Hello from London

Hi there

I think you will be pleasantly surprised.  We have been in Mauritius for two years now and the growth is unbelievable.  Alexander house is quite a journey for the kids, approx 1 hour there and 1 hour back from Flic en Flac.  So many schools have opened up in Tamarin - which is a 20 min drive from Flic en Flac and no traffic for the kids.  Telfair Interntional, maybe you can search their site.  Please feel free to call me when you arrive and i will try to help make your transition as easy as possible.

We own and run a swimming pool business here from building pools to maintenance.  So also shout if you are needing a safety net or help with the swimming pool.  My name is Tanya and contact tel 496 6781.

Thanks and see you soon

Dear Tanya,

Thank you so much for your speedy reply. I will def. look you up.

So refresing to know that there will not be major transition in culture.

Kind regards
Sasha

"So refresing to know that there will not be major transition in culture"

There is a big change in culture, do not miss it,  do mix with the other people of all nationalities here, it is a real opportunity for you and your kids.

Welcome to Mauritius !

there is DSTV here and that is all English. There is BBC, discovery, sports & CBeebees for the children (and much more!)

Floreal is pretty far for school, but see how it goes. We moved here 2 months ago and rent in Tamarin/Black River. There are LOADS of expats living here. This is about 20 mins from Flic en Flac. I have heard of a couple expats living there. The rentals are cheaper. Tamarin is more residential as opposed to touristy.

as far as what is there to do: ENJOY the outdoors. This is island life. There seems to be enough to keep children entertained.

Good luck with the move.

Hello

As regards bookstore, you'll find good english books in all bookstore. Although people here do speak french mainly, most people do speak and understand english well.

Do mix with other people as well, there's no point moving to some other place if you are to segregate yourself.

We'll help as much as we can:).

Good luck with your move.

Cheers

Hansa.

Thank you all for the lovely messages. We will definetley kee in touch. We are very excited regarding this move and all I ahve heard so far are great things.

Are the any negative feed abck anyone can think of?


Cheers Sasha

I have listed some negative things about living in Mauritius and a couple of them only pertain when comparing to a London or an equivalent large city.  I specifically mention London as you have indicated that that is where you are currently.  At any rate, these may or may not necessarily be negative for you, but you may want to be aware of ahead of time.

1. It's a remote island in the middle of the ocean. It will take a long time for friends and family to get here if they want to visit or for you to return home to visit them. 

You will not be able to get back to London quickly such as to see a sick relative or a there is a death in the family.  Direct flights are 12 hours plus getting to the airport 2 hours before departure, travel time to and from the airports, clearing customs, possibly waiting for luggage, etc.

It will take at least 15 hours if you are lucky and everything lines up perfectly and you can get on a direct flight within a couple hours.  Worse case scenario, it could take a few days to get a flight as happened to a friend who was visiting and missed his departure because of two flat tyres on the way to the airport.  He HAD to get back home quickly, but every flight off the island on every airline where he could get a connection was full in economy, business and first class for 3 days.

There are also not as many options to travel to other locations (or countries) for a weekend getaway as being based in London offers.

2. It's also a small island and does not have an overly large population which can potentially have negative repercussions.  Because it seems that most expats/locals typically spend the vast majority of their time in and around where they live, you are much more likely to continuously run in to the same people (which can be good or bad depending on the situation and people). 

Word travels fast so you will potentially have your personal "business" talked about and known very quickly amongst your circle of friends on the island or complete strangers as well if "interesting" enough.  This will depend in some part on how "gossipy" your friends on the island are obviously, but word does travel fast here.

3. Compared to London, Mauritius has no where near the number of options in terms of shopping, restaurants, bars, night clubs, sporting events, cultural events or activities.  If you do not need endless options of things to do or places to go out to then this may not be a big issue as too little/much choice can be a good or bad thing. 

4. Mauritius is a third world / developing country in most respects.  This in and of itself is not necessarily a negative thing but you will have to accept that there will be power outages ranging from a few minutes/hours to potentially days, the internet runs much slower and the tap water is not the cleanest and does not run 24/7, but if your home has a large storage tank and you don't leave the garden hose on accidentally over night you'll be fine (a lesson I only had to learn once).

The most negative aspect pertaining to this section is that you may or may not get a response from the police or emergency response phone numbers when needed of which I have had first hand account on a few occasions unfortunately. So if you need an ambulance, you will be much better off (if possible) driving to the hospital yourself or having someone else drive you than waiting to hopefully have the emergency response number answered and then maybe an ambulance and/or the police may come to you.

5. Driving in Mauritius takes a bit of getting use to and can be quite daunting for some people at first.  People may drive on the same side of the road as in England, but most people in Mauritius do not follow any discernible road rules and the lack of an emergency lane / shoulder on most roads creates for some interestingly intense situations as well.

Tailgating seems to be a national sport in Mauritius as is the local habit of parking in the middle of the road even if it's possible to remove one's vehicle from the road and make use of a proper parking space.  I haven't actually found the rule book for these games, but it seems that bonus points are awarded for parking in the middle of the road on either side of a blind curve or just on the other side of a hill.

Overtaking around blind corners and/or while going uphill is also a quite popular game.  There is also a shared "invisible" middle lane used by vehicles going in both directions for overtaking that seems to follow first come, first served protocol.  I have not been able to find the special "glasses" for sale in any store that will allow a player to see this invisible lane.

It is also important to note that when a vehicle is parked in the middle of the oncoming lane and another oncoming vehicle is approach said parked vehicle, do not assume that you have the right of way just because your side of the road is free from obstructions.  No, you would definitely be mistaken and you should yield your vehicle so that the other vehicle (especially if it is a Triolet Bus Service bus) can can pull around the parked vehicle with out having it's progress slowed.  You have been warned.

****Section 5 heavily laced with sarcasm for those unable to pick up on it****


6. Things move at a much slower pace in Mauritius than in London.  Again, this is not necessarily a negative thing and can be a very positive aspect of living in Mauritius, but you will have to adapt and learn to not expect the same urgency you may be accustomed to in people in a big city or the same hectic and often times stressful lifestyle as is common in larger cities like London.

7. Traffic congestion going in to and out of Port Louis can be TERRIBLE so if you are for instance going to work a 9 to 5 job in Grand Bay, then don't live in Curepipe and vice versa.  As a general guideline, if you work North of Port Louis, then live in the North part of the island.  If you work south of Port Louis then live in the south part of the island.  If you will be working in Port Louis, it doesn't matter too much where you live so I hope you like traffic.  If you do not mind getting stuck in two traffic during rush hour then live where ever you like most as it's hard to get away from the traffic regardless at any rate.


Depending on how independent, flexible and adaptable you and your family are, any of the above may or may not be an issue.  I personally find life in Mauritius much better than compared to my years of living in London.  I love living in Mauritius as I am sure you and your family will too especially as the weather here is at least a thousand times better than in London....

Thank you so much for your reply. I have sent you a message. Keep in touch.
Cheers
Sasha

thequeen wrote:

So refresing to know that there will not be major transition in culture.

It is possible to live a life predominantly within the expat community, but for expats working with Mauritians, they would be well advised to at least gain a basic understanding of their way of life and culture.  It is a hybrid culture that perplexes many foreigners who are more accustomed to monotone communities.  The differences can lead to frustation as bunkoma's post correctly implies, at least in part.

There will be a major change in culture, it's just that you may be successful in avoiding it.

Bunkoma has summed it all up quite nicely - 16 months here and not regretting leaving the UK at all - even without any water!

Sasha, I certainly agree with catherinedp: when in rome...... and all that. DO immerse yourself into the mauritian culures (yes, there's more than one:creole/hindu/chinese/tamil/muslim etc etc,) it makes for a worthwhile experience whilst in mauritius. DO keep an open mind about things not being british, DO try and accept that a lot of people and things can be unreliable. Having said this, I find that mauritius is an extremely family focused society and it is not as easy as it is in europe/britain to make friends. A circle of mauritian friends and a circle of expat friends for different occasions might be a good thing.
despite bunkoma's somewhat sarcastic undertones it reflects my own experiences in many ways. mauritius can be a challenge. but that's part of what makes life here very interesting indeed.

Hi Everyone,

Am Mauritian and work At Veranda Palmar Beach and i can assure you that Mauritius us really a Paradise. Unfortunately we do have some negative perception people which we must ignore. However, mauritian are very polite and be careful cause some are really cunning, they want to keep in touchwith foreigner for their own benefit.

However, i am very proud to be able to work among 12 Head of department - only men and being the only woman as Secretary, they do have respect for me as a close friend - synergise. I would advise you to follow your intuition and do come to Mauritius for a memorable experience, i will assist you for any help. "A vision is where you are going, a plan is how you get there"

Bunkona, I love your description in item 5 of Mauritian driving, you are absolutely spot on. One thing you forgot to mention is that in Mauritius it is compulsory to sound your horn every 10 seconds, regardless of whether there`s any need to do so. Another thing worthy of mention to those unfamiliar with Mauritian driving, is that when driving at night,you must assume that every other person using the road is drunk, because they usually are, so be extra careful. The number of road deaths per year is horrendous for such a small island.
Nevertheless, this is all part of the fabric of a wonderful place, and I actually quite enjoy driving among the lunacy around me, its great fun. And yes, look out for those demons driving the Triolet buses....kamikazis, the lot of them !