No Need for Car

[reisgio]

Without providing any reviews of the schools themselves, can any contributors provide names of schools at which one can work without needing to have a car. I am looking for my next school to be one where I can walk everywhere or use very good public transport to get where I need to get quickly - including to work. I have experienced this lifestyle in my current post, and while it was never a criterion that I used before when looking at schools, now that I've had it, I don't want to lose it.

[fine dude]

IS BKK
NIST
Yokohama IS

[Thames Pirate]

Taipei and Seoul have excellent public transport, as do many cities in Europe (you would have to look into individual schools). That is just for starters.

[reisgio]

Thames Pirate, I am sorry that you can't read. I am not looking for names of cities that have good transport. I am looking for names of schools at which someone could work without needing a car. For instance, London has good public transport, but TASIS England is completely out in the suburbs, so I have no interest in it because I would want to live in walkable London and not spend two hours + each day commuting. Someone writing in response to this would have to actually know about a school's position within the city relative to walkable parts/quick transport.

[Thames Pirate]

Oh, I read it. I just didn't think you meant that we should do the research for you on locations of individual schools. There are HUNDREDS, possibly THOUSANDS of international schools in cities with public transportation. For example, in London alone you have ISL, ASL, International Community School, Southbank International, ACS (Cobham, Egham, Hillingdon), and various others (German, French, Japanese, etc.). I am going to assume that a quick map search will pull up which are within the city or well outside it, and if a particular school catches your eye, you can zoom in on that map and see if there are any transit stops nearby or otherwise research it. We can give cities with good transit, but we would also need info on your desires in a school to narrow it down. You didn't even give us a continent!

Furthermore, without knowing what type of commute or ease of access to the school is your minimum, we cannot answer the question. A classic example is Bavarian International in Munich. You can access the school by public transit, and many teachers don't have cars. They take the train in, then the bus. There are busses that are timed nicely with the start and end of the school day. However, to stay a bit later or come in a bit earlier becomes tricky as there are perhaps two busses after the end of the school day, and that is it. So many teachers prefer to have a car. Is that something that qualifies by your standards, or are you someone who needs time before or after school to do some more prep and needs that flexibility?

So give us some regions of the world or continents or something and some information on the type of school you want, and we can help you. Ask us for a list of every school that can be reached reasonably without a car, and the task becomes impossible. Giving you cities to consider might help you shorten your list, and then you can ask about individual schools or cities.

[reisgio]

Not everyone is you. I am very open minded to part of the world as long as once I am there I am able to walk to work, walk to the doctor's office, walk to the grocery store, walk to the places to shop, watch people, eat, etc. in town. Of course I can read a map, but maps don't show everything. People on the ground know areas that are or are not walkable or quick commute-oriented. For instance, in my current location, Google Maps said I would live 10 minutes walking to the beach. Wrong. It was 20 even if I ran. Maps don't show or tell everything. People know how real life really is in different cities and at different schools. I look forward to hearing others' views on schools that afford a nice lifestyle like I have described.

[Thames Pirate]

And because not everyone is me, I need more information on what is acceptable. Do you want an IB school? How long is too long of a commute? Is but acceptable or does it have to be some sort of metro system? If you narrow it down even a bit, we can tell you what is or is not workable. Otherwise what you are wanting is way too long of a list. For example, London is a fantastic city in which not to have a car, but working at ACS meant a slightly longer (but still doable) commute. Give us more, and we could probably help you more.

[wrldtrvlr123]

ASIJ for sure (great housing within walking distance (5 to 10 minutes). Also, most schools in downtown Tokyo would be totally doable by excellent public transport.

Schutz Amercian School- Alex, Egypt (flats within walking distance).

Beijing: BCIS (very nice school owned apartments right across the street), WAB, ISB, DCB, BSB (all have nice housing either within walking distance or a short cheap taxi ride away).

Hong Kong: HKIS (walking very possible but definitely doable by excellent public transport). Most of the ESF schools would also be available by public transport (possibly walking).

[Thames Pirate]

What about boarding schools? Compounds?

See, you still haven't given us much other than "don't need to own a car," and without information on flexibility (see my Bavarian IS example), commute time (ACS), something about lifestyle (IS Genoa can be reached by bus and foot, but it is tough to make it work on one salary there) or school expectations (DumpyForProfit IS or Elite Schools Only?) or even quality of transport (Mumbai has tons of public transport, but people die falling off trains because of overcrowding during peak hours), we can only give you a smattering of options available to you.

Again, many cities in Western Europe and the associated ISs will be doable, depending on your need for flexibility. London, Munich (see caveat on BIS, but MIS is more accessible, as are Phorms, etc.), Amsterdam, Vienna, Prague, Zurich, Madrid . . . the list goes on. Obviously, there are weird ones--Paris has great public transport, and most of the ISs are accessible, but not ASP, which is the most prominent. Then there are the smaller cities like The Hague or Hannover that have great public transport and meet your criteria.

It's a huge world with a lot of international schools. Give us something, and we can answer you more specifically.

[OzGrad]

Tedious Pirate - As fine dude showed it is a fairly simple question.

No need to show off your ignorance.

[Thames Pirate]

Oz, are you still mad that a woman would answer any of these posts?

[johnoreilly]

So you want people to list every single international school in the world that you could conceivably walk to?

[mysharona]

Shanghai Schools including
YCIS
Concordia
Shanghai American
SCIS

many others

[joe30]

Thames Pirate wrote:
> Oz, are you still mad that a woman would answer any of these posts?

I'm fairly sure OzGrad doesn't have any problem with women in general.

More that he's got a problem with arrogant loudmouths.

[buffalofan]

Southeast Asia is a good bet. Even in the cities without much public transport, taxis are dirt cheap.

I've had it both ways. Lived smack in the middle of vibrant cities where everything I could possibly need was in walking distance, and have lived in places where it would be impossible to live without a car. It affects your lifestyle immensely, and I had a bigger sense of freedom without the car. Though I know lots of people who would feel the opposite.