The International Schools Review Forum

What are the top paying schools in Central & South America? I've always heard about the Graded school in Brazil, C. Roosevelt in Peru. Any others out there that do not pay ridiculously low salaries?

On the other hand, what if I wanted to find a country in Central or South America in which to work for a few years and then retire... meaning to stay and live in that country after retirement? What would some good suggestions be? Take into consideration that when I do this will be several years down the road after I retire from a USA public school system. So, I would have my pension to live on and pay would not be the top priority. The quality of life would be top priority at this point.

Thanks.

Take a look at Academia Cotopaxi in Quito. They pay well and have a generous housing allowance.

Thanks for the reply, Heyteach. Yes, I have a friend who worked there several years ago and enjoyed it. I did hear that Equador has gotten more expensive in recent years. Still, it might be a possibility if I decide to go ahead and work enough years to retire in the States. My goal at the moment is to do that and teach abroad afterwards so I'll be able to sort of double-dip with regard to income & savings. FYI, I taught in Egypt and South Korea several years ago before deciding to come home. That international bug still floats around in my head.

Two things...

Best schools/best in terms of salary (bit subjective): Nido in Chile, Campo in Venezuela, Graded in Brazil and (decent salary) Lincoln in Argentina...and CNG in Colombia

Also consider International School of Panama since the salary is decent (40s) and Panama has a TON of foreign retirees there because of tax benefits, etc. and good healthcare

I do agree with FKE about the 5 schools mentioned being, overall, the best in Latin America in terms of benefits.

The best paying schools in Central and South America are ECA (Campo) in Caracas, Venezuela and Graded in Sao Paulo. However, these are not cities in which you would want to retire.

You have to consider cost of living and the issue of personal safety when thinking about retiring in this region - and unfortunately neither one allows for an easy transition into that part of your life.

I would say that your best bets would be Panama, Costa Rica (although quite expensive) and perhaps Buenos Aires. Santiago de Chile is a safe and very developed city but I don't know anyone who would want to retire there.

Good luck.

From my experience in south America, a lot of salaries are negotiable if they are only moderate. But that depends on what you bring.

The Anglo pays much better than CNG in bogota.

Would have posted earlier, but you have more a retirement question then employment question. Basically if you have a pension and your looking to retire, pick a nice expat area near the beach. All the "niceties" you want will be available. Then look for a job once your there. When you start averaging salaries and costs of living all the expat areas in whatever latin/south american location you choose are going to be around the same.

If it was me id pick Brazil.

I have read that some of the best expat retirement places in that area are Grenada, Equador, Nicaragua. Panama is on the list but has recently become more expensive. Maybe I need to see if there is an international school in Grenada.

ooopps... that would be Granada, Nicaragua...

In Costa Rica,

Salaries are low

Housing is sometimes covered

Food and transportation are equal or more than the USA

The students are not well-behaved


Families are o.k. depending on the area.

I would not recommend Costa Rica- although I would have five years ago. Things are changing rapidly here and getting VERY expensive.