Relocating overseas is a great adventure, but if you’re moving with the whole family in tow, there are important things to consider in order to help your children transition as smoothly as possible.
Below we list a few tips on how to successfully relocate overseas with children of all ages.
Young children
The expat world can be a highly stimulating environment for young children — one that furnishes them with fabulous memories and gives them a unique set of tools for life. Potential advantages include growing up bilingual — a huge advantage both at school and in the workplace — and being exposed to different cultures from an early age.
Finding the right childcare is key, especially for single-parent families or those in which both parents will be working full-time. You might, for example, find that it is easier, and cheaper, to take on a nanny than to get a place in a crèche.
Top tip
Find out about childcare options in the local area by using online forums and checking out location-specific expat groups on social networking sites such as Facebook.
Older children
Moving overseas is often more difficult for children of school age. Being the new kid at a strange school is always tough — but it’s even tougher if everyone there speaks a language you can’t understand. That’s why lots of short-term expats choose to send their kids to an international, English-speaking school.
As most are run according to an International Baccalaureate curriculum, they can prove a better choice for children looking to move on to another secondary school or university back home. Downsides of international schools include that they often cost thousands of euros per term. Your child may also find it harder to learn the language and integrate with the local kids.
Top tip
Internet course such as Inlingua Online Learning or Rosetta Stone’s language-learning software is a cheap, convenient choice that the whole family can do together.
Health and wellbeing
For many expat parents, health risks are one of the major disadvantages of living overseas with children. The issues faced very widely depending on where you go.
Wherever you live, taking out international health insurance will help to protect your children — and your peace of mind.
Top tip
Choose a policy with multi-lingual helplines and good access to medical facilities both in your destination country and in the UK.
Here at Pellicer & Heredia, we work with Mapfre, the leading insurance company in Spain with over 5,800 offices worldwide. If you’re considering relocating abroad or have recently moved, why not give yourself one less thing to worry about by knowing your healthcare needs are covered.
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