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Buenos Aires is a great city for expats. Finding a school for my daughter has been one of the biggest challenges
Nov 17, 2023
Essay by Casey Wetherbee
The author and his family moved from New York to Buenos Aires, right. Courtesy of the author
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Justin Woddis. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My wife and I moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, near the end of 2022 with our daughter.
We both worked remotely and were looking for a cheaper cost of living than in New York. I lived in the suburbs of Buenos Aires as a child and had visited on various occasions since then.
We first went to Buenos Aires on our honeymoon in 2013. We loved it so much that we joked about moving there someday. We first relocated to the Dominican Republic in 2020 after the pandemic left our rental property there vacant, and we have now been in Buenos Aires for about a year.
While Buenos Aires has been a great option for us in many ways, figuring out the educational system has been a major challenge, especially finding quality bilingual options for our 9-year-old daughter.
It does, however, mean that reintegrating into the US school system would be very challenging if we ended up returning.
My daughter's Spanish is not strong, so we limited our scope to bilingual schools. Many of these schools follow a schedule with one half in Spanish and the second half in English, which makes the school day long — almost 10 hours, including transit time — with breaks in the middle for lunch and recess.
The classroom-management style in Argentina is much more relaxed than in the US, where teachers are more disciplinarian. When I visited a classroom for the first time, I was shocked by how much the kids could get away with.
Because of the inflation in Argentina, those of us earning in dollars have a significant economic advantage. Unfortunately, one consequence is that many native English speakers choose to work in other countries where their compensation is higher. Therefore, most teachers do not speak English at a high caliber, which is especially challenging while our daughter is still learning Spanish.
However, when it came to finding schooling, I had to follow up several times with different schools to set up interviews. One school canceled a visit the day of, for example, since they had forgotten that day was a holiday.
There were also a few bureaucratic hoops that we had to jump through, including getting an international birth certificate notarized by apostille. Each school has different requirements, so there was a great deal of paperwork.
Our daughter has a chronic illness, and it has been easier here to get help with managing her health — at a fraction of what the healthcare cost would be in the US. We've also been able to find a tutor to spend a few hours every week teaching her Spanish.
The school in which we decided to enroll our daughter has a helpful WhatsApp group for parents. Through the group, we've gotten help with the administrative hurdles and organized playtime for the kids.
For example, we hosted a Halloween gathering at our home in October. We had about 20 kids join in the festivities, and they had a lot of fun.
We eventually pulled her from that school for a number of reasons, including the relatively poor quality of the bilingual education. For the last few months, she has been attending a Montessori school primarily virtually, while taking Spanish lessons as the school year draws to a close.
We will start looking for schools again for our daughter to attend in person once the school year begins in February. Now that we have a hang of the process, it should be easier this time around.
www.buysellba.com
Nov 17, 2023
Essay by Casey Wetherbee
The author and his family moved from New York to Buenos Aires, right. Courtesy of the author
- Justin Woddis, his wife, and their daughter moved to Argentina in 2022.
- He says Buenos Aires is great for expats but that finding a good bilingual school has been hard.
- The city is incredibly family-focused — plus healthcare is much cheaper than in New York.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Justin Woddis. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My wife and I moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, near the end of 2022 with our daughter.
We both worked remotely and were looking for a cheaper cost of living than in New York. I lived in the suburbs of Buenos Aires as a child and had visited on various occasions since then.
We first went to Buenos Aires on our honeymoon in 2013. We loved it so much that we joked about moving there someday. We first relocated to the Dominican Republic in 2020 after the pandemic left our rental property there vacant, and we have now been in Buenos Aires for about a year.
While Buenos Aires has been a great option for us in many ways, figuring out the educational system has been a major challenge, especially finding quality bilingual options for our 9-year-old daughter.
Differences between US and Argentine schools
Since Argentina is in the Southern Hemisphere, summer vacation is from December to February. Since we had been living abroad and our daughter was enrolled in virtual school, this transition was a bit easier than it otherwise would have been.It does, however, mean that reintegrating into the US school system would be very challenging if we ended up returning.
My daughter's Spanish is not strong, so we limited our scope to bilingual schools. Many of these schools follow a schedule with one half in Spanish and the second half in English, which makes the school day long — almost 10 hours, including transit time — with breaks in the middle for lunch and recess.
The classroom-management style in Argentina is much more relaxed than in the US, where teachers are more disciplinarian. When I visited a classroom for the first time, I was shocked by how much the kids could get away with.
Because of the inflation in Argentina, those of us earning in dollars have a significant economic advantage. Unfortunately, one consequence is that many native English speakers choose to work in other countries where their compensation is higher. Therefore, most teachers do not speak English at a high caliber, which is especially challenging while our daughter is still learning Spanish.
You have to be persistent
The culture in Buenos Aires is much more laid back than in New York, which is a positive aspect of the lifestyle in many ways.However, when it came to finding schooling, I had to follow up several times with different schools to set up interviews. One school canceled a visit the day of, for example, since they had forgotten that day was a holiday.
There were also a few bureaucratic hoops that we had to jump through, including getting an international birth certificate notarized by apostille. Each school has different requirements, so there was a great deal of paperwork.
The pace of life here is wonderful, and people are very supportive
One of our favorite aspects of Buenos Aires is how family-focused the culture is, which has been especially welcome as we have tried to integrate into the community as an expat family.Our daughter has a chronic illness, and it has been easier here to get help with managing her health — at a fraction of what the healthcare cost would be in the US. We've also been able to find a tutor to spend a few hours every week teaching her Spanish.
The school in which we decided to enroll our daughter has a helpful WhatsApp group for parents. Through the group, we've gotten help with the administrative hurdles and organized playtime for the kids.
For example, we hosted a Halloween gathering at our home in October. We had about 20 kids join in the festivities, and they had a lot of fun.
We're still looking for a good bilingual school
After touring five schools, we settled on one that my daughter enjoyed and seemed like a good fit. We paid less than $400 a month, which would be unheard of for a private school in the US.We eventually pulled her from that school for a number of reasons, including the relatively poor quality of the bilingual education. For the last few months, she has been attending a Montessori school primarily virtually, while taking Spanish lessons as the school year draws to a close.
We will start looking for schools again for our daughter to attend in person once the school year begins in February. Now that we have a hang of the process, it should be easier this time around.
www.buysellba.com
