Family Sabatical in Europe?

[2360039]

If you prefer to stay in the centre of Western Europe, Belgium might be a place to live. You're not that far from Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne, even from London. Renting a place is relatively cheaper than in the Netherlands, Germany or France. Especially in the southern Walloon region.

[chielgirl]

Originally Posted by Vikingen

Laugh as much as you want, but the OP wanted to know which countries to bring her two kids to live.

If she moves to Greenland, Russia or Estonia as some posters has suggested I am quite sure she will not laugh herself.

Seems you missed the part of the OUTSIDE OF THE US that she wanted to visit.
Estonia is fine, I've visited and have friends who live there.
Even friends with (shock!) kids.

So everyone has to like what you like?
Seems pretty darned silly to me.

[Vikingen]

Originally Posted by chielgirl

Seems you missed the part of the OUTSIDE OF THE US that she wanted to visit.
Estonia is fine, I've visited and have friends who live there.
Even friends with (shock!) kids.

So everyone has to like what you like?
Seems pretty darned silly to me.

Greenland, Russia and Estonia is OUTSIDE OF THE US - and countries I suggest the OP to avoid. Nothing silly about that - just something called common sense.

I would however recommend southern France. Nice climate, different culture experience for the kids, and the French are not as arrogant as many like to claim.

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by Brontosaurus

A couple of things to watch out for: if you can't get a signed (and possibly notarised) letter of permission from the children's father to take them overseas you will need either a court order giving you sole custody or, if appropriate, the father's death certificate. Otherwise the airline may not allow you to board an international flight. Secondly, if going to the UK, it is vital that you have either a return ticket to the US or an onward ticket to another country. If you turn up on a one-way you are likely to be denied entry and sent back to wherever you came from as a suspected illegal immigrant. You also need to have proof of sufficient funds for your 3-month long vacation otherwise it will be assumed that you plan on working which is illegal on a tourist visa. Again, that will lead to denial of entry etc. Some countries may be less strict than the UK, others may be stricter in that you have to apply for a tourist visa in advance. Finally, have you worked out a budget? I think living overseas for a year could easily cost just as much, if not more, than an entire year's cost in the US (UK & Europe more, Asia etc less).

All of the above, taken together, is a good summation of the difficulty of travel in this wonderful century that is holding us all prisoner. I have long believed that if Marco Polo were to try to travel today, he would have given up in frustration and gone back to Italy.

Given that you have never really traveled abroad much before, I would suggest that you just go to Mexico, where you can stay for 6 months hassle-free. It is easy to find suitable accommodations in a place that has an moderate tourist presence, renting a small furnished house for around $200 a month. If that works out for you, you will have a good sense of what to expect, and you can try the rest of the year someplace further afield. I think Malaysia would be a good choice. If you want Europe, consider one of the Caucasian republics like Georgia.

[MissMS]

Goodness, I had no intention of starting a brawl! You folks sound like my uncles arguing over politics! I love it, it just proves that people are the same the world over, to me. Pick out 1000 people from any country, some will be lazy, some will be crazy, a few will be genius, a few will be criminal, conservative, liberal, etc. We ALL are different, it's what makes the world go around. I just want to be safe in my travels, go to some place I can afford, and have my children see alot of various architecture, different lifestyles and foods, and right now I am thinking that what they might end up learning is "There's no place like home!"

I am not thinking of giving up my US citizenship, I love my country and my life - warts and all, as we say here in US - I just want to travel safely with my children, and pack as much into the experience as possible.

I have Central America on my list of possibles, but I have been to Mexico and I dont think many places would be safe except the Yucatan, which is close enough to central America to count.

Also, you folks who are so down on the teen pregnancy rate in America, yes, it is SAD, but it also includes a LARGE number of people ages 18 and 19 (still too young), who have graduated from high school and gotten married right out of high school. This is accepted as normal in many cultures. These pregnancies are not a result of lack of sex education or lack of opportunity to get birth control, all they have to do is go to their local health department and they can get free birth control pills or condoms, but they CHOOSE to start a family. Nuts, but true. My 19-yr-old son went to work straight out of high school, got married, and has a new baby. I was not happy but they have minds of their own. He NEVER wanted to go to college, he ALWAYS wanted a family, and I couldnt change his mind for anything. His wife is not a teen, she is a couple years older, so I guess they didnt make the teen statistics. Its that whole Mark Twain quote all over again, right? ( He said, There are 3 kinds of LIES, 1- Lies, 2- Da**'ed lies, and 3- Statistics. )

[Grim Reader]

Originally Posted by MissMS

Hi, I am a single mother with 2 children still at home, ages 10 and 12. I am doing research on a possible year-long "sabatical" for the 3 of us. We live in rural Southern US, and I would like for my children to experience life in different regions of the world, if at all possible. My current thinking is to spend about 3 months in different locations: Central America, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia. I do not have unlimited funds, and we speak only English (and maybe a smidge of German and Spanish between us.) I am doing research as to which countries might be "cost of living" friendly. I would like any comments on the following matters: 1. Which countries would be "friendliest" to us, as in safe and kind? 2. How easy would it be to live in rural areas without a car, (as in a smaller village or small town, NOT big cities which tend to be too expensive to rent), could we still travel into larger cities for day or weekend trips, by bus or train? 3. I have read that Portugal and Czech Republic have a lower cost of living, please if anyone has any information or comments, feel free to share. 4. I do have a mild medical condition, plus since I have 2 children, I have to prepare for emergencies. Are there areas to avoid because the healthcare is poor or ridiculously expensive?

Please if you have any experience or advice, share it! I am just getting started looking into this possibility for my family. Before we commit to the experience, I want to decide on the locations and probably travel there briefly to check out if we could live there for 3 months.

Thank you in advance for anyone who responds!

Well, I got to agree with people here that 3 months will be somewhat of a short stay for the kids. They might need more than that to get a social life. The 12-year old who will be in his early teens in particular. What kind of schooling are you planning? Home schooling is not legal in all countries, going to a school where they don't speak the language isn't going to be fun for the kids, and international schools are often expensive.

A problem you may have is that the countries with the better infrastructure, buses, trains etc. often have a higher cost of living. Exceptions may well exist.

You are going to find universal healthcare in all countries in Europe, as far as I know. Quality is generally good, but if you only target low cost-of-living countries, you should look into it further. Including how good they are with your particular problem. However, some countries require 3 months or longer residence before you are entitled to health care. Visitors from other countries are normally covered by agreements with their own countrys UHC system, but Americans are not covered by these. Be careful about your US insurance, if it lapses your medical condition may be considered a preexisting condition when you return.

You'll find the lowest cost of living in Eastern Europe and the countries with the biggest economic troubles. You'll find fewer english speakers in Eastern Europe. As a rule of thumb, the further north you go in Western Europe the easier getting along with English will be. Excepting the UK and Ireland of course.

In short, you'll probably have to weigh your priorities against each other.

Beyond that I'll leave central America and Asia to people who know the places better than me.

Originally Posted by Vikingen

If you are industrious, hard-working, honest, well-educated and ambitious you are better off in the US.

I've tried both, and I kind of agree with the research that say the opposite. Now, if you're industrious, hard-working, honest and ambitious, and going to be born into a random family in a country, your odds of going far are certainly better in Norway.

If you have all those traits, plus the advantages you gain from growing up in Norway, you may have a better shot in the US. But the reason more people (per person) start businesses in Norway than in the US, is that in most areas, people start businesses when they are in their late 30s and 40s. At which time the cost of failure can be catastrophic.