Job Discussion Forums

civi1968 · Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 16 Location: altoona

I am considering getting a CELTA and retiring from my job in a few years at the age of 40. I have a bachelor's degree in Sociology. I have vacationed in the FSU 4 times and am learning russian. I would like to pursue a long-term career in ESL. So, I am more interested in a permanent change in career and place to live than in a temporary assignment. Since I have savings, and will receive a government pension when I am 50 years old plus a military pension and healthcare at age 60, I have finances to fall back if I choose this career. Here are a few questions.

1. Is this the type of career where you can retire from your old career, sell your home, and not come back to the US for a few years?
2. Can employment be found year round in russia or just fall/spring?
3. Can medications be found in most cities or just St. Pete/Moscow? (I take zoloft and will go through withdrawal if I miss a dose)
4. What would the social life be like when I am 40? How about dating opportunities? (I am not entering this career to marry a russian woman and bring her back to the US)
mike

expatella_girl · Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 5:53 pm Post subject:

1. I think absolutely yes.
2. year round. I think that teaching Enlish in Russia can be very lucrative depending on experience and location. I know several teachers giving private lessons who regularly turn students away. (in Moscow) There is a tremendous demand for English here.
3. I don't have any special knowledge of Zoloft in particular, but most all western meds can be found here, without a prescription, at a fraction of their western cost.
4. No problems with social life, especially if you speak a bit of Russian. Russians are very social people. Sometimes gloomy and unfriendly on the outside but very sociable on the inside.

Of all the many posts I've seen here and on other websites, you sound extremely squared away. I think coming to Russia to teach may be a very good move for you. Plus you have some income in the west to fall back on if you should wake up in Murmansk one morning and change your mind. Go for it.

civi1968 · Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 16 Location: altoona

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I have been thinking about this for a while and believe that planning ahead increases my chances of success. I can either do the same work/routine for the next 12 years or take a chance on doing something different.
Studying Russian can be challenging, especially knowing when to change the word endings!(adjectives, gender, etc)

expatella_girl · Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:20 am Post subject:

Oi, I'm such a futz, I hope your attempts to learn Russian are better than mine have been. After several years here and 1 full year of Russian lessons I can now string 2 words together in a row. I have all but given up on speaking any kind of decent Russian.

However on the up side, I can understand a lot of what people say, I just can't stutter out a reply. I surrender. Russian baffles me completely.

canucktechie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 343 Location: Moscow

I did pretty much the same thing as you and I'm about the same age, and I had a great time, although I found Moscow very tiring.

Re social life. EFL teachers in Moscow socialize with each other a lot, one reason being that they don't make enough money to participate in the "real" expat scene. You will make Russian friends too.

There a lots of women EFL teachers whom you can date, although I must say that almost all of them over 30 seem to be smokers which puts me off them Crying or Very sad

. Too bad as they are great women by and large.

There are also Russian women of course. Be advised that Moscow is the worst place in Russia to meet women, but it still has lots of opportunities. Any Russian woman you meet is likely to be interested either in your money or in getting married. Laughing

civi1968 · Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 16 Location: altoona

I have heard that in Moscow it is much harder to date. When you say it still has opportunities, do you mean that it is not hard to meet women but just hard to meet good ones?
I am in no hurry to get married and am a "date for a year or two before marriage" kind of guy. Also, I have experienced the women wanting you for the money thing. But I have traveled there enough to know that women should not be the only reason to enjoy living in russia.
Learning russian seems to be the real challenge in getting the most out of living there. I guess I will see the further along I get with studying. It seems that mostly everyone on this site feels that teaching in russia is a good experience. Knowing the living conditions, that says a lot.

canucktechie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 343 Location: Moscow

The main issue is that Moscow has by far the largest selection of "quality" men, both foreign and expat, of any place in Russia. So a good looking woman who can speak English has a good chance of landing a "real" expat man who can spend a lot of money on her, rather than an EFL teacher who is just getting by. If I sound just a bit cynical, well that's what Moscow does to you.

That said I met another teacher who was engaged to one of his students, and I roomed with another teacher who had a Russian girlfriend, so sure you can meet women in Moscow. It's just that you won't be fighting them off with a stick like you would in much of the rest of Russia, where any man who is steadily employed and isn't an alcoholic or wifebeater is considered a prize.
Wink

anubistaima · Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 110 Location: Thailand

You can get Zoloft at any pharmacy without a prescription. It costs U$34 for a month supply.

zedington · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 10

joe-joe · Joined: 15 Oct 2003 Posts: 100 Location: Baku, Azerbaijan

A very good point zedington Very Happy

My ex in Baku certainly wasn't after my money; her father is a colonel in the local police, and they had more money and a lifestyle which I could never provide, or hope for, (well unless I'd married her). Ain't corruption a wonderful thing......(NOT)

civi1968 · Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 16 Location: altoona

Thanks for the replies. I just found out that zoloft will be going generic early next year so hopefully, russia will receive the generic version and it will be even less. mike

canucktechie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 343 Location: Moscow

civi1968 · Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 16 Location: altoona

And where do you think St. Petersburg and Kiev fit into the continuum of cities to meet women?

canucktechie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 343 Location: Moscow

At the risk of sounding crass, take a look at the "mail-order bride" websites and see where the women are from. Most are from provincial cities in Russia and Ukraine.

I would put St. Pete and Kiev in between the two extremes.

There seem to be some people who would attack anyone who plans to live in Russia or Ukraine and get to know a local woman as some kind of "sex tourist". There are certainly men living here who are just interested in having fun with babes they could never get at home, but there are a lot who are married or in serious relationships. They respect the local women and the women respect them.

civi1968 · Joined: 11 Nov 2005 Posts: 16 Location: altoona

It is only natural if a man is single to want to date women. Why go to another country and expect to be alone?
I am sure if someone who wanted to teach english in another country was told, "No one will be interested in you and you will spend your free time by yourself" they would not want to go. I surely wouldn't.
I see ESL as different than the MOB dating scene. In MOB, men are spending thousands of dollars and marrying a Russian woman who they hardly know. If you teach in Russia, at least the dating can be more natural and two people are not in a situation where the woman has to be with the man to get to the US. Of course, some women can still have ulterior motives in dating an american english teacher.
Also, why go to another country to teach english unless there is a new cultural or social experience? For most people, socializing revolves around dating.