The International Schools Review Forum

Hello all,

I am in the midst of the application process right now and have some strong interest (no official offers yet, but lots of skype contact) from schools in the following locales:

Seoul, South Korea
Zagreb, Croatia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Tel Aviv, Israel

Does anyone have any thoughts has on living in any of these locales or questions I should make sure I am asking these schools? Any favorite spots? I have read the reviews already for the specific schools. I am a first-time IT and I would be trying to bring a non-teaching partner/potential spouse and a dog most likely and have brought those up with the schools during this process.

For me, I would only ever consider Korea if the money was insanely amazing. Bulgaria is a dump. Zagreb is quite cute and lovely. Tel Aviv is a real dynamic city, but of course terrorism is omnipresent there. I would only consider Tel Aviv or Zagreb, and then you are essentially deciding between European charm vs. Mediterranean metropolis on the beach. School-wise, it's probably a very small school with lots of locals vs. a good size school with lots of international students. Consider that too.

I lived in Seoul for two years and it would be my pick of the four. Dynamic modern city, clean, safe, high standards of medical care, great food, interesting and fun culture, great travel in Asia... love it.

I spent time in Seoul with my husband (teacher) and two large dogs. Seoul, and SK in general, is not a big fan of large dogs. It can be very difficult to find housing, veterinary care, grooming, etc., especially if you live outside of Itaewon. It can also be difficult to get around with a dog (for things like vet visits) because most taxis and the subway won't let them ride. This was one of the most difficult parts of our time there. We found that how happy most people were depended almost entirely on the quality/atmosphere of the school in which they were teaching. You spend a lot of time at school, and it can wear on you when you don't enjoy it. Other than that, I mostly agree with what overseaslifer said. I miss the awesome public transportation all the time!

Croatia would be the top pick. SK would be better if you were at a upper tier IS and a single male. Bulgaria is dumpy, but if you were the homebody type you could realize some savings as there is nothing to really spend money on. Israel is a poo hole.

If it is WBAIS and SFS, then Tel Aviv and Seoul for savings, respectively.
Lifestyle: Croatia
Only AAS-Sofia pays decently in Bulgaria.

i would love to work in bulgaria - one of my top schools for sure (AAS that is).
would never work in israel (and can't really since i'm not american).
depends where you are in korea - i loved the place, others didn't. life in jeju or anywhere outside busan or seoul is quite different. sfs does have a christianity thing, fyi.
croatia seems really cool too, though not sure about their schools (from what i've read they're kind of sketchy).

good luck!

v.

PS what does "strong potential interest" mean anyways? lol

SuperNintendo wrote:
> I spent time in Seoul with my husband (teacher) and two large dogs. Seoul,
> and SK in general, is not a big fan of large dogs. It can be very difficult
> to find housing, veterinary care, grooming, etc., especially if you live
> outside of Itaewon. It can also be difficult to get around with a dog (for
> things like vet visits) because most taxis and the subway won't let them
> ride. This was one of the most difficult parts of our time there. We found
> that how happy most people were depended almost entirely on the
> quality/atmosphere of the school in which they were teaching. You spend a
> lot of time at school, and it can wear on you when you don't enjoy it.
> Other than that, I mostly agree with what overseaslifer said. I miss the
> awesome public transportation all the time!

What does SK see as a large dog? I have a lab/beagle mix about 55-60 lbs. Did you bring your dogs over from wherever you are from? If so, was that a pretty smooth process?

@trackchk02

That would be a large dog, anything bigger than a lap dog.

koreans in general are terrified of any dog. they were scared to death of my chihuahua. my friend had a husky with blue eyes - that really freaked them out!

v.

fine dude wrote:
> If it is WBAIS and SFS, then Tel Aviv and Seoul for savings, respectively.
> Lifestyle: Croatia
> Only AAS-Sofia pays decently in Bulgaria.

WBAIS is a great school and Tel Aviv is a kick butt city. If you don't mind non-IB...I'd give it consideration.

@Taylor

Israel will certainly kick your butt each and every day.