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yorkty
Joined: 10 Nov 2013
Posts: 6
Location: Georgia, USA
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 Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 9:59 pm Post subject: supporting a family in Russia / E Europe |
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Hello guys (and gals) this is my first post here and a lengthy one, but please stick with me.
I am a university student majoring in German. I will be graduating in about a year and a half. I am also studying the Russian language. I must study/intern abroad in a German speaking country to graduate. My plan is that I will take the CELTA in Germany and spend a couple of months teaching English as a volunteer to meet the requirements of the university. After that my goal is to spend the next year teaching English in Russia (or another country in central/eastern Europe). The trick is I won't yet have my degree (but I study online so will be making progress on it the entire time), but I will have my CELTA.
In which country in this region would it be easiest to obtain work with a CELTA, but not yet having graduated?
Part 2: I have a wife and young child (he will be two years old when we go). She will not be working. Is it possible to support a small family on a teacher's salary in this part of the world? And I mean living modestly, more or less how the locals live.
If anyone has any advice on which country/countries I should be looking in please let me know. Also if anyone is teaching with a family in tow please let me know your experiences.
Thanks a lot everyone! |
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expatella_girl
Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 248
Location: somewhere out there
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:52 am Post subject: |
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Of course anything is possible .....but....
You could probably support your family (very poorly) with an EFL teaching job in Russia. But how would they get visas to live there? It's hard enough for the teacher to get the proper permits and visas to work and reside, trailing family members would be an extremely difficult problem.
(that's what they're called in the international biz, "trailing" as in non-working spouse and dependents going abroad with the wage earner.)
Visas, visas, always the biggest hurdle to working abroad. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 2:02 am Post subject: |
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Ditto what expatella girl says for Central Europe. Wages are pretty much subsistence level in the region, competition for jobs is probably higher in Central Europe than in Russia, and you'd be competing against BA holders. Visas for dependents just don't come with entry-level EFL jobs in the region; few employers are likely to support this.
Possibly not 100% impossible, but unlikely to work out well, honestly. |
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teacher X
Joined: 13 Feb 2013
Posts: 220
Location: Super Sovietsky Apartment Box 918
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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| I hope you're not thinking about trying to teach ESL in Germany. 1000 teachers for every 1 job. Stay well clear if you want to support a family. |
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yorkty
Joined: 10 Nov 2013
Posts: 6
Location: Georgia, USA
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| Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 2:16 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I figured it would be a stretch and I didn't even consider visas for my wife and child. Perhaps one day I'll find myself teaching English, but I suppose not in the near future.
Also, do any of you know of any countries where having a trailing spouse/child is possible? Possible for getting visas and also possible to support our family. Thanks for any direction. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 2:40 am Post subject: |
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| Not really on the European continent. Maybe Asia.... |
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expatella_girl
Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 248
Location: somewhere out there
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| Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 3:03 am Post subject: |
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| yorkty wrote: |
Thanks for the replies everyone. I figured it would be a stretch and I didn't even consider visas for my wife and child. Perhaps one day I'll find myself teaching English, but I suppose not in the near future.
Also, do any of you know of any countries where having a trailing spouse/child is possible? Possible for getting visas and also possible to support our family. Thanks for any direction. |
The trailing family issue is a big big problem for working internationally. Most of the folks I know who work internationally are single.
The only people I ever knew who we able to take their families abroad with all the document bells and whistles, were top corporate executives working for a domestic company abroad, or government employees. Gas and oil execs are treated especially well.
English teachers, not so much. |
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taxman
Joined: 18 Mar 2013
Posts: 19
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 6:43 am Post subject: ESL in Germany |
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| teacher X wrote: |
| I hope you're not thinking about trying to teach ESL in Germany. 1000 teachers for every 1 job. Stay well clear if you want to support a family. |
Difficult, yes, but not impossible. It does need time, experience and patience, however. I have lived here now over seven years and six of those years I have been the only income earner in the family, as my wife has stayed home with our 3 children (6, 4 and 2). We're not "living large" by any means, but we get by. |
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teacher X
Joined: 13 Feb 2013
Posts: 220
Location: Super Sovietsky Apartment Box 918
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| Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: ESL in Germany |
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| taxman wrote: |
| teacher X wrote: |
| I hope you're not thinking about trying to teach ESL in Germany. 1000 teachers for every 1 job. Stay well clear if you want to support a family. |
Difficult, yes, but not impossible. It does need time, experience and patience, however. I have lived here now over seven years and six of those years I have been the only income earner in the family, as my wife has stayed home with our 3 children (6, 4 and 2). We're not "living large" by any means, but we get by. |
 I'm glad someone is able to do it. I failed miserably. |
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BenE
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 321
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| Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 2:26 am Post subject: Re: ESL in Germany |
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| taxman wrote: |
| teacher X wrote: |
| I hope you're not thinking about trying to teach ESL in Germany. 1000 teachers for every 1 job. Stay well clear if you want to support a family. |
Difficult, yes, but not impossible. It does need time, experience and patience, however. I have lived here now over seven years and six of those years I have been the only income earner in the family, as my wife has stayed home with our 3 children (6, 4 and 2). We're not "living large" by any means, but we get by. |
I speak fluent German with a German degree and even a German surname and a UK passport. I too found things pretty tough over there. I lasted 6 months then gave up due to all the paperwork and stressful hours at work. It is possible though but you'll rarely find a comfortable wage to live on compared to what you can get in Asia.
Belarus is an option though as there's less competition. Last time I was there I heard there were a lot more schools in Minsk looking for teachers. Certainly not a place for saving money though but better than other E European countries I think. I worked there for a year too |
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teacher X
Joined: 13 Feb 2013
Posts: 220
Location: Super Sovietsky Apartment Box 918
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| Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 7:47 am Post subject: Re: ESL in Germany |
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| BenE wrote: |
I speak fluent German with a German degree and even a German surname and a UK passport. I too found things pretty tough over there. I lasted 6 months then gave up due to all the paperwork and stressful hours at work. It is possible though but you'll rarely find a comfortable wage to live on compared to what you can get in Asia.
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I remember going to the Rathaus to ask questions about the health insurance. They told me that I should go to the Auslanderamt since I wasn't a member of the EU. I argued that the United Kingdom has been part of the EU since the 1960s. They seemed to be unable to distinguish between Americans and British, thinking that we were the same country.
In the end I gave up arguing and just went to the Auslanderamt to see if they would be of some help. Obviously, they turned me away and told me to go to the Rathaus because British people shouldn't be in the Auslanderamt.
I have to say that I found Germany's bureaucracy far more frustrating than what I have so far experienced in Russia. Also, I'm pretty sure that the Auslanderamt and Rathaus employ only militant racists and xenophobes. I have never before met such hateful people.
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Back on topic...
Raising a family in Moscow;
How on earth do Russians manage to raise a family in Moscow? I just can't get my head around the logistics of it. 60% of their salary goes on rent and 35% goes on supplying their women with new shoes. That means that they have only 5% left for food and other important things. |
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expatella_girl
Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 248
Location: somewhere out there
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| Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:18 am Post subject: Re: ESL in Germany |
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| teacher X wrote: |
60% of their salary goes on rent and 35% goes on supplying their women with new shoes. That means that they have only 5% left for food and other important things. |
You're suggesting that attractive footwear -обувь- is not of the utmost importance??
Pfffft--Off with your head!
Food well, there is always food somewhere....but fashionable shoes? Must Have!
I remember having a conversation in a Moscow bar now some years ago, I remarked on the fancifulness and obsession of Russians with their shoes and the other person pointed how Americans are obsessed with their teeth.
It is true, yes?
And after that we had some more vodka and nobody cared any more. |
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coledavis
Joined: 21 Jun 2003
Posts: 1838
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| Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Get the point, but how often do Americans get their teeth fixed? (I genuinely don't know, coming from snaggle-toothed Britain.) |
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Sigma
Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 123
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| Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 8:57 am Post subject: |
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| yorkty wrote: |
Thanks for the replies everyone. I figured it would be a stretch and I didn't even consider visas for my wife and child. Perhaps one day I'll find myself teaching English, but I suppose not in the near future.
Also, do any of you know of any countries where having a trailing spouse/child is possible? Possible for getting visas and also possible to support our family. Thanks for any direction. |
It is possible to get a long-term visa for the purpose of family reunification in the Czech Republic. However, you will have to show that you make enough money to support your family, and you will have to buy private insurance. My son, who is now 2, had a family reunification visa when he was born in the Czech Republic. His yearly insurance was almost 20,000kc which is a rather large amount of money for an English teacher in the Czech Republic. Luckily, he now has permanent residency.
The biggest problem with all of this is finding a teaching job that pays enough for the visa requirements and health insurance. Summer is another problem, because there is little work available during these months.
Basically, in theory it is possible to get a visa here, but money would definitely be a problem. |
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expatella_girl
Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 248
Location: somewhere out there
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| Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:08 am Post subject: |
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| coledavis wrote: |
| Get the point, but how often do Americans get their teeth fixed? (I genuinely don't know, coming from snaggle-toothed Britain.) |
Every 6 months. Americans are obsessed with the pristine beauty of their teeth.
Personally I prefer the central asian habit of just encasing them all in gold, it makes for such an amazing smile in the sunshine. Stunning. |
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