Job Discussion Forums

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

A philosophical point about the free housing in the Gulf: Most teachers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE seem to be telling us "Oh, this is the best place in the world to work because you get free housing, free housing, where else can you get free housing!"

I am not a certified K-12 teacher, but I know that in Houston, the average salary for all K-12 public school teachers is $45,000 or thereabouts. Since the median single-family house price in Houston is somewhere around $140,000, most people at that income level own their own house, either outright or with a mortgage. Statistics show that 40% of homeowners in the US own their homes outright. That means many, many schoolteachers have, in effect, free housing in their home country. More than likely, they have dual incomes as well. And they get to pass on the Middle East.

Certainly, you have to pay taxes at home, but at least some of those taxes go into the social security system, even in the US--where income taxes are reasonable compared to the rest of the Western world. I think the most unfortunate of teachers are those like me, neither K-12-certified nor professors with PhDs. We are the ones who must live in the Gulf or Libya or someplace to make any money. Well--with some rare exceptions. (I will shortly leave the ME for what I'll call an undisclosed location for the moment, for a job that gives me among other benefits a rotation of 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off year-round, and all I will add to that is: I love the smell of crude oil in the morning. It smells like...my salary!)

Anyway, back to my topic, all this is not to mention university professors, who earn far more on average back in the US than school teachers. Therefore I think the blanket assertions that you simply can't get a better deal in teaching than the Gulf because of the free housing is debatable at best, or at least more relevant to people who have not been in the work force very long.

Do K-12 people earn similar salaries to Houston in UK/AUS/NZ etc? I would be curious to know. What percentage, give or take, of such people own their own homes outright?

Cleopatra · Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:18 am Post subject:

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

A long time ago when I looked into going into K-12 in Virginia, I was NEVER gonna be able to buy a house on my own - it would seriously have taken a two-salary family to swing it. One reason I never got a certification to teach after graduating with a BEd, but went into corporate stuff instead. However, that's seriously dated info: decades old, in fact. I hope things are different now.

So, globalnomad, are you heading for the lovely, not-so-tropical island of Sakhalin, Very Happy

perhaps? Or maybe the lovely sands of the Angolan coast. If so, I'll give you some useful contacts.

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

edited...where is the delete button?

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

Cleo's last point about renting out your house is quite true, and something I've also enjoyed. But on these threads I have seen people say you can't find a deal like the Gulf anywhere else. It's an opinion I can respect but find interesting to debate. I am also curious about K-12 salaries in other English-speaking countries.

Sahkalin? Nope Smile

Angola? Nope Smile

Thanks for the offer of contacts, anyway.

miski · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 298 Location: Kuwait

A tax free salary and free accom. in the Gulf enabled me to travel , enjoy and buy a house in the UK , paid for over 10 years. A relative wh has just started teaching in the UK last year,could only afford a one bedroom flat......with a hefty mortgage + the student loans that have to be paid off too.

Take the Gulf anytime- no taxes, sunshine, savings, travel and meeting people from all over the world that you would never meet in Texas.....

Cleopatra · Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:32 am Post subject:

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

If you and your wife are working back home, but only one of you is in the Gulf, then back home wins.

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

Houston does have large immigrant populations; there are even East Asian malls...all for more diversity than Stetson-wearing walking stereotypes. I mentioned the median home prices in Houston because the homes are very affordable there for a large city. The Gulf does provide those who are more or less starting out financially (in teaching) to get ahead; I don't dispute that. Japan and Malaysia (World Bank-funded project) did that for me, but those days are over for those places.

Not to condescend but Europeans crave sunshine more than Americans; one need only experience one normal Euro-summer to know what that means. Although rainfall in inches is similar in the US, it comes in buckets in between sunny days...so Americans generally do not worship the sun as much as Europeans do, nor do they crave the 115-degree heat with 80% humidity of the Gulf.

Van Norden · Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 409

It's like any deal that offers "free" this or that (be it company car, t-shirt, coffee mug, etc: ) you look at the whole package and then compare it to other deals. I don't wet my pants because I'm getting "free" housing. I just look at the bottom line: Net income and savings potential. Of course, free housing contributes to this, but it's not an end in itself.

The Hong Kong NET scheme (one of the best tefl gigs in the world) is a case in point. It doesn't provide "free" housing, but the overall package is miles ahead of nearly anything on offer in the Gulf. You'd (or, should I say I'd Very Happy

) take it above 95% of the jobs on offer here.

Reluctantly, I have to agree with Cleo: gn2's point about about high school teachers getting "free" housing is very odd indeed. He obviously didn't think that one through! I would add, though, that whether or not you own your own home isn't especially relevant to this discussion. Free housing in the Gulf benefits homeowners and non-homeowners equally.

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

It's not that odd because not everyone will necessarily rent out their house. And it is a factor: If you are not paying a mortgage or rent at home, is it in fact worth it to work in the Gulf Middle East just for a little extra cash? That's what I mean by "free housing at home" and I don't see how it's an illogical point.

Van Norden · Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 409

No gn2, it's irrelevant. The benefit is the same. I don't own any property and I'm not paying rent either. It's not an issue.

I also get 'rent,' but it doesn't come from tenants.

It's just as "worth it" for me as it is for someone with their own pile of bricks.

Van Norden · Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 409

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

I did not say the financial benefits were not the same for everyone. My clear implication is that the benefits of teaching in the Gulf are more important to me if I am trying to pay off a mortgage at home and less important to me if I don't have to pay off a mortgage...therefore I would be less likely to pursue a Middle East job (assuming I am gainfully employed at home) if my home in the US has been paid off.

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

OK Van--I just saw your last post...we agree on this.

Furthermore, if I have paid off my house as quickly as possible and thus minimized the interest payments, I have in essence made the payments to myself, now I own the house, so in that sense it is actually "free housing." Not completely...but in some sense it is.