Mon, 28 May 2012
| Index | Last | Var.(%) |
|---|---|---|
| BEL 20 | 2119.44 | 0.28 |
| DAX | 6339.94 | 0.38 |
| IBEX 30 | 6543 | 0.13 |
| CAC 40 | 3047.94 | 0.32 |
| FTSE 100 | 5351.53 | 0.03 |
| AEX | 292.76 | 0.23 |
| DJIA | 12454.83 | -0.60 |
| Nasdaq | 2837.53 | -0.07 |
| FTSE MIB | 13154.8 | 0.36 |
| TSX Composite | 11576.47 | 0.09 |
| ASX | 4112.5 | 0.77 |
| Hang seng | 18770.85 | 0.31 |
| Straits Times | 2779.86 | 0.26 |
| ISEQ 20 | 500.94 | 1.55 |
Text size
Writer and mother Kathryn Rhett describes moving her family from small-town USA to northern Spain's unique city.Know any Spanish?
As my husband and I and our three children prepared to move to Barcelona, it seemed that every friend, acquaintance, and paediatrician asked the same question, and the answer was no.
We didn’t know any Spanish, and we just laughed wryly at the more advanced question: Know any Catalan? During a sabbatical from college teaching, we decided to try one last family adventure before our daughter went off to college, and while we still had the energy for a head-spinning trip.
We loved Barcelona when we visited for a week in 2002: there were two American-accredited international schools to choose from, it was on the Mediterranean, and the architecture was fantastic. While we owned the Rosetta Stone language programme, somehow, between preparing the house for renters, farming out the pets, wrapping up work matters, and fixing everything that broke just before we left, we didn’t even start learning Spanish. We used iGoogle to translate apartment rental ads, and to compose our email queries.
Unable to afford the advance trip that is indeed the smart way to proceed, we spread out a huge city map on my office floor and stuck Post-Its on potential apartment addresses, wondering how each neighborhood felt and calculating school commute times.
Figuring out a viable daily existence felt more urgent than learning Spanish. Or should it be Catalan? Predictably, we stumbled around with dictionaries and phrasebooks, lapsing unhelpfully into French.
Well, if we can just throw money at the problem…
The problem was that our three kids were not exactly thrilled about the move. Anyone you talk to, and most books one consults (such as "The Family Sabbatical" handbook), wisely counsel that it’s easier to relocate with younger children. We told our five-year-old that Barcelona had beaches and toy stores, as we discovered on www.kidsinbarcelona.com, and he nodded sagely, figuring he could handle the situation.
As far as our 12-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter were concerned, however, we were arbitrarily ruining their lives, taking them away from beloved kittens, field hockey, chicken tenders and best friends. Worse, as our daughter concluded after scanning our budget plan, we weren’t exactly rich.
So, if we could just throw money at the problem, in the way of loads of new clothes and Swatches and Legos and the lovely rental home in Sant Cugat with a large yard that we viewed online, then maybe they could ease into life in Barcelona with their horrible parents. But we were paid in dollars, whose value plunged by the day as we planned the trip. Work colleagues thought we were crazy. We thought so, too, as we read rental ads and willed ourselves not to compare the prices with our monthly mortgage in small-town America.
Moving to Barcelona
We rented a tiny apartment in the Gothic quarter. For the first three weeks, it was the five of us plus our daughter’s boyfriend on the couch in the living/dining/office/kitchen/laundry room. I adjusted by thinking of the apartment as a sailboat, everything needing to be stowed cleverly. Surrounded by expensive shops, we were thrilled to find a store on Laietana called ‘Very Cheap,’ we were happy to take advantage of summer sales, and we took pleasure in every good deal, from the price of train tickets to Sitges (a reasonable EUR 26 for five of us), to a pretty hibiscus plant for EUR 3.60.
...to northern Spain's unique city??? Oh God!!! Is this supposed to mean Barcelona? Since when it is in the NORTH? Got a map, anyone?
My family and I are in the same boat..unfortunately. My Catalan wife, four year old daughter and I moved here five years AGO, we now live in Gava. But I feel a little better being here now since Hussein was elected into office LOL!!!! I´m counting the days when my wife finally comes to her senses ( with all this CRISIS talk here, I´m so sick of it!!!!) and we move back to the AMERICAN DREAM!
This was an interesting article, but there wasn't enough information about money, like about how much the first apartment cost, etc. The school is taught in English? One nice thing about Barcelona and Spain in general is that high-speed dsl is available all over the place, so that's not a problem. When I lived in Barcelona for five months, I found an apartment for rent on the iAgoura web site with ease -- in fact, I chose Barcelona because there were many rentals there, after I moved from Moscow.
It would be nice to know about the bureaucratic restrictions on Americans moving to Barcelona, but that was beyond the scope of this article, I guess. I had a difficult time staying there for five months, because the limit is usually three for Americans staying temporarily.
Reading Kathryn's article I was amused but felt heartfelt sympathy for her kids and a little outrage. I was relocated to another city within the same country when I was 12 and that was tough enough! Was it worth it for Kathryn and her husband to put their kids through the heartache? Wasn't it ultimately a rather selfish act? I have known many cases of teenagers who have had huge difficulties successfully settling in a new country. And in many cases the child goes back "home". Relocating to another country can be a devastating experience for young people going through a particularly sensitive time in their development and can result in serious psychological stress even leading to eating disorders and other emotional issues. I wouldn't say you should never do it, but you must be prepared to give your children extra time and support while they adapt and cope with the loss of their previous life. Kathryn talks about her children's grief. As their mother, I wonder how she justified her and her husband's decision?
Nicky
Psychologist
I moved to Spain alone, without knowing Spanish... I have been here a year, and while I am learning on a daily basis, it is still tough every day! I can't imagine doing it with kids! I am interested to know more of what happened.. I wish Kathryn had written more. Also, one big question is.. how did you get Visas for your entire family? I am in the process of getting mine, and have determined it is almost impossible! Do you live in Barcelona without papers? Are you still living there? Kathryn, you should blog about this adventure!
If Nicky is a psychologist than Michelle is a geography expert (if Barcelona is not in Northern Spain, what is in Northern Spain, France??). I thought the article was very good in explaining the family dynamic. Kids are subject to the choices of adults on a daily basis from where they live to what they eat. It is hard to imagine that they will not benefit down the road. If we always simply listened to our kids, most would not go to school, take hard classes, go to college, you name it. As for a visa -- work visa is next to impossible while an extended tourist visa is easy.
...to northern Spain's unique city??? Oh God!!! Is this supposed to mean Barcelona? Since when it is in the NORTH? Got a map, anyone?
My family and I are in the same boat..unfortunately. My Catalan wife, four year old daughter and I moved here five years AGO, we now live in Gava. But I feel a little better being here now since Hussein was elected into office LOL!!!! I´m counting the days when my wife finally comes to her senses ( with all this CRISIS talk here, I´m so sick of it!!!!) and we move back to the AMERICAN DREAM!
This was an interesting article, but there wasn't enough information about money, like about how much the first apartment cost, etc. The school is taught in English? One nice thing about Barcelona and Spain in general is that high-speed dsl is available all over the place, so that's not a problem. When I lived in Barcelona for five months, I found an apartment for rent on the iAgoura web site with ease -- in fact, I chose Barcelona because there were many rentals there, after I moved from Moscow.
It would be nice to know about the bureaucratic restrictions on Americans moving to Barcelona, but that was beyond the scope of this article, I guess. I had a difficult time staying there for five months, because the limit is usually three for Americans staying temporarily.
Reading Kathryn's article I was amused but felt heartfelt sympathy for her kids and a little outrage. I was relocated to another city within the same country when I was 12 and that was tough enough! Was it worth it for Kathryn and her husband to put their kids through the heartache? Wasn't it ultimately a rather selfish act? I have known many cases of teenagers who have had huge difficulties successfully settling in a new country. And in many cases the child goes back "home". Relocating to another country can be a devastating experience for young people going through a particularly sensitive time in their development and can result in serious psychological stress even leading to eating disorders and other emotional issues. I wouldn't say you should never do it, but you must be prepared to give your children extra time and support while they adapt and cope with the loss of their previous life. Kathryn talks about her children's grief. As their mother, I wonder how she justified her and her husband's decision?
Nicky
Psychologist
I moved to Spain alone, without knowing Spanish... I have been here a year, and while I am learning on a daily basis, it is still tough every day! I can't imagine doing it with kids! I am interested to know more of what happened.. I wish Kathryn had written more. Also, one big question is.. how did you get Visas for your entire family? I am in the process of getting mine, and have determined it is almost impossible! Do you live in Barcelona without papers? Are you still living there? Kathryn, you should blog about this adventure!
If Nicky is a psychologist than Michelle is a geography expert (if Barcelona is not in Northern Spain, what is in Northern Spain, France??). I thought the article was very good in explaining the family dynamic. Kids are subject to the choices of adults on a daily basis from where they live to what they eat. It is hard to imagine that they will not benefit down the road. If we always simply listened to our kids, most would not go to school, take hard classes, go to college, you name it. As for a visa -- work visa is next to impossible while an extended tourist visa is easy.
Expatica's Getting Started section will provide practical information on how you can open a bank account, exchange your driving licence, improve your Spanish, and more.
Here's a guide to an extensive list of groups and clubs in Madrid for expats, from sports groups to social and family gatherings.
A brief introduction to our Tax section for Spain, from help with inheritance tax to accounting advice.
Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in Spain, from what to ask the experts to opening a Spanish bank account.
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Google+
6
