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Original poster

Moving from the UK to New York

14 replies

BellaDonna79 · 05/04/2008 18:25

Right, DH has a job offer for a job in New York, starting in June, we are seriously contemplating it.
So I'm assuming our children will start school in the september?
If so, can anyone tell me what grades they'll all be in? I moved from UK-Boston over 20 years ago and I ended up being moved up a year, does this still happen with early primary school age children? (something to do with reception being 4-5 and kindergarten being 5-6 i think...)
Does anyone know the birthdate cut-offs for New York City?
What are the private schools like? I'm assuming at most you will have to register virtually at birth?
If it helps their dates of birth and current school years are:
DD1 - 11/1/2001 (year 2)
DS1 - 2/4/2002 (year 1)
DD2 - ditto (year 1)
DS2 - 15/10/2003 (nursery)
DD3 - 30/10/2004 (nursery - only started after christmas)

if anyone has any knowledge on the subject it would be much appreciated!

OP posts:
geordieminx · 05/04/2008 18:38

No advice but very

geordieminx · 05/04/2008 18:40

Just re-read your dc's ages - youdidnt hang about did you?

mrz · 05/04/2008 18:42

schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/default.htm

PrincessPeaHead · 05/04/2008 18:53

You lucky lucky lucky woman
To translate Years in the UK to Grades in the states, go down one. So Year 2 is Grade 1, Year 1 is Kindergarten, Nursery is Pre-K or nursery school

Primary school is called Elementary school there. I think the age cut off date might be 1 Jan rather than the 1 Sept we use in England but I'm not sure.

Private schools in Manhattan are notoriously difficult to get into if you are american, and require visits during which both your child and mainly YOU as parents will be assessed, but from what I understand from people who have done it (I haven't) actually if you are English and dress well, look enthusiastic and nurturing etc then you should be OK, having some English parents (the right type obviously) is seen as a bit of a bonus for the middlingly snobby private schools. The really snobby ones won't even interview you if you don't know the right people (billionaires on the board) so don't worry about them!

Don't have much to add otherwise but you know that by law your kids have to be fully immunised to go to school in the US, so you might want to take a look at this.

UnderRated · 05/04/2008 19:06

What people have already said sounds right. You could ask on the those in the US www.mumsnet.com/Talk/2423/505824?stamp=080405173748 thread]]

UnderRated · 05/04/2008 19:07

Ooops

Original poster
BellaDonna79 · 05/04/2008 19:28

Thank-you so much mrz, those websites were very helpful
Geordieminx, and would you believe only one of those pregnancies was actually planned!
Thank you underRated, have done!

OP posts:
gracepaley · 05/04/2008 19:30

Oh, I love New York. Have a brilliant time.

scotsgirl · 06/04/2008 19:41

Hi BD79. We lived in New York for several years, although we left when DS was 2, so I never had to deal with the schools situation - it is notoriously stressful, but that's partly because a lot of parents seem quite neurotic about it all (sorry New Yorkers!).
Anyway, the reason I'm posting is you might get some good advice if you join this Yahoo Group - Park Slope Parents, details at www.parkslopeparents.com. The talkboard is sim. to MN, but is based in a Brooklyn neighbourhood called Park Slope (desirable place to live for families BTW, in case your house hunting too). There are other similar Yahoo groups for other parts of the city, but this is the one I'm familiar with.
Good luck. If you want any other tips on the move, feel free to ask.
(Also, agree with PPH that your children might be quite sought after by the private schools to make their demographic look interesting.)

mimsum · 06/04/2008 23:45

we were in NY for a year between 2000 and 2001 - we ended up moving out of Manhattan and into New Jersey as we couldn't afford private schools and the catchment areas for the halfway decent public schools were tiny and rents prohibitively expensive

friends of ours were paying more than £20,000 a year (yes, that's pounds not dollars) for their two daughters to do part-time kindergarten and nursery - but then, Robert de Niro's kids were in their class ...

other friends took their 2 year old for an entrance test which he failed

the town we ended up in was pretty boring but very pretty but had the most fabulous nursery school I've ever seen and because it was heavily subsidised by the presbyterian church was incredibly cheap - if we'd stayed there the local schools were excellent too - it was one of those areas where no-one went private because there simply was no need

having said that I was very glad when dh got transferred back to London (sept 01) - and then we had to try to get ds into reception

gracepaley · 08/04/2008 12:32

New Jersey? Did you see Tony Soprano? Did you? did you?(swoons, then realises he is fictional)

mimsum · 08/04/2008 15:12

no but I did get asked several times what language I was speaking as the NJ natives couldn't understand my beautiful English accent and as I used to be a BBC newsreader, this cut me to the core

Original poster
BellaDonna79 · 08/04/2008 17:08

they couldn't understand what language you were speaking?!?!? Seriously? ah well, i better get watching friends and imitating...

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