Thinking Of Moving To Lanzarote - What Advice Can You Give Me Please

stressedoutmum

Posted this earlier under 'moving to Spain' thread but only had one reply which was extremely useful. I'm sure there must be loads of info so have started a different thread. For a couple of years we've been thinking about moving to Lanzarote but not given it a lot of serious thought. We love the place - been there lots of hols but I know living somewhere is different from holiday. We're both in our early 40s, 2 kids (9,6) and would still need to work out there and learn spanish. We're not sure where to start so can anyone give us any pointers to websites about jobs, house prices, good areas/bad areas to buy, english speaking schools etc, costs. Bascially everything we need here over there. Have seen lots of websites but would rather have recommendations.

seven-day-weekend

I'm im mainland Spain, in the mountains, so I can't give any specific advice about coastal Lanzarote.

General things to know are :

For most jobs (unless it's amongst expats) you WILL need to be fluent in Spanish.

Carwise, you will be better off buying one in Spain than trying to import your British one (what a nightmare!).

Make sure you get an E106 or an E121 (whichever one you are entitled to)from the DSS in England before you go. These cover medical costs in Spain. The E106 is based on Insurance Conrtributions and will last about two years. Once it expires, you have to make other arrangements such as private health insurance until you are of State Pension age. The E121 is given to people on a British State Pension or certain benefits including Incapacity Benefit and lasts as long as the person is on the pensiion or benefit. Spanish Healthcare is excellent.

Most of the expat kids here seem to do well in Spanish speaking schools and soon become bilingual.

Hope this helps.....maybe someone will come along who knows Lanzarote and can give you more specific information.

Tassotti

seven-day-weekend wrote:

Most of the expat kids here seem to do well in Spanish speaking schools and soon become bilingual.

Its strange how kids are more intelligent than adults!! I think that as we get older we know more, but are less able to accept new information.

Sorry, doesn't help OP much..I have a friend who has lived in Tnerife for the past few years. I could ask him

lemontrees

Hi Stressedoutmum

I've been here on Lanzarote for five years, so hope I can offer some useful pointers. As far as finding work is concerned, there are very few places to look for regular ads, but if it helps, you could try putting your details on the Holiday Gazette website (https://www.gazettelive.com) and also look at any situations vacant there. There is also a monthly Spanish publication called Estohay, which publishes job adverts (under bolsa de trabajo), but you will need at least basic Spanish to use this (their website is https://www.estohay.es). If you have the chance to learn any Spanish before you move out it will really help you get a head start. As far as house prices go, they tend to be higher in areas which are tourist resorts (Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca) but seeing as this is normally where the jobs are, it makes sense to base yourself in or around one of these areas, at least when you first arrive. There are many, many estate agents, so if you do a google search for property lanzarote you'll find plenty of agents where you can check property prices. A typical 3 bedroom duplex (2 storey house) can be anywhere between 220-300,000€.

There are two english speaking schools, one is outside Puerto del Carmen and I think the fees are around 2 or 3,000€ (not sure if this is per term or yearly, as I don't have kids). The other is in Tahiche, which is a satellite town just outside Arrecife, but fairly central on the island. You shouldn't rule out the idea of your kids going to a Spanish state school, because as sevendayweek says, they learn really quickly (far quicker than us oldies).

Hope some of this is useful, if you want any further questions answered, I'll be happy to try and help.

Lemontrees

stressedoutmum

lemontrees. Thanks for the pointers and if you think of any more would be grateful for all advice. At least I can start somewhere now. Do you have any idea about the unemployment rates and crime rates - is there a local newspaper I can access on the web etc. I'd love to send the kids to spanish state school because I hear they are excellent its just the worry of throwing them in at the deep end listening to people they dont understand. I'd be worried that if they couldnt understand they would be unsettled and miserable.

iwanttosave_2

stressedoutmum wrote:

lemontrees. Thanks for the pointers and if you think of any more would be grateful for all advice. At least I can start somewhere now. Do you have any idea about the unemployment rates and crime rates - is there a local newspaper I can access on the web etc. I'd love to send the kids to spanish state school because I hear they are excellent its just the worry of throwing them in at the deep end listening to people they dont understand. I'd be worried that if they couldnt understand they would be unsettled and miserable.

Not sure how much this will help but my mum moved to spain in november with my 10 year old brother. Now my brother has behavior problems and slight learning difficulties (boarderline ADHD) and he has settled really well into a spanish school, he started there about 6 weeks ago (took a while to get things started) and apparently he is really enjoying it. They go out on trips out a lot of the time and they are really patient with him and he is loving it.

He is now on summer hols, they breack up early there and dont go back till the end of september because of the heat so bear this in mind when looking for jobs, my mum has had to give up her day job in a cafe and just working at night in a bar while stepdad is working as a delivery driver, both know no spanish other than "dos cervesa por vavour" (2 beers please :rolleyes: )

seven-day-weekend

The younger the child, the quicker they will pick up the Spanish, but I know a boy here who has lived here since he was six and he is now bilingual.

seven-day-weekend

>>dos cervesa por vavour" <<

Dos cervezas, por favor!

missile

seven-day-weekend wrote:

The younger the child, the quicker they will pick up the Spanish, but I know a boy here who has lived here since he was six and he is now bilingual.

at age 59 :rotfl:

iwanttosave_2

seven-day-weekend wrote:

>>dos cervesa por vavour" <<

Dos cervezas, por favor!

I can say it better than spell it

:rotfl:

seven-day-weekend

missile wrote:

at age 59 :rotfl:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :beer: