Job Discussion Forums

[lrgh]

If you teach in a foreign country, do you need to have an "official" US residence? I'm about to sell my condo and am looking into TOEFL, as living and working overseas has been a strong interest for years...but I am wary of purchasing another home that I might leave for years at a time; unwilling to pay rent on an apartment I would not be living in. What are some of the ways people maintain a "base" in the US while not actually living here? If you do not have a permanent US address, will potential employers think you are, well, flaky?

I do not have family members I could pretend to live with, though I suppose some friends would be willing to let me use their address as my "home". The other options I have considered include buying something small in a place with extremely cheap real estate (West Virginia is a possibility--according to online real estate listings there are houses that go for 20K!) and using it more as storage or buying where I would eventually want to live and then subleting or getting a roommate.

I would be very interested to hear how people handle this.

[Gordon]

Quite simply....No, you do not need an official US residence.

Many people of ALL nationalities live overseas for years and decades. For some countries, like Canada, having a residence in Canada means you would need to pay Canadian taxes. Really, the opposite is true as far as residency.

What do you mean, you are looking into TOEFL? TOEFL is an English test. You must mean TEFL, which is Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

[PAULH]

[Gregor]

It depends on what "must" means. :)
What I mean is, what are you trying to accomplish, and is there something that you need to maintain, as a resident of a particular city or state? Your passport gives you a home country, anyway. But a residential address? The US government likes to have one for you, but that is largely for tax purposes, really.
You don't have to maintain an address, and I can't think of any reason for prospective employers to think that you are flaky for not doing so. In fact, if you don't, that would show that you are less likely to run home with the first problem with culture shock or whatever.

One other issue that I want to bring up, though, is that of your "looking into" TESOL (NOT TOEFL, as has been pointed out already). Have you never done this for a living before? Can you do something else, or do you have a large savings, to support yourself abroad if the teaching gig doesn't work out? Have you ever lived abroad?
That last question emphasizes "lived" for a reason. Travelling abroad gives you almost no insight whatsoever to living abroad. It IS exotic and glamourous and cool, but it is NOT for everyone; not even everyone who thinks that it WOULD be exotic and glamourous and cool. The realities are hard for a lot of people to take, and (sorry to say this, but) the older you are, the more difficult it will be (generally speaking) to make the adjustment.
Don't answer this question, but think about it - how old ARE you? If you are in your 20s (which I doubt, as you seem to own a condo), you might be fine. In your 30s? If so, think carefully about what kind of person you are, and how well you deal with change in your life, and how well you cope with surprises. In your 40s? Same as above, but REALLY be honest with yourself.
I've known a LOT of people in their 30s and 40s who have had an attitude similar to what you seem to be expressing. Most of them in the middle age brackets (30s to 40s) have had trouble (retired folks seem to be utterly immune to this sort of thing for some reason). Those who chucked it all to live abroad found themselves to be in a VERY bad position - unable or unwilling to make the necessary adjustments to living in a foreign culture but unable to go home because - HEY! - they don't HAVE one anymore.
If you really know yourself well, and you can handle this sort of thing, then great. Go for it. But be BRUTALLY honest with yourself. If you are not absolutely sure, then keep the condo for a year or so, and just rent it out. If you find out that you were right and you want to be an ex-pat, great, sell the condo. You don't need a residential address in the US (especially if you don't have any intention of going back there to live).
If it doesn't work out, however, you are safe. And there is NOTHING wrong with playing it safe, with this size of a lifestyle change.
My two bits' worth.
PS - By the way, for what it's worth, I was 31 when I took my first TESOL job, and I never looked back. But it wasn't a matter of chucking it all first; I had nothing to chuck. It was difficult to adjust, but as I had never adjusted to adulthood in the U.S. it wasn't a serious issue. I am now 40 and still pinch myself when I think of how great my life is as an ex-pat. It's like living in a post-card to me, but I took a few years to make my peace with it. Just FYI.

[mlomker]

The only consideration that comes to mind is credit cards and other financial statements. The credit card companies often will not reissue your card if you have a foreign address--their ability to hunt you down and get their money back is a lot more difficult if you aren't in the country. I'd say either use a friend to forward things to you or find a remailing service that has a regular-looking street address rather than a post-office box.

If you have some savings (maybe some nice capital appreciation on the condo) then go and don't worry about it. The cost of living is really low and from what I've gathered you can get by on $5-600 US/month even if you don't work at all.

I know the one poster comments about older people having adjustment problems and I believe him. I'm personally 33 and will be 35-36 before I bolt to China because I'm saving money, learning Mandarin, and making plans. I think the people that get into trouble overseas are the ones that come on a shoestring budget and every little problem is life-or-death.

I'm planning to spend my first year there as a college student, studying Mandarin (X-Visa that'll give me plenty of time to get acclimated and network to find the better employers).

[lrgh]

Thanks to everyone who has replied, many useful points have been made. And sorry for the confusion between TEFL and TEFOL and TESOL and....I actually have many foreign friends and am actually more familiar with TEFOL, I guess I thought it was the same concept, just there were students and teachers....

And I didn't mean to sound quite so naive in my initial posting, I realized that many people live in other countries all over the world....I'm just a little concerned about things like passports, driving licenses, etc that have your address on them....if you don't have an address, what happens? Realistically I know when I show my passport they don't go and verify to see if I live at that address, but what "legally" are you supposed to do?

Touching on some other issues, and giving a little background. I've already sold my condo, I was offered 117K froma neighbor, I paid 50K three years ago. Yeah, I live in the urban northeast:) I could easily buy a condo in the southwest (my planned destination) with a comfortable sum of money left over. Or I could keep the money in the bank until I know exactly what I want to do--I have some flexibility here. My experience is that real estate is a good investment, though I've also only owned properties in the northeast. I'm not looking into this as a way to make/save money, but rather a way to do some travelling/explore other cultures in a fairly self supporting way, dipping into my own savings as little as possible. I would ideally teach English abroad for five-ten years.

I was an English major in college and have mostly had low level publishing jobs, editing, writing, proof reading. I did, however, teach ESL as a volunteer for three years and have also done literacy volunteering. I definitely prefered the ESL, and loved teaching. I love (in general) interacting with people from other cultures and sharing different experiences/opinions, and I loved the enthusiasm of the students. I have a lifelong love of language in general. I seriously considered persuing ESL teaching at that time though most of the volunteers I knew who also taught as their career seemed frustrated by their work for various reasons.

I will be 43 this week. But seriously, no one who knows me has ever questioned my flexibility:) I grew up in a trailer park in the woods in rural NH and learned early to be flexible and resourceful--I can get by on little money and thrive on change. I'm one of those people who in a restaurant will order the dish they never had before. Despite my confusion over the acronym, I really have been "looking into" TEFL since before my move to RI and I sincerely think I'd be suited for the lifestyle.

One caveat. I'm a type I diabetic. This hasn't kept me from doing much else in my life, I'm otherwise pretty healthy and only missed one day of work in the past two and a half years--but has anyone any experience with chronic illness and living abroad?

[tedkarma]

Don't worry about your age. I would almost give the opposite argument - that people with more life experience (read older) may be more likely to adapt well. I certainly know many people who in their 40s and 50s headed overseas - and quite successfully. Lots of young people go overseas - but they don't usually stay. The older folks come - and stay. Just my opinion! (and experience)

You already know you don't need a USA address. You will need to continue to file your taxes - however - but you'll find that your state won't mind sending the forms overseas. And don't worry about the IRS - they'd track you down even if you were sitting in a prison in Burma . . .

I keep a USA address - just for a few credit cards - and a brokerage account - but even most of them are flexible nowadays.

Contrary to popular opinion though - I would hire a management company to handle your property if you intend to rent it out while you are gone. It is a business that will earn you income - let professionals handle it. Less trouble in the long run - and you won't be a burden on your family. I have several income properties in Arizona - and would never want my family to have to deal with it. If you are old enough to live and work overseas - be old enough to not have your affairs be the responsibility of anyone else but you.

[tedkarma]

Sorry for the double posting - but I wanted also to respond to your question about health issues. You'll find many people over 50 live with some sort of chronic problem. And depending on where you want to go to work - you might be surprised by the quality and low cost of the health care. But check it out. I will retire on Phuket eventually - but I know the hospitals and level of care there - is excellent. Korea - forget it! Filthy hospitals with indifferent nursing staff (and that's on a good day!). Just as an aside - I had a very good friend end up in the hospital in Korea with a serious back problem. The hospital was filthy - not even toilet paper or soap in the bathrooms - the nurses turned their nose up at emptying his bedpan - at times even refused!

For health issues - you might find it best to live in major cities - or major tourist areas (both frequently have the best of health care). But do ask about specific countries and cities.

Come on out - the water's warm!