From NY to PR - English Speaking School on North West Side ?

Please state your specific questions.
Lots of information in the forum already, I suggest doing a search, may be faster, but go ahead and ask questions.

We live in Aguadilla. Our children attend Borinquen Bilingual School. It is a nice school. The kids are learning a LOT compared to their public school back in the states. But they're not learning spanish at all. It's not part of the curriculum for younger kids at that school, which is a bummer. I've heard that Froebel (In Ramey base) is also very good and teaches the kids spanish. We'll be investigating that in the coming months.

Welcome . What area of northwest? Isabela ,aduadilla , aguada ? Or are you considering other places?  Please feel free to private message me

We have a house in anasco, my job is at Lufthansa in Aguadilla.

Is that the school at the airport?

There is a public bilingual school, in Añasco. I have been told that it is a well recognized school.

I assume you were asking me about the school at the airport? No, Borinquen bilingual school is in Camaseyes barrio. There are a couple of schools near the airport. There is the Ramey school, but I think you have to be military to attend there. And there is Froebel, which is supposed to be very good. There may be others, I'm not sure.

Does anyone have any kids that attended or info about the MAS Integrated School MASIS in Anasco?

I have heard good things about masis.  We live in Rincon and the best school we have found is semillas . However there prices are high . You can volunteer to reduce the cost.
What ages are your children

My son is 15 and my daughter is 11.

Masis is probably a good choice for a school . You will be paying $300 plus a child.  Not sure about application or entry fee . Uniforms will end up costing about $100.to $125 per kid. And not sure if they have any supply fee
I hate that schools don't have there information anywhere and you have to meet with them at the school before they give you the full cost information. But I do know that masis tuition a month is $315 .

Thanks Sandra yes we have talked to them, you even have to pay for books, we are still looking around to find the best fit.

Unfortunately that is a fairly inexpensive school here if you want a non religious school ( which is very hard to find). What town are you looking to move too .Driving every day back and forth can pose an issue with possible traffic,accidents .Etc.  So moving closer to a school is a better choice

Thomas - I think paying for the books is the norm at the private schools here. Our kids attend in Aguadilla, and yes, we pay their tuition ($360/month), bought uniforms ($$$), and bought books for them ($$$) plus have to pay for the little activities that they do like the relay for life, or attending plays, etc...

It's definitely not cheaper, but is for sure less than paying for equivalent schooling in the states.

Sandra we have a house in Anasco its about a 25 min drive to the school. The school is about what I pay in school taxes here in NY anyway.  Just want the kids to be happy.

Then it looks like a good fir for you and the kids. All the parents and kids love that school

So I am jealous my wife gets to go to PR to interview with the masis school next week for the kids, and get some things ready for the big move. I get to stay behind and watch the kids here in the cold still, but at least things are finally starting to move a little faster but still trying to find a moving company Alliance wants $5900.00 to move 50 med boxes and one bedroom set and 2 TVs, it seems like a high price.

Hi Thomas173, Did you consider sending the boxes via regular mail?
Maybe another mover can get you a better deal?
I hope those TV's are the LED types, old TV's are bulky and heavy and not worth moving.
I am not sure if you have a P.O Box in PR yet but if not your wife can get one and you can mail those boxes to yourself. If the house gets mail directly then no need for a PO Box obviously.
Fed Ex and others tend to treat PR as another country so their charges are more than US Mail.

Hey Ray we have already started sending boxes smaller ones but the last 2 boxes were trashed when they got there.  Also we got 3 quotes that one was the cheapest so we are going to keep trying, waiting on a couple more quotes so we will see what happens.

Somebody I think Tonie suggested using tote plastic containers like those sold at Walmart to store things. They are sturdier than a cardboard box and should not add too much to the weight. I would suggest using placid ties with drilled holes to secure the lids but others have said it is unnecessary, to just tape it.
Hope you find better pricing or give the tote idea a try and see how they arrive.

I will look in to that, thanks Rey

Personally I would sell what you have and buy new stuff here.   $6000.That you are spending can go along way.   We had a 5 bedroom plus a finished basement for us and our 7 children .We only brought photos, paperwork and some clothing as well as the gaming systems and games .We sold everything else.  The only thing I regret not taking was my bedding.   Bedding is either ready expensive or really crappy

So my wife just came back from PR and had the interview at MAS Integrated School MASIS in Anasco also 2 other schools in Mayaguez but she loved the Maisis school, they gave her a tour and talk to the students and the price was dropped for 2 kids , so that's the one we are going with. Also we found a moving company www.larosadelmonte.com that gave us a much cheaper price were very helpful and answered all our questions.  So as I sit here with my El Coqui coffee and bread and cheese she brought back we are just counting the days July cant come fast enough

They also have office in Worcester, MA, so I will ask for a quote from them down the road.

Thomas, we used a company called La Flor de Mayo and it cost us about $1500 and it was mostly boxes and a couple of pieces of furniture not much.  We sold alot of stuff beforehand. We had moved from NY also but the final move with this company was from Florida so maybe that is why the cost wasn't too much.

I did not suggest the plastic totes as Rey had said, maybe it was someone else.  I know many people here have had stuff sent through us mail but not us.  I do still have a few boxes in NY at my daughters house but she will send those via us mail.

One point that my hubby told me to mention was to make sure you get insurance for your belongings particularly those items of great value.  We insured our stuff for $1200.00 and our wooden antique bar got damaged and all they gave us was $100.00.  So if you have something of great value, make sure that you insure to the max not just a blanket insurance amount because if something gets damaged, they will only give you back a small amount.  Make sure to ask about this.

Just make sure that you have all your receipts of deposits, etc. and ask for a estimated time of arrival for your goods.  We moved here in May 2014 and moved into our house in June 2014 and didn't get our stuff until October 2014.  It was a long time waiting for our t.v., bed, etc.  We made due with the small amount of stuff the owner of the house left and luckily my hubby is very handy so he made us a small dining table which also served as a card/domino table.  We lived very simply but we loved being here.  At night to pass the time, we would go out to our bedroom balcony and look at the stars.
Once we got our t.v. and that, we haven't been out to see the stars lately, so maybe we could've had a little more time living simply.

We love our life here and would not trade all the hardships for anything else in the world.  You are going to love life here and good luck in your job at Lufthansa.  My hubby is also a Air Force vet and we had been stationed at Ramey and my oldest son was born at the hospital which is now the Courtyard Marriott.  Aguadilla has come a long way and it is a thriving city now.  Welcome to Puerto Rico.

Thanks so much tonie, I will ask more about the insurance.

Has anyone used la rosa del monte we were going to use them and we're just reading some of the reviews and they weren't that good the quote was good but we want our stuff in good shape

I'm looking for Spanish classes/tutor/group also.  My Spanish is bad and though I have a decent reading knowledge, I don't have the "ear".
Even a group of English speakers helping each other, maybe guided by a native speaker would be beneficial .
I'm in San Sebastian,  retired &  travel the island, but like to stay in the west.

First Welcome to the Forum, I am glad to you traveling the island and learning what is there.
As to Spanish, I would recommend a course https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Spanish-Fl … rds=fluenz

My wife uses it and she does well with it. While it is conversational in nature, it continues to build on the previous lessons. You learn to speak it, read it and write Spanish.

Hearing each lesson over and over with help with your Ear issue, sooner or later you will sound like the speaker. Take an hour in the morning each day or 1/2 hour twice a day and you will do well.

Welcome to PR.

Well I just watch la rosa del monte leave with our belongings on its way to anasco they said 3 weeks we will see. And we leave Tuesday for a new start still a little freaked out about this move.  And Ray thanks for the tip with the containers and zip ties.

Hope all goes well for you and nothing is broken. Welcome to PR.

Hey all!  I just wanted to let you know how the move went.  I am back in NY to finish up some paperwork for the military and should be done in a couple of weeks but I couldn't post from down there we still haven't got internet service all though we ordered it over a month ago, clario is the only provider by us. We also have to get rid of Verizon there is really no service with them.  But on a good note the move went well Rosa Del Monte moving company did a great job from packing and un-packing, our stuff got there in just over a month with only one plate broken.  My kids are already in there 4th week of school at masis and they love it. I cant wait to get back down there for good.  The one thing I would just tell everyone is remember Island Time, nothing is fast but I am getting used to it.

Thank you for the update.   I do recommend AT&T.  You can use it as a hotspot.  Sorry that Claro is the only provider.  I had that situation when I lived in Arroyo.  Maybe the parents of your children's schoolmates can make suggestions. 
Welcome!

Yes Internet service for the most part is based on your exact location. Within one street you may have part on one provider and part of the street with a different provider but that is somewhat rare, it is mostly by buildings, town and neighborhood.
There is always satelite internet service available if all else fails and using an AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint hotspot from your phone is the best way to have a good backup plan.
As I understand Claro is the worst service provider in the island, but is better than nothing.
Island time, just relax. Too bad creditors dont let you use island time to pay the bills. 

And, thank you for the recommendation for the moving company. I know someone who needs this service, shipping stuff from NY to PR.

Glad everything is going smoothly and thank you for the update!  I bet you are very anxious to get back to PR and begin your new life

Yes the price was very good also and when we were loading the truck in NY we added a couple of things and they didn't even charge us. It was the cheapest I found and we got a lot of estimates.

Hi,

This is Bel.  We are currently in PR and are looking into the local private schools. I read your thread in this site.  Can you please tell me what is the matriculation fee and monthly installments for MASIS school and if there are other fees i.e., books, uniform, lunch and technology.