Should I give up on DL and move my kids to New Zealand for a year?

[Anonymous]

I would not do it unless I could go - not just because I couldn’t leave my kids that long and far but also because there is the real possibility that I wouldn’t be able to go - either to visit or in the case of an emergency due to their quarantine rules. Are you a citizen as well? If not, that makes it even worse.

[Anonymous]

What is the possibility of you finding employment there? I would want my children to go for their own safety but I wouldn’t go without them. I would take a leave of absence if it was possible or give notice.

[Anonymous]

If you can all get there and remote work from there (visas, travel restrictions, etc.) I would absolutely do it. It's a shot at normalcy for a year, and a great year abroad experience that might be harder to pull off in normal times.

[Anonymous]

Do you want to live apart from your kids for a year?

Also--US history has not been taught in the US since the 1990's so they would not be missing anything.

[Anonymous]

If you can go, yes. If it means living apart for a year, I would not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the possibility of you finding employment there? I would want my children to go for their own safety but I wouldn’t go without them. I would take a leave of absence if it was possible or give notice.

Many countries make it very difficult for non residents to work. IT is much easier for non residents to work in the US.

[Anonymous]

I can’t imagine that the benefits of in person learning would outweigh the disadvantages of separating the family, but you do your own cost-benefit analysis.

[Anonymous]

My father was apart from us for a year when I was in elementary school. I remember it as one of the worst years of our family’s life even though we were all healthy and following our normal schedule. Don’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can all get there and remote work from there (visas, travel restrictions, etc.) I would absolutely do it. It's a shot at normalcy for a year, and a great year abroad experience that might be harder to pull off in normal times.

What’s so normal about not having your mother around except at the holidays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the possibility of you finding employment there? I would want my children to go for their own safety but I wouldn’t go without them. I would take a leave of absence if it was possible or give notice.

Many countries make it very difficult for non residents to work. IT is much easier for non residents to work in the US.

I think we all understand this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can all get there and remote work from there (visas, travel restrictions, etc.) I would absolutely do it. It's a shot at normalcy for a year, and a great year abroad experience that might be harder to pull off in normal times.

What’s so normal about not having your mother around except at the holidays?

There is a global pandemic and borders could close for an extended period of time. We hope things will improve over next year, but what if they do not? A Christmas visit could easily not happen. There’s a possibility of a much longer separation. It is very difficult to stay connected with a time difference like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you want to live apart from your kids for a year?

Also--US history has not been taught in the US since the 1990's so they would not be missing anything.

What school do your kids go to that doesn’t teach US history??

[Anonymous]

This sounds like a great idea, until it is not. Meaning in the times of pandemic. Like they have a huge break out and close borders. Or your kid or you gets sick and you can't go help your kid, even if it is covid. Or you falling or you getting sick with no help. You know kind of like every vacation, we all planned and had to cancel. Book vacation in spots that barely have corona? Oops! Look at Florida now and waste thousands on that rental. Decide to go see grandpa in state with few cases? No problem grandpa then tells you he has been working and that health department is trying to close his business as several people are positive and he thinks it is just ridiculous. Then you realize you were about to send your kids to grandpa that told you he is careful while being a total irresponsible a**.

Now, having said that, New Zealand does look like a safe bet, and hopefully they will continue with all the precautions and safety measures. As for not seeing your kids, it is not a big deal. My dh has been in Afghanistan for a while now, and kids are fine. Not ideal, but we don't have the privilege of an option. So, I would not choose to be apart, but it is not the end of the world. Having experienced all this, you can think about it this way: yes, you will be apart and don't count on going there for Christmas, but if you are comfortable with the plane trip for your family, you will literary be sending your kids to a safe spot where they will be pretty much protected from covid(given that you understand that this can change and who knows if NZ becomes a hot spot). So, yes, I would do this. The whole NZ has less than 2K cases. You would be saving their lives potentially.

[Anonymous]

I totally missed the part about OP staying in the US. This is not a good time to separate families. What if one of you got sick. What if you died and they couldn't get back to the US? It sounds like you have plenty of resources, surely you could find a nice rural property in an area with low cases and pretend you are in NZ!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want to live apart from your kids for a year?

Also--US history has not been taught in the US since the 1990's so they would not be missing anything.

What school do your kids go to that doesn’t teach US history??

DP. Nobody cares about learning history. Nor does it matter. My kids did not experience a single issue about not knowing U.S. history after coming here from a British private(public) school. They could recite to no end, divorced, beheaded, died... Absolutely no difference. Certainly they never felt like they will not pass a class due to this, ever. Which is pretty sad and indicative of how bad the education system is here. I had to recite and know Homer in my school, knew hoplites formed a phalanx, knew all about Punic Wars... Teaching history here is a joke.