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Hi Raluca,
We have just moved here and we are very interested in meeting new friends.  I have two toodlers 3 and 5 and we are living in the Primaverii in Bucharest.  We dont speake any Romanian but we all speak English.

Best, Sigrun

Hi Sigrun, thanks for replying! And welcome! I'll send you a private message and we go from there.

Hi Raluca

My husband is Romanian, and we currently live in South Africa, but will be moving to Bucharest next year. I just read that you homeschool your daughter, as I have 2 kids. My daughter is 7 years grade 2 and my son 14 years grade 9. All fluent in English, but speak very little Romanian.
We also looking to Homeschool, please help with any information with regards to homeschooling.
I would really appreciate, as I am not sure where to start. Is homeschooling recognised by Colleges and Universities in Romania. I would appreciate any info

Hi

Its me Sajjad from Pakistan. I am also planning to move to Romania till next year with my family. I have 4 kids and all school going. The can speak english but I am shocked to know that there are not too many english speaking schools available and what is this concept of homeschooling for daughters? Are the not allowed to go to school? Lots of such questions comes to my mind now. Please do let me know too if you got an further information.

Thanks & Regards

Hi Mesh and Sajjad! The homeschooling option is totally up to you. There are enough private English speaking schools in Romania and also lots of public schools where you can enroll your kids. In Romania homeschooling is not legal, but there are still many families doing it, where they enroll their kids in "umbrella schools" - online schools from abroad (usually UK or US) and so they have a free choice for the curriculum (more or less), while also having the "proof" their kids go to school.
If you want to homeschool as an expat, it mostly depends on what citizenship you have, in order to choose what option would be best for you. If you want to follow a UK or US based curriculum or you want to do independent schooling it's also a matter to think about. So you practically have to abide to the laws of the country you have citizenship from.
I did independent homeschooling with my daughter (3rd grade) and now in 4th grade I'll enroll her in Calvert (an US based school, online and also physical) keeping her in the homeschooling system. Homeschooling is not recognized by Colleges in Romania, but anyone can apply for College by giving the necessary exams. In my case it really doesn't make sense, nor do I worry about, since she'll be schooled in an American curriculum and will most probably go to an American based College afterwards, online or on campus, or at least at an English speaking College. There are many options but it all depends on what you really want to do and how long you'll stay in Romania. Send me a private message if you need more info. Take care and lots of good luck with your move! I hope you'll fully enjoy it!

Hi Raluca,

Thanks for your concerned and detail reply. I must contact you for more in detail discussion.

Thanks
SAJJAD NASIR

We are a family from U.S. but have been living in Bucharest for 2 years, though our Romanian is still a little rusty. My children (I have 5: Girls ages 9, 7, and 5 and Boys ages 3 and almost 7 months) understand quite a bit but are shy about speaking it, though they want to know how. I also homeschool, and starting in September, I will have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, and a "kindergartner." Because we school at home, they've had a tough time learning the language and meeting new friends their ages. Unfortunately, we live in the SW corner of Bucharest in the Rahova neighborhood, not near a metro or major park or anything.

Hello, everybody!
For Sajjad- have absolutely no worries about girls and school. I am a romanian, and in my entire life, including my school time here in romania, it never crossed my mind that it could be an issue here in romania. School is compulsory for 10 years for everybody, no matter if they are boys or girls. Ok, there are kids that drop school earlyer, for various reasons( mainly poverty) but it is not the rule. Actually, as a side-note, you can read this article written by an american expat in ro, about women status compared to US
kingofromania.com/2012/01/18/miss-representation/

I hope you and your kids will enjoy your time in Romania.

I will just put one fragmet from that link, since it is under review and it might take some time:

"I am quite aware that sexism exists in Romania and I have seen it in many forms. But it is quite amazing how much better things are here for women. I think Communism had a lot to do with it because right from the very beginning (under Lenin himself), women were encouraged and rewarded for working outside of the home. All of the (now former) Communist nations on Earth were never hearing messages that women should stay home but that they too should join the factories and work alongside the men to build the glorious future for the proletariat.

You can see some of the effects of that even today. Although Romania has never had a female prime minister, it always seems to have several ministers who are women and its never a big deal. Everywhere I look there are female politicians. I dont think I know a single Romanian woman under the age of 80 who never once held a job and just stayed home with the kids. I lived in two university towns (Timisoara and Cluj) and there are a ton of young women who are students in university. There are women doctors and engineers and chemists and it never seems shocking or upsetting or unusual to anyone."