Changing Places 112 W/C 6th April 2008

The children brought to Majorca with relocating parents are an interesting bunch. They take so much in their stride and we are proud of the way they adjust and comfort ourselves that the move has been all to their good but does that really bear scrutiny? In our family Kate the almost eight year old spoke last weekend of not being able to accept an invitation on Saturday morning because ‘it’s our market day’. The routines of the week are defined by school and the weekly happenings around Soller. For her the gathering in the square and playing with her local friends while her parents drink coffee with theirs on Saturday mornings is just what you do. The weekly browse around the market stalls and the spending of the pocket money (usually on stickers) is what she expects of a Saturday morning.

Sunday the location for the young families of Soller changes to the beach and the playground is sand and sea and meeting up with friends again. The sophistication of the urban child is not present here where sandcastles and giggling with the girls is the definition of a lovely day. The occasional spot of fishing with Dad is considered acceptable too but it’s hard to keep quiet while the fish bite. Kate keeps an eye on what the older girls do as the beach and square are full of young teenage girls hanging out together. She is particularly taken with the mopeds they ride and talks of the day when she can have one. She has decided already that hers should be pink and that it will be the ‘best day’ when she and her friends can ride together.

Emma the almost four year old granddaughter has known no other life. She arrived here as a baby and for her the routines of Soller life are what she knows. She is the one that sees her school friends on the beach and chats with them in Majorcan. The local school – the only one in the Port of Soller - sets great store by friendship and community and this can be seen being played out whenever the children meet. The teacher stays with the nursery class for the first three years of their school life here and the group blends into a cohesive whole that is the basis of local life. The majority of mums in the school went to the same school with each other when they were small and history repeating itself is what they expect. This was defined beautifully in Ghosts of Spain a book written by Giles Tremlett (the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent). His definition of the importance Spanish attach to their ‘group’ and how that it forms the basis for everything in the future from business relationships to marriage and friendship is very revealing. I read the book with avid interest but now can see it actually being played out in my family.

The discussions among the parents are the same here as they would be in North London. There is interest in the children’s progress at school and talk about their hobbies and friendships. Outdoor and community life plays a part it could not in London because of the weather and the much smaller scale of life. Our children are thriving in this environment and visits back to London are just that – they can’t wait to get ‘home’. The natural beauty of where we live soothes the soul and although the children take it for granted even they can be stopped in their tracks by the sun glinting on the mountains and panoramic sea views. They expect to see goats, chickens and sheep on local walks and play in meadows of spring flowere.For them their home in an old Majorcan town house just of the square in Soller is the centre of the world.

Our families advice to others contemplating the move is don’t think too hard! This life for young families has everything to commend it as long as the finance is there. The common problem for relocating families is underestimating how much it costs too live here. Very few people arrive believing the low wages they will get for the hours they work. The ones that make it become part of the ‘jack of all trades’ crowd – willing to do anything legal to earn money. A far cry from the careers and lives they led in the UK but somehow the city career path or the corporate ladder seems irrelevant when faced with the privileged life it is possible for families to have here.
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