Patrik D Posted July 11, 2015 Posted July 11, 2015 Homeschooling is virtually outlawed in Sweden (except if you have a disease or condition that prevents you from attending school) and I would rather abstain from having children than see them forced to attend school, robbing them of some 9-12 years of their formative years. Even if I would never have children of my own I would still like to be part of an as-voluntary-as-possible community. Because of this I've decided to relocate to another country that allows homeschooling (unschooling) and preferably a country that have a sizeable community of unschoolers (other factors of voluntaryism/freedom would be greatly appreciated as well).Where can I find such a community? Do you know of any websites or forums (besides this one) that might be helpful? I would like to travel to other countries, get to know people and find my new tribe and place to call home. What countries/regions/places would you recommend? I've been thinking about the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Also which regions/locations within the country in particular would you like to recommend?Other laws that I would like to avoid would be a military draft/conscription and curfew laws.As a side point or secondary factor I would like to move somewhere where sunlight is more evenly spread over the year. We might have x number of hours of sunlight in Sweden but they are very concentrated in the summers and we have very dark winters.
J. D. Stembal Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 Homeschooling is virtually outlawed in Sweden (except if you have a disease or condition that prevents you from attending school) and I would rather abstain from having children than see them forced to attend school, robbing them of some 9-12 years of their formative years. Even if I would never have children of my own I would still like to be part of an as-voluntary-as-possible community. Because of this I've decided to relocate to another country that allows homeschooling (unschooling) and preferably a country that have a sizeable community of unschoolers (other factors of voluntaryism/freedom would be greatly appreciated as well). Where can I find such a community? Do you know of any websites or forums (besides this one) that might be helpful? I would like to travel to other countries, get to know people and find my new tribe and place to call home. What countries/regions/places would you recommend? I've been thinking about the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Also which regions/locations within the country in particular would you like to recommend? Other laws that I would like to avoid would be a military draft/conscription and curfew laws. As a side point or secondary factor I would like to move somewhere where sunlight is more evenly spread over the year. We might have x number of hours of sunlight in Sweden but they are very concentrated in the summers and we have very dark winters. Take a test of your child's vitamin D levels to find out if they are adequate or not. If they are at low levels, you now have a medical exception for your child. Sufficient vitamin D levels (40-60 nanograms/mL) are correlated with lower all-cause mortality, meaning inadequate levels are associated with a lower life span. Unless the school holds class outside routinely, it is lowering your chlid's expected life span. However, the best option would be to get out of Sweden. I've never been there, but I hear that the extreme latitude, and subsequent lack of exposure to UVB raditiation, contributes to a lot of mood issues through disruption of the seratonin pathway. This is just one of the many side effects of deficiency in the hormone, vitamin D.
Patrik D Posted July 13, 2015 Author Posted July 13, 2015 J. D. Stembal, (I'm having problems quoting you in my post) Unfortunately, I suspect that we would be prescribed supplements of vitamin D before we would even see the inside of a court. Also it seems to be virtually impossible to absorb vitamin D from the sun here from October to Mars. The sun seems to be at an unsufficient angle during the winter causing UVB to be filtered away through the atmosphere.http://d2uvjpb1682v16.cloudfront.net/content/nutritionreviews/66/suppl_2/S182/F3.medium.gifBergen in Norway with a latitude 60 degrees to the North is the closest of those cities with regards to latitude (and longitude).I agree with you both on the need to leave Sweden and on the importance of vitamin D. I included the sunlight as a secondary factor because I'm sick of the darkness we have to endure during the winters. This factor might disqualify the UK from the list as well despite their seemingly advantageous laws with regards to education (refering to the legality of so called autonomous education which is the same as unschooling as I understand it). Mellomama,Thank you for your suggestion! I've heard of the Free State Project before and it definitely seems to be worth a visit or at least further research.
Kurtis Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 Have you checked these websites/podcasts on unschooling? http://unschoolingsupport.com/ http://www.storiesofanunschoolingfamily.com/ I'm just getting into this topic in preparation for kids that are 2 or 3 years away from existing From what I've seen so far, the province of British Columbia on the west coast of Canada (where I'm conveniently located) is one of the more tolerable insofar as state laws and requirements (in North America). Although, here on the coast there certainly is not an abundance of sunlight!
Magenta Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 Texas! Lots of sunshine, low cost of living, conservative leanings, always summer, rarely freezes, closer to equator so even amounts of sunshine, booming economy. Dallas, Houston, and Austin are the 3 largest cities. I live in Houston and plan to settle down in Austin. I chose Texas over anywhere in the world. First for me is therapy, then I'm thinking of dating, having children, and homeschooling in Austin. Most conservative states in the US have homeschooling communities, I saw some when I lived in Missouri as well. 1
brucethecollie Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Hi! I'm in a facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wholelifeunschooling/ It's got almost 12,000 members from around the US and worldwide. It's a great place because you can get 100 responses to a question like yours in just a day.
SonOfPhilo Posted July 28, 2017 Posted July 28, 2017 @Magenta do you have a therapist you recommend in Austin? I've got a friend looking at the moment
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