Quality of life for children

Hello mate,

Where abouts in Mauritius are you looking to move?

I'm from the UK and am relocating to Grand Bay next Month. Plan is to settle and have children so hopefully that says something about the place I've done a lot of research and honestly couldn't find anything negative written about Mauritius. So I came out 3 weeks ago and I still can't find anything negative about the place lol

Mauritius is hugely multicultural and renowned for all ethnic groups getting along very well.

It's a nice safe environment for children. I'm not sure about activities though, the one thing going against it is that it is a relatively small island which is still developing to a degree. For example there are no English speaking cinema's (or very few, may have changed recently). Also I have heard (and experienced) that the pace of life is slower here as compared to some other places. This can be hugely frustrating when trying to get things done, but hugely rewarding when trying to relax!

I hope I haven't offended anyone lol but I think that's a reasonable assesment based on my very limited experience of the Island.

Welcome on Expat.com fencesitters

Concerning your scale:

1--totally not good for kids and hard to meet other expats

Scale: 1 Very friendly island and you can find the Mauritius expat network on this link. Expat.com also used to organize expat meet up for socializing and chit chat  

2--ok for kids but not many real activities for younger children(no amusement parks and places to go for kids)

Scale: 3 (Lot of amusement parks can be find throughout the islands even in the small villages, however in the cities you will have wider choices)

3--the beach is nice(but for kids it is not so much fun)

Scale 4: Beaches are very nice here especially on the Western & Northern part of the island. If your kid(s) enjoy swimming, they will definitely love it.

4--its good for kids and you can take hikes and picnics and the locals are warm and welcoming toward expat foreigners

Scale 4; people here are very friendly and so are the expat Am sure you will make many contacts either with locals or expats via Expat.com itself.

5-- a great place for a young family and you will quickly meet many other expats in a similar situation.

Scale 4: Many expat are here with their families and I hope that they will be able to add their comment. For my part I scale this question to 4.

***Though I will agree Strawb, where he claims that there is not English cinema. Almost all cinema here provides entertainment in French language or in Hindi (Bolywood movies).

Regards

We would be in Grand Bay.  We basically have a day to make this decision so its pretty stressful.  We are choosing to go to a place that we do not know a lot about.  We have 1 person who basically conveyed privately that it would be a disaster and her kids are having a miserable time.  I think people can have 2 totally different experiences.  The individual claimed about getting ripped off everywhere--- general cleanliness of the island and essentially that it is a developing place and there is NOTHİNG for kids.  Now İ am reading that the bigger cities have amusement parks.  Going to the same amusement park in any place will get boring. I just worry about what else you can do to enrich your kids. Music lessons? Play groups? Tennis clubs?  Fitness centers that provide kids activities and safe sport?  The beach is nice--but you cannot do that all the time either.  Hiking sounds nice--but eventually you will have climbed everything right?  İs there that much choice?  I mean--if we lived in Grand Bay. Can you freely walk around without getting hassled?  Can you go for a family bike ride around town, or is it a crowded mess of crazy drivers with no regard for human life?  Are the locals really nice or just in the tourist areas?

Ok - I will talk about Grand Bay as thats where I'm moving to have have experienced. It's a tourist destination meaning it has a lot of restaurants and water sports type activities. It's a very nice area.

If you're on holiday or honeymoon you will be ripped off, as you will in every other tourist destination. If you're living here and know your way around it becomes easier, especially with the help of others in a similar position.

My personal view is that I would be more than happy to live & raise children here. I would say if you have already lived in Iraq, Egypt & Joburg then this would perhaps be a more relaxed, safe, friendly atmosphere.

To come over without even having seen the place is a big leap though. Without knowing you very well it's impossible to know your likes and dislikes.

It is a big leap---the salary and savings difference between Mauritius and Joburg are wildly different. You want to make a decision without that being the only factor.  Its as though good savings will make the sacrifice worth it---the reality is the kids are young and can adapt, one can make the most of any situation.  Effectively I would be the stay at home Dad until our newest grows up or we find a good nanny-daycare, then i am confident i can find work in a school. We lived in crummy housing with all local egyptians in Cairo.  It was terrible and isolating and culturally perverted for us--but we endured. Grand Bay sounds far better and higher level of English spoken, plus a good expat network that we never had in Cairo. My hope is that someone in the same or similar predicament would reach out.  I gather we are not the only expat family with children on the island given the school choices and things like this, so hopefully today a few more people will chime in.  Thanks for taking the time to share your views.

My wife to be is giving up work too when we move out. But we are planning on having a family so the timing is pretty much perfect. Took her 2 seconds to sign up to it lol.

Good luck, I will let the others on here chip in and have their say.

I think activities for the kids whilst still young "might" be a problem, but as they get older there's plenty of "adventury" try stuff them to do.

If you do end up in or near Grand Bay, get them kiteboarding lessons's when they're of the minimum age, they will then become instantly addicted to it, and you'll never see them again as they will always be at the beach hanging under a kite...)))

I'm a mauritian citizen who's been living in the UK for years and planning to go back to mru next year. its the same as anywhere, its got its ups and its got its downs. The downs seem to fade in importance though when you look at the general pace of life there.

firstly - it has the MOST amazing locals I have ever come across. I am from Cape Town and was blown away with how friendly the Mauritians are!! it does offer a good life for families and is super safe. BUT.... most expats find it hard to keep children amused all the time. There are various toddler/childrens groups. The schools are good and do offer some extra-curricula. The beaches are great and we take our 15month old often. (The baby/toddler groups I am in go to the beach very frequently). There are places to go for walks and hikes. And visiting any of the many hotels here for weekends is a great activity as you get to see different places on the island. The 1 nice nature park that has a petting farm and bird park is Casela. other than that, there is not much else to do with young kids. (Nothing else other than what normal kids do and play in their yard in a sandpit, or swim in the pool etc...) There is definitely a lack of amusement, but once you have met some local expats (who are all very friendly in my experience- having only been here 7 months), you will soon be out and about all the time visiting for play dates.

My overall rating: 4--its good for kids and you can take hikes and picnics and the locals are warm and welcoming toward expat foreigners