.  I have been to your website many times and commend you for sharing all of your experiences regarding your move to  Spain.  You have really been an inspiration as I too was part of the corporate environment and decided to change my life dramatically.  Reading that you were successful has boosted my confidence that Yes this can be done!!!  I also shared Lars and Anya's youtube videos with my girls on how they felt regarding the move and showing them how well your kids adjusted and are happy.  Keep up the good work and the blog posts coming.  Wishing you all the best!!!

I'm very interested in learning about the schools as well. I have an 11 year old and a 5 year old daughter. I'm worried that my 11 year old will fall behind or have a difficult time integrating into school, especially as she doesn't currently know Spanish and will need to learn quickly. I was looking at Barcelona or Madrid as a possible area. Also, my family is biracial (Hispanic and black) so I'm not sure how that would be viewed there. I don't want to subject my daughters to somewhere they would be accepted or they would be alienated.