Plenty of reviews on the paid section of the site. Most look accurate. New administration during this year - no idea if/how/when they're changing things. Can be a 'fishbowl' - most teachers live on campus. Pay is the most a teacher can hope for in that region of Thailand - and they earn their pay. Absolutely need a vehicle.

I like to consider money tiers:

1. ISB
2. NIST
3. St. Stephens.

NIST is in one of the most expensive parts of town, so factor that in.

Hmmm...obviously a minefield. It will be of little consolation to know that your story is not as unusual as some would imagine. There's a direct correlation between instability and craving for power, the world over. Schools are no exception. There are plenty of other recruiting agencies and the big players no longer have the luxury of the monopoly they once commanded. Using your reliable references, perhaps you could try some of the newer ones. Many are mentioned on this and other sites. Direct applications to schools can also yield fruit as the end of the school year approaches, sometimes unexpectedly. Good luck with your job search.

"I am K-6 and my husband is K-12 Art and Counseling."
Move Bangkok to the bottom of your list then, if it's on there.
Feature the counseling prominently, especially if it's college counseling.
Teaching couple in different areas of the school: a plus.
Anything could happen, because there are so many variables at play, but consider the fact that you could easily find yourself walking away with nothing.
Search Associates are quite good at giving measured opinions of your chances.

'joanveronica':

All the job fairs are ghastly.
Dry clean your suits and slip into your chirpiest service personalities.
Which one to go to? It's like asking which lottery to buy tickets for. Recruiting 'fairs' (a misnomer if ever there was one) are stark examples of raw supply and demand, played out in front of your eyes.
As I said, they're all dreadful, so you may as well bear that in mind as you choose the one that's geographically the most convenient and/or cost effective for you. Some recruiters combine the job fairs with a few days' holiday in their favorite city - and you should follow their professional example.

Bangkok.

@spawnboy99:

No-one is suggesting that lies are required. That would be unbecoming of an international, professional educator. What is suggested is that it's sometimes possible to be economical with the available facts. Governments do it all the time. However, explaining a gap of three years would require advanced creativity, not to mention a well established and watertight network to support your alternative theories. The alternative is being forced into a situation where it's necessary to tell the unbridled truth - in this case, that the admin were money grubbing entrapment artists and you (justifiably) fled. If bottoms must be bitten, it may as well be in a good cause: the unequivocal truth.

Spot on:

"The prospects of an IT have always been get to Europe and get a pension, take a placement at an elite tier school that allows savings and a retirement program or take the golden paycheck and retire somewhere dirt cheap to live. IE is growing at the bottom not the top, the number of ISs is getting larger but the upper tier schools are stagnate. This creates a bubble of demand with advancement/upward mobility that plateaus earlier in an ITs career. The capacity at upper tier schools doesnt exist to absorb the increased demand at lower tier schools. It is becoming harder to break into upper tier schools. As a result more ITs are returning domestically from IE when they realize their career is not going anywhere.

Tiers and prestige of a school are relative. The best ISs the elite top 10 ISs in the world are not better then domestic high quality private/independent schools. If you live in a major metro/cosmo city there are plenty of private schools that are as good if not better than the best ISs. As a result their compensation packages are comparable to what you would find as average in a domestic private school. Why should they offer more? Why pay more for the same level of successful. If $30K gets you a successful secondary math IT why pay 50% or twice that for a comparable level of performance. No one does that, and and admin that did would find themselves looking for a new job.

Recruiters and admins could do away with the fairs anytime they wanted too, they dont want them gone so they will stay as long as those recruiters and admins want them too."

Wine. It's ludicrously expensive in Thailand.

1. A comprehensive map for the train system nearest where you'll be living. Study it thoroughly before you go.
2. Japanese phrasebook.

Unless someone else is paying for it, there's no need to ship anything at all. It's all there. As for Mexican spices - really, you must be joking - any upmarket western orientated supermarket will have them, although Thailand is no longer 'cheap' and those items will cost perhaps more than you'd pay at home. Or try a Mexican restaurant in Bkk. Shoes and clothes: have them made to measure when you arrive, quickly and easily. Bicycles - everything from cheap Walmart style shops to the most expensive mountain bikes available. Quite where you'd want to ride them on a regular basis, is the real problem.

Depends where in Scandinavia and where, in Asia. It's the equivalent of asking... America, or Europe? Fruit, or vegetables? Too many variables. On balance, I'd say Scandinavia - for you.

Sounds like financial entrapment and therefore needs to be regarded with the contempt it deserves. Lips firmly closed, new job signed and sealed, disappear at the end of your contract.

With your Masters and experience, it will be possible to find an ESL position in an international school.

Perfect then, 'pretty kitty'. Get your friends' email addresses (i.e. the ones actually working at the school you're considering - not just third . hearsay) and contact them directly with your questions...