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Fleeing the country
Speaker
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi all,
I'm finishing up my master's degree in American history and thinking about what to do next. I've been seized by a strong desire to vacate the country and teach abroad, perhaps in the lands of the Far East. I speak no language but English and have a wife and two small children. I'm just sort of dabbling with the idea right now.
I know some of you have done teaching out that way, mostly of the English language, and I wanted to get some advice on reputable recruiting companies, thoughts on bringing a family along, information about what different gigs have paid - any kind of information and experience you might want to share.
I'm finishing up my master's degree in American history and thinking about what to do next. I've been seized by a strong desire to vacate the country and teach abroad, perhaps in the lands of the Far East. I speak no language but English and have a wife and two small children. I'm just sort of dabbling with the idea right now.
I know some of you have done teaching out that way, mostly of the English language, and I wanted to get some advice on reputable recruiting companies, thoughts on bringing a family along, information about what different gigs have paid - any kind of information and experience you might want to share.
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Also important: What is your wife going to do while you're there? I mean really do, besides watching the kids. If there isn't something there for her and she doesn't know the language either, she may end up being really unhappy.
I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not sure that this is super-realistic to do AND bring a family along. If you were going for the kind of job that begins a career in that country there would still be issues, but at least you'd be setting up for a future. You can renew these teaching jobs sometimes, but moving them over just to move them back doesn't feel like a great idea to me unless your wife is genuinely super-enthusiastic, especially since it may take you some time to find a job when you get home.
Yea, I've read a lot of the stories from people who taught in Japan and China and such, and every single one was a single twentysomething, living with roommates and getting paid almost nothing (which only qualified as not nothing because of local exchange rates). Maybe there's stories I haven't heard, but I can't possibly see how supporting 4 people, none of whom speak the language or know anything about the local culture, on one of those jobs would work.
And I don't know how old you are, but I'm pretty sure that JET at least has an age cutoff.
If you haven't I would discuss this with your wife before you get too into the idea.
Have you run this notion past your wife?
There's a FAQ for that.
If you look at usajobs for 1700 series (or just search teacher under keywords), it should list you a some announcements. Then you can look up the installation and see if they have a base operator to try and talk to the administration section.
I'm not sure how often they hire, especially with the sequestration stuff going on, but it may be worthwhile to look into. Especially since it wouldn't be a barier of you only speaking English.
Maybe I should clarify - I am not looking to teach English (unless for some reason it worked out really well). I have a master's degree in history. I will clearly not be taking the same job as a 20-something. That said, people who have that experience would probably still have thoughts that were valuable about the country they worked in. Some teaching English abroad gigs are also through agencies that also recruit other kinds of teachers.
Do you have any sort of teaching certification? For a US job that often matters.
Keep in mind your children are probably going to adapt faster, though they may not be so keen on enjoying the process for you. Especially if your goal is to go to a country that doesn't have the amenities of the US. Doubly so if they're a bit older than elementary school, they're likely to hate you.
Being seized by a strong desire strikes me as something a young person is after, you have to put your family first here. You're likely to not be paid well anywhere but Europe, Japan, and the Americas, so, keep that in mind, your style of living is likely to take a huge hit. So instead of worrying about electricity being paid this month, you're worrying about how you're going to pay for food today.
Best of luck to you! It's hyper competitive but who knows, your history background will certainly help you on the test.
You only speak English.
Your degree is in American history.
You have a wife and children.
Any one of those alone could be a deal-breaker. All three of them together are almost insurmountable.
Getting a local teaching job is out because you don't speak the local language. Being a private tutor for some corporate ex-pat's kid is probably out, because they will see your family as extra and unnecessary hassle. That leaves - mostly - working for the US government or possibly working for a private school geared towards ex-pats.
You aren't really clear if you are leaving because you are sick of the United States / our policies (which may make working for State / DoD less attractive for you) and how much flexibility you want / how committed you want to be to your new job.
If you haven't already, I'd suggest doing some traveling to some of the places you are interested in living. This isn't something that is likely to happen overnight, and once you have a good idea where you want to go, learning the local language and culture will increase your chances of getting an opportunity to work there. Find out companies that do a lot of business in that area, and consider trying to work for them as it may be easier to get an internal transfer.
Talk to your wife about it so you can make goals together. Don't make all kinds of plans in your head and be surprised if / when your wife says 'oh, hell, no'. Moving like this is a HUGE commitment, and very difficult for most people - much less most families. This will have a huge affect on you, but you also need to think of your wife and your kids and the impact on them. You're at a point in your life where you and your wife can decide on a dedicated goal like this, but still need to plan it on a five, ten, or twenty year framework.
actually that's not necessarily so - my university in Germany had one of the largest American Studies programmes in the world. If you're looking at working in a university, then this could be a viable option and you could support a family. In that case, however, the standard application procedures apply, and positions will be hypercompetitive - mind you in Asia you can probably get a foot in without a PhD, but only because they will be primarily wanting you to teach English.
It sounds to me more like you want to work in an international school teaching history (where by international school I mean a school in a foreign country which caters to international students. These are usually stocked with kids of expats and diplomats). This is actually a viable career path, but a bit difficult to edge your way into - if you can get some kind of contact with a recruitment firm or one of the schools themselves, might be your best bet.
I appreciate your well intentioned skepticism, but I'm more looking for people who have experience and knowledge that might be relevant to my request for advice than crowdsourcing the "is this a good idea or not" aspect of the enterprise. I'm sensible enough to make those judgments after I've done the research.
Cool. Thanks.
Edit: And thanks Tynic, that's more or less the main thing I've been looking at.
Also, he only has a Master's degree. Finding a permanent teaching position abroad with only a Master's, and no foreign language skills, would be quite difficult.
My background:
I’m a 30 year old graphic designer with over 10 years of experience, the last 6 have been as the senior designer of a big company. I am married with a 1 year old daughter. Like yourself, I also have a master’s degree. I speak Japanese, so does my wife (she is Japanese).
Pre Move:
After my wife and I decided to move, we started saving for this sole purpose. It took about two years to put together $10,000 (in addition to our regular savings). Although I was dying to move to Japan, had my wife not been 100% on board, I would not have put her through such a horrible overseas move… it was horrible.
I got like $5,000 extra dollars from selling all my belongings, which was more depressing than I would have thought it was. These came in handy when shipping our essential belongings such as clothes, important books and documents.
We needed to search for a place to live, I let my wife take care of that, since I can’t read kanji. I had a bit of a shock when I learned that I needed to pay $2,500 downpayment at most apartments. In the end, we lucked out and one of my mother-in-law’s rentals had a vacancy and she let us move in. “pay the mortgage on it and we’ll let you stay there”, she said. It was a good deal, and we didn’t have to pay as much as most rentals were asking, without this, our move-money would have taken an unexpected hit.
After I quit my job, I negotiated a freelanced contract with my company. It pays less than half my old salary, but it’s money… I’m not going to say no to money when I’m moving to a country in which neither me nor my wife have a job and don’t know how long we will be unmployed.
Moving, a logistical nightmare:
Moving day, how exciting! We managed to somehow fit all 6 suitcases in our car along with 3 adults and child in a baby seat.
We managed to push 6 suicases through the airport. It was horribly stressful, there was a lot of frowning and general unpleasent feelings all around. The trip was long, exahusting and I questioned if it was the right thing to do when things didn’t flow smoothly. The whole trip, I needed to not only take care of my family, I also needed to do the freelanced project while my family slept.
Japan!
4 airports later I found myself pushng 6 suitcases through a large airport again. My in-laws picked us up. They had prepared our daughter’s child seat ahead of time. We crashed at their house for a couple of days while we got set up at our place.
After finally moving to our new place, furnishing it at up most of our $10,000. We also needed to buy a car, that ended up eating the rest of our money.
Jobs
Although I speak Japanese and I have experience and degrees in graphic design, it was not easy to find a local job because I cannot read Japanese proficiently enough. I am currently working on my freelance project and I supplement that income with a job I got on a military base.
I was able to land local jobs, but they were not related to my profession. At least on base, I have a chance to move into my field… but I get paid in dollars and my daily activities require me to pay in yen. At the current exchange rate, it means I loose money every time I shop.
My wife had an easier time finding a job because she is a local. Still, it took her a couple of months before she was able to get working.
Kids
Finding a daycare was a lot harder than I expected. There are government daycares and private daycares. Government run daycares have a waiting list. Private daycares get filled up pretty quick.
For a while, we’re stuck at an expensive daycare untill something else opens up. After our mortgage, the daycare is the most epxensive expense on our list.
Unexpected things
Although I’d been to Japan many times before, I was still shocked at how difficult some things are. My driver’s license, for example, was a very frustrating and expensive experience. This was my first encounter with a very passive form of racism that I was not expecting, so it was an enfuriating expirience.
The amount of paper work was staggering. Had it not been for my wife, I would not have been able to do this.
Things today
I had lot’s of people tell me it was a bad idea, but I knew that good planing would trump cinicism so with the support of my family I went and did this crazy adventure. However, had it not been for the support of my wife, my family back home and my in-laws, I don’t think I would have been able to do it.
How you can do it
If your wife is not a local, there are ways to move. You can find a work sponsor who is willing to give you a Visa and pay for your relocation costs. Look for universities that offer programs in your field and apply. This is a LONGSHOT, but it is possible. Before I got married I flew to Japan for an interview this way (on my owns money). They said I beat out all but 1 candidate who was equally matched… but he already had a Visa. It is not impossible to get a job this way.
An easier way is to find a job with the US Military as a contractor. They will hire you, but it is unlikely that they will fund your relocation. If you get a job this way, your wife can also find a job on-base in which she can speak English. You might be able to put your kids in a base school or day care.
I've also been around the "teaching English overseas" crowd, and trust me, it's no way to raise a family.
As for your kids, assuming they are school age, there are very limited options. Either go local... and I don't personally know anybody who does that, or go international, which costs $Texas. If you are a faculty you get a good discount on tuition, but still expect to pay an arm and a leg each from both you and your wife to send your two kids through international school.
They are plenty different from the USA to give a new lifestyle.
However I will stress what he already has stated again - he had his chances for success dramatically increased by his wife being (?) a citizen of the country and having family ties to help once he arrived.
I wouldn't go to a foreign country without a support network either provided by family already in the country or a company bankrolling it. Remember your cost to get you and your family to that country will be smaller then the cost of getting same family back if things go wrong (increase in travel cost, inflexibility in travel if something goes south and you are suddenly homeless and just trying to get back to the States with your family intact etc.)
It can be done however, immigration proves it every day in almost every country. It's just a level of sacrifice that you have to commit to.
Another thing to consider is the next generation. If you're not bankrolled and choose to go local to save money, the entire education system in the Far East is so radically different that re-integration into the US education system, if desired at a later date, will be difficult, and the kids are essentially coming back as immigrants. Assuming full integration with the host culture, kids will grow up in a foreign culture (good!), speaking a foreign language (good!), but cultural reintegration into the US at a future date will become difficult (bad?), and English will suffer (maybe bad?). If the kids are not starting at kindergarten/elementary school age, then the language barrier will making things even more difficult. Also, the kids will need to be relatively good at dealing with stress and social issues.
Let's talk health care. A lot of more developed countries in the Far East have a national health care system; almost all are tied into having an official employment/student/alien residence status. To obtain said legal status, you'll need to find a willing sponsor or a pre-existing family member/spouse. "Teaching English" is usually a quick and dirty way lots of individuals obtain legal status, such as JET in Japan, but it's not a wage to raise a family on. Other forms of employment are more attractive financially, such as international schools, but the required qualifications go up (again, teaching experience, teaching certificate, no dependents, at the very least).
At the end of the day, you really want to get into at Far Eastern country on a solid legal standing. Don't fall for shaky organizations that promise to sponsor your legal status, then end up having you and your entire family doing visa runs every three months. Do your research well, tap into the expat/overseas teachers network and start collecting lots of information. Attend international school fairs where they recruit. This occurs every summer, so start putting together your package and getting your references in order. If you don't have a teaching certificate... well, look into how to get one, FAST.
Non-Far East opens up a lot more opportunities. I'm told Europe is quite nice.
I think if we were more fully informed on the motivation of making such as move it would be easier to make more specific comments. Wanderlust? Just want to see Japan for two years? Go JET, leave the wife and kids behind and visit them every now and then. Want to establish yourself in Japan, raise your kids there until high school/college age? Find something more permanent to do for both you and your wife.
Look at international schools although your odds of being hired are pretty low without a teaching degree because they generally want qualified teachers as they try to recreate much of the educational experience that you would receive in a western country. My brother's school for example exclusively hired Canadian trained teachers. I'm not sure of the implications of bringing a spouse with you as most of these teachers are single when they start. Potentially they might be able to find some sort of work for spouses at the school.
I live in a part of Canada where teaching is a high paying profession, the pay starts fairly low but mid-end career teachers make about 70-100k with an awesome pension and benefits. My brother and sister in law were both teaching here for a couple of years before they moved to Singapore and received a significant lifestyle increase. Their pay went up significantly and they got an allowance for rental expenses that was high enough to live in a million dollar condo. If they had a pension it would probably be worse then here but they had great health coverage and the almost non existent income taxes put them well ahead financially even if they received no pension. They even had a maid come in every day to clean and got a free round trip ticket home once a year. Most of their coworkers from when they lived in Singapore have moved on to even better paying jobs in in places like Hong Kong or the Mid East.
Singapore is a large extremely clean well ordered city/country. The main language is English, they have a great transportation network which is needed because driving is usually only affordable by the rich. Once you're in Asia, travel is extremely cheap, you can fly to some touristy places and stay for the weekend for a couple hundred dollars. I'm envious of the travel my brother was able to do, from here in Canada it would take a life time for me to see half the places he has and probably more money then I could ever scratch together without being rich. It's seriously the adventure of a lifetime and even though I'm not suited to be a primary/secondary level educator I somewhat regret not getting my teaching degree so that I could have a similar experience.
So that all sounds awesome but there are some drawbacks which is why not everyone does it. It is a HUGE leap of faith to move to another country particularly as most international schools require an initial 2 year contract. If things suck, too bad you have 2 years to tough it out. Contracting work by nature is unstable, it's one thing to have to find another job here in the same city if your contract isn't renewed, it's a completely different thing if it means moving country's when you aren't ready for it. Even if things go well, reintegrating after being gone for a few years is tough. In a sense you have to start many things all over again when you come back.
While English is the main language in Singapore, it's still a pretty isolating experience. You are a foreigner and always will be. While white people are usually treated well in most of Asia you will never really blend in and might not ever feel like you fully belong. Almost all of my brother's friends were fellow teachers from his school so while it made them extremely close beyond what most friendships are like here it can also be a huge problem if you don't get along with someone in the group. Granted your group changes alot due to people moving but that also means that things are really in flux, it's not really a stable existence.
Asia is crazy far away. It maybe closer for you but for my brother it was about a 20-24 hour flight. Due to the travel time, time zone and cost you will rarely see family or friends and will drift apart from them. For some people that's fine, for some people it ends up being really hard to deal with.
While pretty much every teacher in the public school system here wishes that parents were more involved in their kid's education they may be a little too involved in international schools. These schools are extremely expensive so many of the parent's view the tuition beyond an investment in their child almost to the degree that you would expect an investor to view a financial investment which can make for some interesting parent teacher relationships. Granted they will help and push their kids to try harder instead of putting all the blame on the teacher if their kids aren't meeting their expectations.