Expat Teenagers In Mauritius

We are in the throws of planning an immigration to Mauritius from South Africa. My wife and I are concerned our Two Teenagers, Thirteen and Fourteen will get bored. Is there much going on for expat teenagers on the Island?

Hi, it depends what your kids like to do and where you will be living in Mauritius. If they're sporty,there are so many watersports (sometimes pricey!), riding, fishing,cycling, running, tennis, rugby, football, basketball etc. Very much an outdoor lifestyle.  There are also clubs through the schools such as debating, or outside agencies that do drama lessons, music etc.

I am in the north and my kids are sporty so there is lots for them to do. Looking on some of the FB pages and sites like this there is a lot going on involving expats in the west - it seems like there are a lot more south africans living there, but I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong  :D

If you're planning a visit look at the different schools and where you'll be living and plan around that.  Good luck!

Hi

Thanks so much for coming back to me! Our situation as follows: I'm a Mauritian citizen and we have been toying with the idea for a couple of years of moving from SA to the Island. I have been in contact with Northfields, which looks lovely and very similar to the Crawford College the children attend currently. Both my children are very sporty, in fact my son Jett is on a school sports scholarship, he is 13 and going into Grade 8. My daughter Cassidi is in Grade 10 and also sporty to a lesser degree, she loves shopping movies and her mates. Are there enough expat youngsters in the area(North) for them to find their niche of mates or is it somewhat isolated? I am also wondering what the general situation is from a tertiary point of view, do all these kids leave the island when they matriculate or do they stick around? I understand it depends on the career path they are wanting to pursue, we don't however want to make this monumental move and in 36 months Cassidi is back in SA because there aren't any worthwhile study prospects in Mauritius.

Sorry abt the drawn out message and all the questions!

Cheers

Hi Sean,

My kids (12 years old) have fitted in really well at Northfields, it is a transitory school so for one son a lot of his friends left for other countries this year, and also it's a very small school so not as competitive as you might wish for.  Rugby (Northern Pirates) is very big here in the north and very well organised.  What sport does your son do?  The new headmaster at Northfields is a cricket buff so that's one of the things that the school will be doing more of.  Most movies are in French here, tends to be a 6pm showing for English movies, lots of shops but very expensive! And you will be taxi mum and dad although you can hire a driver for your kids as many people do! 

Expat kids will have to leave the island I believe once they have finished their schooling unless they fit the work criteria for foreigners and there are scholarships for Mauritians for overseas universities.  There is a university in Reduit but I don't know how well degrees from there are received in the workplace. I probably can't give you much more info about whether people remain here or not as we have only been here for a year:/ 

Mauritius is an expensive place to live compared to South Africa (more on a par with the UK) but we do have beautiful beaches and mountains here to make up for it.  Hope this helps :)

You can always get DSTV if you want english channels. My younger cousin loves tennis and has even travelled to France to compete but they live around Moka.

Jsummers wrote:

Expat kids will have to leave the island I believe once they have finished their schooling unless they fit the work criteria for foreigners and there are scholarships for Mauritians for overseas universities.


He said that he is a Mauritian citizen and , depending on his status , his kids may apply for citizenship  ( just have to go on the govt site to know all the criteria which have been discussed so many times)  - with all the pertinent advantages  that come with it .

As far as scholarships for post -secondary studies abroad , it will depend on the HSC exams  results.