Looking for tips re staying Gibraltar/Spain with kids

Hi there

Welcome to Expatblog



- Can children go to Gibraltar schools if you live over the border in Spain? If they have to pay extra for this does anyone know how much extra?

Yes if you live in Spain you will have to pay for schooling in Gib I am not sure of the cost but have heard £1000 per term mentioned

- What is the border delay like these days if you commute from Spain to Gibraltar? I've heard some horror stories of very lengthy delays, but these all seem relatively historic, can anyone comment on what it's like now? Does it make a difference to how long you are delayed if you travel by bus/car/walk?

You cannot cross the frontier by bus ( except tour bus ) so it is car, bike or walk. This last year there have been few delays to people walking, but bikes and cars have been subject to up to 8 hours wait, but rarely more than 2 hours, but very unpredictable.

There are webcams at the frontier

http://frontierqueue.gi/split-view-cam.aspx

Plus Police information

https://twitter.com/RGPolice

Please note that all delays are caused by the Spanish


- Do people generally own cars if based in Gibraltar? How hard is  it to park/store the car given space restrictions?

It is dificult to park in Gib unless your accommodation comes with allocated parking

- Do people with kids generally recommend staying in or outside Gibraltar? Any particular areas to recommend/avoid?

OK I have no kids luckily.
However the accommodation in Spain close to Gib is not always very desirable. So when one takes the cost of education into account if living in Spain as against free education but higher rents living in Gib I would say Gib is a better bet.
Plus all the travelling time and frontier delays.

Live in Gib first until you get to know the place and then decide for yourself after the first few months.

Grumpy

We moved over in jan n prefer living there, the tax system is generous n we not had a problem with parking on the east, fortunately rents are cheaper there as well. U be looking to pay at least 800 PCM for 2 bed tho. U won't regret it its great place to live with children, schooling is of a high standard much better than what u get in UK. If you stay long term n become residents when children go to uni they are funded by system to do a course in UK - fees n living expenses

No idea about schooling costs, but yes as GOB says, if you live in Spain, and want to use Gib schools you have to pay.

Plenty of people live in Spain and send their kids to school there.  Both Spain and Gib have stories about bullying of foreign kids.

The other delay factor in the queues is the arrival and departure of aeroplanes, as the road across the runway is shut then, so a queue (not long) tends to build up then.

The worst times are obv coming in to work and leaving Gib in the afternoon, particularly Firdays.

Gibbos love cars. Dread to think what the ownership per head is for such a small place.  Unless you buy/live in new build you won't be able to park outside your flat. Of course if you are rich you may afford a house and a garage.

The rest of us plebs use the free car parks which are usually about ten minutes walk from your flat.

A lot of us only use our cars to travel out of Gib to Spain.  Apart from anything else, for Gibraltar residents (ie card from Immigration Office) the buses are free.

La Linea has a somewhat mixed reputation. Not somewhere I would choose to live. Gib is safe, clean, expensive, but comes with benefits. Certainly UK style schooling and sheer convenience. I wouldn't live outside and work in Gib.  I don't care that I have a small one bed flat, I am five or ten minutes walk from virtually everything (15/20 to Morrisons). 

As for living in Gib, depends what you want. Town? Space? Old? New?  Cost?  Apart from Glacis or Laguna, I'd say most places are pretty OK.  And if you are new, you wouldn't get into the government housing estates anyway for three years.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I've more or less decided that if I go I  will stay in Gibraltar. I've posted on the other thread re specific accommodation queries as I now try to think *where* in Gibraltar!

answered on your accom post

Hi,

I am about to become a retired Brit in Gib with a working teacher wife and a daughter, 14, a pension, some income, and we'll buy a flat.. Are you in Gib now? Need to pick some brains about life there!

Nick