Moving to nairobi with small children

Hi momof3girls,

Welcome to Expat-blog!

I hope you get replies to your queries very soon.

I wish you good luck
Christine

Nairobi is ok place to live you don't need to get worry most of the upmarket places are safe you can be able to walk and drive around by yourself.you can check out Africa expat wives club blog on the internet.the neighborhoods are safe and you'll need to be more social to  meet other moms and people but its easy to interact

We have been caring for our granddaughter, Aaliyah, in Kenya for some years.  We have managed to keep up with the (UK) vaccinations, including MMR.  So no worries on that.  There is an excellent Paediatrician at 'Landmark Plaza' (unfortunately, can't remember the name).  Aaliyah has very good health and being able to get out and about to see animals etc, is fantastic for her.  We were able to get her into nursery class at 2 yrs.  There are some excellent schools.  My opinion is that Kenya is a better place in which to bring up kids - there is still a strong sense of community and people have high moral standards and respect for one another. 

Houses: Generally apartments and houses are generally in walled and gated compounds (of varying size) and kids can run about and play safely.  Properties in the better areas are very spacious.  I wouldn't describe properties as fortresses, but you don't tend to have a front door leading straight to the street.

There are places where you can walk and plenty of shopping malls.  As for driving yourself - it takes a little getting used to, especially as you drive on the left AND have to deal with manic traffic conditions.  Hiring a driver would be relatively cheap and some people choose to do this.  There is frequent gridlock in the city, though the road network is being substantially upgraded, with bypasses, which should make things better.

welcome in the club!!! i was waiting one year until deceided to bring my son here! Honestly- I am stupid not to do it before! And the earlier kids come here, the happier they are! As for me, the climate is perfect, not hot, not cold, they can be all the day round outside. You can certainly find a good house with the garden (i am afraid there are not so many place to walk with them out, like parks etc). We live in the flat now, but there is a pool with a garden there. There are plenty of children in compound and they can play together - so they are not bored. the GREATEST bonus-you can have really wonderful nunnies here! kenyan are so kind and generous with the kids, I am really envy to those parents who brought the small kids there. vaccination is a great question for me as well, but we decided to make all of it there, when kid arrive, you have got the answer already, that if you are not going to the dangerous areas, there are no need in specific vaccination. Driving is challenging there, I did not drive before at all, but did not want to take the driver, but if you are ready to change your mind about following rules, you be OK. But, certainly, it is better to have a big car. Kindergartens and schools are nice. And, certainly, you be never bored with three kids!!

Nairobi   is   an   amazing   place   and   as   long   as  you   will   move   out   to   the   right   neighbourhood,you   sure   wont   see   the   difference   between   here  and   LA!
People   are   friendly   and   there   are   lots   of   mums  just   like  yourself,you   will   come   over,you  will   take   a walk,you   will  drive and   you wont need a   driver(what for?lol)you will   make   a  few  friends   and  as time   flies  by,you   wont even notice  you   moved out  of CA!!!

Dont be nervous,breath in.........then   out....and  you  will  be ok!!!

Hello sydney lovely advice!Kenya by the way is one of the safest and best places to live in the world!

Thanks, everyone!!!

My husband will be traveling there for 5 weeks for work and to check out the neighborhoods and schools. He would work from home so we could live in any neighborhood in Nairobi (within our budget, of course, although his work offers a housing stipend). Right now we pay $2400/us dollars/a month from our own pocket. So I imagine that would put us in the 225,000-300,000 range. I think we'd need at least a 4 bedroom with an office.

I don't have any help (other than my husband when he's not working and grandparents are far) and I'm pretty self-sufficient caring for my three girls and that's fine. Although I must say that it would be nice to have someone else who could help me out a little.

I would love if I could walk my girls to school. Right now their school is a 15 minute drive. Anyone want to suggest a school (or neighborhood) my husband should definitely visit while he's in Nairobi?

Thanks!

There are two American schools, International School of Kenya and Rosslyn Academy, both in Northern part of Nairobi.

It may be a bit more difficult to find a compound near the school, but there are a few nice ones (E.g. Rosslyn Heights, Rosslyn Gardens, Kihingo Village (really expensive), etc). Also, the village market, Westgate Mall and others are near by.

Westlands is not too far away either, but depending on where your husband works it may be better to look for something in the Gigiri/Nyari/Kitisuru area to avoid driving back and forth in the morning and pm

I like the area near ISK, green, cool and quiet.

Karrik, thanks for that info. I will pass it along to him. He'll work from home, except when he's traveling, so we can live just about anywhere in Nairobi.

So I guess our first choice would be someplace safe and near my kids' school. Playgrounds, green space, etc. would also be nice.

Hi momof3girls,

I was a real estate agent now turned a relocations expert. I have been doing this for the past 3 years. Most of my clients are expatriates working with multinationals, the United Nations and other international NGOs.

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Since your husband is working from home, depending on your taste and preference, housing will not be a problem. Your housing budget is very well within range and you will get a great place with that. Half acre or 1 acre garden with nicely trimmed lawns, a pool and gym in some cases and many other extras.

Applies the same for the schools. There are about 10 international schools in Nairobi with fees range from USD 2,400 - Usd 7,000. These are great schools. Play areas in Nairobi are many and you will meet many moms of similar interest when you go there. I do not think though that you will be able to walk your kids to school, unless you are extremely lucky to get housing that is close by.

For vaccinations, please google the following to get specialist who will help:
Nairobi Hospital
Karen Hospital
Agakhan Hospital
Again all these hospitals are located within a good range of whatever location you decide to live.

Househelp - Domestic help is affordable to hire in Kenya. With a budget of anywhere between Usd 100 - 300, you will find good professional help. Most househelps are live-in unless you ask otherwise.

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Hello incase you need a house you can get in touch as i have many options kind regards roger

Hi

I just moved here from Seattle and I suggest getting your vaccinations in the U.S

Find a local travel clinic and they'll be able to help you with what you need. Although only yellow fever is required, there are others you should take as well. Best to discuss this at the travel clinic though

Hi KarriK and welcome to Expat.com!

Thank you for the information.

Regards,
Harmonie.

My wife and I are Americans and have lived in Kenya for 31 years. Our children are grown now, but did everything from attending local Kenya system (called "8-4-4") schools, to schools based on an America curriculum, to home-schooling, to boarding schools. We had very good experiences with all of these.

West Nairobi School (westnairobischool.org/index.html) is a very good school offering only an American curriculum. All of our children went there at one time or another -- one graduated from HS there. It is located near Karen, on the west side of Nairobi. They offer K4 to 12 grades. This school has a strong Christian influence, but does not require that students or parents be Christians. "The School respects the religious preferences of parents or guardians. Classroom instruction is based on a Biblical world view and all students are expected to participate in religious instruction and activities." (WNS Parent Student Handbook).

There are other American system schools (if that is what you are looking for) in Kenya, but most of the others are not located in Nairobi.

Welcome to Kenya

Hello Momof3

Welcome to kenya, you will enjoy this beautiful country, when you get here and you need help with the house choas and baby sitting do get in touch with me, I do offer such services.

Welcome

Get packed and go!  Although I've lived most of my life as an expatriate, nearly 30 years were spent in Kenya; 4.5 when I was a teenager, and over 24 years as an adult, from 1986-2010.  My three children were born there, and it's a great place to raise kids; all of them have a keen interest in the world and people everywhere.  The weather in Nairobi is perfect, year round never too hot nor too cold.  The Kenyan people love children, and you will be fortunate to have Kenyans working in your house.  In fact, we left Joseph last year whom I would love to find a job for.  He was with us 24 years, and does everything from change diapers to yard work, cooking and cleaning.  As a dog breeder I relied heavily on Joseph to help with the puppy births and subsequent puppyhood, we also had a baking business together.  My children attended Rosslyn Academy which is a wonderful school; I also taught many years as a substitute teacher at ISK, and found that to be a great school as well.  I just left Kenya one year ago so would love to answer any of your questions but I urge you to take this opportunity and go for it!

I have stayed in Kenya and observed the following.

1.Vaccines are available in leading hospitals though expensive .

2.There are lot of expats in Kenya and moving around and meeting other expats from your country is no problem if you have your own vehicle/diver of if you drive.Avoid public transport and lonely and sensitive areas . Do not wear real jewellery in public places and carry too much cash.

3.There are normally compounds for expats with all facililites . No you do not feel isolated as such.

4.There are international level schools and extra activities or classes are offered after school or as part of the school curr.

momof3girls wrote:

My husband is considering a job in Nairobi and we have three girls, 7, 5, and 20 months. I'm really worried about safety for them (crime, vaccinations, food, pollution), etc. I was hoping maybe you could offer some advice or tell me about your experience there. My husband has been to Nairobi before but I haven't see it and have no idea what to expect. Right now I"m getting my almost 2-year-old up to date on her on regular vaccines but I've heard conflicting ideas about the other international travel vax we might need such as Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Meningitis, etc. They've gotten their Hep A and B.

Part of the problem is my pediatrician has them on a staggered vaccine sked so getting them up to date has been a little challenging for my littlest one. Next month my middle gets her second MMR and my littlest gets her first. He also doesn't do rotavirus or pneumonoccoal.
If she's not old enough to get some of these (typhoid) vax, should I be worried about it?

What are the compounds like? Can you drive yourself places? Or do you have a driver? Do you feel isolated or is it pretty easy to meet other moms? What are the houses like? The neighborhoods? Can you go for walks? I have this strange impression that houses are like fortresses. Do the kids have other activities they can attend other than school?

Anyway, thanks so much if you respond. I'm so excited and nervous about the prospect. My husband and I loved to travel before we had kids. I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks,
Mom of three girls living near Los Angeles California

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Hi, did you finally get some one to help in the house? I am available as a live-out.

I am a British national and my husband is being offered a post in niarobi. What is a comfortable salary including schools, housing, transport, utilities etc. please let me know in usd per month so we know if we are being given an amount that we can manage comfortably in. Really need help. Look forward to the replies. Regards
Uzma

How many kids you have; their educational level please!

Kashif

I have 2 girls aged 3yrs and 9yrs.

I think that $.5,000/- (net of tax) is very good amount!

The above figures is based on highest possible expenses related to education, house, utilities.

However, you should not accept any amount less than $.4000/- (net of tax).
Wish you all the best!

i second that 5000$ is good salary

It is good to bear in mind that the school your children are going to go to will determine the place where you will be living.


As a matter of fact, there are huge traffic jams in Nairobi and it can take over one hour to reach the school every morning even for a distance that would tae 15 minutes when there is no traffic.

This means that you should try to first find the school!

Also an important point to keep in mind when considering a school is how the school deals with integrating new families.

International School of Kenya regularly organizes family events and runs like an American school when it comes to integrating parents in the school community.  It is not the case in some other international schools.

Good luck! and welcome!

Hi,

We moved here 10 days ago with our 2 children aged 3 and 4.  The international schools here are all beautiful but they are busy and we are on a waiting list for the school nearest to where we will be staying.  In the mean time they are at the siter school which takes 30 mins in the car every morning but the kids don't seem to mind at all. 

At our last home we could walk everywhere, drive ourselves and walked to school but it rained a lot and school was really just inside.

Here the children swim at school, have PE twice a week and have beautiful outside facilities they are enjoying.  We came here thinking we needed a large house with a large garden and a pool but we have realised very quickly that we need a nice house on a small secure compound, near to the school and my husbands work. 

With your childrens age range you will need one of the large internationals to make sure you have nursery right through as some of the schools start at age 6 with no kindergarten.

There are many malls here and most have a ball pit or  kids area  inside ( junction is the best inside one i have found so far). There is also a great outside area at Muthaiga mall with slides trampolines sand pit etc. ( a Playgroup meets there every Wednesday at 2:30 ish) 

If you need baby things when you get here I would avoid the malls and head to the CBD Biashara Street, the price difference will amaze you!

I have so far found  the areas of Lavington and westlands to be very nice .  In the west there is karen, with beautiful big houses on large plots and an almost self sufficient town that you need not leave, it has everything including st own hospital but the commute to the city is very long.  In the north is Runda. Here you will find the UN, American embassy and lots of other embassies. It seems very safe and has sidewalks and is a quiet leafy suburb.  There is a British international school up there called braeburn garden estate.  It has a mall called village market which has outside shops and a water park. 

Also in this area is Windsor country club, a beautiful oasis of calm, with a huge heated swimming pool, golf cub , running track etc


We love it here in Nairobi and we are finding new things everyday.  We can't believe how lucky we are to live here....

Hope this has helped

Jen :-)

hey you should be at ease nairobi is a nice place to be about houses it depends with the lifestyle you want and how much you want to spend on accomodation and school and everythng so the more you will spend the safer you are dont be that negative about nairobi i believe you will love it here,your welcomed

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That's a good overview, Jen.  It should also be noted that there are Braeburn schools in Lavington, but unless you live very close to them, the traffic in the area is horrendous at 'school run' times.

Another consideration for a place to live is the reliability of the water supply and the amount of water storage that is available at the property you are interested in.  Karen, for example is notorious for water problems.  When we lived in Lavington, water rationing was common. 

As a footnote:  Village Market, the UN and US Embassy are all in Gigiri. Runda is an estate to the north of this, towards Kiambu.

One thing you need to do is give yourself time when you get here. Allow a year to fit into things and the way of life. There are lots of expats here and with all the modern conveniences of life you sometimes ask yourself 'Am I really in Africa?'
There are lots of experiences here for kids that you can't get anywhere else.