Spain is a much, much better place to bring up kids but not as good as it was 25 years ago when they were 100% safe, now not quite so good but a million times better than the U.K. I should think. They have quite a lot of freedom and of course the weather to enjoy. The downside, they have 12 weeks school holiday in the summer, and Spanish state schools finish at 2 pm ! I don’t know the Costa Brava, believe it’s less built up, I have been to the Alicante area, that’s quite nice, little less expensive than here. We live in Elviria, which is really nice, not built up, loads of trees and good beaches, we are less than 10mins from Marbella, which despite what people think is a really pretty, smart Spanish town. The problem at the moment being here is now the property ‘bubble’ has burst, no work, lots of people have returned to their home countries, still, when the housing market improves in the U.K. I think it will start improving here. I suggest you rent somewhere first to get the feel of a place. Though there are some bargains at the moment. There are some newspapers online. Sur in English, which is for the Malaga province, and The Euro weekly, which has a Costa Blanca adition.
Regards Jenny