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My family and I are due to relocate to Washington DC as my husband has been offered a three year post with his work - he will be based in the British Embassy. We currently live in Gloucester, in the south west of England, UK. We have four dependent children, of ages four, twelve, eighteen and twenty one years old. Mostly concerned about education for my two youngest. Will my four year old be entitled to public school education? Or do we have to pay for kindergarten? And my twelve year old is currently in year 8 in her school in the UK. Obviously the US curriculum will differ greatly to that of the UK, and my husband is fretting over our child's chances of passing exams. Baring in mind we will be returning to the UK once she is 16/17, and she will have missed out on GCSE exams. Not sure how the equivalent qualifications work out in the US seeing as students don't graduate until 18?
And for my grown up children, 18 year old son and 21 year old daughter, what is the likelihood of them finding employment within Washington DC?
We're also looking for a family home to rent for our 3 years stay in Washington DC, obviously family friendly, and British neighbours would be a bonus! Any recommendations on where to live/set up home? Husband seems to think the fact that I do not drive a car might be a problem for us in the US. However I have managed in the UK with no car (my husband is the car owner and driver in our household), wouldn't the same be possible in Washington?
Any advice/information would be greatly appreciated, thank you
We are renting, looking for 5 bed and expenses paid.
You aren't going to find many 5 bedroom rentals, so I recommend working with a realtor to find one as close to the British Embassy as possible. Traffic is horrible here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISEJOANNE41
Will my four year old be entitled to public school education? Or do we have to pay for kindergarten? And my twelve year old is currently in year 8 in her school in the UK. Obviously the US curriculum will differ greatly to that of the UK, and my husband is fretting over our child's chances of passing exams. Baring in mind we will be returning to the UK once she is 16/17, and she will have missed out on GCSE exams. Not sure how the equivalent qualifications work out in the US seeing as students don't graduate until 18?
Your children will not be eligible for public education in the US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISEJOANNE41
And for my grown up children, 18 year old son and 21 year old daughter, what is the likelihood of them finding employment within Washington DC?
It depends on what they are looking to do and their employment visa status.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LOUISEJOANNE41
Husband seems to think the fact that I do not drive a car might be a problem for us in the US. However I have managed in the UK with no car (my husband is the car owner and driver in our household), wouldn't the same be possible in Washington?
It's possible if you find a place in the city. If you end up in the suburbs, then it will be much more difficult.
For a five bedroom you'll need to look in the older single family homes in DC. Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Forest Hills, Crestwood, etc. are where you probably need to look. In the city, not driving isn't a problem. Living in the suburbas without a car is more difficult.
Your children will not be eligible for public education in the US.
Why is that? It seems that many people are here temporarily and their kids are in public schools. Is there a rule specifically concerning embassy employees?
Quote:
Originally Posted by spencgr
It's possible if you find a place in the city. If you end up in the suburbs, then it will be much more difficult.
You can get around some parts of Arlington and of Alexandria without a second driver. But since you have a car already, maybe it would make sense to plan to learn to drive, and then you would have a wider range of options for housing.
Maybe the embassy itself will have some ideas or even some housing stock?
You probably won't need a car if you're in the District itself, and driving is mostly a headache here. During rush hour in the central part of the city, it's often faster to walk if you're not going very far (say, a mile or less.) Metro train is mostly reliable during rush hour (emphasis on "mostly"), less so during slower times, but I usually opt for a bus when there is less traffic.
The quality of DC schools varies widely (mostly on the not-so-great side), so I would check that out as soon as possible. I'm not sure about the citizenship issue. I first thought that if the kids live in the particular school district, they can attend the public schools there regardless of citizenship, but after some quick searching, I'm not so sure. There is also a British school here too: British School of Washington | A World Class Learning School | Washington, DC
Work for your older children will be trickier, although the embassy may be able to help with that too, not sure. If they have any particular skills/talents (music, languages), giving lessons or tutoring for cash may be an option.
Why is that? It seems that many people are here temporarily and their kids are in public schools. Is there a rule specifically concerning embassy employees?
Yes, I may be wrong here. My initial research indicated it was not possible, but that may have been limited to F-1 visa holders only. Other visa holders may not have these restrictions. I'm sure the Embassy would be able to provide more information.
Is there a maximum limit to what housing the embassy will pay for? If the maximum is $3000/mo rent you will have a harder time finding five bedrooms in a nice part of the city than if it is $6000/mo rent.
Kindergarten in the US typically starts for children who are age 5. Depending on where you end up living, the birthday cut off for Kindergarten may vary slightly. The quality of public schools is very uneven, especially in the higher grades so you will want to make sure you choose where to live carefully based on the schools the house is zoned to. There is a lot of detailed information about school demographics and test scores out there once you start to zero in on neighborhoods. Great Schools is good to get a general idea but I think they over simplify things by distilling it down to one number based on test scores. Many affluent families in the district opt to pay for private schooling, especially after the elementary grades, because of the uneven quality of schools.
For thr older children, most 18-21 year olds are in college or vocational training of some kind or work low wage service jobs. You may be able to find something a little different through the embassy or the British community in DC though.
If you are not going to drive, you will probably want to live as near to a metro stop if possible. You can also take advantage of zipcar and other short term rental services if you only occasionally need to drive. In general, shopping here tends to be more segregated from residential areas compared to Europe, necessitating driving more often, but there are some, mostly older and more expensive, neighborhoods that are "walkable."
Hope this helps, and welcome to DC.
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