Job Discussion Forums

[IreneM]

hola!

im currently teaching in costa rica, yet thinking of moving to spain. my mother is from greece and i think i qualify for the european passport so id like to try to get that.

just a few questions if someone could please help me out...

whats te cost of living there like? around how much do teachers make? how much are apartments? and how do you like it there??

any help would be appreciated!
gracias!

irene


feel free to write me here or at
[email protected]

[MAP Magazine]

Hi Irene!

Let me see if I can help.

[Kingbee]

A pack of cigarettes for 2,35 Euros?

They were 4,00 Euros in Germany!!

With prices THAT low I'll be up to 2 packs per day in no time:)

[MAP Magazine]

Right, cigarettes are still cheap in Spain. However, food for example is more expensive that in the States (except for olive oil!)

[IreneM]

pack of cigs in nicaragua : 90 cents
costa rica and panama: $1

i just got back to new york and its about $7 a pack!

muchas gracias for the info! i was hoping to be on the coast, can you recomend coastal cities? hows barcelona?

looks like the paper work for obtaining a european passport should take a month or 2 (i was born in the us but my parents are greek)... so im spending time with my fam for now before bouncing out there sometime in the next couple months. do language schools there enroll on going?

in costa rica i was teaching for inlingua, a company that teaches advance business english to companies in most major cities around the world. have you heard of it?can you recomend any language schools?

sorry so many questions!!

pura vida

irene

[wildchild]

[SpainExpat]

Yeah, smokes are dirt cheap here, it's great. Try to find Nobel brand if possible, otherwise stick to American brands. Some of the Spanish ones leave you feeling nasty in the morning...

[Chitchat]

Rentals 1-2 bed apt approx 500 euros a month upwards.
shared you can pay about 350-400 for a room in apt in Costa del sol area.

Food 1 chicken 3.00 euros
bottle of vino 1 + euros
shoes from 30 euros
can of coke 60 supermarket 1.50 shops
meal of the day menu 10 euros upwards
beer in pub 2.50 normally 4+ euros for media

inlingua Marbella pays 11.00 euros an hour other language schools pay from 8 euros-10 euros an hour. No sick pay, no holiday pay.
Contracts are also only for 9 months

There are a lot of native English teachers in Spain coming from the U.K that are over qualified with PGCE, CELTA and TEFL Trinity if you have this you can find work easily. If not you will end up in a school that�s not exactly the real deal, there are many schools on the Costa del sol that exploits the English teacher and this is why you can be sacked without warning.

Teachers hang on for dear life to keep their job, because like in other countries in the EU there isn�t a lot of work about. So maybe you are the teacher of the month, but next month you are not and there are about 10 new expats coming onto the Costa, every month with a CELTA, PGCE looking for the dream life of living in the sun.

Fact most teachers end up doing bar/ cafe work for 3 euros an hour!!!

[b harmon]

Hi Chitchat,

I�ve been to the Costas Sol for the beach, the sun, non stop parties but teaching I know absolutely "nada" about it in the Costas. So you must be right about the teaching conditions over there. But again that's the Costas and wages are different in Madrid and even in BCN.

I live in Madrid and I've been an English teacher all the time I've been here and that's close to 2 years now.

While there are "academias" in Madrid paying 10-11 euros/hour, the norm is around 14-18 euros an hour, EU or non EU citizen. I'm American and the rates they currently offer hasn't really changed - they still have a pay scale from where they base the rate to offer a new or experienced teacher, EU or non EU. I don't see any euros added on the offer just because I now have my NIE (residency/work permit) !

I get paid between 16-18 euros an hour, depending on the school, the course to teach, where I have to go, etc, etc.

Madrid will always have better salaries but again it is also more expensive here. My 2 cents ... if you are looking to make on average 1100 - 1200 on a 12 month spread, then it has to be Madrid.

Some teachers make more, especially the ones who have private students combined with Business English courses from big academies but it's better to stay on the conservative side and say 1100 - 1200 a month because although there is work during the summer months, you might not want to do it, especially if you're not into summer camp work or immersion courses (immersions can be 6 - 8 hours a day!) in August!

I'm doing one of those, at least I teach in rooms with full blast a/c so you get a little break from the August heat. �Suerte !

Brian