The International Schools Review Forum

It is well known that teacher salaries in the Caribbean are low, as many will accept contracts to enjoy the good weather.

One school I am looking at seems to have a high turnover of teachers - 25% this year alone.
What about the cost of living? Just how expensive is it? Does ANYONE save money when working in the Caribbean?

Any info helpful.

Friend of mine taught in DR for 3 years. Said he saved each year pretty easy and it was a good life. Just have to be okay doing local markets and living a bit cheap and you can save.

Diamond35 wrote:
> It is well known that teacher salaries in the Caribbean are low, as many
> will accept contracts to enjoy the good weather.
>
> One school I am looking at seems to have a high turnover of teachers - 25%
> this year alone.
> What about the cost of living? Just how expensive is it? Does ANYONE save
> money when working in the Caribbean?


Diamond, what school were you looking into in the Caribbean? I work in the Dominican Republic currently with my partner who also teaches as well and we don't save a lot. We eat in most of the time and don't travel much on the weekends. We find that the groceries, restaurants, taxis, are similar to the states more or less. At the most we'll have less than a G saved every month and that's a good month. Unless you work at Carol Morgan, you won't be a able to save in the Dominican Republic.

BTW, If a school has a high turnover rate, you would be wise to avoid it like the plague, IMO.

I was just in Trinidad for the past weekend (check out a post about it if you like http://teachingwanderlust.com/2014/03/0 ... dad-great/ ) and I like to live like a local when I travel. Even while trying to live like a local I still thought the prices were about the same as the US. Taxis were about $20-30 USD. A simple meal was at least $6 on the side of the street. I think it would be hard to save anything on the Caribbean salaries that I've seen advertised. I will be traveling to the Dominican Republic in a few weeks, but from the research I have done, I think it will be about the same.

Maddgam wrote:
>Unless you work at Carol Morgan, you won't be a able to save in the Dominican Republic.
> BTW, If a school has a high turnover rate, you would be wise to avoid it like the plague, IMO.

Exactly Maddgam...

The friend I was referring to did work at Carol Morgan and said it was amazing - said he and his gf were able to secure more than a few grand a year by living local (local markets, local fun, local comforts). That being said I looked into a smaller school in the DR hiring my field and the turnover rate was very high, the student population and staff was very local, and people were leaving after a year regularly, he said the same thing Maddgam said - avoid them.

I have to admit, even after hearing all that I was still tempted by blue seas, palm trees and salty breeze.

What the other two posters say is true about teaching in the Dominican Republic. I am working at one that is for-profit AND has a high staff turn-over. Avoiding these types of schools is excellent advice that I wish I had heeded.