Moving to Bolivia for a year. Which city do you recommend?

by Cristin :asser
(Arvada, Colorado, USA)

We are a family of 5 looking to relocate to Bolivia for a year. We will have a 7th grader, 9th grader, and 3rd grader. Our kids go to a bilingual school in the United States so we'd be looking for good bilingual schools in Bolivia. We are open to location. Where would you recommend?

Comments for Moving to Bolivia for a year. Which city do you recommend?

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Jan 13, 2026
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Relocating to Bolivia
by: Anonymous

Best city is Santacruz.
Jan 13, 2026
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		What You Need to Know About International and Bilingual Schools in Bolivia
by: Anonymous

Bolivia has 3 main large cities: La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. All 3 cities have American international schools. Students are taught in English. They are accredited by the U.S. so that graduates can seamlessly apply to U.S. colleges or universities, they operate according to the U.S. schoolyear (August - June), and they use the U.S. grading system.

La Paz

Cochabamba

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz also has the Christian Learning Center, which has become a very sought-after private school that is also taught in English, operates on the U.S. school year, and uses the U.S. grading system.

Website

The St. Andrews school in La Paz is also an international school offering an International Baccalaureate degree. Classes are primarily in Spanish, with English as a second language.

Website

All 3 cities have German Schools (Colegio Alemán) which are large private schools where students learn mostly in German and Spanish. They operate on the Bolivian school year (February - November), but have agreements with the German education system. They use the Bolivian grading system.

La Paz

Cochabamba

Santa Cruz

La Paz and Santa Cruz have French Schools (Colegio Francés) taught mainly in Spanish with French as a second language. They also operate on the Bolivian school year and use the Bolivian grading system.

La Paz

Santa Cruz

All 3 cities also have numerous other large private schools, some of which are considered bilingual because they require students to learn a second language for graduation, although they are primarily taught in Spanish. They also operate on the Bolivian school year (February to November) and use the Bolivian grading system.

Private, bilingual, and international schools can be quite pricey. But if your children plan to attend U.S. colleges after high school, it is important to consider a few things for the future:

a) If your children attend a school that operates on the Bolivian school year and they graduate in November, they may have a 9 month wait before they can begin college in the U.S. as some (not all) U.S. colleges do not allow freshmen to begin in January (spring semester) as it is considered the middle of the schoolyear.

b) Bolivian education uses a 1-7 grading system (even private schools). It is not directly equivalent to the American A-F grading system. If the high school your children attend in Bolivia is not already accredited by the U.S. education system, then any college your children choose to attend will decide on their own how many credits they will give for the Bolivian high school courses your child took.

c) At Bolivian high schools students graduate with a Technical Humanistic Baccalaureate degree (bachillerato). In addition to general humanities, high schools must offer certain "technical" specialties, and students need to decide which they will pursue. Examples of some of these specialties include:

- agriculture and animal husbandry
- tourism, hospitality and culinary arts
- industrial such as mechanics, electricians, factory work, etc.
- information technology, hardware, software
- commercial services, accounting, office mgmt
- sports, physical education, coaching and training
- and others

There is a lot to consider about the differences between education in Bolivia and the U.S. I hope this is a helpful start to deciding where to live and educate your children.

Bella

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Live in Bolivia.