Recent content by delancepants

Thanks mmoon. Gosh you guys are so helpful! That's really good to know. I think a bilingual school would probably provide a richer cultural experience, which is one of the things we would like for our kids so I'll definitely bear this in mind.

Well I don't think I'll totally discard it, it could be a possibility for later in life when our kids have left home and we have a bit more flexibility (I love what I'm reading about the place so I'm definitely keeping it in mind for the future!). My husband is currently Chief Technical...

Thanks johnniewalker yeah the cold in Canada is definitely a minus, but actually I spoke to a friend of mine who is there and she has put me off, so Canada's off the list. And if my husband is not going to be with me then Germany's out too as I don't speak German and I don't think I can manage...

Thanks for the advice steveinbsas. I have two kids so I wouldn't move country without ensuring that we had a job to go to. I think the BA dream may not become reality unfortunately, as my husband is not confident that he can get a job in BA (or actually any of our selected countries) so he'll...

citygirl - I have not had much success in getting a response from the schools in BA. I suppose right before xmas probably wasn't the best time to try to contact them. Anyway I wanted to double check something with you. You said that a good bilingual school is about 6000 upwards per month...

Yeah you're right of course Garryl, we can always make new friends. It's easier to set up somewhere if you've had friends who've done it before you though. I suppose now I have kids I'm more sensitive to that as it was so hard moving the kids the last time. This is a very helpful forum. I...

Thanks Peter, you gave me a giggle first thing in the morning! Yes the 'hidden costs' side of things sounds similar to India in some ways, basically if they can find a reason they will ask for more. I can understand sometimes a little rant slips out....don't get me started on my neighbours...

Thanks steveinbsas, I am familiar with the search function! I am aware from previous experience though that when one is not resident in a country that one wants to find out about, it's often best to get up to date info. Often one has no way of knowing whether the info on forums is still...

Peter that's interesting to know about the building maintenance...are there many 'hidden' costs like that, unexpected things that I might not foresee? (Here in india you have to give tips for every religious holiday and often contribute to communal events even if you don't attend). Are you...

Yes, that's my concern about BA, that he won't find a job there. It's the top of the list for us in terms of interest. Neither of us have ever been to South America despite being drawn to it. I'm just not sure if the job side of things will work out. I guess we'll see what happens in the...

Yeah India is really hard. I'm sure we would love it in BA. I actually know very little about Argentina but I get the impression that people love to enjoy life and that quality of life is very important for them. I like that. I stayed in Ireland for many years because that's the thing I love...

No, I'm English. My husband is Indian but he has been an expat all his life until we moved here 3 years ago.

Thanks ElQueso, I understand now. I know you're not trying to put me off, it's invaluable to have some honest advice. It's really important to me personally because we kind of messed up moving here to Kolkata and we've suffered as a result. It does take time to figure out all this stuff so...

Thank you all, very useful stuff. citygirl - re school fees, do you mean 6000pesos per month per child? or dollars? (this may seem like a silly question, but I'm discovering that the cost of international schools varies greatly from country to country and bears very little relation to salary...

Thanks Garryl, if BA is a paradise compared to Kolkata then I'm sure we'd be happy there!! I'm trying to get my head around the accommodation issue... Do I understand correctly - if we want to get a longer term rental (essential as we have kids of course) we will have to put a lot of money up...