A blog for all those trying to find their way to expatriation. Professionals, financial immigrants, this road is absolutely not easy in many aspects.
Let's share our stories, experience and ideas.
Looking for a new home, school, friends, in general, looking for a new life in a new city in a new country is not so easy... An adventure begins... Let's share some useful information and experience. What happened to you ? Tell us your story.
One of the most difficult parts of the expatriation procedure is finding a proper school for the children. Anxiety hits the sky, taking into consideration that there is not even one factor stable enough to feel that you're taking the right decision. You don't know how many hours you have to stay at work, how long does it take to go back and forth the house, what is the distance from the house, from the work, if you will manage to handle any unpredictable or sudden incident.... But.... calm down... The most optimistic part in this story is children's incredible adaptability ! I will tell you a story. There is a couple, friends of mine. John, the husband accepted a job in Brussels approximately 2 years ago. Their son, Peter, was about to start elementary school at that time and couldn't speak not even a word in French... Because the international school was too far, the parents registered him in a local public school close to their new home. The first days were terrible... Mother and son were crying all day long (for different reasons)... One day, the principal of the school called the mother in his office and told her that in less than 3 months her son would speak French as a native and that he would be part of the whole team like being there for ever. And this is exactly what happened. Peter speaks fluent French apart of his native language and is perfectly adapted, happy with his new friends ! Of course, choosing a school also depends on other factors, financial and working. If you know that every professional change means country change, then you should consider to choose an international school. No doubt that private, international schools are much more expensive, but again, that depends on the contract you have and the package you negotiate with your employer. For example, there are some companies offering full package, i.e. home & school expenses covered. Additional factors, like the country's educational system, safety of the zone you are living, should be taken into consideration. For example, in the UK, the majority of the pupils attend the public schools until College and University. Same happens to Canada and North Europe where the education standards are in really exceptional levels. A helpful tool can be found in some real estate sites, where at the same time you are looking for a property, you are given the option to check not only the available schools close to the property you are checking, but also its rate and the possibilities you have to be accepted (according to the distance from your house). Such site is the www.rightmove.uk. If someone else knows another site or tool, please share it with us. Looking for a new school means more than the building and the teachers... It means a big change for our children. Let's show them the bright side ! Let's see it as an adventure, as the huge opportunity to meet new friends and share with them our knowledge from our country and learn new things about theirs. Let's don't "transfer" our anxiety and worries to our children... Everything's gonna be perfect !
Looking for a school.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most difficult parts of the expatriation procedure is finding a proper school for the children. Anxiety hits the sky, taking into consideration that there is not even one factor stable enough to feel that you're taking the right decision. You don't know how many hours you have to stay at work, how long does it take to go back and forth the house, what is the distance from the house, from the work, if you will manage to handle any unpredictable or sudden incident....
But.... calm down... The most optimistic part in this story is children's incredible adaptability ! I will tell you a story. There is a couple, friends of mine. John, the husband accepted a job in Brussels approximately 2 years ago. Their son, Peter, was about to start elementary school at that time and couldn't speak not even a word in French... Because the international school was too far, the parents registered him in a local public school close to their new home. The first days were terrible... Mother and son were crying all day long (for different reasons)... One day, the principal of the school called the mother in his office and told her that in less than 3 months her son would speak French as a native and that he would be part of the whole team like being there for ever. And this is exactly what happened. Peter speaks fluent French apart of his native language and is perfectly adapted, happy with his new friends !
Of course, choosing a school also depends on other factors, financial and working. If you know that every professional change means country change, then you should consider to choose an international school. No doubt that private, international schools are much more expensive, but again, that depends on the contract you have and the package you negotiate with your employer. For example, there are some companies offering full package, i.e. home & school expenses covered.
Additional factors, like the country's educational system, safety of the zone you are living, should be taken into consideration. For example, in the UK, the majority of the pupils attend the public schools until College and University. Same happens to Canada and North Europe where the education standards are in really exceptional levels.
A helpful tool can be found in some real estate sites, where at the same time you are looking for a property, you are given the option to check not only the available schools close to the property you are checking, but also its rate and the possibilities you have to be accepted (according to the distance from your house). Such site is the www.rightmove.uk.
If someone else knows another site or tool, please share it with us.
Looking for a new school means more than the building and the teachers... It means a big change for our children. Let's show them the bright side ! Let's see it as an adventure, as the huge opportunity to meet new friends and share with them our knowledge from our country and learn new things about theirs. Let's don't "transfer" our anxiety and worries to our children... Everything's gonna be perfect !