Job Discussion Forums

[MrsMonkey]

I know this is one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions but:
How long have people (with good CVs, experience etc) had to support themselves on savings for before finding enough teaching work to live on in either Rome or Florence?

I've accepted I actually have to move out there and probably live in a youth hostel for a while before securing a job, I'm just a bit scared about how much of my savings I'd have to blow in the wait.

Thanks

[Teacher in Rome]

I came to Rome with a job and regular salary already sorted, which made it all much easier to do the paperwork, get a flat, and so on. I also had savings so I could move into my own flat asap, rather than have to flat-share (I should say I'm part of a couple). But count on these costs:

- if you get a rented flat through an agency, you'll be paying 4 months rent upfront: two months as deposit, one month to the agency, and one month's rent in advance. Count on this being at least �4000 for a one-bed flat in a semi-central location.

(Obviously, you might prefer to flat-share, so you wouldn't have these costs to save for.)

- Count on spending �100 per week on food, going out, mobile phone recharge and so on.

- If you're in shared accommodation, you'll have bills on top. Gas / water / electricity aren't normally too prohibitively expensive, but you might also have service charges for heating if you're in a condominium. You can probably expect another �100 per month for these.

- Buses / trams / metro are �1 per journey. Taxis are more expensive, but there's a relatively frequent night bus service.

- Rent - the biggest bill. From 2001 to 2005 we paid �750 for a one-bed flat in a semi-central area. This was a huge bargain, and as we left, the rent went up another �200. Expect to pay at least �500 in rent for a flatshare.

And there you have it - �1000 each month for a relatively OK standard of living, before you buy clothes, go away on holiday, or save anything. From what I've seen since I left Rome, the cost of living hasn't gone down, and salaries haven't risen much either.

Hope this helps.

[MrsMonkey]

Yes, it helps a great deal thank you!

Out of curiosity, with whom had you sorted a job before you went? I'm having a lot of trouble at the moment - people want to recruit me at about two-days' notice, which would be fine if I wasn't in England, and nobody seems to recruit in advance except Berlitz, who have nothing.

Thanks again

[Teacher in Rome]

The company I worked for no longer do any sort of language training. I found out about them via tefl dot com, then went over and had an interview. It was much more a materials dev job than teaching, but I don't know of any reputable schools that employ sight unseen. In any case, it's in your interests to go and meet them, make a personal connection, find out what sort of facilities they have - the sort of thing you can't really do remotely.

[Shana Martz]

I agree with the advice to make a trip to Italy and secure your job BEFORE making the move.

If you want to teach English in Italy's larger cities