After several international moves, I've come to the conclusion that it's best (for me) to move as much as I possibly can, so that I can make my new location feel like "home" as quickly and completely as possible. For example, my wife and I just shipped 7 cubic meters of stuff, and we will fly with about 10, 50lb. bags. This falls within our shipping budget, so who cares? I hope we happily stay at our new location for many years.

Hi Teachermom,

It's just my two cents, but I do speak from experience. Go with Search. If you can line up glowing recommendations, hit home runs in skype interviews, and have someone on the inside of a school pushing your application to the top of the pile, you might very well get hired before the job fairs. If this occurs, the order of fairs won't matter.

Over and over, it seems like I see search candidates get scooped up before the fairs (it's also happened to my partner and I). I think this is because interviewers can see your confidential recs, before they speak with you. It gives them a lot more confidence to make the big decision.

It looks like you have been teaching long enough to have some idea of the tier of school that would find your services useful. There are so many factors, it's nearly impossible to guess.

Good luck.

I think that Dante's pal brings up a tough ethical dilemma. You are certain that something really bad is happening in your school, but if you do whatever it takes to stop it, student safety will not be improved.

In this situation, an anonymous tip to parents might be the best course of action. As ethical and responsible adults, we need to protect our students, but at the same time, we shouldn't sacrifice our own safety.

If its true the school bribed the NBI with $25k, dantespal is probably very lucky to be alive. It would have been much cheaper and easier to hire a professional hitman.

What frequent flier program do shanghai teachers like the most? I'll be flying back to Seattle or the US approx twice a year. delta seems like it has a lot of fans.

[quote="mysharona"]That was my point, at this stage in my life I have no desire to go "native". I was responding to an earlier post. I look at this job as just having a really long commute![/quote]

My mistake, my comment was intended for mick travels, after all.

[quote="mysharona"]"Aren't we international teachers for the challenge of adapting to other cultures, even 'going native?'"[/quote]

Mysharona, do you live in Shanghai? Im curious about how many teachers are moving here to, "go native." At several schools, packages for teaching couples can be valued at over $200k/year. Compare that to the average person in shanghai who is making about $8500. My guess is that most expat teachers are going to enjoy an above average lifestyle. This includes being selective about dietary and reproductive health choices.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012 ... 555503.htm

Quote "There may be other companies that provide the same low fee services as Vanguard. Anone know of any?"

Schwab is also really good. They offer similar ETF and Bond funds to Vanguard at even slightly lower rates! My employer directly deposits to my checking acct. and then I use that to feed a savings acct. and a retirement acct. One login, and about 10 minutes per month. I don't know of a more simple solution.

My opinion is that Taylor's advice is spot on. It's exactly what the Andrew Hallam, poor Teacher would advise. Re-balancing at regular intervals is the key that will force you to be a dispassionate investor and sell stocks when they are high, or invest in more stocks when they are low. For instance - markets have been climbing this year, so everyone should be selling their profits, when they re-balance, and purchasing more bonds. If stocks go down, when you re-balance, you sell bonds to buy more stocks.

One last piece of advice... if you haven't, start today! Many career International teachers don't get pensions. You need a lot of money to retire. For instance, I know a couple who started saving USD 100K per year, and living off of 47K. If they can continue doing this, and the stock market gives a 7.5% annual return, in 25 years, we will have over 7 million dollars. Getting over 7 million from a 2.5 million investment sounds fine to me.

Actively managed funds, the generally refers to mutual funds which contain stocks which are bought and sold regularly by fund managers. Mutual funds charge investors higher percentages for this type of service.
In contrast ETF funds, also hold an array of stocks, but these are not actively managed, therefore the fees are much lower. Research shows that over the long haul, most ETFs outperform similar mutual funds, because higher fees eat away any slight advantage that can be gained through active management.

Really though, I think there is enough inaccurate or bad information on this thread to urge you to read John Bogle's Little Book of Common Sense Investing, or Andrew Hallam's poor Teacher. They will give you the confidence and understanding you need to move forward.

nikkhor= The only problem I can see is that once you actually move to paradise, it can no longer be your paradise. :-)

Just wondering what you mean by this sentence ?[/quote]

Simply, once you move somewhere you think of as paradise, it becomes normal, and therefore ceases to be paradise.

I've heard that it kind of had a rough start a few years back. Nice architecture and an idealistic owner make up only a small part of a successful educational setting. Last I checked, a few years back, the reviews on the pay site were pretty negative. Last year when I was in Bali, I met someone who was finishing up a one year internship there. She acknowledged it's past, but said that things were getting a lot better. If you are young, looking for adventure, and don't need the savings, it would be a great place to get your feet wet. Bali is one of those places I go back to every year, not to mention all the other islands close by. The only problem I can see is that once you actually move to paradise, it can no longer be your paradise. :-)

Have you thought of either of these two schools?

I'm quite a few years removed from direct knowledge of AAS Sofia. However, I think it still probably meets quite a few of your criteria. About 400 students K-12. Solid package and lifestyle.
aas-sofia.org

Another school I try to keep on my radar is Surabaya IS. I've heard both good and bad about it. Seems there have been some financial/leadership issues lately, but hopefully that is getting back on track. Last year, I heard one admin who has a thoroughly extensive understanding of the region really talk this school up. 370 students
http://www.sisedu.net/employment.html

OK, I'll add one more for good measure! This is fun. Lincoln Community School in Ghana. I spoke with an LCS teacher recently who loves the package, and really believes that it is moving in right direction. There is currently a very well thought of leadership team at the school. 700+ students
http://www.lincoln.edu.gh

Pretty much repeating snowbeaver here: I would also like to recommend Andrew's poor teacher book. It will give you the information you need to work towards a financially secure retirement. Being from Canada, Andrew prefers vanguard products, but if you are from the US, I would suggest you go with schwab instead. Here is why, debit cards are not charged fees at any ATM in the world, schwab etf fees are slightly below vanguards, and I love their customer service.

[/quote]Awesome, that's great to hear! I definitely want to live/work internationally, but at this point I'm feeling as though counseling may be more up my alley. I'm wondering, what part of the world are you in? And how much can counselors expect to earn there? Generally speaking, how much of the monthly salary are people able to save?[/quote]

Since you asked, I'm in Asia. It varies between schools so much that it's probably not even helpful to have the info. Counselors (same salary as teachers) can expect to make between 20-75,000+ USD or equivalent, sometimes this is tax free and in addition you will be provided with housing (valued at 60K/yr), flights(2k), retirement(10%), PD(2k), shipping/settling in etc.

At the great schools in Asia (IASIS.asia schools, just for starters), there are plenty of singles out there saving 35K+, but where it really gets good is for the teaching couples who can bank over 100K.

Hi PsychBean,

Have you considered going the private practice route? I heard 2nd hand of someone in Taipei who makes 15K USD/month (not a typo) doing psycho/educational evals and therapy.

In the large SEA city I am in, there are 6mo+ waits to see a child psych. We push to get kids tested at the beginning of August, and they can't even see someone until well after spring break. I'm talking about professionals who can administer a mix of WISC IV, WIAT III, BASC II, and Conners III and appropriate achievement tests.

If that is your area of expertise, maybe you don't need to work for a school after all. I would guess that there is a similar need in S/C American countries as well.


[quote="PsychBean"]Hello All,

I am currently working in the ME and I would love to work in South or Central America. I interviewed with a school which was 1st on my list but I did not get that position because I unfortunately was not bilingual. I am taking this year to get my spanish speaking skills up and may do an intensive lesson for 6 weeks next summer in Costa Rica. The school suggested we keep in touch just incase something opens up. I am hopeful about something in the future. Here is the thing though.... since I am in the ME I cannot go to any job fairs unless it is in Dubai I can just fly over on the weekend. I do not get time off for fairs, but I think I just may have to get myself to that AASSA fair this year for next.

Any advice would be welcomed on how I could better my chances or just what could one do... Oh I am a School Psychologist with 4 years experience by the 2014-2015 school year with 1 dependent child in tow.[/quote]

Yes, ISs do have school counselors. Student/counselor ratios are usually much better than what they are in the States, which means more jobs per school. For a better idea, check the websites of schools you are thinking about. If you sign up for TIE, Search or ISS next year, there will probably be about 30-40 openings. If you have previous experience, I think there is a very good chance you would get several offers.

Oh, and I pretty much love my job most days. Work weeks fly by, and the compensation, benefits, vacations are amazing. Of course it's not like that for everyone though.