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Living in Girona (part 2). More on Girona schools, property, working and living in Girona, plus other thoughts.
A very informative free guide (in Catalan) about all the schools in Girona is provided by the local council (Ajuntament de Girona) entitled Girona, Ciutat Educadora. Centres Educatius Publics i Privats Concertats. Try asking for this at the main Ajuntament reception, we were given ours by a friend. Produced annually it gives a brief description with colour photo's of each Infant, Primary and Secondary school inside Girona city.
The 'Privats Concertats' schools are a combination of state-run and private, where parents have to make a monthly payment which varies according to which school you choose. The consensus amongst Catalans is that these have a better standard and are often over-subscribed. To get a deeper understanding of where the good schools are you'd need to speak to other Catalan parents that have children. Unlike in the UK we have'nt so far found any public records online or offline of school league tables.
The process of pre-registration starts around March-time and you have to send your forms back between March 24th to April 4th, the schools office in Devesa (mentioned in the previous page) is where you need to go.
Other things we noticed;
Parents are given a list of things by the school that each pupil needs and you must buy all the different subject text books, excercise books, pens, pencils, practically everything they use on a daily basis at school. This can add up to about 200-300€ in total per child. There's no provision for pupils to bring in and eat a packed lunch, kids can only eat a small snack or sandwich at morning break-time. You either eat the school lunch or go home for your lunch. The typical cost per month, per pupil if they eat in the school dining room (menjador) is about 90-100 Euros per child.
It's possible to get the monthly menu in advance so you can see what they'll get to eat each day and there is an emphasis on healthy food. Another common complaint by our kids is that the food is often cold as they serve the food for the pupils before they sit dow to eat, rather than lining up in the dinner queue and then sitting down. (Update: our kids have moved to another school where they serve hot food at the tables!)
When any kids school trip needs to be paid for you often have to pay via a designated banks ATM with your credit or debit card, and follow a long list of instructions which by the way are all in Catalan! I managed to stumble my way through this and kind of got there in the end, but you'll find that kids take trips during each school term and at least one involves an overnight stay.
During the summer months and at other times like Easter many schools organize school camps (colonies) and activities called 'Cassals' which need to be paid for but keep the kids busy during the very long summer break.
This apartment block near the station has some unusual murals around its facade.
International Schools in Girona.
St. Georges is a mixed, fee-paying (approx.600-700€/mth.), international English school located in Fornells de la Selva just outside Girona and has a wide catchment area. There are mixed opinions as to how good it is.
Renting Property in Girona.
If you have no intention of buying a property in Girona as we did, then renting is the only other option. If you have time then it's worth coming here prior to your move and exploring which parts of Girona appeal to you and visiting rental agents to check their inventory and inspecting some apartments. In our experience and with what we've heard good places go quickly so you need to act fast. Also they don't seem to pay too much attention to you if you say your'e looking for flat in two months time. It seems things happen only when you have a few weeks to find somewhere.
Alternatively, if youv'e found some properties being advertised directly by owners via the internet then you could possibly line up some places to view this way. The Catalan for renting is lloguer (alquiler in Spanish) so look out for these signs.
The rental market is not that big here and not many property agents offer rentals but there are a few websites where agents and private owners advertise rental property in Girona. Here's a list of some you can check-out, just use the search criteria to narrow it down to Girona. This way you can compare prices and locations.
www.loquo.com Click on Girona from the list of places and then choose the English option. Good local site with a 'flats to rent' section and other ad categories. Free to advertise.
www.mundoanuncio.com (Spanish) Free Ads site.
www.milanuncios.com (Spanish) Free Ads site.
www.sitioanuncios.com (Spanish) Free Ads site.
www.idealista.com (English option) Mostly agent listings.
www.segundamano.es (Spanish-choose the Girona option) Free Ads site.
Info on buying or renting property in Girona. Please go to our Girona Property page.
Also, check the local daily newspapers like Diari de Girona and freebie newspapers like Revenda (weekly) and Punt de Venda which have flats to rent. Flats or apartments are called pisos (Spanish), pis (Catalan) and are offered either as furnished (amueblado in Spanish, amb mobles in Catalan) or unfurnished (sense mobles in Catalan) and slightly cheaper. In our case we rented a furnished apartment as we arrived by plane and this was more convenient for us. We had rented the same flat the year before and by chance the owner was interested in a long term rental so we commited to a twelve month contract.
When you sign a rental contract you should get a copy to keep as you need to show this when obtaining a school place, opening a bank account and for obtaining the town hall registration (empadronamiento). Rental contracts will of course be written in Catalan and the duration can vary according to whether you rented through an agent or a private owner. Our current contract is for 5 years as we found it via an agent but our previous rental was through a private owner and ran for only one year.
It's normal to have to pay at least two months rental as a deposit so make sure you obtain a receipt. When dealing through agents, in addition to the two months deposit they'll also charge you a fee (+va,t called IVA here) equivalent to one months rental so you could end up forking out four months rent (including the first months rent in advance) before you have set foot inside!
Update, August 2007: We've moved to a duplex flat in the Devesa area of Girona. We like this part of Girona a lot, its central, close to the station and a 10 minute walk to the old town, has many cafe's, restaurants and shops within walking distance. It's a corner flat with two balconies and a large roof terrace with great views of Girona. Also, finally we have our own underground parking space but its so awkward to use that I still prefer to park in the street!
Large square in La Devesa
Where to live in Girona?
Like most cities there are good and bad areas in which to live in, and below I have also mentioned some places nearby which are nice, residential and almost suburbs of Girona. Inside Girona I like these zones, La Devesa, Migdia, Girona old town, Palau, Quimics and Montilivi.
The hilly area known as Montjuic is very residential, with not that many shops but has a bus service. Friends tell me that it's a bit congested in the mornings and evenings because of its one road in-and-out.
If you like a bit of countryside around you and be literally a stones-throw from Girona try the Vall (valley) de St. Daniel area behind Girona's cathedral. It's not that big and has next to zero shops, plus you go uphill for most of the way, but I reckon it's hard to find rentals here. There's some nice country walks and mountain bike routes here. Friends that live here say it has it's own micro-climate, being a bit damper in the winter.
Vall de St. Daniel
Very near to Girona and also quite nice is the village of St. Gregori to the north west of Girona about 5kms. Like so many other places, there's been a lot of new building here, a mix of houses and flats and not cheap. It has a primary school, a music school and a high school is planned too. It's main street has a few shops like a bakery, a butchers, a few bars and a small supermarket.
Fornells de la Selva is a picturesque nearby village to the south of Girona, which has seen a lot of recent construction of flats and houses, but still retains a nice village atmosphere. Property is not that cheap, it has an international school, railway station and a rather nice public outdoor pool. We've used it and it has a large grassy area, cafe area with hot and cold snacks, kid's pool and open till 7pm. Entry for 2 adults/2 kids was 24€.
Also, heading in a southerly direction from Girona is the area of Villablareix and the small village of Aiguaviva, just a few kms away, it has a school and is very close to Girona airport too.
Go to Living in Girona pt.3 for even more stuff!