Where is the most foreigner-friendly neighborhood in Mauritius

coolinny wrote:

My family has been moving to Mauritius since 2019 and is preparing to settle down. So I'm exploring Mauritius for three weeks now.

1. Where is the most foreigner-friendly neighborhood in Mauritius?
Yesterday and today I went to the north and west beaches with my 7 - year - old and my 10 - year - old daughter.
I am currently living in South Africa and I am embarrassed because it is not common in South Africa.
The local children told me that they were Oriental people and said "
The problem is, no matter how I respond in English, the children have not even heard a word.
why the embarrassment? what is Not common in SA as compared to Mauritius?
Have you seen the race demographics of the island ?
Do you expect local children to converse to you in English on the beach? 


This is the question.
When our family comes to Mauritius next year, where is the most foreigner-friendly neighborhood?
More specifically, where is the best English-speaking neighborhood?
Try the diplomatic residential areas in the center of the island !

2. Where is the coolest neighborhood?
I am currently staying at the Grand Gaube
It's really hot. ( sorry  but Mauritius is a TROPICAL island )
My family seems to be getting more stressed because they are adapted to the cool, dry climate of South Africa. ( well geography is the differentiator even for the Southern Hemisphere countries)
Where is the coolest neighborhood in Mauritius?
Up in the Plateau: Plaine Wilhems  like Floréal, Curepipe etc

3. During this trip, my children are so disappointed with Mauritius that I want to make a good memory.
Where are the hotels in Mauritius selling 'day passes' and using the pools and other facilities?

thanks your reply
I didn't expect local kids could speak on english but If I said "No" "Stop"
they couldn't understand at all
and keep try insulted us

thanks your reply
I didn't expect local kids could speak on english but If I said "No" "Stop"
they couldn't understand at all
and keep try insulted us because We are Asian

I've heard about an english is official language in Mauritius
but when I said to local kid "No" or "please leave me alone"
they seem to didn't understand at all
it's not understand to me

Hi Coolinny
I unfortunately don't speak much French and no Creole. Despite this I have never had a problem conversing with people in Mauritius. Yes in some of the villages you may have to use a bit of sign language but on the whole I have usually found the locals grasp of English far superior than my grasp of French.
Maybe there was a misunderstanding with the kids on the beach / they struggled to understand your accent ( sometimes a person's accent can take a bit of getting used to ). I wasn't there and have no wish to pass judgement but if your family are not enjoying the trip maybe you should consider putting the move on hold ( after all holidays are usually a lot nicer and more relaxing than living in a country ).
If you do decide to continue with the move, try to stay calm. Things are not the same as South Africa and you will do yourself no favors by comparing the two countries.
All the best
Samantha

I'm going to attach one more thing to help you understand.

My family has been living in South Africa for five years and I am relatively satisfied.
And I have been offered a job in Mauritius since 2019.

1. We have racial discrimination in South Africa because our family is Asian.


2. I thought Mauritius was a more tolerant country to the Asians.

3. I do not think I've misunderstood what happened on the beach yesterday.
The local children pulled or pushed the hair or shoulders of my daughter swimming and swore in English.
We were just swimming between us.

4. I do not generalize that all Mauritians will do this.
I just wonder where there are a lot more foreigners.

5. I do not think Mauritius will be like South Africa. Climate or language Everything is different,

" I am embarrassed because it is not common in South Africa.""-- it my mistake expresson due to my broken English
I mean I really surprised that not happening in SA oftenly

Do you expect local children to converse to you in English on the beach? --

Yes I did

Samatha
Do you have any struggle with regarding with can't speak with French an Creole on everyday life in Mauritius ?
I'm curious and wondering

Hi. I have not had any problems conversing with Mauritians. I always speak in English simply because my ability to speak French is so embarrassingly awful. As I said in my original post you might need to supplement with a little sign language if you are in the villages but on the whole I have had a very pleasant experience.

Samantha

Thanks so much for shared your experience.
your comments made me much comfortable

When our family went to the beach, the local kids were swearing at us and actually swearing at us. I'm going to try to make it clear that this is common, or just because I was just unlucky because it was twice, not once.

1. Do the people of Mauritius hate Chinese? - My family is Korean, but it's hard to tell them.

2. Is racial behavior common in Mauritius?
- If you're white, you do not have to answer this question.

Hi, i am a filipina with fair skin color but they often think i am chinese. So far, they never disrespect me. Some of Mauritian greet me "ni hao" everytime they see me. they are very friendly to me. I always speak with them in english. I don't think they hate chinese 🙂

Thanks your comment

The information I got from locals is that the there is a lot of Chinese culture and influence on the Island as they are part of the first settlers on the island.

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate encounter on the beach. Which beach was it? The locals are generally friendly to tourists and foreigners but like any country, there are places to avoid. Most people understand English but in some rural areas, you might encounter some less educated people who might not understand

In regards to your question about "most foreigner-friendly neighborhood", well in the north, there is Grand Bay (lots of tourists, bars, hotels, restaurants and nightlife) and Belle Vue is also popular at the moment as there are some good international schools there. In the west, there is Tamarin / Black River - many South Africans live there. Then there is the island center where the climate is cooler, you can consider Floreal, Moka, Curepipe or Quatre Bornes. I think that you will guess that most of these foreigner-friendly places are among the most expensive areas as well.

You should take your time and visit these areas before taking a decision. Factors that you might want to consider are your place of work and schools for your kids. A place near your place of your work and schools for the kids will avoid you the burden of road traffic in some areas like Port Louis, Ebene and Pheonix.