Education System
If you have children that are in, or will soon reach, the schooling age I advise you to pay attention to this aspect. UNlike you may be used to at home, it is not an option in the USA to live in "town A" and send your children to a public school in "town B". THe children have to attend a school in the district where you live. If you do not find these the right choice the only alternative is a private school. Depending on the housing and the population demographics, education for children may very between poor and first class. You may find a great looking moderately priced home that is located in a neighborhood with primarily senior citizens. Schooling in that area is likely to be of lesser quality due to the limited funds available through taxes. The higher the taxes, the better the schools is generally true. Sending your children to a first class school therefore often means spending a higher amount for your house.
The following education systems exist:
Nursery schools are usually private. Your child (2-5 years of age) will typically be in a class with less than 10 other children. Education varies from "basic entertainment" to a full training program including exams. Expect to pay between $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 annual for this type of schooling, per child. This fee may be substantially higher than what you may have to pay for public, or private, education in your home country so make sure that the extra expenses can be vouchered to your company. My son has had two years of nursery school and I was thoroughly impressed by the variety of subjects and quality of the lessons as well as the reporting of the teachers back to the parents. It proved that school is not a favor provided to the student but a customer focused service. The parent has the right to question the school focus and should get value for money.
Kindergarten exists in a private and public option. The private option is an extension of the nursery school. The public kindergarten is the first government supported school institute. Annual fees are typically under $ 1,000. They will learn reading and writing at 5 years of age and will generally be more focused on activities and results than exists within a European school. We returned to Europe when my son was close to 6 years old and could read and write. He had been taught to do class presentations, discuss books with other children, and read an understand (basic) poetry. After returning to the Netherlands his (public) school required him to start at square 0 with reading and further demanded he learned to write in calligraphic style. More on this subject in the Return Section of this guidebook.
In absence of hands-on experience with the other schooling systems I have not included them in this book. Several fellow expats and friends have older children who went to schools up to and including High school and College. Eventually this section will be enhanced to include this information. Realize, that higher education in the US can be expensive: tuition fees of $ 40,000 (annual) are not uncommon. Be prepared for that when you have children at a college age or plan to stay for an extended period. If you wish to contribute your experiences please mail me at the address on the left.