Giving birth in Goa/Settling in Goa with kids

berry

Hi We are thinking about settling in Goa for a while. We have a 4 and 1 year old and are expecting our third in November. Any recommendatons/advice re healthcare and hospitals would greatly appreciated.
Also we are looking for a school for our 4 year old, we have seen that people have recommended Yellowhouse Nursery, Manovikas, Sharada Mandir and Vidya Vikas in the past. Are these still conidered the better schools or are there others? Ideally we'd like a small Montessori style nursery.
We were thinking of heading for Benaulim as this is close to Margao for healthcare. Does anyone know of a school in Benaulim or would we have to go into Margao?
Also we like the look of Yellowhouse, but it is in Anjuna, can anyone give us an insight about Anjuna for a long stay and is there international standard healthcare near there.
Finally what do families do for transport. Do people hire drivers or rent/buy their own cars?
Any other tips/ideas would be very welcome. Thanks a lot

GoanCanuck

Hello and welcome to India Mike! You mentioned "settling" in Goa. Are you a of Indian origin? If the answer is no then you are basically not eligible for a long term visa which is essential for settling down.

International standard healthcare is not available in Goa. Period. There are a couple of hospitals in Goa which claim to be of international standard but they are not.

How do you plan to support your family if you are going to stay long term in Goa? It is not the cheapest place in India to stay by any means.

Deldupinha

Hello Berry,

I am going to live with my husband and one year old son in goa, in November 2009, for 3 years. My husband will work in Verna thus we would like to live near there. I am looking forward to meet up other expat mothers too. If you don´t mind we can meet up then with our childreen.

Haylo

Be aware that if you give birth in India, you cannot take your new baby out of the country for any reason until a passport and exit permit for the baby has been obtained.

You may well have no desire to leave straight away, but if you feel you might need to travel at short notice it is worth knowing.

__________________
The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful - E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

GoanCanuck

Don't want to be nosy but may I ask you which company your husband is going to be working with? A close friend of mine who is an expat is employed in Verna but he stays near Panjim.

Deldupinha

My husband works with Bosch. And your friend, too?

GoanCanuck

He has his own company. The manufacturing plant is under construction at the moment. Andrew Telecom which is an American company has a unit in Verna and they have some of their executives from America staying in Panjim and other areas. Most of the European companies have their managers staying in the Dona Paula area or in Miramar.

You mentioned that you are from Portugal. If you want to meet other Portuguese speaking people then Club Vasco da Gama and Club Nacional in Panjim are ideal. There are quite a few Portuguese speaking Goans living in Panjim.

wifeingoa

Hi Berry,

I've been living in Goa since December, and I've found out a few things, though my knowledge is by far not complete. Re: schools, I do know many people who send their kids to Sharada Mandir in Panjim and that seems to be one of the best schools in Goa. I’ve also heard good things about Nisha Play School, in Panjim or nearby, and Sunshine School in Old Goa.

As for the south/Margao area, there is a Montessori called Sunflower Pre-Primary (not to be confused with Sunshine) in Margao, they take kids age 2.5 to 6, it just opened in June and it’s the first Montessori school in Goa (btw I’ve heard that there’s also a Montessori that opened this year in the North, not sure the name of that one). Our son is not yet 2 years old, so we’re planning to enroll him in the Sunflower school next year (we live close to Margao). We have some friends who have started their kids there already, and they’re very happy with it so far. Manovikas is considered a great school – I’ve met the headmistress there and she’s very impressive – as the next step for slightly older children.

As for hospitals/prenatal care, we’re also planning to have another child, so I’ve been looking into this too. Apollo Victor in Margao is supposed to be good, though I have no first-hand knowledge of it. What I’ve settled on is a new hospital in Mapusa called RG Birth Care Center (RG is a national chain of hospitals), I’ve met with the doctors there and taken a tour and I’ve been quite impressed. Their pre-natal care visits, tests, etc are in line with what I received in the US for our son. I have decided that I will go back to the US to deliver the baby, but I’m comfortable with all the prenatal care being done well at RG.

BTW I’m the one who started the thread “looking to meet other expats/parents” - if you’re also interested in meeting other families, I’ve seen enough posts about people moving to Goa this fall that I’m thinking of organizing a day for interested families to meet up in November. I will post something on that thread now.

Best of luck to you!

birds

You may want to check out: http://www.birthing-center.com/

__________________
Of the estimated 500 million dogs in the world, approximately 75% are strays, of which about 25 million live in India.

Deldupinha

Hello,

We were in the Appollo Hospital in Margao this May to have a look as the company of my husband has recommended it as one of the best hospitals in Goa. The name of the other good hospital I´ve forgotten. I was impressed of this hospital (apollo) as we want to have another baby, too ;o)))))

Deldupinha

Hi GoanCanuck,

thank you very much for your information about the other Portuguese speaking people, that´s very nice thus I can speak with other people Portuguese. I only speak with my one year old son and my parents Portuguese as you cannot find a lots of Portuguese in Germany.