I have a friend who is leaving after the 1st year of his contract. Hates it there. Inflation, Politics, school is too isolated on outskirts of Istanbul. And he is a very easy going fellow....

I think there is a huge difference in GEMS schools. I worked at one 10 years ago in Dubai. I still have friends working in Dubai.
GEMS is known for bean-counting as a for profit institution. That bothers a lot of teachers. I dealt with it well, as I like to teach my classes, coach, and go and enjoy where I am living without investing into the admin drama. If you strongly believe that decisions in education should be made with regards to money considerations, then don't work at GEMS. You will be frustrated. Also some of the GEMS schools were making people work a lot of hours, like GWA. At DAA, people typically left just after the kids did...big difference.

I have had many friends live and teach in Muscat. They all say it is very family oriented. Great with kids. Nice community. I know that living in Dubai was not so family friendly...more of a singles place.

Anyone give some advice about teaching and living in the Caymans as a teacher? Is travelling off the island to South America difficult as it appears flights all go to North America? Are there any good schools there?

That's enough money. Not much left over unless your husband gets a job (could supply teach at your school). Otherwise, you could tutor for extra money, quite lucrative. Many schools allow it, sometimes even in your classroom after hours. Not sure what the going rate is currently (was 200 dirhams/hr in 2009).

I know an expat teaching there. The negative reality is really about living a quiet, desolate, blackout burdened life (blackouts all the time, little internet as a result). However, he loves the quiet life, really good italian food and cafes. He says it is safe. Been there 2 years now.

I worked at GEMS til 2009. I agree with Vandsmith's comments. If you can deal with the corporate slant, it is okay to work there. If you are an education purist, you might find GEMS management style very disappointing and unbecoming.

Yes, I am interested in the CM school as well. I do know a few people that worked there 7 years ago. They enjoyed the school and spoke of meeting a lot of famous baseball players while there. I noticed some new postings and the pay seems good. Maybe someone can answer if it is a good spot for the region?

Probably not a good idea if you want to end up at a good school. Usually only a handful of decent schools show up in Toronto. Check the website to see who is attending and then go to Boston or even the Queen's Fair in Kingston. When I went a couple of years ago, there was only 1 school I thought was worth working at, and luckily we got the job. However, we were reserved in Boston just in case.

The GEMS schools in UAE are reasonable for expats. I wouldn't say they are exceptional for kids education considering they are really about profit, but compared a lot of the schools in Dubai you could do much worse. i visited UAS years ago, it looked new and had some nice facilities, but the teachers found it just tolerable and it's location was isolated. ASD is by far the best if you can get in. I can only really speak on Dubai though.

I used to work at DAA. I agree, ASD is much better, but DAA was okay.

Hi School Counsellor,

I am interested in asking you a few questions. Can you send me your email. Mine is johnken2011@gmail.com

I agree 100% with the previous reviewer. You tend to not notice the corporate elements but when you do it is very frustrating.

The list of schools is soild. Much better than the Toronto fair. As long as many don't cancel, you should have quite a few good schools to choose from. There may not be many Tier 1 schools, but many good Tier 2

It looks like there are few good schools this year, actually looks pretty bad. The only decent schools are Brent (I had a friend who liked it there), ASK, Seoul Foreign, AIS Riyadh (they tend not to hire here), and Singapore. Good Luck, you may want to hold off for Boston.....Ray Sparks is an awesome guy though....he is helpful....