Amanda Johnston
"Its a beautiful place to live, feels very safe and child friendly and is so good to wake up here as opposed to London! " (AJ, March 2010)
Interviews with Mums in Costa Blanca & Valencia
Click here to read some indepth interviews with Costa Blanca & Valencia Mums and share their experiences of childbirth, schooling and Costa Blanca & Valencia living.
(There are currently 23 interviews in this section)
Becki Milne
"We are not integrated with the Spanish so far because we don't yet speak the language and there is a large English population in the area" (BM, Jan 10)
Carole Morgan
"We really don't go without anything, as you know we can get most things here. Even Next delivers here now!!!!! Jamie has managed to find a website that delivers his x box games!!!!!!(very important to a 16 yr old!!!) and if not he gets his step-bro to send them out. So really we can't moan about material things." (CM, Dec 09)
Claire Collier
"The main disadvantage I think would be the language barrier, although most people speak English it would definatley help to speak a little Spanish too, I think the Spanish like it when you have a try even if you get it wrong! The main advantages are that there seems to be alot of other parents here who are in the same boat so its great sharing experiences and advice with each other" (CC Nov 09)
Claire Smith
"I visited both Spanish and international options (nurseries). Rainbow is fantastic and made a WOW impression with me. If I was a kid I would love going there. They have rabbits, birds, tree houses, everything a kid would love. The teaching is 50/50 English and Spanish. Also, the teacher was nicer than Mary Poppins" (CS, March 10)
Donna Jefferys, Gata de Gorgos
"It is quite lonely sometimes as there aren't any English people to speak to, so you haev to travel abit to get this. The advantagse are the weather, having a better standard of life for my kids" (DJ, July 2010)
Georgina Bambrook
"I think the language barrier is probably the main disadvantage for me, I think if I was fluent, which I hope to be one day! I would certainly integrate more with the Spanish community, The main advantage is that its so easy to meet other mums and families with children and form new friendships here, especially with the help of sites like mumabroad!" (GB, Aug 09)
Gudny Bra
"I would say it’s a very good experience to live in another country but it is also very hard to be away from friends and family. I think it is easiest for children to adapt and the younger they are when you move the better" (GB, Oct 09)
Jackie Pearson
"The schools here are ok. They are becoming a little overcrowded now, my personal opinion is if you have the money international school is a must so they follow an english curriculum as well as learning spanish." (JP, Nov 09)
Jane Pelger
"We are very well integrated here. We live in a great community with a lot of different nationalities, you do have to make an effort to integrate especially learning the language as the spanish are very friendly it definately helps if you try and make an effort! Its also a must if you plan to use the spanish healthcare system in regards to doctors services or if you intend to use the spanish school system" (JP, Sep 09)
Jen O' Connor, Javea
"Don't stress the children will adapt better than the adults ! Try and encourage the children to mix with as many Spaniards as possible and embrace the culture" (JO, July 2010)
Joanna Meredith
"There is an english community here but most of them are retired, and a lot of the rest of them are wierdos. Almoradi is not the most English-friendly town, if you don't speak Spanish you won't get very far, apart from the English bars. The town square is nice with lots of people around with their kids, and there are loads of parks here" (JM, Sep 09)
Johanna Rea
"As a working mother (I worked for 4 years here prior to opening the shop) it is extremely difficult as the hours are so different to the school hours, therefore if you have young children then its hard, most Spanish families we know have relied on family and siblings to look after the younger ones whilst the parents are working. The childcare centres tend only to run till 17:00 which does not help if you work full time and summer holidays can be a nightmare for working parents" (JR, July 09)
Judith Whyte
"The weather helps mostly – especially when it is good because everyone speaks to you and everyone smiles, no one is drab! Loneliness is something you feel when there is no one who knows you really well." (JW, March 09)
Julia Ashworth
"Except for the beach there isn‘t much in the way of free outdoor playgrounds. There are, however, plenty of indoor activities on offer for children, especially from the age of 6 onwards. The town hall offers an incredible amount of extra-curricular activities and there are also private English-speaking clubs such as dancing, tennis, horse riding etc. There are also enough children’s shops around as well as child-friendly restaurants. In Spain, in general, children are welcome in restaurants and even bars." (JA, July 09)
Karen Mullally - Javea
"Because we never ‘moved’ to Javea, just came and stayed, I don’t think I actually would have moved here in the first place. It is very expat, not just British, but German, Dutch, Russian and French too, which makes integration difficult. Most people seem happy to live in their own little communities, which can be a double edged sword to be honest. Saying that, I’ve no plans on leaving yet. We take each year as it comes, but I do one day envisage us returning to the UK again. Can’t say when or, strangely, why" (KM, May 2011)
Katy Price
"The main advantages of being a parent from the International Community living in Spain is experiencing the different cultures and the easy way of life" (KP, April 09)
Kelly Russell
"Make sure you do your research (before moving to Spain) and ensure that at least one of you has a job before you relocate. Jobs can be very hard to find." (KR, Dec 09)
Leeanne Hundleby
"Advantages (of living here) - weather allows more outdoor play, Kids experiencing a diffferent culture and language, Meeting new people, Greater focus on the 'family'
Disadvantages of living here - not knowing anyone when you get to Javea and getting around, motherly concerns of your kids adpating and fitting in, missing family, language barriers, experiencing community divide spanish v british"
(LH, March 10)
Linda Greet
"I had Daisy at the Vega Baja Hospital in Orihuela. it was a very strange experience as I didn’t really speak the language and nobody spoke English. I don’t really remember the whole birth I just remember that there wasn’t any after care I was just left to get on with it. I wasn’t offered any pain relief and it was all just blur. But 4 years on now the Torrevieja hospital is open I know that having a baby in Spain would be a lot easier!!!" (LG, Dec 09)
Marcia Vaughan
"I think that Calpe has changed for the better over the years, although the cost of living has increased significantly, it is still cheaper to live here than in England. The biggest problem is lack of parking areas. Obviously Calpe has grown incredibly over the years and is not now the quaint little fishing village that we moved to and fell in love with, but the amenities and facilites have improved: Roads, transportation, medical care, etc have all caught up to European standards. " (MV, Nov 09)
Maureen Hudson - Javea
"We have been pleased with the school that Alice attends (this is in Moraira), she is happy and is progressing. I like the fact that the teachers will hug them and pick them up if they fall without having second thoughts. I also like that from an early age they get them involved in local Fiestas and parades. We have also been into class and taken part and we had to do a presentation on Alice from when she was born. Alice helped with the language and the questions we got asked after!! Parents can arrange to go in and speak with the teacher and check on progress and they do have beginning of term meetings to go through what they hope to achieve. The teachers could be more helpful and speak English as many of them do but choose not to but then I need to improve my Spanish!" (MH, November 2011)
Michelle Challis, Javea
"The clean living - the air does seem so much cleaner here to me. The outside living - fresh air every day. The beaches and lovely fishing port - my son goes fishing almost every week-end - he loves it. The food is fresher and the people are friendly. I guess we miss our family sometimes and it takes a while to make friends but that is soon sorted with a trip home to the UK for a few weeks and a session on facebook to speak to your friends" (MC, Javea, July 2010)
Michelle Ward
"Our impression of education in Pilar has been excellent so far. The standard of education that is taught in the schools is outstanding and we are impressed with the respect the kids have for the school and their teachers."
Nicky Quinn
"When we first came to Spain we were in a very Spanish village near Alicante and we all found it quite difficult to intergrate even though I can speak Spanish. In Javea I don’t think we are particularly intergrated either as there are so many nationalities here each tends to stick to their own. I would like to be more intergrated and will make more effort to do so." (NQ, May 09)
Paula Salcedes
"We live in Rojales and apart from Red Monkeys there doesnt seem to be alot for the children to do or to go for their own time" (PS, April 09)
Popie Rennie
"Dieo was only 4 months old when we relocated to Spain so it was quite difficult as i was adapting to parenthood as well as new surroundings.
At the time i really needed close friends and family. We had relocated to a complete reverse in environment, from a busy city to a sleepy fishing town.
It took me over a year to really settle into life here (and to find my cooking ingredients:)" (PR, May 09)
Rebecca Dowen
"I had an excellent experience of giving birth and I can’t wait to repeat it!!! I had my daughter in the new hospital in Torrevieja and can’t fault it at all. I had my own room with a bed for my partner as well and the midwife that delivered Soraya was English so no communication problems between us, and all the staff that were there were very attentive and good." (RD, Jan 09)
Sara Galan-McKay
"We had only been living in Spain for 2 weeks when I discovered I was expecting Max, quite a suprise. As we werent paying into the spanish system at that time I had all my maternity care through the International Medical Centre, Javea which has sadly closed down, my midwife was Judy and she was fantastic. Max was born at the Acuario in Beniarbeig as I had a water birth with my first and knew that worked for me so thankfully I was able to have the same with Max, it was a great experience and I thought the hospital and staff were brilliant, it is just such a shame it is so expensive, if I could afford to have another birth there I definately would " (SGM, March 10)
Sara Jones
"In Moraira the facilities are pretty good, shops could be better! When I first relocated here there was not a lot of activities for children, but I think it has really improved now as there are more and more English families relocating to Spain. They are noticing the need for more mums and tots groups/childrens activities and tend to start them up on their own. It would be great to have more groups that interact with the Spanish mums and tots too." (SJ, Aug 09)
Sara Kinge
"William was born just over a month after we arrived here in Spain so the experience was pretty daunting especially as he was born on Christmas Day, 6 weeks premature. During the months before we permanently moved here and after we arrived, I had all my antenatal care at Accuario in Beniarbeig and the service we had received there was excellent. However one thing they hadn’t told us was that if you have a premature birth you cannot have your baby at Accuario. On Christmas Day 2002 I was therefore transferred from Accuario to La Marina Hospital in Denia. The actual birth thankfully was extremely quick as it unfortunately was nothing like I planned, it was very clinical and no one had prepared me for the stirrups that they used! " (SK Jan 09)
Tracy Gaspar
"You can feel a bit disconnected at times but if you make the effort life is not much different from living in the UK" (TG, Sep 09)
Vicki Bennett
"There are plenty of parks, beaches and bike riding areas which are great for most of the year. However, when it rains there is very little to do. Restaurants are child-friendly. Decent sized shopping area about 20 minutes away. There are also some good theme parks/wildlife parks within easy reach." (VB, Oct 09)
Victoria Corbit
"The main advantage (of living in Quesada) is that all the English parents help one another and give one another advice which is a real bonus. A disadvantage may be that sometimes the Spanish parents don’t like you if you can’t speak their language which can be a bit of a nightmare sometimes. But you can’t blame them for that!!!" (VC, July 09)
Zakia Ducos
"We live in the centre of Denia so we are very much integrated with the spanish and spanish way of life which is fantastic so the main advantage would be that we are really integrating with the locals, changing our way of life and living a slower pace with much more family time together. The main disadvantage would be if you didnt speak the language but even if you know the basics to get by you will soon learn just by using the local shops etc to practise and the spanish are always happy to help you." (ZD June 09)
