# Info about International Schools & relocation appreciated!



## MintJulep (Mar 30, 2011)

Hi farangs,

Here's the long & short of it..

I am currently working on my Bachelor's in Secondary Ed, major is History Ed and minor is English. I will be ready to start working in the 2014 school year.

My husband is British and we are living in Georgia, USA. He is a carpenter. Our son will be preschool age by the time we are able to move. I am American.

We've been to Thailand and loved it, and are inquiring about moving there on the basis of myself getting hired to teach, preferably at an International School.
I've lived in the UK for years, and he in the USA for years, so we are accustomed to living in different places. We now own our house outright in GA, USA and would rent it out whilst living in Thailand.

Now you know our background, my ?'s are as follows:

1. I've heard some International Schools only hire married teaching couples. Do you know which ones are more leniant about one teacher and two dependants?

2. Do you know how my husband and son could also get visas?

3. Although Thailand is our preference, we would be willing to move to Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malayasia, Laos or Phillipines. Do you know if they are more leniant in granting visas? 

4. My husband is fine with not working whilst living there, but would like to either do part time chippy work or other occ., if possible. Do you know if he would be able to obtain a work permit in any of the said countries? He has vocational degree in carpentry. We would be prepared to depend solely upon my income, but we were just wondering...

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, it is most appreciated! :clap2:
(And please remember that old pearl of wisdom, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!").


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## stuarttootell (Mar 23, 2011)

MintJulep.

You are going to find it a somewhat rocky road . Finding a decent paying position here at an international school is not as easy as one might think.

You would be well advised to seek out the I.S.A.T. site (International Schools Association of Thailand) informative and possibly helpful if you are seeking a teaching position.

Visa's for your husband and son shouldn't be too much of a problem. Your son would qualify as a student , however I wouldn't like to say how your husband would fare.

Part time chippy work at the Thai rate of pay of around 300 baht for a 10hour day ? More hope of selling pork pies in a synagogue than you husband working in his field, it is a protected occupation under Thai law reserved for Thais', possibly some work in a language school at around 30,000 baht a month is about it.

I am sure you loved here, however I and I am sure others too will tell you the rat race is as bad here as it is in your home country, language problems, social life weather all somewhat different when you're actually working and living here.

Salary levels in the top echelon of international schools along with benefits are indeed world class. However due to your lack of experience I feel that you will be offered a middle level school employment contract at around 80,000 baht a month ( around 2000U.S.dollars ). Not a liveable income I assure you for the situation you describe

I saw a situation some three years back which is a mirror of your own, sad to say, '' the whole thing ended in a ruined marriage and a financial disaster.'' Hubby had time on his hands,. Boring,wanders out for walks, eye candy delightful, ends up tasting it result, a recipe for disaster.

Living the dream became a nightmare for the wife and the son.Believe you me the scenario is not just limited to the situation that you are contemplating, it is all too easy to go astray hers if one has time on ones hands.

Negative yes. Been here twenty years seen it all happen, nothing nice to say , well as maybe, but it is reality and reality bites and when reality bites it hurts..

Stick to the holiday scenario and that applies to all the places you have mentioned. prophet of doom I am but I and others like me are your safety net.


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## MintJulep (Mar 30, 2011)

Yikes. Thanks for the advice, but your take on it sounds a bit ''gloom and doom''. 

Well, $2000 a month is actually more than we are currently living on, and that is in the US.
So I think if we could make it here on less than that, being homeowners, than surely we must be able to do so in Thailand renting. 
The math, to me, seems to work. Here we also pay for maitenance, gasoline and insurance on two cars, so that expense would go away as well. We would want to live someplace relatively close to the school, but even if transportation costs did equal that to what our current two cars in the US cost, we would still be on the same budget.
I must also state that we would only be there for two years, possibly longer depending, but not planning on moving there for the rest of our lives. 
As I am a stay at home mom for three years whilst attending Uni in the evenings, the plan was for me to take over the household income responsibility for a couple of years anyway once I start teaching. So we thought since we would be in the same situation, whether here or there, than why not make it there? We would also have a few hundred coming in monthly from renting our house in Atlanta. 
As for experience, I have found out since posting that next year I can tutor ESL at my school, so I would also have that on my resume as two years experience. Also in the teaching field, albeit totally different, I taught nursery school for six years and have dozens of recommendation letters from parents and former Directors whom I worked for in London, New York and Atlanta. I am hoping perhaps a school may take that in consideration, especially the ones who say ''experience PREFERRED''. Otherwise, I suppose I would have to teach at a local school and try at a later date.

Thank you again. Although I would love to hear some POSITIVE advice!


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## Solarpoweredsophie (Mar 28, 2011)

Doom and gloom indeed! What a depressing response! Personally I say go for it, take your venture with open arms and opportunities will I'm sure come your way. My husband and I are moving to Thailand for a year in October. He has work and I am hoping to be an EFL teacher. Doing the TEFL course this summer and I've been told by many that teaching opportunities are a plenty over there. Thailand is so cheap compared to uk so we're not too worried about rent etc. More concerned about language barriers. Currently teaching ourselves Thai with Rosetta stone , it's hard! Good luck to you and your husband and enjoy it!


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## almeyer (Apr 21, 2010)

I agree with Solar Sophie. Just go for it. You've already moved around, and sound like a survivor. Good luck to you and your family

I just won my retirement wings and have been on this site reading the posts. I'm a single woman and have no doubt I will make it where ever I end up!!


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