The level of school you are talking about is called “jardin,” which is essentially preschool/daycare, depending upon the program. At that age group, you have a lot more options than if you were trying to enroll a high schooler, for instance. But, the 6 month time period you are talking about being in Buenos Aires is tough for school enrollment because you are arriving right before summer vacation. Many schools, including Belgrano Day School, will not accept new students right before summer. I only have experience with the jardin programs that were affiliated with primary/secondary schools — there may be some that are just preschool, but if there are, I don’t know if they let out for summer as well.

We enrolled our children at Islands International (in Belgrano) and were very happy there. They don’t have a huge population of foreigners, so they are a little more accommodating than some other schools that are popular with expats. But, they do have an IB program at the high school level, so you know they are getting a decent education. Another option is to join one of the social kids clubs, like Club de Amigos, which will have programs for kids all summer long. You can use that for networking with other parents and setting up play dates, both with expats and Argentines alike.

Regarding furnished apartments, we lived in 4 during our 14 months. Generally, to avoid spending your whole day transporting your child all over the city, you will want to live somewhat close to school if you go that route. Otherwise, it’s viable to rent for a month and then move somewhere else once you have your school/club situation figured out. Remember though, October to February is high season for the rental of furnished apartments to foreigners, so you have less flexibility than you would in say July.

Hope this helps!! Besos!!

My family and I are moving to BA in Oct. 2010 for 6 months(we are from Denmark in Europe). We have a daughter( she was 3 in Nov.) and another one on the way in Feb. Do you know anything about daycare/kindergardens? I would like my oldest to have a place to play with other kids and make friends…

We will be living in the Palermo area(or would like to) and I thought about the Belgrano day school, but you write that they are closed from Dec. to mid Feb.

I also thought about renting a place for 1 month, and then when we get there go and see different apartments for the next 5 months. Is it possible to get a place from day to day…

Nice website, a lot of good info for families.

Best regards
Karina

1) They LOVE dogs here. Everyone seems to have one and they are the most well-behaved, mellow city dogs I have ever seen.
2) Hiking and outdoor stuff is pretty great in general, but I don’t know how accessible it will be for you from where you live. I’m not super familiar with the suburb where Lincoln is located, so I don’t know what’s around there, but it’s generally pretty flat here. We do so much walking in the city as a part of our daily lives, that we don’t really seek out more hiking in the greater BA area! As a country though, you can find hikes in every imaginable landscape here — rainforest, desert, steppes, forest, blah blah blah.
3) This is a great country to live in with children as well in that everyone is very tolerant and kind to those with the small people!

Good Luck!

There’s lots of useful stuff here, and you’re a fantastic writer. Thanks for posting! My husband and I are teachers considering a post at the American School and I had a couple of questions. First, what is the attitude to dogs there? We have a couple of small ones we feel we wouldn’t want to leave. Also, what’s hiking and outdoor stuff like? Is it easily accessible? Thank you for all your great info! We’ll be bringing a baby with us as well (2 year old).