Anyone moved their children abroad to Asia?
Dec 7th 2010, 12:13 pm
#1
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2
Anyone moved their children abroad to Asia?
Hi all
I am looking to speak with anyone who has moved from a western country to Cambodia or Thailand with children. I am really interested in the challenges involved in moving kids from a Western environment to somewhere so culturally different.
It would be great to meet people online and I am also planning a trip to Bangkok and Cambodia over the next few weeks.
Also, anyone who is in / has children in / has been to international school in Asia, I would really like to know your experiences.
Many thanks
Andy
I am looking to speak with anyone who has moved from a western country to Cambodia or Thailand with children. I am really interested in the challenges involved in moving kids from a Western environment to somewhere so culturally different.
It would be great to meet people online and I am also planning a trip to Bangkok and Cambodia over the next few weeks.
Also, anyone who is in / has children in / has been to international school in Asia, I would really like to know your experiences.
Many thanks
Andy
Dec 10th 2010, 2:15 pm
#2
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2
Re: Anyone moved their children abroad to Asia?
Anyone?
Dec 12th 2010, 5:52 am
#3
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Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Hong Kong, mostly.
Posts: 5,214
Re: Anyone moved their children abroad to Asia?
The Far East forum is quite quiet as there are more country specific forums most of us hang out in, i.e. Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.
We moved a 4 and a 2 year old to Hong Kong, but we are a mixed couple and the cultural adjustment really hasn't been that big of a deal. We have had more of a problem adjusting to the pollution than anything else, with the kids having quite a few sick days (by an order of magnitude) compared to living back in the West. It's quite bad over here.
One of the key questions is how disruptive do you plan to be with the children's education. Are you going to be moving every few years, are you planning to "go local" with the local schools or are you going to keep some consistent curriculum and objective by sticking with an International or British school. Finding decent schooling is quite a challenge as an expat, as while you want your kids to be cosmopolitan and open to new cultures and surroundings, there is also a benefit of giving your kids a solid base of fundamentals that comes from having a good group of friends and a core course of study. Sorting through this problem can be a bit of a pickle, as you need to be looking at the 10 and 20 year time frame not just the next 3-5. You can expect to pay through the nose for this in some places.
I'd recommend finding some local expat messageboards for expats in Thailand rather than this one which is a bit too general and underpopulated.
Good luck.
We moved a 4 and a 2 year old to Hong Kong, but we are a mixed couple and the cultural adjustment really hasn't been that big of a deal. We have had more of a problem adjusting to the pollution than anything else, with the kids having quite a few sick days (by an order of magnitude) compared to living back in the West. It's quite bad over here.
One of the key questions is how disruptive do you plan to be with the children's education. Are you going to be moving every few years, are you planning to "go local" with the local schools or are you going to keep some consistent curriculum and objective by sticking with an International or British school. Finding decent schooling is quite a challenge as an expat, as while you want your kids to be cosmopolitan and open to new cultures and surroundings, there is also a benefit of giving your kids a solid base of fundamentals that comes from having a good group of friends and a core course of study. Sorting through this problem can be a bit of a pickle, as you need to be looking at the 10 and 20 year time frame not just the next 3-5. You can expect to pay through the nose for this in some places.
I'd recommend finding some local expat messageboards for expats in Thailand rather than this one which is a bit too general and underpopulated.
Good luck.
Dec 17th 2010, 2:34 am
#4
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Buraydah , Saudi Arabia
Posts: 2,863
Re: Anyone moved their children abroad to Asia?
Well I didn't move my children to Thailand but I do have two children here with my Thai wife.
Firstly I would have to say that Thailand has got to be one of the most children friendly countries there is. People are always trying to play with my kids and give them stuff and we often get very good service as a family compared to some of the other kinds of people you see in Thailand.
How old are your children?
If they are quite young then there are a lot of health and safety issues to deal with. Stuff like just walking down the street and there are people cooking stuff on BBQs or with big pans of hot oil , so you do have to watch out for a lot of things.
If you're bothered about seatbelts and wont get in a car without one then Thailand isn't for you. There isn't much for kids to do here that's not in a sterile mall environment. Outdoor playparks can be a bit poor and a bit delapidated and you have to take the weather into consideration. There's no going outside after lunch to play because it's just too hot and the sun is too strong. After 5pm and that's it and it's dark at 6:30 and it's still very hot. A lot of places have good swimming pools though so that's one thing.
Education : if you want a British curriculum education then it's going to cost you a lot of money. A LOT OF MONEY. Think about that. There are alternatives though. There are a lot of private bilingual school that are reasonable or 100% English language but not British curriculum for maybe 100,000 baht ( 2000GBP ) a year. If your kids are young maybe bilingual might be good and they can learn a bit of Thai as well. How long will you be here for ? Is it worth them spending half there day in a Thai language environment ? How much value do you place on them interacting with local kids.
You mention Cambodia, I've been to Cambodia on holiday a few times with my family, but as for bringing up my children there. FORGET IT !!.
Cambodia is very poor compared to Thailand and there is so much lacking in the basics of the country that for a long time thing I would have to say why bother. Just do it in Thailand. Good infrastructure, western standard facilities and products and living at a reasonable cost. For example, I rent a two bedroom town house on an estate in the suburbs of BKK for a 5000 a month. The house is in very good condition and the village has a nice pool. Cambodia is cheap but is it worth it? Last time I was there was two months ago in Sihanookville and the whole time we were there I didn't see any other western families or Thai - western families. That tells me something and we were on holiday in a holiday place. It is third world there.
I know my kids didn't have to adapt to anything because they were born here and speak the language blah blah blah but at the same once you get away from your kids adapting to the weather etc and a new regime they will probably love it. Good luck whatever happens.
Firstly I would have to say that Thailand has got to be one of the most children friendly countries there is. People are always trying to play with my kids and give them stuff and we often get very good service as a family compared to some of the other kinds of people you see in Thailand.
How old are your children?
If they are quite young then there are a lot of health and safety issues to deal with. Stuff like just walking down the street and there are people cooking stuff on BBQs or with big pans of hot oil , so you do have to watch out for a lot of things.
If you're bothered about seatbelts and wont get in a car without one then Thailand isn't for you. There isn't much for kids to do here that's not in a sterile mall environment. Outdoor playparks can be a bit poor and a bit delapidated and you have to take the weather into consideration. There's no going outside after lunch to play because it's just too hot and the sun is too strong. After 5pm and that's it and it's dark at 6:30 and it's still very hot. A lot of places have good swimming pools though so that's one thing.
Education : if you want a British curriculum education then it's going to cost you a lot of money. A LOT OF MONEY. Think about that. There are alternatives though. There are a lot of private bilingual school that are reasonable or 100% English language but not British curriculum for maybe 100,000 baht ( 2000GBP ) a year. If your kids are young maybe bilingual might be good and they can learn a bit of Thai as well. How long will you be here for ? Is it worth them spending half there day in a Thai language environment ? How much value do you place on them interacting with local kids.
You mention Cambodia, I've been to Cambodia on holiday a few times with my family, but as for bringing up my children there. FORGET IT !!.
Cambodia is very poor compared to Thailand and there is so much lacking in the basics of the country that for a long time thing I would have to say why bother. Just do it in Thailand. Good infrastructure, western standard facilities and products and living at a reasonable cost. For example, I rent a two bedroom town house on an estate in the suburbs of BKK for a 5000 a month. The house is in very good condition and the village has a nice pool. Cambodia is cheap but is it worth it? Last time I was there was two months ago in Sihanookville and the whole time we were there I didn't see any other western families or Thai - western families. That tells me something and we were on holiday in a holiday place. It is third world there.
I know my kids didn't have to adapt to anything because they were born here and speak the language blah blah blah but at the same once you get away from your kids adapting to the weather etc and a new regime they will probably love it. Good luck whatever happens.
