Relocation to Spain Experience

Language learning is really difficult as it requires commitment . You can't passively learn a language just by living abroad, and you don't progress at 10mins of Duolingo a day. You need to dedicate 1-2 hours while you brain is still awake, and constantly try and push through all the weaknesses, force yourself into situations way out of comfort zone etc.

This is all far easier said than done, i have struggled massively but have eventually got to B1/B2 level. But i have so much work and family stress right now i am just doing the 10 minutes a day and sadly feel that my French has regressed somewhat. Especially volcabulary, idiomatic expressions and complex grammar all is easily forgotten if not actively practiced every day
 
Yeah, i think all the people who say things like "of you pick it up when you're immersed in it" probably don't actually mean that and the reality is it just helps all the other work you put in. My wife uses Mondly and i'd say her vocabulary is probably better than mine, in that she knows more "words" than me, but doesn't have the confidence so leaves any talking to me.

On the similar side, my dad is very good technically. He can probably recite every verb and the various options depending on the situation, but put him in a conversation and he just confuses everyone. Although he does that in English to be honest! My mum is probably the best conversationally but i don't think she bothers half the time.


My reading/writing is much better than verbal. I'm on some Whatsapp groups in Spanish and also have been buying/selling some things on Facebook which helps that side, but again they're limited scenarios and discussing Jeep Wranglers doesn't help much in day to day situations :D
 
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@Martynt74

Listening to the radio is good. There's no problem with having the radio as background for a few hours a day. I found that helped a lot.

It helps with picking up high-frequency words and phrases. I found at first I just heard the odd word (as it was native and fast), and then picked up phrases, finally onto sentences.

The news (particularly big international stories) is best. That is repetitive and factual and presenters normally speak clearly. You might already know what they're talking about, too, which helps.
 
Yeah. News is a good call.

Knowing what to expect helps a lot. If I’m in the bank I kind of know what I’m expecting them to say so my brain kind of preempts what I think they’re asking.


Annoyingly I’m currently in the bank and been here an hour. Can’t seem to pay my wife’s tax bill.
They can’t do it by direct debit because it’s a Non Resident account and I can’t pay by card because my bank should be able to do it by DD!
 
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D.P. said:
Language learning is really difficult as it requires commitment . You can't passively learn a language just by living abroad, and you don't progress at 10mins of Duolingo a day. You need to dedicate 1-2 hours while you brain is still awake, and constantly try and push through all the weaknesses, force yourself into situations way out of comfort zone etc.

This is all far easier said than done, i have struggled massively but have eventually got to B1/B2 level. But i have so much work and family stress right now i am just doing the 10 minutes a day and sadly feel that my French has regressed somewhat. Especially volcabulary, idiomatic expressions and complex grammar all is easily forgotten if not actively practiced every day
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What I did in Switzerland was to read the BBC News then go and get a local paper and read the same stories, so I knew what they would be saying. Any translation issues, I would ask a friend or a colleague.
 
Tuppy_Glossop said:
What I did in Switzerland was to read the BBC News then go and get a local paper and read the same stories, so I knew what they would be saying. Any translation issues, I would ask a friend or a colleague.
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Reading is generally easy, i just read the most of my news in french. On a phone this is nice because i can just highlight a word or phrase to get a translation, bit that is rarely an issue these days.
The real challenge is fluid conversation . Listening is incredibly challenging. I try to listen to a lot of french but it gets extremely tiring and i tend to loose focus after 10mins.
 
potatolord said:
@Martynt74

Listening to the radio is good. There's no problem with having the radio as background for a few hours a day. I found that helped a lot.

It helps with picking up high-frequency words and phrases. I found at first I just heard the odd word (as it was native and fast), and then picked up phrases, finally onto sentences.

The news (particularly big international stories) is best. That is repetitive and factual and presenters normally speak clearly. You might already know what they're talking about, too, which helps.
Click to expand...

If you can watch something in subtitles (not English subtitles) then you can connect the sounds to text. Youtube is good as you can slow things down
 
Martynt74 said:
My reading/writing is much better than verbal.
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I'm the same. Main problem is a lack of time to really study what we're being taught in classes but also the sheer speed at which the Spanish talk.

On the plus side I've two trips booked this year so will be interesting to see how the theory translates to the practical. I'm guessing not too well :D
 
Martynt74 said:
Whoop, lifes almost getting easier...

I've been trying for ages to get an appointment for my wifes driving licence exchange. I was close to paying someone to just do it for me, but spoke to the company who are doing my residency and they suggested trying at 9am, and sure enough. This morning there were loads of appointments available for Tuesday :)

It's a bit different here, as a licence only lasts a short amount of time, and to renew you have to have a small medical to check you're capable. It's easy enough, a sight and hearing test, but then you have to do an activity to judge perception and also one where you have a curser moving along between 2 lines, and you have a left and right control and you have to avoid the sides. The computer that you do this on is straight out of the 80's

Also amusing is that this is a picture of the doctors office where you do the test. The waiting area was full of big chunky wooden furniture and genuinely felt like you were back in time 100 years. Pretty sure this is a real skull!
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The license lasts for 10 years, but some of the entitlements you already have on the UK license that you exchange will last only 5 years. So when I swapped mine The C1 and C1E my Uk license had are only valid for 5 years on my Spanish license whereas B and BE are for 10 years. I lost the 2 C ones a couple of years ago and my first renewal for the remaining categories is in '26.

The machine that the "medical" was done on, even in a big city like Barcelona is exactly the same, straight out of the 80s and 45 odd euros.

Basically one of these:

hflw2hS.jpg



rp2000
 
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Oh. Seems your machine was maybe a bit different.
This was what my wife used but somehow even older.

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The doctor messed up a bit and missed some of the categories off so she only has a/b but shouldn’t be an issue for her.
 
Jack_green said:
I am sure they have Spanish translators in their government departments. And all paperwork in many languages.
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Oh yeah. They all CAN speak English to a decent level. Whether those people are willing to depends on many factors.

As part of the job they have to speak English at a certain level. Maybe B1 but I’m not sure what the levels are.

Some will point blank say they don’t speak English, but then when you attempt Spanish and they see you’re trying they just start speaking fluent English! Others just refuse to speak it because the English still have a bad reputation but then you hear them speak English to say a German/Dutch person as it’s their common language.


Paperwork is generally in Spanish but with Google PDF Translater there’s usually enough assistance. The government websites also have the option for English but it’s hit and miss so usually it’s best to leave in Spanish and use Chrome to translate.
 
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Jack_green said:
I guess that was the companies mission statement. That's is how I read it.
I am thinking about doing a c1, keep my options open. I find the UK to stressful.
I been quietly reading this post to get a sense of issues regarding moving.
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Having gone through it I would gladly do it all again and we certainly haven’t made it easy for ourselves.

I’m sure we could’ve had our own house and all paperwork sorted by now if I’d wanted to just pay someone and we were less fussy with house requirements.

If you ever have any specific questions just give me a shout.
 
Martynt74 said:
Oh yeah. They all CAN speak English to a decent level. Whether those people are willing to depends on many factors.

As part of the job they have to speak English at a certain level. Maybe B1 but I’m not sure what the levels are.

Some will point blank say they don’t speak English, but then when you attempt Spanish and they see you’re trying they just start speaking fluent English! Others just refuse to speak it because the English still have a bad reputation but then you hear them speak English to say a German/Dutch person as it’s their common language.


Paperwork is generally in Spanish but with Google PDF Translater there’s usually enough assistance. The government websites also have the option for English but it’s hit and miss so usually it’s best to leave in Spanish and use Chrome to translate.
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This happens here too, particularly for anything official/governmental. Austria has the second highest (I think) English proficiency in Europe but sometimes you would swear that nobody here speaks a word of it.
 
The quiet life is funny.

As mentioned previously. Going to my parents place which is touristy has been awful.
Then you end up on a quiet road today as we were and got stuck behind a single slow driver and got annoyed with them as it’s just so unusual to have anything inconvenience you!

Think I offended the neighbour last week as i mentioned how big a plot we’d bought and when he asked why I said I didn’t want neighbours. He’s been less chatty since!
 
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Jack_green said:
I hope it really works for you. I hope one day I'll be in that position.
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Thanks. 100% it will (assuming I don’t get deported for still not having my residency!)

Once we get into the new rental things will be loads better too. We’ll know we’re then settled right up to moving into our house, and also it’ll be mostly empty as the owners are moving out so won’t be trying to fit out stuff around the house owners’ stuff. Can start buying furniture too as there’s loads of space.
 
Ah having the cash would make a big difference. Especially if looking for anything more remote.

I’ve certainly been fortunate to have a Spanish subsidiary for me to transfer to, however there’s a lot of UK companies allowing people to work remote now. As you say that opens up the DNV. You’d probably keep your SIPP benefits there too and get the UK top up.

That’s one thing I need to sort out. There’s no tax benefits to paying into a private pension here. I’ll have enough years contributions for a full Spanish pension which should be a decent amount as it’s scaled here where you get a higher pension the more you earn.
I’m likely just going to plough money into Investments and have more flexibility in drawing it down rather than being tied to specific ages.

As you say DNV is 24% tax and gives resident rights. Assuming you’re a non EU citizen that’s likely the only option. Even with our Spanish subsidiary I think it would’ve been tricky without my wife being from the EU.
I do believe Portugal is meant to make things a little easier.
 
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Ah see I’m poor so don’t have to worry about that!

If you’re resident i Spain then I don’t believe the wealth tax applies. It’s only for Non Residents but I could be wrong. You’d just be taxed as if it’s income.

Re state pension. There’s nothing to currently transfer. You just apply when at pension age and they liaise with the UK. Unsure what to do about my SIPP though. At the moment I’ve not looked into it.
 
ALso screw the Spanish language!

Just been to the garage to ask when they can change 4 tyres for me , The scene played out like this and basically made me look stupid

Me - Can you change 4 tyres, i already have the new tyres
Mechanic - Si, en Martes (Yes on Tuesday),
Me - Gracias, en la manana? (Thanks, in the morning?)
Mechanic - No, manana es Sabado. Es Martes (No, tomorrow is Saturday. I said Tuesday)
Me - Si, En Martes por la Manana (Yes, on Tuesday, in the morning?)

He then proceeded to point at the calendar and point out that he meant Tuesday. At this point i gave up and will just drop it off at 8am when they open on Tuesday! I guess i could've asked "what time on Tuesday", but it's where i'm still not quite that confident so changing what i'm thinking of asking generally leaves me tongue tied!

The main issue being that "Manana" technically means Morning, but no-one seems to use it as such, it's more commonly used for tomorrow. Hence everyone saying Manana when asked to do anything.

Also it seems weird not typing with the squiggly bit over the N!
 
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