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Any expat kids in Vieques?

Last activity 29 January 2015 by NomadLawyer

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cickite2

Just wondering if anyone out there knows of any expat kids living in Vieques... Thanks!

Gary

I know that there are quite some (US) expats on Vieques but if there are (many) kids I wouldn't know.
I guess a trip to the island might be a good plan. :)

NomadLawyer

Like Gary said, there is a pretty tight nit group of expats on Vieques but I've never seen any with children. Doesn't mean they don't exist, of course, but ...

cickite2

Thanks guys - we are headed there next month - (and only in the infancy of island-scouting), so we will keep an eye out!

NomadLawyer

Is there a private school on Vieques? I don't think so. According to this site, there isn't one (site is in Spanish). Are your kids school age? Are you planning to home school or send them to public?

cickite2

NomadLawyer - we are 9 years out from being able to move. My daughter will be 12 at that time. I'm open to home schooling - it will just depend on the location (right now we are considering most of the Caribbean ;-) ). I Actually attended Baldwin School in PR while my family was relocated there when I was in high school. That isn't the type of place I want to send my daughter to. Don't get me wrong - it's an excellent school and most of my classmates went on to attend Ivy League universities - but I am looking for more of a cultural experience. If I need to home school, then that's totally fine :-)

NomadLawyer

Ah, so you know PR well then. I know what you mean re private school culture. That said, I personally consider it inadvisable to send kids to public school in PR. Home-schooling sounds good if you have the motivation. It wouldn't work for my wife and kids but I know it works for many and can be far superior to public (and maybe private?) school when done right. Anyway, good luck whatever your decision.

cickite2

Thanks NomadLawyer - I don't know PR super well (I've actually never been to Vieques), so I do welcome any advice! Right now we are in the stage of making a list of places we should visit over the next few years. PR isn't as scary to me, since I do have some experience there. I love how much the island has to offer in terms of nature, adventure, and culture. It's so diverse! I'm sure that the perfect location doesn't exist, but I've got plenty of time to look! I'm hoping to find a place that has a small town feel (no condos, strip malls, etc). I grew up on the beach in FL, but there were always big waves, and I don't surf - that's why we are focusing our search on the Caribbean ;-) I want somewhere that has great snorkeling and sea life. My favorite places to travel to have always been low-key tourist spots (no resorts in sight), and could always imagine myself being part of that type of community (catering to tourists who appreciate the local feel)... Anyway, like I said, I know the perfect place probably doesn't exist! But if you have any suggestions on places we should look, I would welcome it! We are also doing more research on Roatan, Honduras, Bocas del Toro Panama, DR.... U.S. Virgin Islands have been ruled out due to cost of living :-)

NomadLawyer

I lived in Panama back in the late 1990's when I was in the US Army. It's changed a lot since then and is now a much easier country for expats to live in. When I was there, there were no expats except for US military, Panama Canal Commission, or Smithsonian Institute personnel. The country was still recovering from dictatorship and it's eastern provinces were deeply affected by spillover from conflict in Colombia. There wasn't even any tourism sector. I loved it there. I will say that Panama can get really, really hot - even hotter than the concrete jungle of San Juan, PR.

I'd also consider Grenada. It sounds like it's right up your ally. Safer than PR and Panama too.

I'd also consider Anguilla, although I imagine the cost of living there is probably quite high.

Either way, it's exciting to think about. We of the PR forum are glad to help. Good luck.

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