Moving to mauritius

Hello Ange.

Welcome to Expat.com!

I hope you'll get some advices from other members soon.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hi,

Hi Ange,

I thought we had an active social life in the UK - but our social life here is unbelievable - First 3-4 months was quite quiet as you are meeting people - now over a year later - we often think lets have a quiet weekend in for a change

I meet new people all the time as I do a little volunteer work.

All your social life revolves around being outside as the weather is so good all year round (we live in Tamarin/Black River)

I would not worry about the children making friends, they will make plenty at school and after school clubs - also weekend invites tend to include the children - so only occasionally do you need a babysitter for an adult only do.

What has changed our lives living here is the "quality" of life we now have

Lonely and bored?? Here?? Never!! )

Hi Ange,

I have only been living here 3 months so we are still not very organised.  Our Son lives in Australia so I cannot help you with information on Schools.  Being from Ireland we have no Embassy here in Mauritius but The British High Commission will give you all the right advice.  Plus there is an ex-pat organisation and they will give you the person's name and phone number to contact.  I intend to do this myself in the future.  The main reason I am contacting you is in the hope that if you do decide to leave the U.K. please don't make the mistake I made.  There was a problem with my paperwork which delayed my Permit being issued.  This was entirely an Irish problem and nothing to do with the Mauritian Authorities.  Just make sure all your documents have the same name i.e. Birth Certs, Marriage Cert, Passport, Driving Licence etc..  My middle name is listed as Ann / Anne on some of my documents and it is not listed on others at all.  Plus if you intend to ship anything from home make sure that you put it in one of your names only.  I put both our names on our paperwork and the Customs only accept one Passport so if your Husband is John Joseph on his Passport then that is what your Shipping Agent must put on the Bill of Lading.  It is a minor error but it delayed my Permit and I was extremely lucky that I did n't have to return to Ireland to sort it out.  The Authorities are very strict about names here whereas in Europe we don't really class our middle names as important as there is no legal requirement to say we have to use them when applying for a Passport etc..  I have only just joined this blog so I am not really sure what I am doing !

Hi Stephanie

Thanks for that , it's great advice.How are you finding the move?have you settled in OK ? if you were me would you recommend the move... I love the Island and the type of life it gives you but I have 3 other people to persuade , one being a 12 year old boy who loves his home comforts..Where did you decide to live as this is my biggest consideration , I would like to live in Grand Bai / the north , but I think Tamarin and Flic en Flac would be better for the school runs.

Ange

Hi Rosiewestie

Thanks for the post , it was just what I wanted to hear , sounds perfect.If you could give advice as to where to live , the north or the west ( tamarin/Flic en Flac ) where would you recommend? do your kids go to Moka international schools or French schools ?

Ange

Hi Ange,

We live in the west (Albion) and our son goes to school in Moka.  He loves it (you've probably already seen my other posts about the schools in Moka!) and he rides the bus home most days.  They drop him off right at our gate.  I believe there are school buses that also run from Moka to Flic en Flac/Tamarin/Black River.  If you choose to drive them yourself, it will take you about 30 minutes (give or take a few)!

We (me in particular!) really wanted to live in the north at first.  So, we found a place to stay temporarily in the north and tried it out for a month or so.  Needless to say, it didn't take very long at all to realize that we just could NOT do that drive every day.  It was awful...the worst part is getting through Port Louis traffic.  While you are here (and maybe you've already tried this!) do a few morning and afternoon "trial runs" during rush hour to and from Grand Bay to Moka and see what you think.  I just couldn't rationalize adding almost TWO HOURS more in the car every day just to get to school and back.  Too many other great ways to spend those two hours than in the car!  Also, it's one thing for the adults to do it, it's quite another for the kiddos--in my opinion!

I honestly think there is so much to see and do in the Black River area that there is really no need to live in the north if the kids are going to school in Moka.  However, I do know a couple of people who do the drive every day from Grand Bay to Moka.  They choose to leave the house around 6:15am to beat the morning traffic and then they stay late at work until the traffic dies down in the late evening. 

I hope this info helps you.  Just rest assured like others have said, you will meet loads of people and have a full schedule in no time (regardless of whether you live in the north or the west!)

Best of luck to you!

Courtney 

By the way,

I noticed that you are an avid runner.  Just so you know, there are running groups on the island and a great place to work out in the west is Riverland in Black River.  They also have a lot of fun things for the kids (judo, karate, soccer, dance, gymnastics, swimming, etc) plus a restaurant and BAR so that you can add all the calories back on that you just burned off!  Hahahaa!  (That's what happens to me, anyway)!

Sorry if you already know all of this...

Good luck!

Courtney 

Hi Courtney

Thanks for the info and reply , yes I know Port Louis is a nightmare and I think the west would be much better for the school run , no way would the kids want to be in the car all that time ,its bad enough getting them out and to school , I want to get away from the M25 chaos not add to it !!!!
I also think there seems to be more life on the west , there are a couple of schools in the north I'm looking at , Northfields and IPS , any info on these would be fab.

ange

Hi Ange,

I sent you a long message on this today but for some reason ( probably me )  I don't see it.  If I can be of any help to you my email is [email protected].  I hope you receive this.

Steph.

Hi Ange,

Northfields is also an IBO World School (like Clavis and Bocage in Moka).  We have friends who have their son there and they seem very pleased w/ Northfields.  Personally, I am not really familiar with either of these schools, except for what I mentioned above.  Wish I could be of more help!

Always happy to try and answer other questions as they come up.  Again, best of luck to you!

Courtney

angiepauljacklizzie wrote:

Hi Courtney

Thanks for the info and reply , yes I know Port Louis is a nightmare and I think the west would be much better for the school run , no way would the kids want to be in the car all that time ,its bad enough getting them out and to school , I want to get away from the M25 chaos not add to it !!!!
I also think there seems to be more life on the west , there are a couple of schools in the north I'm looking at , Northfields and IPS , any info on these would be fab.

ange

Thanks Courtney

I'm hoping to visit the schools next week and will let you know how we get on ... it's all very exciting buy also so scary..

ange

angiepauljacklizzie wrote:

Hi Rosiewestie

Thanks for the post , it was just what I wanted to hear , sounds perfect.If you could give advice as to where to live , the north or the west ( tamarin/Flic en Flac ) where would you recommend? do your kids go to Moka international schools or French schools ?

Ange

Hi,

We live in Black River/Tamarin and are very happy with the lifestyle here as I said previously a good social life here.

Our children are all grown up now and live in London and Dubai, so no need for schools anymore

Quite a few of our friends children go to Paul Et Virginie a French school in Tamarin and Telfair and Alexander House schools and they are very happy with them.

3 of our friends kids go to the French school Paul et Virginie and when they put their kids in there they spoke no French at all, now they are fluent speaking, but there are lots of English kids there so they will have other kids to help them.

The other 2 schools I mentioned are English Cirriculumn schools and both supposed to be very good.

Some other friends send their older kids to Northfields on the bus, and they are very happy with the school s I believe it has quite a good reputation - and teenagers don't seem to mind the travel on the bus all together.

Moka is quite a journey each day for young children especially when you have some good schools in our area - but your choice

Hope this has helped

HI Rosie

Thanks , yes that's great help , we just need the details of the contract confirmed then it's a decision as to where we live...

ange

Hi Ecole du nord and the international school at the same area are  recommended by both parents. accom is both inexpensive and safe within 5 kms - look at those before settling into constant travel - great life in the north! good luck

Hi Ange, Courtney et al,

Ange, I'd agree with what everyone else has said: you and your family will not be lonely. Mauritians are all very friendly, welcoming and willing to help (that's my experience of family, friends and neighbours when visiting). The expat community would surely be a bonus in making you feel more at home, though not familiar with this yet, as not made the move.

Courtney, would you be able to send details of the running groups please? We'll be visiting in December, ahead of moving here, and would be good to meet some other runners - I've got a half marathon next Sunday.

My Mauritian Wife, our daughter and I will be around for five weeks from early December (whilst sorting out residency and following up job leads) if anybody wants to say hello.

Thanks,

David.

Hi David!

Here are a couple to check out:

randotrail.mu/

mhash.com/index.php

Good luck with the trip.  I hope you guys have a great time and good luck with the job search, etc! 

Courtney
P.S. Let us know how your half marathon goes! 

David Expat wrote:

Hi Ange, Courtney et al,

Ange, I'd agree with what everyone else has said: you and your family will not be lonely. Mauritians are all very friendly, welcoming and willing to help (that's my experience of family, friends and neighbours when visiting). The expat community would surely be a bonus in making you feel more at home, though not familiar with this yet, as not made the move.

Courtney, would you be able to send details of the running groups please? We'll be visiting in December, ahead of moving here, and would be good to meet some other runners - I've got a half marathon next Sunday.

My Mauritian Wife, our daughter and I will be around for five weeks from early December (whilst sorting out residency and following up job leads) if anybody wants to say hello.

Thanks,

David.

Hi Courtney,

Thanks for the running group links - I'd been meaning to do a Hash House Harriers run after meeting a lcoal club in the pub.

Will let you know about the half marathon. Fingers crossed it will be a sub 1 hour 40 run.

Cheers,

David.

Hi all,
I find it really reassuring to know that it can be relatively easy to make friends in Mauritius and this is going to be 2nd attempt  in Sept next year and hopefully my last.
What i find lovely is that so many people are so keen to give advice and make friends and i did lack this the first time.
Knowing all this has made my decision to move to Mauritius much easier and hope that i too will make some friends and have some coffee mornings at my place or play dates for the kids (7,5 and 7mths)
look forward to meeting
take care

Yes, nice people.

Happy to meet you if we've emigrated by then (should be!).

Our little one is a similar age to your youngest.

David.

lne1 wrote:

Hi all,
I find it really reassuring to know that it can be relatively easy to make friends in Mauritius and this is going to be 2nd attempt  in Sept next year and hopefully my last.
What i find lovely is that so many people are so keen to give advice and make friends and i did lack this the first time.
Knowing all this has made my decision to move to Mauritius much easier and hope that i too will make some friends and have some coffee mornings at my place or play dates for the kids (7,5 and 7mths)
look forward to meeting
take care

Fantastic feedback from nearly everyone , feel very positive that we would be able to have a great life and the chance to meet some good friends all in a similar position to us .... We have now been back home a week  it is dark , cold , gloomy .... Certainly nothing like the gorg blue skies we left behind .... Walking to work at 5.30 am in the rain certainly made me think there has to be a better life .... Just a waiting game now for the contract , then the decision of where to live and which school???.....

Hi Courtney and company,

The half marathon went to plan, well if you exclude the challenging gale force head winds: they apparently reached 33 mph by the end, though I appreciate that the wind can get much stronger in Mauritius (perhaps you would not choose to run in it)!

My hands were actually numb during the first mile, but soon warmed up.

Quite a few of the faster club runners actually sheltered from the wind behind me and others in my predicted time zone before the start, so the officials moved us all forward to fill the gap in the zone nearest the starting line - I felt like a (unintentional) fraud!

I finished in 1 hr 39 mins 45 secs, which was a personal best. I was in the first 300 out of 3000.

Thanks,

David.

CourtinUSVI wrote:

Hi David!

Here are a couple to check out:

randotrail.mu/

mhash.com/index.php

Good luck with the trip.  I hope you guys have a great time and good luck with the job search, etc! 

Courtney
P.S. Let us know how your half marathon goes!