There are a few "unconventional" places that we are considering, but sometimes it's a matter of our kids, too. For example, we'd really like to go to Thailand (who doesn't?), and we'd be fine teaching at a lower-tier school like Ruamrudee, but because 80% of the students are locals, we don't want our kids to be alienated; they're still really young. It's not going to stop us from talking to them at the fair (they might convince us that that isn't the case), but that's foremost in our minds.
Another high priority for us is public transportation. One of the main things about our current life that's pushing us to do this is our hellish commute. We want to sell our cars and go carless. Even some of the most desirable places don't have great public transport, so they're less desirable to us.
It's okay. I'm getting better ideas for the fair, so I'm feeling a little bit better. :)
How often do good candidates come away empty handed?
Re: How often do good candidates come away empty handed?
Perhaps everyone's holy grail does exist, but you won't know you have it until you get it, and you may well not know until you deal with the culture shock that often comes with international work lives. Many people don't do this and end up leaving looking for the greener grass. If you go into this worklife with the awareness that your current location is an international location for some people in your community, you might begin to have a better appreciation of where it might be headed. Obviously where you live now has its problems (hellish commute is one you note) but would you know of them until you lived there? Do all the people in your community have the same priorities? I'm guessing that they don't and that your current place has heterogeneity. So will your new place and you need to be prepared for this. Our first priority in our latest posting was children's safety, but that does come at a significant premium in many other ways. Still, its much easier to deal with all of the peripheral issues when they are just that. If you are being particular then my 20 years of working the globe says you need to be brutally honest and be very sure of your main priority.