The world don't move to the beat of just one drum.

We’ve met several expats who’ve either started their families here in Geneva, or moved them here. Some do it well. Some, not so well. Here’s a rough breakdown of what I’ve seen:

• Families like ours who’ve made the transition when the kids were young enough to be enrolled in public school and learn the language.

• Families a few years ahead of us who’ve come from the States with their teenagers. I think in every instance these kids go to English speaking international schools (considerably more expensive, which the parents obviously took into account when contemplating the move).

• Families whose move to Geneva is merely another move abroad. We know Americans families who’ve most recently lived in Brussels, Zurich, Paris, and Shanghai.

• Couples who went abroad and had their kids here. The kids have never known any other way of life and are sometimes slightly more proficient in French than their parent’s English.

• Couples who move here and then mysteriously leave without a trace.