I’ll have the opportunity to spend a year as an expat beginning next September. I found out yesterday so am just getting started doing research. A few things that are important:
Needs to be in North or South America, for work time zone reasons. Want family to be able to learn another language and culture. Would like to enroll kids (all elementary or younger) in local schools/daycares (if i need a specific immigration status to enroll would be great to know). Do not need strong expat community. Do need reliable wifi (lots of videoconferencing for work) and proximity to international airport (no more than 90 min), ideally with direct or easy flights to NYC. My kids are biracial (black/white) and I’m a single mom, so good safety and not racist very important. All American citizens. Would bring one dog. Assume we will need a car.
I don’t currently speak Spanish (or Portuguese), but I’m generally pretty good at languages and speak three others fluently. My kids only speak English. Comfortable with discomfort while we learn (also have time to Duolingo the basics) but if not knowing would be real hardship or safety risk, would be great to know.
Kids have never lived near a beach, so that would be a plus but not necessary.
Where should we start looking?
I don’t believe there is any country on the American continent that lets you stay as a visitor for a year, most are at most a few months and with stipulations (like as an American you can spend significant time in Canada as a visitor, but you might run into trouble enrolling your kids in school as they don’t have legal status as Canadian residents).
If you want to stay for a year, you will likely need something beyond a visitor visa. You will need to do more research into what the rules are in your countries of interest and what immigration status you would need to live and enroll your kids in school here.