Schools for Young Children

[garym]

I am considering moving my family to San Juan del Sur.   My children are 5, 7, and 14 years old.   Are there many expat families in the area or is it mainly retirees and singles?    If there are families what are schooling options available?  Thank you.

[Joshua Berman]

Gary -- there are no options in SJDS (that I know of) besides the local Nica schools. In fact, the only international bilingual schools are in Managua. A few expats in Granada use local private schools, a good place for your kids to learn Spanish and also about Jesus, as most are Catholic.

If anyone else in SJDS can report otherwise, it'd be great to hear from you.

The other option is to pool together with other expat families and form homeschool groups, or to find some distance Internet option -- we discuss this in Moon Living Abroad in Nicaragua, but are happy to answer any other questions you have.

[Randall Wood]

The San Juan del Sur expat scene is home to a growing number of families but for the moment is still dominated by retirees, investors, and the young and adventurous.  That is changing fast though.  In the meantime, if your kids are like most, they'll have an easier time adjusting than their parents will!

I was friends with a missionary family working in Condega whose three children had a lot of fun there and had a lot of Nicaraguan friends to play with. And Condega is a lot sleepier than SJDS is; in SJDS your kids will have a lot more to do. Unfortunately, the schooling issue makes SJDS less attractive for expats than Managua, which has several international schools (but no beaches).  And you can't commute.