About 10% of the students are not local, yes, although it is not for profit. The facilities there are excellent.

I'm really glad I went with SA, but my associate has not done anything.. we've never spoken at a fair, had a default 'Congratulations' e-mail from them when I got a position, no other e-mail contact. Having said that I have never had a reason to ask them questions either.
Matthew, I believe that yes you can request to switch associates.

"As for pay, h I am starting to realise my pay is good and exceeds/ matches other schools, after 2 years of looking."
Yeesh, me too. I am new to IT and working in a location that has been mentioned here for having low pay, but my salary is double the one stated. I cannot imagine working abroad for less than I earn at home, but then my home country only starts teachers on $40k.

"IT salaries are about $30K a year (global average)"
Where did you read that, Psyguy? I'm not debating it, it just seems insanely low.

A two minute Google search brought up -

Damascus Community School (closed after the American raid in Syria in 2008)
International School of Aleppo (closed in 2011 due to Civil War)
SABIS ISC Damascus, still open

I am sure you will find a lot more information if you search, whatever your reason is for looking.

Congratulations. Good luck to your family in your new adventure!

Make sure you have got copies of every certificate, police background check, etc to save time once you do get an offer! Might as well get some of the paperwork done now if you haven't already.

Have a read through this thread, you might find it relevant. This presuming they are a girlfriend/boyfriend of course, not your actual (married) spouse.
http://internationalschoolsreview.com/v ... f=1&t=3703

Ask yourself if you need to list them at all. If they don't need assistance getting a spousal visa from your school (which is likely only possible if you are married anyway) then it shouldn't impact on your job search. Just check the information on schools beforehand and only apply to those which give a housing allowance.

It was; I don't have IB experience so I had no idea how I would fare - but somehow managed to get an offer from my top choice school so I accepted it before they could change their mind! ;)

Congratulations to you and your partners on your offers!
I thought the fair was very well run. For me, perhaps the most important aspect was being able to speak to other teachers who had more experience than me working internationally. It was really interesting and also made me feel a lot more relaxed, as well as giving me tips for schools I might not otherwise have considered (or ones to avoid).
It was easy to see which people not to approach - I also saw lots of very stressed out teachers, but I can understand that for many, they had already handed in their notices and were determined to leave with jobs.
What I wasn't expecting was, as you mentioned, people who hadn't researched schools. I spoke to one teacher who had scheduled 16 interviews and only had a vague idea about most of them. I only approached three schools, but I did feel like I knew them like the back of my hand.

I was very surprised at some of the clothing choices I saw at the London fair! Along with suits and office wear, I saw quite a few people just wearing jumpers, or maybe what they'd wear on the weekend (floaty tops, lots of jewellery), even one woman wearing Ugg boots with her suit. For all I know they were fantastic candidates and it didn't deter any schools from taking them seriously, but you might as well make the effort to dress professionally for just one weekend..!

It was also my first fair and so I can't compare numbers, it seemed extremely busy! There was no difficulty getting interviews or offers despite my lack of international experience. I'm not in a shortage subject and I spoke to others in my field who are also receiving offers at their desired schools, so I would attend the fair again in the future. I hope everyone is closer to finding the right job for them.

That's all I would write as well, sciteach. Maybe I'm sceptical but for all I know they are firing off e-mails / leaving notes for every teacher from A-Z. I have a friend who once approached a recruiter at a fair to tell them in person and they were very unimpressed he was taking their time to tell them he didn't want to work for them.

That is very helpful advice Psyguy - thank you for taking the time to post it, I appreciate it.