Moving to Spain

[Mark Hewitt]

It comes much more quickly if you're actually there and both need to learn and use it and are surrounded by it, even if (like me) you don't live with a native speaker.

Yes, just moving to the country isn't enough, you need to use it all the time, every day. The stereotypical Costa-Brit who can't speak Spanish comes about when they don't venture outside their own communities. Plus if you're starting from scratch then you'll also need some actual language classes - even the likes of duolingo.

[FosseWay]

I find I end up "code switching" a lot. Certain aspects of my life take place in Swedish (such as work) and certain in English (home life) and I find that I instinctively choose the relevant language without thinking about it, to the extent that I have to make a conscious effort to speak English at work when in meetings with non-Swedish speakers.

[James]

I've actually been learning Spanish for a year now. I can ask for quite a lot of basic stuff but holding a conversation is difficult (Spanish is spoken really fast compared to English)

Tourists are excepted of course but I do hate English that come out here to live and don't bother learning the language. It makes things so much easier, its amazing the difference in help we got in shops etc speaking Spanish vs the English guy that comes in and wont speak a word.

We've just got a Bip&Drive for the car that allows you to use the Via-T lanes on the autopista, its so much easier that i'm surprised that the locals don't use them more.

I'm feeling the need to start a pathetic autovia site, after pathetic motorways here. There's a few so short or crap I wandered why they bothered - you can also walk/cycle on some of them as well. This one https://goo.gl/maps/ycqMj6C8hUK2 is only a few hundered metres long

[Owain]

I've actually been learning Spanish for a year now. I can ask for quite a lot of basic stuff but holding a conversation is difficult (Spanish is spoken really fast compared to English)

Tourists are excepted of course but I do hate English that come out here to live and don't bother learning the language. It makes things so much easier, its amazing the difference in help we got in shops etc speaking Spanish vs the English guy that comes in and wont speak a word.

Good for you!

With total immersion, you should find that within a couple of months you've got your ear 'in tune' with it. That's roughly how long it took me with Italian. And after learning how to conjugate the various types of verb, I was attempting to make my own sentences from scratch and it wasn't long before I was able to start one without worrying about where it would go, and without having to think about it first.

I know exactly what you mean about the reactions from people in shops! Whenever I go to Italy the friendliness of the Italians (who are very friendly people anyway) is amplified immeasurably the moment that they realise I can speak to them - even make jokes - in their own language. It's like they go from treating me as a customer to treating me as a friend, even though they've only just met me and will never see me again after the conversation ends.

I was mediocre with languages at school, but having a successful conversation in Italian leaves me feeling a warm glow for hours afterwards!

[Euan]

For some people it seems to be much easier to learn a language at a relatively young age than trying to learn a new one in adulthood, although the languages taught as part of education do vary from school to school. French does seem to be a very popular one though, usually French and something else (such as Spanish or German). It would be an added bonus for any children with parents who collectively can speak fluently in at least two languages and can bring their children up with more than one language to use potentially at day-to-day level.

[Owain]

For some people it seems to be much easier to learn a language at a relatively young age than trying to learn a new one in adulthood, although the languages taught as part of education do vary from school to school. French does seem to be a very popular one though, usually French and something else (such as Spanish or German). It would be an added bonus for any children with parents who collectively can speak fluently in at least two languages and can bring their children up with more than one language to use potentially at day-to-day level.

It makes sense for each parent to speak their own language to the child. This will ensure that the child grows up bilingual, which is a massive advantage when it comes to finding a good job.

I've seen this in action, and the results are amazing. I knew a 5-year-old girl whose father was English and whose mother was Italian. They spoke their own language to the child, and even at that young age the girl was bilingual. Even more amazing, was that when I spoke to her in Italian, she responded to me in English because she could tell that I was not a native speaker of Italian. This irked me a little(!) because it revealed the limits of my second language, but it was impressive nonetheless.

[trickstat]

For some people it seems to be much easier to learn a language at a relatively young age than trying to learn a new one in adulthood, although the languages taught as part of education do vary from school to school. French does seem to be a very popular one though, usually French and something else (such as Spanish or German). It would be an added bonus for any children with parents who collectively can speak fluently in at least two languages and can bring their children up with more than one language to use potentially at day-to-day level.

It makes sense for each parent to speak their own language to the child. This will ensure that the child grows up bilingual, which is a massive advantage when it comes to finding a good job.

I've seen this in action, and the results are amazing. I knew a 5-year-old girl whose father was English and whose mother was Italian. They spoke their own language to the child, and even at that young age the girl was bilingual. Even more amazing, was that when I spoke to her in Italian, she responded to me in English because she could tell that I was not a native speaker of Italian. This irked me a little(!) because it revealed the limits of my second language, but it was impressive nonetheless.

When in Germany I have used my limited vocabulary in shops, railway stations etc and been pleased when I get a reply in German. The danger then is that they say something I don't understand!

[Fenlander]

For some people it seems to be much easier to learn a language at a relatively young age than trying to learn a new one in adulthood, although the languages taught as part of education do vary from school to school. French does seem to be a very popular one though, usually French and something else (such as Spanish or German). It would be an added bonus for any children with parents who collectively can speak fluently in at least two languages and can bring their children up with more than one language to use potentially at day-to-day level.

It makes sense for each parent to speak their own language to the child. This will ensure that the child grows up bilingual, which is a massive advantage when it comes to finding a good job.

I've seen this in action, and the results are amazing. I knew a 5-year-old girl whose father was English and whose mother was Italian. They spoke their own language to the child, and even at that young age the girl was bilingual. Even more amazing, was that when I spoke to her in Italian, she responded to me in English because she could tell that I was not a native speaker of Italian. This irked me a little(!) because it revealed the limits of my second language, but it was impressive nonetheless.

My sons' primary school has a lot of children of immigrant parents and the parents often don't have a good grasp of English. The children are taught exclusively in English (although there are some translators available) and being children they pick it up very quickly. As a parent stood outside waiting for them to come out it is very noticeable that a lot of the children switch mid run across the playground from English in the classroom and to their classmates to their native tongue once they get to their parents.
It makes it very hard for me as a parent to talk to the other parents, not just passing the time of day stuff but school stuff like did they understand this week's homework topic or are they going on the next school trip etc.
One of my youngest son's former classmates is Italian, both of her parents are but she left at the start of the year to go to somewhere that my youngest described as very far away - Leicester.

[KeithW]

Some people have a real flair for languages, not me alas I can get by in school boy French but that's about it. My Uncle Harry was amazing in that regard. He was career army and came back from a 2 year stint in Hong Kong speaking Mandarin and Cantonese. We once all went of a 2 week holiday to Yugoslavia and after the first week he was chatting away in Serbo Croat. His tour de force was his stint in Berlin where he became so fluent that Germans assumed he was a native of that city. When he retired he moved to Spain and by the end of the first month he had become the de facto translator for the local English speaking community.

[Norfolktolancashire]

I'm feeling the need to start a pathetic autovia site, after pathetic motorways here. There's a few so short or crap I wandered why they bothered - you can also walk/cycle on some of them as well. This one https://goo.gl/maps/ycqMj6C8hUK2 is only a few hundered metres long

Don't underestimate the power of the local mayor in demanding short autovias. Especially before an election....which seems like every year in Spain!

[Norfolktolancashire]

Note: this is bit more of a personal post about moving to Spain, rather than a 'normal' subject topic but always happy to answer any questions

Myself and my other half had decided to up sticks and move, and after about 18 months of prep finally sold the house and managed to leave

A few weeks ago we loaded up our Sprinter van and over 4 days drove from Nottingham to Gibraltar (not actually in Gib but not far away!). Main reason for doing it this way was because we also have a dog, which makes it more much complex as preferred to skip France entirely and get the ferry to Bilbao.

Had stop-offs in Folkestone, Bordeaux and Salamanca

Apart from the fun of having never driven across much of France before, it was a great trip, and difference in road quality when crossing from France to Spain.

Most of the way though Spain was the Via de la Plata (Silver route), which is an ancient Roman route similar to the A1 or A46 back in the UK.

So far we've managed to buy a car and nearly got an apartment sorted in the next week or so

Few things I've learnt so far:
Bureaucracy in Spain is terrible and a lot of simple things in the UK are much harder here

Roads in Spain generally are worse, however in this region seem to be pretty much terrible

The standard of driving is a lot worse, and the less said about Spanish roundabout etiquette the better

Despite the speed limit changing constantly it’s generally ignored

Spanish investment into the road network is usually very good and there is generally a high quality road available for most routes and usually a choice of route with parallel motorways in quite a few places which is rare in the UK


That said I'm still interested and following UK roads closely as ever so don't expect to leave here any time soon Looking forward to exploring the continent even more and maybe popping over to Ceuta so I can say I've driven in Africa as well!

I can understand why you have moved down there. We seriously thought about it as we love Spain and all its empty space and differing climate zones. I love driving in Spain, I found the drivers much more courteous than the French, who insist on driving up your backside.

However, despite having few ties and no employment restrictions, we decided not to. It comes down to healthcare costs, with Brexit due in one way or another, the long term prospect of cheap/free healthcare in Spain for us is extremely unlikely.

Annoying to say the least!

[Owain]

I can understand why you have moved down there. We seriously thought about it as we love Spain and all its empty space and differing climate zones. I love driving in Spain, I found the drivers much more courteous than the French, who insist on driving up your backside.

As I've said before, I've only spent a few hours in Spain, driving the N-260 to get from Figueres to Andorra. It was lunchtime, so there was hardly any traffic. Nonetheless, the few drivers I did encounter impressed me. I was driving at the speed limit, and the vast majority of them just followed me at a sensible distance. One, funnily enough, was a Spanish-registered Rover 75; I saw three 75s in as many hours in Spain, after being in other countries for two weeks and not having seen any apart from my own!

The only exception to sensible Spanish driving came in a sudden rainstorm, which reduced visibility dramatically. I was in a line of three or four cars, and a BMW X5 towing a trailer decided to overtake the whole queue at considerable speed, before slamming his brakes on half-way through the manoeuvre because he spotted a speed camera. It flashed, but I'm not sure who triggered it; it might even have been me, because I was distracted by watching him. I never heard anything about it though.

It does look like a lovely country, and I have to go back.

[Norfolktolancashire]

I can understand why you have moved down there. We seriously thought about it as we love Spain and all its empty space and differing climate zones. I love driving in Spain, I found the drivers much more courteous than the French, who insist on driving up your backside.

As I've said before, I've only spent a few hours in Spain, driving the N-260 to get from Figueres to Andorra. It was lunchtime, so there was hardly any traffic. Nonetheless, the few drivers I did encounter impressed me. I was driving at the speed limit, and the vast majority of them just followed me at a sensible distance. One, funnily enough, was a Spanish-registered Rover 75; I saw three 75s in as many hours in Spain, after being in other countries for two weeks and not having seen any apart from my own!

The only exception to sensible Spanish driving came in a sudden rainstorm, which reduced visibility dramatically. I was in a line of three or four cars, and a BMW X5 towing a trailer decided to overtake the whole queue at considerable speed, before slamming his brakes on half-way through the manoeuvre because he spotted a speed camera. It flashed, but I'm not sure who triggered it; it might even have been me, because I was distracted by watching him. I never heard anything about it though.

It does look like a lovely country, and I have to go back.

I have been visiting and driving in Spain for nearly 30 years, recently driving my own car down from the UK through France. What I like about the country is the fact that most of it is undeveloped and rural (the Spanish as a whole love to live together!).

I have used the A23 Autovia Mudejar from the Pyrenees down to Valencia on the Med coast, empty and free...a bit like what I suspect driving through the Nevada Desert is like.

Spanish drivers, like most drivers, have a dislike of tolls, therefore the Spanish authorities are gradually duplicating these toll motorways with good quality D2 expressways. An example of this are the various different toll free autovias between Alicante and Valencia (A31,A7) avoiding the toll going via Benidorm.

The climate difference is amazing, the foothills of the Pyrenees are cooler and full of thunderstorms, then driving south along the A23 the temperature rises at least 20c!

One thing Spanish drivers are not so keen on I found is a GB stickered car (i.e. mine!) overtaking them, quite a few decide to speed up afterwards for a re-overtake! As for the roundabouts, it's each for themselves!

[Owain]

The climate difference is amazing, the foothills of the Pyrenees are cooler and full of thunderstorms, then driving south along the A23 the temperature rises at least 20c!

During the same afternoon, Figueres looked like a dustbowl I'd expect to find in southern Italy, while the biblical rainfall with the crazed overtaker was somewhere near Prats (appropriately enough).

My favourite section was the quiet mountain pass between Ripoll and Urtx, where there were patches of ice at the side of the road ... in July!

[exiled]

The climate difference is amazing, the foothills of the Pyrenees are cooler and full of thunderstorms, then driving south along the A23 the temperature rises at least 20c!

During the same afternoon, Figueres looked like a dustbowl I'd expect to find in southern Italy, while the biblical rainfall with the crazed overtaker was somewhere near Prats (appropriately enough).

My favourite section was the quiet mountain pass between Ripoll and Urtx, where there were patches of ice at the side of the road ... in July!

Visiting the Alhambra in Granada was fascinating for that. It was a sweltering July around 40 degrees C day, below the Alhambra Granada sweltered in the heat, above the Alhambra snow still capped the summits of the Sierra Nevadas.

Road wise I think we were there just prior to the opening of the new viaduct on the A-4 on the Andalucia/Castilla La Mancha border. Love a D2 that is an old mountain pass.

[Vierwielen]

I find I end up "code switching" a lot. Certain aspects of my life take place in Swedish (such as work) and certain in English (home life) and I find that I instinctively choose the relevant language without thinking about it, to the extent that I have to make a conscious effort to speak English at work when in meetings with non-Swedish speakers.

My brother-in-law related that many [white] South Africans would tune in to an English-language commentary when listening to cricket, but an Afrikaans-language commentary for rugby, maily because teh Afrikaans language commentators got far more worked up about the match than their English counterparts.