A German in California ! HELP (San Diego, Oceanside: extended stay, for sale, apartments)

[Shalom01]

Hi,

I really need help here. I'm german, my husband american and we're gonna be moving to the US soon. It's probably going to be California and hopefully san Diego.
We have two sons (12 & 8) the speak a little english.
I've been looking on the net, just to get a clue of how everything works ( housing, schools, community)
Somebody said I should look at the schools first and then look for a house close, but I don't know where to start
Everything looks so nice over the internet. But I really want to live in a nice, affordable area.
Can anybody help me with anything? I heard La Mesa is great for kids, what else? How can I find to rent a house there? What schools sre good if the children still have problem with the language?

My head starting to hurt!

Thank you, already

[RD5050]

I entered "German Schools in San Diego" into a Google search, and found this:

Friends of the German School of San Diego

Since your children speak only some English, they may or may not be able to function well in a public school, so that would be one thing to consider.

It may pay you to contact the above school to see what they think.

To rent a house, you might want to look on Craigslist:

craigslist: san diego classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

You can put La Mesa in the search, to narrow the list of homes to view:

La Mesa Homes For Rent on Craigslist

I also included 3 bedrooms in the above search, since you have two children.

[kettlepot]

Craigslist will allow you to look for housing while you are still in Germany, but do not agree to anything or send any money until you get here. There are two extended-stay hotels in the Mission Valley area of San Diego that your family can live in for a few weeks while you aggressively house hunt. These are Extended Stay America and Hawthorn Inn. I think they both are on the street called Camino Del Rio South (in English that's "South of the River Street". You will find a lot of Spanish street names in California. It's the fashion here.). These are both national chains, so you can rely on them to maintain a certain standard of quality, and while the part of Mission Valley they are in is more of a business park area, it is an area in which you will feel safe and comfortable for the few weeks you are there.

Here is a link to another thread in this forum which has a link to the state's school test scores performance map. http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-d...mance-map.html

This will be a help in choosing a school and a neighborhood. Don't be too hung up on getting into the highest rated schools. That doesn't always mean the teaching is better, it just means the students apply themselves more consistently. High parental expectations can counter peer pressure at schools that have lower test scores. Remember, it's not how the student body as a whole performs, its how your children in particular perform. On the other hand, absolutely avoid the schools with the lowest test scores. Your children will pick up poor grammar and vocabulary habits.

Your 8 year old is probably young enough to go English immersion in a regular school. In the end that one will learn to speak English without an accent.

The 12 year old is at a borderline age. Learning to live in an all-English (or English/Spanish) environment will be more difficult. He will probably always have an accent, and adapting to English instruction will be more difficult. In particular, the instruction will involve concepts that are more abstract which will require a greater knowledge of English vocabulary than he currently has. On the positive side, your 12 year old child probably hasn't filled his head with the German words for these advanced ideas so he won't have two words trying to crowd the space in his brain where only one word will fit -- if you understand my meaning.

When it comes to your children's schoolwork your husband will really have to step up to the plate and help your children if they get lost at school. I didn't look at RD5050's German School link, but I would definitely use this time for your children to really advance their English language skills. As you well know, even if you all go back to Germany to live and work, getting your children's English language skills beyond text book level will be invaluable.

[donalduckmoore]

If you have a friend who is living in SD, live with him/her for a week in order to find an apartment. There are plenty of apartments for rent right now. The most important thing is to find a good school district to stay.

[sdgrl78]

I think you should look in University City but this is a pricey area. My daughter goes to Doyle Elementary and there a lot of families in the area from other countries.Lots of kids come to this school not speaking much English but they pick up quick. The school is very supportive. Check em out on Greatschools.net. There are some negative parent comments about Doyle but I have not had any negative experience there. My 12 year old does to Standley Middle. GREAT school. She is doing great. Very diverse culturally and we LOVE it. BUT it's expensive and we're on our way out of Cali. We pay $1650 for a 2bdrm condo less than 900 square feet. Good luck

[1AngryTaxPayer]

The kids will be fine. We are close to the border and ESL students are in every class in every public school here.

[Dmshawx]

Hi, I'm American-German & my husband is from Wurzburg. We live in Carlsbad, CA and we have the only German & Euro market/deli/restaurant here: Tip Top Meats & Market. Alot of the german community live in the North County of San Diego. But there is only 1 school which teaches in German & English, it's hard to get into but they give special consideration to children who already speak german: Albert Einstein Acadamies www.aeacs.org
Our son attends school in Carlsbad, but we take him to german lessons at the Samtag Schule: Friends of the German School of San Diego www.sdgermanschool.com the classes are taught in both German & English. You can also get alot of help & contacts through the German American Society of San Diego www.germanclubsandiego.org
They are located in El Cajon. All members speak fluent German.

I personally believe you should look for a place to rent in areas that have the best school test scores, that you can afford. The German standards for education exceed that of the US, so the test scores do matter. Only those of us who have experienced both can offer a valid comparison. Also the area you live in matters as far as safety, etc. Unfortunately, you may be shocked by some of the areas in San Diego county. La Mesa is no longer a good area. You didn't say but I'm guessing your husband is military? If so you may want consider looking around the city border lines of Oceanside, Vista or San Marcos. They are next to Carlsbad and are usually more affordable than Carlsbad itself. Some of these border areas are designated for the Carlsbad School District (which has 1st or 2nd highest scores in San Diego). Also there are some hidden areas in Carlsbad that are very affordable, you just have to know where to look or ask someone who lives here. We rented in Carlsbad for 1yr when we first moved in order to get a feel for the area, find the best schools, buy a house etc. For example: we looked at 2 places to lease, a 3 bdrm condo 8 blocks from beach no view 980 sq ft for $1000 and a 3bdrm condo 3 blocks from beach w/ocean views 1100 sq ft for $1900. Good Luck to you.

[Shalom01]

Thank you so much, that was great advice.
We still haven't heard when we will be moving. My husband is not millitary but works for the government.
The Albert Einstein Academy did accept our kids, but couldn't hold the spots,so we have to try again whenever we know a exact date.

[Buburuza 1313]

i am in a hurry,but fast answer...DO NOT WORRY!!children learn a foreign language faster then you can imagine!!my child is born in germany,same situation..we came one year ago and he is in gate programm,school absolutely proud of him..my opinion is:in european schools you learn much more then in california school and for european children california school is a piece of cake..what they learn hier in mathematik in seventh grade,we learn in europe in fifth..school hier is very easy compared to europe...and good european children come with a lugagge of knowledge hier,american teachers really wonder...

i wrote you a private message,please take contact private with me

have a great day

[Buburuza 1313]

p.s.

i forgot:very important and urgent...
i suppose your children are from a previous marriage.Do not leave germany withouht sole custody ALLEINIGES SORGERECHT!!! and if your ex husband has visitation rights,you have to have HIS WRITTEN AGREEMENT to leave GERMANY!other you could get big trouble with HAAGCONVENTION,international processes and become intenational searched by interpol over night,if your ex husband acuse you of child kidnapping!!I know all the german laws,can help you clear your situation and give you advice,german dgudges act extremly fast in such situation,arrest warrant are emitted over night!!only a request from german ex husband needed,if you violated his visitation right !Clarify urgently your situation!!