[quote="chilagringa"] But I get what you are saying about the expat nanny/maid/driver lifestyle. I like getting some services (once a week housekeeper is the greatest thing ever) but having a bunch of servants would just weird me out. [/quote]

We don't actually have any of those services -- with a non-teaching spouse, there's no reason to have a maid (although we were both working in the U.S., much longer hours in fact, and never had one, so why I would need one here if we were both working is beyond my comprehension), and we don't have children yet so there's no need for a nanny. However, all of my colleagues have at least a nanny or a maid, sometimes both, and I find it hard to relate to the sense of entitlement that comes from people who talk about how their maid, who makes 5USD an hour, bought spaghetti noodles instead of fettucine noodles and this somehow ruined their evening. It's a bit of a shock when someone you enjoy working with and have socialized with as well says something like that, and I just don't think I'll get used to it.

As for helicopter parents, maybe some of you have worked in schools where the parent population isn't there all the time, but my students are helicopter parented far more than any I taught in the U.S. (including some very wealthy areas with stay-at-home moms). I don't want my kids attending school in that environment, nor do I want them feeling inadequate because their classmates are travelling to Singapore for a birthday . or just got their third iPad, and they cannot (a problem several of my teacher friends are having with their middle/high school kids).

I completely understand and respect the reasons so many of you have for wanting to make this a lifetime choice -- in fact, in some ways I'm envious that you can so fully embrace teaching overseas. But in the end, doing this for a lifetime is just not for us, and we're OK with that. In some ways I feel that it's helping us enjoy our time even more while we're here -- we know there is a definitive end-date in mind, so we are carefully planning out all of our holidays to make sure we get to all the countries we'd like to see while we're over here, because we don't know when we'll be back.

[quote="Teachermom"]Hi Rumor5182,

If this is your first year abroad, then give it some more time. Assuming you just got to your post last summer, then you might still be in the famed "dip" of culture shock. It gets better.

I'm a lifer, and I have young kids. We've been at our current post for 4 years, and if we move again we'll be looking for another long stint....so we're not in that group that moves on so often.

I love the expat family life. Plus suburban America bores me to tears![/quote]

Thanks for the response, Teachermom. For us personally, it's not about the culture shock -- we only came to this decision in the past month. When we first arrived -- and for the first six or eight months -- we were set on staying abroad for decades. Part of our decision is about the expat life. As much as I love the travel, I'm not a huge fan of the maid/nanny/driver lifestyle. It bothers me to see how much money my friends and colleagues waste in their daily lives, and how little time they actually spend with their children, and I just don't think I'll get accustomed to living around that for a lifetime.

Plus, unlike most people I've met overseas, we actually really like the U.S. Teaching in U.S. schools has its pitfalls (standardized tests, poorly determined tenure rules), but there are things I love (common standards that don't change at the whim of the teachers working there at the time, clear delineation between teacher responsibilities and administrator responsibilities). We also like living in the U.S. (big cities -- Chicago, Nashville, D.C. -- not the 'burbs) and travelling to places like Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains.

I know that makes us the odd ones out in a sea of people who are charmed by expat life (very few of my friends here understand our reasoning), but for us, this is a wonderful experience that we are enjoying every second of, but which will have a definite conclusion when we return home.

I'm at the end of the first year of my two-year contract in SE Asia. When we first decided to move abroad to work (myself and a non-teaching spouse), we thought we'd do this for the rest of our working lives (or at least a good portion of it). But, despite all the wonderful benefits (travel opportunities, lower cost of living/higher savings potential, working with smart and informed people from all around the world), we've now decided to set a somewhat definitive end date. The plan is to finish out the two-year contract, add on a third year, and then attempt a two- or three-year post at another school in Western or Eastern Europe, or possibly Morocco, Egypt or Jordan, then go back to the U.S. IF that doesn't work out, then we'll return home instead. It's too hard to think about starting a family this far from home and raising third-culture kids, plus doing it away from the grandparents, and I've both had an unexpected death in my family which has left us thinking this is unmanageable for the long-term.

(Of course, plans change, so nothing is set in stone. :) )

The EPF is pre-tax. So then what you're left with after that is taxed at the appropriate rate. Malaysia uses a progressive tax rate, though, so it's not a flat 15 percent. If you google Malaysia tax chart, you should be able to find the information you need to calculate how much you'd be taxed based on your income.

I'd be happy to share more specific information with you about the school side of things via e-mail. Send me your address, and I'll contact you.

Housing in Mont'Kiara = 3800RM (3-4 bedrooms), 2800-3000RM (2 bedrooms)

Food = Depends on how you spend your money and how many you're feeding. For a family of two (me and my husband) we budget about 1400RM per month. A friend of mine with a family of four (and more expensive tastes) spends about 4000RM per month. Eating out in the neighborhood will run you between 30 and 60RM per person (without alcoholic beverages).

Utilities = We pay 240RM per month for cable and internet together (although the cable is wasted since we download and use Netflix/Hulu for all our TV/movie watching, so we'll be cancelling that portion once we get to the end of our initial one-year contract with Astro). I'd guess 150RM for internet alone is probably about right, but check Astro's Web site.

Airfare = Air Asia runs really cheap deals to parts of SE Asia. We paid $70USD per person to HCMC (one-way) and $350USD per person to Japan (round-trip). Haven't bought airfare to the U.S., but it sounds like my colleagues have been shopping for deals in the neighborhood of $1200-$1400 (per person).

People I know who tutor with organizations in the neighborhood pull in between 100RM and 150RM per hour. Not sure what they charge for independent tutoring though.

We're finding it a really affordable place to live. With EPF we're saving a lot of money, and we've traveled on every extended break so far.

Let me know if you have any other questions. :)

Just wanted to add a bit of extra context to Lopaka's information, which is completely correct. I'm in my first year in Malaysia and couldn't arrive before July 2, so I'm not in the country for 182 days this year. That means that, for 2012, I'm paying extra taxes (26 percent, because I'm taxed as a visitor). However, by being in the country on December 31 and January 1, I'm linking this year's income to next year's income. So, for my next paycheck my taxation level will revert to the resident percentage (don't remember what that is), and in July I will receive a refund of all the additional tax I paid in 2012 (which will make a nice starter fund for our Christmas vacation in Australia).

Additionally, because I'm not in "tax jail" this year (as many of my colleagues have been), I have left the country several times, including Singapore, Bali, Vietnam and Cambodia. In 2013, while I'm earning my resident rate, I'll be able to leave the country for Spring Break (staying within my 14 days), and although I won't be able to leave again until July 2 so that I complete my residency requirements, we'll be spending the week between then and the end of the school year in Langkawi, a beach destination within Malaysia.

I actually think it's preferable to do it this way and pay the extra taxes at first (which will be 100 percent refunded) because I'm not losing two breaks worth of travel time.

Good luck with your decision!

[quote="BocaJrs"]
For example: I took my kids to a doctor's appointment today (I'm in the US)and something that I thought was just a quirkiness of their pediatrician happened with yet another doctor and has me thinking it might just be a common cultural trait. What I'm talking about is greetings. These doctors seem good enough at saying hello but are not as good at saying goodbye, meaning they just don't do it. I'm never sure if the appointment is over and we are free to leave or if the doctor will pop back in. So I wait, and wait and wait until it's obvious no one is coming and then inevitably feel a bit of a fool.
[/quote]

This made me giggle. I'm American, and it happens all the time. I've had some doctors who are super personable and wish me well at the end of the appointment, signaling its end, but they're the exception to the rule. In fact, my current doctor never says good-bye, but just stands there and quietly waits while I gather my things and leave.

Usually my sign to go is receiving my prescription -- then I know our transaction is complete.

I'm curious to read about other American quirks that drive people from other countries nuts!

[/quote] Thanks for checking it out! I have yours saved in my blog list on google reader. Looking forward to keeping up w/ your posts. A friend of mine here used to teach at your school and loved it. I need to catch up on posting for mine....[/quote]

@vettievette: I loved looking through your blog! Tashkent sounds like a really neat place, and your school sounds great. Just curious -- what kind of access to American items do you have? I'm thinking film, music, books ... And how's your internet access? I saw your earlier post referenced an IP blocker to read psychris's blog -- do you need to use that for all your internet access?

How are you liking Tashkent? Your posts from when you first got settled are great, and they make it sound like you're loving it. Is that still the case? Are you able to do much travelling to other countries in Asia? I would think flights would be prohibitively expensive.

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for your continued help, Rob. That information makes rentals in Singapore easier to understand. I know there's no sense fretting about it until I have an offer and actually see the package -- I'm just such a planner, and my instinct is to get as much information as possible ahead of time so I'm not scrambling later.

If you don't mind, I'll message you once I'm past the interview if I actually receive an offer to ask some more specific Singapore questions. I'm sure you have tons of good information to share about neighborhoods and culture with all the years you've lived in Singapore. :)

Thanks again!

Seashell and Rob, thanks for the information on SAIS. The more reading I do about Singapore, the more interested I am in it. I know it doesn't have as much to offer as other cities, but it's right in the heart of SE Asia and would put is in a good place to do lots of travelling on breaks.

Rob, thanks for that bit of information about the salary as well. I've only recently added Asia to my search for an international teaching job, after initially pursuing only Europe, so I'm definitely not looking to save a ton. But, every little bit helps. :)

I saw in an earlier post of yours that you live in a HDB flat -- other than not having the amenities offered by the condos (which, frankly, I don't give a hoot about -- I've never lived anywhere with amenities, and I don't see the point in going overseas and trying to replicate a luxurious Western-style life), are there any other major differences? I'm thinking in terms of management, appliance repair, upkeep, etc. And are they hard to come by? I'm guessing (if this all works out, which is a big if) we'd have to move into temporary housing so we could look at places in person. Is that your thought?

Thanks again for your help!

I've just been asked to interview with Stamford American International School. The reviews on this site are pretty mixed, and I'm trying to figure out how seriously to take the negative ones, which are pretty impassioned. Any knowledge about the school as it stands right now?

Also, those of you who have lived in Singapore, what did you love about it? What drove you nuts? Would you go back?

Thanks for your help!

Thanks for that info, lilmsteacher. It's always good to hear confirmation of the reviews, and to know I'm not crazy for thinking it looks like a pretty good school to start an international career in. Unfortunately, I don't think I've gotten the job -- my interview was early last week, and I was told a decision would be made in a few days. It's now been almost a full week, so I'm guessing an offer was made to someone else and I won't be notified until they're sure that person has accepted. I'm disappointed, for sure, but I'll keep looking until (hopefully) the right one sticks!

Thanks again. :)

[quote="figure8"]Wanted to offer a different perspective:

At my last school my spouse was 'trailing' and the school processed and paid for his visa. He had legal residency and a few months in was offered a job at the school. The important thing to note is that his visa was provided automatically, not because he was hired by the school as well. Our next destination - South East Asia - is currently processing both our visas. He may or may not work at the school, but either way his visa is on them :)[/quote]

Thanks figure8. We know there are some countries (and schools) where that's a more viable option. He's a writer/editor and hopes to do some freelance work, which puts sponsorship into a gray area if he can't secure it from the school.

Still hoping that someone can give me some information about this school. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a LOT on here, and it's been super helpful. Thanks! :) I was just contacted and asked to interview with Asia Pacific International in Seoul tomorrow, and I'm wondering if any of you have worked there recently or know anything specific about the school. The reviews on this site are all really positive, and I like what I've read on the school's site as well, but nothing is mentioned in relation to benefits. Anyone have any additional info?

I'm excited, but I'm nervous too -- I'd really been wanting to get into a school in Western or Eastern Europe, but decided in the last week or so to broaden the hunt to include most of Asia, so I haven't quite gotten used to the idea.

One more question: I have a non-teaching spouse who's a writer/editor. Any knowledge about how easy it would be for him to get a work visa or work permit in South Korea? He's happy to help out at the school too, but we don't know if the school will be keen on that.

Thanks for all your help!

Hi Nicole,

I found out some information about the ISK package this week. I've been interviewing with them as well, and learned more about their salary/benefits information. If you're still interested, let me know and I can e-mail you directly. (I feel weird posting it on the board.)

Hope your interviewing is going well!