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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a rising 6th grader and 8th grader. They did not do well in the spring with DL. Our school district will be DL at least til November, probably longer.

DH is a New Zealander. School is in-person there.

Feeling very tempted to move our kids there for the year. DH would semi-retire, maybe work part-time. I would need to stay in the US because of my job, but would probably take a long vacation around Christmas to spend time with them while they're on holidays.

I worry though about what they would lose because the school years don't line up and the order of math and other subjects may be different there. Plus they would lose a lot of US history and social studies.
On the other hand, seems like it could be a fantastic, mind-expanding experience for them to spend a year abroad.

Thoughts?

would you be allowed to go in Dec?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing I would warn you about is if they went back into any more kind of quarantine, they take it more seriously and your family will be confined to the house under threat of arrest.

Also if things get worse I wouldn’t assume you would be allowed into the country at Christmas and if you were they will require you to spend 14 days alone quarantined in a hotel.

Right, we'd need to spend the first two weeks in quarantine, but that doesn't seem like a huge deal.

I think PP was referring to the fact that if you, OP, went for Christmas, YOU would have to possibly quarantine alone in a hotel for 14 days, which could then negate your whole trip and reason for going (to be with family). Unless you went for a month, but even then half your month is shot.

[Anonymous]

I would do it

[Anonymous]

I would do this with my own kids if there was any way I could. For sure go for it.

[Anonymous]

We are in a state planning to go in person in the fall, but are aware there's at least a 50% chance by Sept 15 that it's gone all virtual - so thinking of back up plans. I'm canadian, and my family is all there, and DS has a passport. Thinking of moving back as our back up, back up plan, as they are all in person in the fall. Lots of questions about whether DH can join us, taxes, jobs (we are both remote right now - but not sure if we can move anywhere we want), where we'd live etc. But it's definitely on our tree chart of options.

[Anonymous]

Just be aware that the educational system is very different in terms of how they teach. My cousin moved there for work right around when her youngest was in 6th and I remember her saying also that what they wanted from the students was completely different than in the US. Not better or worse, just completely different...so just don’t expect it to be a seamless transition. FWIW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just be aware that the educational system is very different in terms of how they teach. My cousin moved there for work right around when her youngest was in 6th and I remember her saying also that what they wanted from the students was completely different than in the US. Not better or worse, just completely different...so just don’t expect it to be a seamless transition. FWIW.

PP. But then again your DH can tell you that if he’s from there!

[Anonymous]

Can you afford private?? Many in my area are open. However, we can’t afford it.

Even if privates do online learning right now, I think they will be back in school way before public.

[Anonymous]

I would quit my job and move there in a heartbeat. This pandemic is going to last a long time and New Zealand is the best place in the world to be right now and in the foreseeable future.

[Anonymous]

I would do it if you and the kids could go. My friends (both New Zealand era) left asap when the pandemic hit here and quarantined in New Zealand. They don't plan on coming back anytime soon, and their US employers are allowing them to telecommute from New Zealand.

[Anonymous]

Are you joking???? Ummm, duh!

And take me with you!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I am from the US and learned all that but to be fair I'm also a dork.

[Anonymous]

Yes, and you should go too and find a different job (or request to telework). My friend lives in NZ and they are back to basically normal pre-covid life-- her kids went back to school, they don't wear masks, no social distancing signs painted on the floor of stores. When I tell her what our life is currently like here in MD, I can see from her face that it is like another very puzzling world to her. Like so many of the PPs said, there is no guarantee they would let you in at Christmas and the NZ quarantine period has to be spent in government-run housing where you can't leave. My friend, even as a NZ citizen, isn't planning on leaving for the rest of this year and probably 2021 because of the hassle of coming back and the uncertainty of changing standards. The risk of spending months without seeing your kids is, in my mind, too great to take. If I had ties to NZ I would move my family there in a heartbeat, not just because of covid, but also because of what I see to be the generally less competitive lifestyle. Good luck and I hope you really do take this leap.

[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.

And they neglected science as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you joking???? Ummm, duh!

And take me with you!!!

+1

All of you should go and never come back. At least, that’s what I would do if I had the ability (NZ husband).