Question on moving to Luxembourg

[Enby]

Hi all, we are a family of 4 (DD 6 and DS 2) and am waiting for the package offer from my employer but trying to find out as much as we can beforehand. My office will be based in Merl, and I'm currently used to 1.25hr commute in London so not too fussed about living near the office. I'm pretty overwhelmed by the school decision, but we're sure our daughter should be in an international school (This will be a permanent move unless we hate it and come back!). Realistically what options do we have for her, ignoring school fees? I'm aware of St George's, ISL and just learnt of Michel Lucius, but can't get my head around the pros and cons of each? And should we base our home location on which school we choose (she is currently at a small village school in Herts 5 mins from home, so lots of local friends) even if it means I have a long commute? We would like to live in a small town/village with a bit of activity but not too busy. Areas like Stassen, bertrange, Merl and Mamer all seem to fit this description, from online research?! We would like a house with a garden, and would be prepared to move out a little from the city to get what we want. We would really appreciate all opinions and tips on all aspects, as we are quite lost at the moment! Thanks in advance

You need to put your English working hypotheses aside. Long commutes are considered normal in England but you should not assume that life will work around a long commute in the same way in another country. Likewise, the assumption that a house and garden are necessary to your wellbeing may not be true in another country. Among other things, the climate/soil in Luxembourg does not allow the same sort of garden to England.

Your children’s school is likely to be the hub of your family’s social life, so choose it carefully and try to live nearby. Merl is a good work location. Why not try to live near work/school to start off with, in an apartment, and then use that as a base to explore possibilities? Luxembourg villages are not a lot of fun in winter and you might all get very lonely if you live too far from town.

There is a really nice farmers market in Place Guillaume on Saturdays. It’s so much nicer to food shop there than in the massive shopping centres. The city centre of Luxembourg is really nice at the weekend, with lots to do for the whole family.

I can not comment on schools but will on housing.
Will you have a car and parking at your office.
Living in Strassen, Bertrange and Mamer you can use the very regular clean, cheap and relatively modern public transport to get to Merl if you wish. It will be FREE from April 2021.
We live in Strassen and there are plenty of houses with gardens. I am assuming you have looked on athome.lu and have worked out your budget/space/distance from Town ratios.
Houses in Luxembourg are quite large by British standards. Although often the plot is a smaller ratio than you may be used to.
We live in a semi detached house and have 250 sqm over three floors with a basement of 100 sqm with garaging for two cars. Detached houses can be +350 sqm plus basement/garage.
I hope my little ramble is of some help.
Please ask any specific questions you have and I am sure you will get some useful help.

Thank you for your insights. Perhaps renting short term near the school we choose would be best with a view to moving somewhere more permanent when we are more familiar with our surroundings. We will have a car although fully aware of the central parking difficulties. My office will have parking. I have also looked at athome. What is the spread of children who attend the international schools? Do they tend to live very close to the school or very spread out? Are Strassen, Bertrange and Mamer good for families with young children? We hope that my husband will be in full time work by the end of our first year - is there good childcare in those areas? Thanks in advance

I understand that contracts for renting good quality property are often for three years. Perhaps there would be the opportunity to rent for one year. However that will limit your choice. There are aparthotels that give you more flexibility but of course cost €€€. If you are getting a package including accommodation cost then you should be able to do that.

I believe the three areas you mention are good for familys with children.

Might I suggest you join/follow some Luxembourg Facebook groups.
There are a number try searching for
Luxembourg parents
Luxembourg expats
Etc etc

Hello! We're a family of 5, moved here 3 years ago with an EU institution. On the schools front, with kids at your ages and the intent to stay permanently if possible, I'm going to be controversial and recommend the local option. Strassen, Bertrange and Mamer all have really lovely schools with new facilities, small class sizes and funding coming out of their ears. We live in Bridel (also a lovely area, 10 minutes from town but in a beautiful forested setting), and have chosen to go local (despite having free places at the EU school with DH's job) the school here is brilliant. There are 9 children and two teachers in my daughter's nursery school class. They spend the morning in the forest every Friday and regularly go on outings to the swimming pool, theatre, etc. The thing with starting local is that it is a lot easier for kids to get a handle on some of the languages at that age, and if you plan to stay then it is good for them to feel more integrated. It is always easier to try out local first and then move to the international school if/when local doesn't suit. The local schools in the city are hugely international as well and the teachers all speak great English. There are probably 11 nationalities in my 5 year old's class of 18 children.

In terms of neighbourhoods, the above listed are all nice. We used to live in Mamer, and it's a great place to live with a family. They have a lovely park and even do a free ice rink the entire month of December. Having said that, it's getting more expensive with the tram slated to come in 2021. You'd be hard pressed to find a house for less than a million. It's also quite far from Merl in the mornings if you're dead set on getting to ISL as the traffic around the EU school is a nightmare in the mornings. Route d'Arlon is generally a bit grim traffic wise from 7-9 am and 5-7pm. However, the tram should hopefully clear that up. Bertrange is maybe a better option for you (depending on budget) as the village itself has a little more going on and is a slightly closer commute to Merl. The local school there is brilliant (same with Mamer and Strassen) and they have a nice town square with a park, restaurants, etc.

Feel free to PM if you want more info!

The local schools option is a definite possibility in Luxembourg if your DC are young enough. However, Luxembourgish secondary schools are not great for very bright DC.

Personally I think that a blanket 'not great for very bright DC' is a bit of an oversimplification; the more nuanced answer would be that the system does not cater well to kids who cannot cope with the multilingualism and is not very accommodating of students who don't fit the structure-heavy mould, which means that students who are otherwise bright might languish. The teaching style and method can also vary quite noticeably from teacher to teacher. However, at least at the preschool and primary level (and in particular ages 4/5/6), we've found the environment is very nurturing and heavily focused on experience, nature, language learning and play. We know lots of people who go local when their kids are young and then swap to international when they get older, which is our plan as well. As a young family though, we really like that we see friends from school at the park and at local events. It makes our community feel like home to us. I suppose though that if you lived near ISL in Merl, you may find that to some extent at least with ISL since families would want to live near the school? As an aside, Merl Park is amazing, especially in summer!

Will you be coming on a house hunting trip? I think the best way to know where to send them initially is to tour the schools of the areas you are looking at, as well as the international options you're considering. You'll get a good idea of what you like if you're able to see the buildings and meet some staff! There are also some new state international schools with an English section in Junglinster and Differdange that might be worth exploring. Junglinster is a bit further out, but it's a pretty area with a lot of expats.

I was attempting an in depth comparison of the Luxembourg school system with others! Just trying to alert the OP to the fact that while Luxembourg local schools may have a lot to offer very young DC who are not Luxembourgers, she needs to be aware of the need to revisit Luxembourgish education further down the line.

not attempting

Oh, and in terms of childcare options, there are a number of good creches around those areas but you would definitely need to get yourself on a waiting list as they're packed out! Kids ages 1-4 receive 20 free hours of creche a week, which makes life a lot more affordable. There are some nice Montessori creches in Bertrange and Strassen as I recall. In Mamer, ours went to a little French creche called Royaume de Winnie, which we really liked as it was cosy and the teachers were caring. In Bridel, there's a fantastic forest creche called Botterblumm. From the September following their third birthday, kids are eligible for Precoce/Maternelle.

The forest around Bridel is fantastic. Great place to bring up DC.

I am glad linguaphile has jumped into the school debate.

We are a mixed French English couple with my wife educated in the local school system. Our daughter was born in 1991 in Luxembourg and we debated if we could afford the European or International schools but as we had personal knowledge in our family of local we opted for local.
At that time we lived in the old village of the Kirchberg (yes it still exists) and being a Brit I was amazed at the small sizes of the classes. Of course it has changed a little.
Our daughter went through crèche, primary and secondary (Aline Mayerich) Schools.
Has a batchelor and masters from an English University and lives in Luxembourg that she sees as her home and she is firmly rooted here.
I say that as many children (only in my opinion) who go to international schools have no rootes and often return to their birth country leaving their parents who have established themselves as “grown ups” in a different country wondering where to live.
Hopefully I will be forgiven for taking this thread rather deep.

Sorry @MariaNovella, wasn't trying to attack! Just responding in depth as I find people sometimes write off the local before exploring it and they end up missing out on the language learning and integration opportunities. I agree that a potential need to revisit school options for secondary is something to consider with the local option.

The good thing about transferring to an international school (whether that's now or down the road after giving local school a go) is that the student body is so fluid with kids always arriving and moving away that being new isn't such a big deal. Also no need to base yourself for a catchment since location is irrelevant aside from the commute.

@Gfplux that's really interesting, thanks for sharing! I know others with similar experiences to your own, and we have also observed the pattern of the internationally schooled children not really feeling that this is their home. I suppose it all comes down to what you are hoping for on down the line!

If its a permanent move i'd put your kids in local school. If your DD is only 6 she'd be fine. You're really limiting them later on with an international school. If your office will be in Merl thats great. I'd rent at the beginning to get a feel for where you want to live. House prices are pretty crazy here and Merl, Belair and strassen are the most expensive but if you're willing to go further out and be totally car dependent then you'll find a house with a garden fairly easily. Traffic is a nightmare though. PM me if you like. I moved here 7 years ago pre kid and will stay here forever now.

You're really limiting them later on with an international school.

I went to the European School in Luxembourg. I don’t know anyone who felt limited by that experience versus Luxembourg schools. On the contrary: life and career options have pretty much universally been an awful lot better for ES alumni than for international DC who went to Luxembourgish schools.

Thank you all for some great feedback and insight. We will be renting, at least for the first couple of years. We will have to come on a location sourcing trip some time soon and I'd think we might be able to squeeze some school visits in. Interesting to hear views on international vs. Local, for now and the future. Im very concious of our 6 year old not knowing a language before we come - if we could kick start some lessons in the uk beforehand, which should we gp for? I did French to 16yo but zero German so wouldnt be able to help her at home with that. I've been warned about the traffic but probably won't appreciate it until I'm in it! Hopefully sometime soon we will have narrowed down all of our choices and would love to get more feed back on specifics. Thanks again! 😊