Contemplating a move....

Hi Everyone!

So happy to have found this forum!  We are currently living in Canada and considering a relocation with my husband's company to Kuwait.  I have so many questions and don't really know where to start, any guidance at all would be appreciated.

As we have children, my main questions are around schooling and accomodations.  Can anyone recommend any good schools?  Also I know very little about how Kuwaiti neighborhoods are set up, but would it be possible to live very close to the kids' school - even within walking distance?

So I guess any ideas around good schools/neighborhoods would be very appreciated.  Also, how much can one expect to spend on rent for a family in such neighborhoods?

Thank you!

You are Most Welcome to this Blog,

The weather here is very hot and dry in summer,and calm in winter with cool wind and bright sun shine.rite now weather is very good.

There are several schools here where u can send ur children to,personally i dont have any experience about these school,i will give u links to their websites,

www.cbskuwait.com/-- Canadian Bilingual School
www.kes.edu.kw/----- Kuwait English School
www.bsk.edu.kw/----- British School of Kuwait(i have herd this school is good)
www.abs.edu.kw/----- American Bilingual School
www.uas.edu.kw/----- Universal American School
www.ask.edu.kw/----- American School of Kuwait
www.aiskuwait.org/-- American International School

u may also want to check this link for more schools
kuwaitiah.net/schools1.html

mahboula,mangaf,fahaheel,funatis,salwa,salmiya are the governorates  where westerners stay,where i feel u will be more comfy.
As for the accommodation rent ranges from KD190- KD1,100 or more. accomodation over KD400-KD1,100 or more is usually a villa, depending on the facilities,since your accomodation will depend on the school u choose.
here is a link for provider of furnished apartments
www.aaahousingq8.com

you can also check the classifieds section for flats and apartments.

A decent 2 bedroom apartment in salmiya ranges 350- 550 KD . The Canadian school system is new wide spread in kuwait i don;t know exact locations but i have seen thier ads on the newspapers .
goodluck

Thank you both for your very helpful responses!

your welcomed.feel free to ask anything.

I would say that you are not going to be able (or want to) live within walking distance to your children's school.  How old are your children?  Most schools are in very congested areas. 

As far as recommending schools I would recommend American School in Kuwait or American International School for American curriculum.  Or The English School (TES) for British curriculum.  I am an educator and have been here for 6 years.  These are the only schools that I personally would consider sending my children to.

sommersmiles - thank you very much, this information is very helpful!  My children are elementary school age.  I noticed in another post you mentioned that there is a lot of time spent on classroom management there.  Is that the case in most schools there?  Do you feel that the children can get sufficient individual attention with a quality education despite this?

I would appreciate anything at all you could share!

Sommersmiles- props on recommending my old stomping ground (TES) :)

worth noting tho that TES only goes up to year 8, or grade 8 as u guys call it.

expatmommy, if u decide on which curriculum u want ur elementary kids to fall into, i'll see about getting you in touch with the right people, from the right schools even.

@ Expatmommy-I think that there is more of a challenge with classroom management in the schools that have a higher percentage of arab students.  I only say this because by nature Arabs are extremely social.  Some western educators have a very difficult time adapting from the way that they are used to teaching back home to how they need teach to students from this culture.  Don't get me wrong though, some teachers do an amazing job.