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

[Anonymous]

If you want to proceed with this move with your children and DH. The situation is fluid and many expats have been separated from their loved ones with no idea when they can return due to unexpected border closings. Don’t bank on being able to visit them even if you are willing to quarantine.

[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.

Wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to proceed with this move with your children and DH. The situation is fluid and many expats have been separated from their loved ones with no idea when they can return due to unexpected border closings. Don’t bank on being able to visit them even if you are willing to quarantine.

You should go to the NZ facebook forums eg https://www.facebook.com/groups/367648494219248/ rather than dcum. Look at the UK kiwi sites rather than the the US kiwi sites.

I don't like your chances of visiting at Xmas. There are many married couples who are separated because they don't seem to be processing requests for spouses who aren't travelling with the NZ spouse quickly. Some NZ spouses are travelling back to Europe or the US or Japan to accompany their spouses back, silly as that seems, and then they will both be on the hook for the quarantine charges at the compulsory hotels. Many people are facing multiple cancellations of their flights because they are restricting the number of flights.

Have you applied for the kids' NZ passports? At least get that started.

Regarding education, I wouldn't worry about 6 and 8 grade math. I grew up there, and they use spiral math, but in the end the NZ kids learn the same as the US kids - eg they do a bit of geometry/algebra/trig every year rather than separating it out and doing only geometry for a year. My kids started out private schools in DC, and we faced the issue that the private schools didn't differentiate, so my kids were behind top public school kids because those public schools did differentiate. We solved this by tutoring them ourselves over the summer and they tested into the top math track. Amazing what can be solved with a $14 book

[Anonymous]

I hate to say this, and confer with your DH for his opinion, but I would be concerned about how your kids would be treated in school with American accents. The vitriol I'm reading against returning ex-pat NZers, let alone those who don't sound like NZers, is alarming.

[Anonymous]

You lose a half year of schooling, and send kids in mid year. You also land them in the middle of darkness and winter, which can be tough. I don’t see the educational advantage. Although NZ is amazing.

I also would not be separate from my kids for long periods of time, no matter how many weeks I can get at Christmas. And, of course, they would have summer vacation in the middle of winter. Can your husband parent them FT? Especially during COVID where NZ could prevent me from entering.

Now, Barbados is allowing anyone who telework to move their for a year. DH and I both telework FT for the indefinite future. I would take my HS kid there, rent a house and have her DL from Barbados in a heartbeat. If we didn’t have a house here, pets — and a freshman in a US college during COVID. I feel like we need to be nearby (okay, 6 hours away, but in the country) his first semester during COVID while so much is up in the air.

But I can always dream...

[Anonymous]

OP. You are taking into account that their school year starts in January, and is more of a year round with longer breaks thing, right? And that you would be moving kids in winter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate to say this, and confer with your DH for his opinion, but I would be concerned about how your kids would be treated in school with American accents. The vitriol I'm reading against returning ex-pat NZers, let alone those who don't sound like NZers, is alarming.

Where are you reading this? Kiwis are generally kind and understanding people. They don't judge Americans for our idiot politicians, and know that their government requires a quarantine.

But it certainly could happen. I'd have a bailout plan.

[Anonymous]

Where in NZ? The winter is not that harsh there, except for the extreme south. This point seems silly to me. Who cares about moving at the end of winter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. You are taking into account that their school year starts in January, and is more of a year round with longer breaks thing, right? And that you would be moving kids in winter?

My kids have graduated. Looking back to be honest, there's not much in middle school that they can't catch up on. And winter in NZ isn't bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to say this, and confer with your DH for his opinion, but I would be concerned about how your kids would be treated in school with American accents. The vitriol I'm reading against returning ex-pat NZers, let alone those who don't sound like NZers, is alarming.

Where are you reading this? Kiwis are generally kind and understanding people. They don't judge Americans for our idiot politicians, and know that their government requires a quarantine.

But it certainly could happen. I'd have a bailout plan.

On NZ facebook pages where NZ-based kiwis tell expat kiwi to stay out, and tell expats that they left to make millions (?) so now they don't deserve to come home, and that they should just stay away. It's been an eye opener. And I'm a kiwi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. You are taking into account that their school year starts in January, and is more of a year round with longer breaks thing, right? And that you would be moving kids in winter?

My kids have graduated. Looking back to be honest, there's not much in middle school that they can't catch up on. And winter in NZ isn't bad.

Hard to be the kid from the COVID country moving in mid year, though. Educationally and socially. It’s not Hs, so the educational bit is less important. The social bit would worry me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to say this, and confer with your DH for his opinion, but I would be concerned about how your kids would be treated in school with American accents. The vitriol I'm reading against returning ex-pat NZers, let alone those who don't sound like NZers, is alarming.

Where are you reading this? Kiwis are generally kind and understanding people. They don't judge Americans for our idiot politicians, and know that their government requires a quarantine.

But it certainly could happen. I'd have a bailout plan.

On NZ facebook pages where NZ-based kiwis tell expat kiwi to stay out, and tell expats that they left to make millions (?) so now they don't deserve to come home, and that they should just stay away. It's been an eye opener. And I'm a kiwi.

Social media always showcases the loudest and rudest. It it's been an eye opener, that means that Kiwis are usually not like that.

But I get that this is a stressful time, and there could be enough kids and adults currently like that to make it hard for OP's family. Again, I'd go for it, but only with a good bailout plan in place.

[Anonymous]

We have friends from Hong Kong who left when the virus hit China and HK schools shutdown. They moved to the USA to give their kids "regular schooling" but later told us it was a bit rough--the other kids were not open and welcoming, there were some comments and bullying kind of things.

They then went back to HK once the situation stabilized there (and was getting worse here). They had to quarantine 14 days and some families were wary of playdates until a few weeks after they had returned.

Now HK is getting bad again and schools will be closed until further notice.

Basically, the disruption really wasn't worth it for them. The kids did have some regular school (for awhile) but they also had some social issues that they didn't expect.

Unless you are willing to make the move full time (i.e. both of you, until further notice) I really wouldn't disrupt the kids anymore than they are being disrupted already.

[Anonymous]

I would move myself and my whole family to NZ permanently if I could. Why not OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god. If I could move to New Zealand I would do it in a heartbeat! Go, if they will take you! But quarantine for fourteen days before and after! Don’t be the jerk who spreads covid to NZ

There's no choice. They put people in guarded quarantine hotels.