Sabbatical year ideas?

[Anonymous]

Hubby is a professor and I'm a part-time work-at-home editor. We have two kids age 2 and 4. In three years DH will be eligible for a sabbatical year from his job, which means he can take one year off from his teaching/office responsibilities in exchange for half pay. At the end of the year, he will be expected to produce a manuscript.

We've decided we'd like to go and live somewhere else for that year, or at least for part of it, but we're not sure where. The kids will be 5 and 7. DH speaks French and I speak a little French, a little Spanish and a little Italian. I'd love for the kids to learn or at least be exposed to a foreign language. Any suggestions for where we could go?

I'd love to hear from anyone who has done something similar. How did it work out?

[Anonymous]

No ideas at all, but I am so, so jealous!

[Anonymous]

Your husband should probably figure this out on his own with regards to any professional connections he's made in Europe. If I had a choice, I would choose Italy somewhere close to the Mediterranean.

[Anonymous]

bump... OP here. Looking for recs for where to spend a year abroad with kids. Ideally somewhere politically stable and not too expensive. Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

How about The Netherlands? DH and I went there on vacation this fall and really loved it there. They are so welcoming and friendly towards Americans and we met so many Americans living abroad there. The food is excellent and there is so much to do. Also, it seems like it would be easy to live there because everyone speaks English and all the signs are in Dutch and English. We stayed in Amsterdam for 5 days and then went into the Dutch countryside and it was so interesting.

After our Netherlands trip we went to France (in the same trip). We were in Paris for 5 days. I felt like it would be hard to live there because nothing was in English and so few people (waiters, shop keepers, etc.) spoke English. We found it difficult to order in restaurants, etc. because of the language barrier. Also, everything was incredibly expensive.

[Anonymous]

Instead of doing the familiar and following the well worn path how about helping build wells, housing and schools for a poor nation? No matter what subject DH teaches, it will have a profound impact on him, his work and outlook.

[Anonymous]

Why are you bumping this, OP? This sabbatical is three years away and is meant to give him time to rest, relax, and concentrate on his research interests.

Not sure what anyone else's experiences have to do with it.

[Anonymous]

spend a year in panama
very stable, great infrastructure

[Anonymous]

OP love this, very jealous! I was able to live abroad many times during my childhood and it was the most wonderful experience for my family. I have lived in the Netherlands (family is from a Dutch island) many times and while I love it I do not believe it fits OPs requirements. If you are looking for a place that your children thrive and use a useful language this is not the place for you. Nearly everyone in the Netherlands speaks English and learning Dutch is pretty worthless for a foreigner and gets me nowhere in life. If price were no concern, I personally would choose Switzerland. It a very diverse population with many different language influences. I would probably live in or near Geneva and send my children to the International School of Geneva. We love to ski so that would be another big bonus for Switzerland.
Another idea is Belgium, most specifically Brussels. I have had many friends who went to the International School of Brussels and again the different influences of the country are great.

[Anonymous]

DH did a sabbitical in The Netherlands. It was before kids and was a great experience. Easy to get around, although he attempt to learn Dutch it wasn't easy, English was spoken most places. He has also done time in Sweden but that is much more expensive and the winters were hard. Places like Portugal would also be good - cost of living is less, English is spoken widely in the big cities and they LOVE kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you bumping this, OP? This sabbatical is three years away and is meant to give him time to rest, relax, and concentrate on his research interests.

Not sure what anyone else's experiences have to do with it.

Sorry you're not down with my bump.

To answer why I care since this is 3 years away: DH and I know we want to take the family somewhere during that year, but we also know that we are both "path of least resistance" type people. In other words, if we don't plan out ahead, there's a decent chance we won't do anything at all. We are both feeling the doldrums of our lives a bit, so we want an adventure to look forward to. I thought I'd solicit opinions here since people on DCUM have such a wide expanse of experiences. If you find it a boring request, don't read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of doing the familiar and following the well worn path how about helping build wells, housing and schools for a poor nation? No matter what subject DH teaches, it will have a profound impact on him, his work and outlook.

This is an interesting idea. Do you know of any non-religiously-affiliated organizations we could go through?

[Anonymous]

French is the colonial language of many West African countries. Maybe Senegal?

[Anonymous]

OP, what field is your husband in? Is there a place that would dovetail well with his research interests? This sounds like a really great opportunity. Enjoy the planning and forget the jealous haters here on DCUM!

[Anonymous]

He studies Parisian history, but I don't think we could afford to live there for a year. He's already taken copious notes in the archives in Paris, so he doesn't think he'd have to be there.