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Two Questions
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most teachers make enough to flat-share, rents being relatively quite high. Living on your own can easily eat up half of your net salary.

You can totally enjoy the city. Cultural events, food, drink, travel around the country - all feasible, being relatively inexpensive.

Expect to have to plan ahead to buy a pair of jeans, and an expense such as a new bicycle or week abroad would take some months to save for.

Wages have been stagnant for years, mostly due to the constant supply of new teachers in the city - I hear that newbies are making roughly the same gross pay that I was making when I started - in 1998. Unfortunately, prices have not stagnated!!!

In other words - go for the experience. If you need to save or pay off debt back home, it won't happen in Prague.
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AdamtheJohnson



Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 157

PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It would be some months before I leave (I'm guessing I am shooting for the January season) so I'll have saved a bit, but it might be eaten into largely by the ESL course.

I dont mind rent sharing with people my age but might opt for a solo abode for privacy.

I would definitely want to travel within Europe, and that would be my primary expense other than lodging, food. I might be satisfied with weekend trips, all on a shoestring budget of course.

So, does living carefully in Prague, or jsut outside it obviously, equal having enough remaining to travel?
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, if you're careful.
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AdamtheJohnson



Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 157

PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

spiral78 wrote:
Yeah, if you're careful.


Hmm, that is very interesting.
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AdamtheJohnson



Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 157

PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Forgot to mention, I am American. Will this hurt me?
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AdamtheJohnson



Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 157

PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 12:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unfortunately, I will most likely miss this peak season, and will have to wait for the january one.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, as others have pointed out, EU candidates for the jobs going in January are likely to get priority over you, and it is possible that you won't be able to find a job. You can only give it a try and hope you will get lucky, realistically.

Also, keep in mind that you'll have only about 5 salaries before your unpaid summer 'holiday.' Make sure you've got a decent financial cushion to get you through this - or to get you home if you dont' find a job in January.

There are no guarantees with this region and job market!!
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I dont mind rent sharing with people my age but might opt for a solo abode for privacy.

Then, keep in mind that this can easily cost half (or even more) of your net monthly salary. Further, there are deposits and rent-up-front and payment to an agent can be equivalent to a month's rent as well.
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AdamtheJohnson



Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 157

PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess a CELTA in August would be better than a TEFL in January.
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eclectic



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 1122

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Forgot to mention, I am American. Will this hurt me?


Anywhere you go--Europe, Middle East, now even China with all the sabre-rattling the Americans are doing (cozying up to Vietnam, giving Vietnam nuclear tech and nuclear facilities, claiming the islands off of VN are of "vital US interests" since the Chinese claim those islands against Vietnam, sending several aircraft carriers into the Yellow Sea supposedly to curb the North Koreans--hahaha thats a really good one!)etc....., EVEN IN CHINA, Americans are not as welcome as they used to be. Rising anti-Americanism all over the globe........these days going to South America or Mexico is a real physical risk to Americans' safety.

Now to answer your question on a teaching slant, which I realize full-well studios you were asking to begin with: Yes.

The reason Americans have a tough time everywhere these days should carefully be analyzed by all of us, when venturing haphazardly out into the world where 95.19% of human beings are NOT American. Hard to believe only 4.89% of planet earth is made up of Americans, isn't it?
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

eclectic, I'm not sure what you're really getting at here, but I'm a US citizen who has been living in Europe for years. There is no 'wave of anti-American sentiment' visibly rising here.

There are EU-only hiring restrictions in many countries which echo those in the US as applied to Europeans, but it would be very rare to face any actual discrimination on an individual basis due to one's nationality here.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, I've just scanned your other recent posts in other forums, eclectic, and it's clear that you've got a bone to pick. However, spilling it over to newbies in country-specific forums isn't kosher. What do you aim to do with this? Make US citizens scared/worried? Fan anti Americanism further? Scare the newbies? Are you suggesting they should stay home? What?

I suggest you don't continue to spread these seeds of fear and anger in the country-specific boards, regardless of your personal slant on things.


It's tough enough in this European job market for newbies in general, and non-EU ones in particular, without fear-mongering on top of it.

Keep in mind that Aussies, Kiwis, and Canadians face exactly the same hiring barriers that US citizens do. It's not targeted.
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Sashadroogie



Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually, Spiral, it is. It's all part of my communist plot to keep all the resource-rich TEFL jobs out of the clutches of the Americans wha ha ha haaa haaaaaaaaa!!
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scythiangold



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:43 am    Post subject: working in prague Reply with quote

i'm suprised that no one here has yet mentioned the boland school. on their website they claim to guarantee visas to everyone that completes their tefl course held in brno (the second largest city in the czech republic). i was unable to enroll in the most recent summer course because they only allow eight students to sign up but i have been in contact with them and i am waiting to find out if they will be offering a course this winter. i did get the feeling that they were focusing more of their resources on their other tefl course in china so maybe that is a bad sign. none of this will change the current employment situation in prague or anywhere else for that matter and native english speakers regardless of whether they hail from the british isles may still find it difficult to get work even with a visa. if you are looking for a european-like climate and infrastructure but don't actually require living in europe you could maybe consider working in montevideo in uruguay. you probably won't be working legally, however, at least not right away.

i understand your concern about not being able to find work in europe as i am facing the same circumstances. though you could try looking outside of the schengen zone, many of those countries either don't have strong esl markets or have significant visa hurdles of their own. as i am starting to think, perhaps it is a better idea to fold in the idea of teaching esl and instead return to school to become a nurse or computer programmer. those are careers that don't disappear during recessions and you could probably move anywhere you want once you develop a stable work history.

you could also try claiming an ancestry visa. some countries such as italy will allow you to base a claim back as far as four generations so long as other arcane conditions are met.
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're targeting 'resource-rich,' Sasha, better redirect your sights - teachers in the CR are eating Ramen Regularly by Necessity Cool
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