I know a teaching couple who went to GRC in Dubai. They say it was about twice the size as last year, and seemed much more relaxed than the ISS fair they went to several years ago. They accepted their #1 choice in Korea at an excellent school. There were tier 1 schools from all over they said, and offers being made to many top candidates.

PsyGuy-
Why are you attacking and being so negative? Thankfully, none of my colleagues are like that. 13/15 FH are returning. We don't see it the same way as you luckily. I am a glass half full person. Clearly you are not. No need to respond. Leave this post for those that can contribute from inside the country.

The head of TBSC summed up things in a few lines about the general life here in VZ. Full disclosure- I am at a different int'l school, not in Caracas but rather in the eastern part of the country.

Let's talk about the last 3 months.

Things have calmed down country-wide. Int'l people are returning (and VZ people are still leaving). The US Embassy is bringing their families back. This is a pretty big sign as they are the most cautious out of all the foreign companies. Chevron and Total oil companies are following their lead, bringing spouses and families back. Flights in and out of the country are often fully booked which means you need to make your reservations 6 months in advance now. Stores shelves are fuller now than we have seen in months. Car dealerships all now have cars for sale (in USD) when they had been empty and closed the last few years. It sort of feels like the tide is turning. The pharmacies have products and some medicines. Yes there are still lines at many stories, but we can afford to shop at the stories without lines. What you see on CNN or other news is not where we shop. Nor is it the hospitals we use.

Hyperinflation is crazy. The local currency continues to be worth less and less week by week. The int'l schools here pay in USD, which means your dollar gets you more and more local currency so you can live really cheaply and can take the opportunity to save a big chunk of money depending on how much you travel.

Do we feel safe? Well 80% of our FH staff are returning for next year. So that says something big right there. They are staying for many reasons-- the school and colleagues, professionalism, PD, lifestyle, savings, and the VZ people. Oh and 1 more thing.....the view of the Caribbean right off our balcony as we drink our morning coffee is like medicine for the soul. This is a beautiful country. And yes, these are challenging times.

KCP in Barranquilla Colombia has built specific to the Emilio Reggio program.

Spent 7 years in Saudi (Eastern province) living on a compound arriving in Saudi when our kids were 2 and 3 1/2 years old. I considered the years we were there the perfect age for kids on a compound. Our kids LOVED it and we did too. We are the social type of family so there was always someone at the pool to hang out with, or find a tennis game, or bump into in the little compound store. It was like a neighbourhood where you know all your neighbours which doesn't happen so much anymore in N. America. When you needed support, it was automatic. Our compound had families from a variety of companies not just our school. At times we'd have a sleepover with 8 kids(from Canada, USA, England, Scotland, Australia, and South Africa) sprawled out in the TV room. At holidays we'd go all out...and it was safe! Halloween trick or treating, a Thanksgiving pot-luck, Christmas carolling, a family would organize a kids Santa .. With kids it was idyllic. Even though it was hot as snot out for a few months, they were out red-faced and sweaty learning cricket from their British and Aussie friends. The kids played out on the street with all their buddies, like we did in the 70s- again something you just don't see anymore. Some might say it was a false sense of security, but to us it was what we wanted our kids childhood to be. We had our own grassy yard, garden and patio and made a big covered sandbox. So much better than apartment living at this stage of family life. Compounds allow your kids space to explore, run free, learn to ride bikes and swim and play tennis and navigate social situations with their peers. For introverts it might be a different story, but it worked well for our family.

kjbar - if the other school is in Venezuela you could save up to 70% of your salary and still live big and travel each holiday. People tend to focus on the salary number and forget that what it comes down to is the cost of living. You might get a big salary in some places (like Switzerland say) but cost of living,taxes and if you have to pay your own bills and housing and suddenly you have nothing left.

Do your HW right now.

The ASSAA fair is one of the first fairs of the recruiting season. Not sure what that previous contributor is referring to by saying it is a dump fair. The AASSA fair positions itself in Atlanta for the Central and South American schools. Those interested in this region find it an attractive location because they may want to avoid the high cost of living of Europe, the instability of the Middle East and the huge distances of Asia. Many love the AASSA region for the Latin American culture and Spanish, benefits which accompany a low cost of living and proximity to aging family and/or their college kids. All this while perhaps being in the same time zone as home avoiding jet lag! These are just some reasons why people decide on the AASSA region.

Schools now look year round for candidates. All the big fairs whether in London, Boston, Bangkok or Dubai have schools which will scoop top candidates prior to fairs starting.

Good luck with your interview @kjbar

The irony in all this- is it safer in Paris, Belgium or South America these days? Different types of dangers, but where is safe? Use all the precautions, be aware of where you should go and shouldn't (especially at night). This is the rule of thumb no matter where you live right. We have a volunteer here at our school in VZ (not in Caracas) whose husband works for the French oil company Total. With the impending elections in 2 weeks, that company wanted dependents to return home for the weeks leading to the election in case of any uprising. She left a couple days ago, returning to where it is supposed to be safe...her home in Paris. CRAZY times. Even she said it would have been FAR safer to stay here then go there right now.

The country is in crisis for sure both economically and politically. There will be an election Dec. 6th and we have no idea how that might impact us as we get closer to that date. Safety and security issues continue. The oil companies have extensive security protocols for their students. Chevron has decided to go to a non-family status in many places (still will have families in Caracas). Product availability continues to be a big issue, you buy it when you see it (especially things like diapers, medicines, toilet paper, flour, butter) or just pay more in the higher end grocery stores or from those that 'have' it because they do the lines. All this said, with the currency exchange rates climbing, your US dollar salary goes a long long way. Savings galore if you can handle the above daily issues with a smile and are a positive flexible type person who doesn't get rattled by not having all your creature comforts. We have water rationing also (for the last month we get water in our complex from 5-8am, 12-2pm and 6-8pm ONLY). This is a fabulous country and I imagine it will take a few decades at least to return to its glory once they hit bottom and changes begin.

datsyukian wrote:
> @overseaslife
>
> I currently live in Venezuela, I was just wondering if it was actually
> possible to save more money than here.

Honestly @datsyukian, I'm not sure. Travel in country is so cheap right now, and what an incredible country. As long as you limit the out of country travel. Venezuela is a well kept secret and so many avoid it right now with the current situation. We can get what we need so we are doing OK.

Savings is all about your spending habits + cost of living. With not tonnes to spend your money on in Venezuela + ridiculous exchange rates in our favor making COL low it means even for those that like extravagances (weekly massages, spa days, dinners out or take-out, long weekends exploring the country) one can save significantly here. Having taught in the M.East, I can say COL is way lower here.

With the present currency exchange Venezuela gets better and better for savings if you are paid in USD which we are. Cost of living is low (if you have USD). You can live very well on $400 a month even going out for dinner all the time. The rest you save so it is easy to save 80% of your salary, which for many is in the 40K range.

Financially speaking, your salary will go the furthest in Venezuela right now. Consider this...fill up your tank of gas for 5 cents. NOT a misprint! Take 6 colleagues out for a nice dinner and drinks for $25 TOTAL. Have a 4 day weekend on the #2 rated sandy beach in the world (Los Roques) for less than $150 all in (flights, hotels, meals, activities). Savings potential is HUGE right now. All because of the exchange rates and the power your US dollar has here. We made the move after 15 years in the Middle East where things were getting a bit dicey and costs of goods and taxes were increasing each year. Glad we did. The country is stunning with incredible sites. The parent and teacher community at our school is lovely. It is just too bad what is happening on the whole right now in the country and how much the ordinary Venezuelan is suffering. There was an interesting op-ed in the NY Times today.