Job Discussion Forums

[GueroPaz]

Hopefully the moderators can allow this question.

This is the place to find discussion forums on ESL/EFL jobs in Mexico. But what forums will tell me a million things about the price of everything in Puertos Veracruz, Vallarta, or Madero? About retiree problems, general immigration info besides for teachers, health conditions, etc.?

I'm very seriously considering moving myself to the opposite side of the earth and have a thousand questions I can't even articulate.

Thanks.

[Dragonlady]

deleted

out of date

[MO39]

Try this one - it's mostly for people from North of the Border who've retired in Mexico:

www.mexconnect.com


The posters are very knowledgeable and helpful though you do have to pay a very reasonable fee to participate.

[GueroPaz]

Thanks. I did join MexConnect, and Viva Veracruz forums. That makes four forums I've joined to learn about teaching in Veracruz. I've been here on Dave's since 6 September, and have found out a lot, but not nearly enough to pack my bags and book a flight 11 time zones away. It seems that hardly any teachers here on Dave's have been to Veracruz except for the MexTesol conference. In fact, hardly any extranjeros or expatriates who are on the other forums, actually live in the port! Bizarrely, I have a near neighbor here in Thailand, who taught for years in Veracruz state!

Understandably, I'm reluctant to commit to a place I've never been except as a tourist (years ago, five nights in the puerto), a country where I've never taught English except on my front porch gratis, etc. The apostille system for my Thai TEFL certificate is three steps that could take months, but would be worth the hassle. The inmigracion process is also uncertain, as always.

Maybe I should stay in Thailand and make the best of it, without language skills. I don't have enough information to make an informed decision. Any suggestions?

[Samantha]

I want to mention that there are tons of foreigners living in Mexico who aren't on internet forums or even have home computers for that matter. And there are many not registered with their home country consular agencies either. But, whatever, only you can make the decision whether a move to Mexico is right for you. You at least know the country already so have that knowledge base to work from.

[MO39]

Besides the five days you spent in Vera Cruz, how much time have you spent in Mexico? How long ago was it? What things about this country appealed to you so much that you're thinking of pulling up stakes and moving here? I would imagine that with your teaching experience and teaching certificate you won't have trouble finding work in Vera Cruz or anywhere else in Mexico you may end up.

I can understand your reluctance to moving to Mexico from Thailand without the information that you need, but moves of this sort are partly "leaps of faith". You can do all the research you are able to on-line and elsewhere, but in the end, there has to be some intangible reason why you have been thinking about returning to Mexico and leaving Thailand behind.

[MELEE]

I'm not sure what sort of information you are looking for.

Is there work in Veracruz?
Yes.
If you want to do all private lessons it will take some time to build up a base of regular clients.

Are there foreigners living in Veracruz?
Yes.
I saw some and I was just going back and forth from the hotel and the conference center. Some were English teachers, some retirees. Some even had long hair. (Men, the women had short hair!)

Will a gay man be ostrasized?
Not any more likely than anywhere else in the world. You've mentioned numberous children, most people won't have a clue you're gay if you don't tell them.

Would you be able to own a motorcycle?
Yes.

Will you be able to live on your pension?
Yes.
Probably wouldn't need to teach if you didn't want to.

So, what's the problem? Book a flight and be closer to your children on both sides of the boarder.

[MO39]

Great advice for GueroPaz, Melee! Now I know where to go for objective, non-judgmental advice the next time I need some.

[GueroPaz]

Melee nailed all the basic concerns, sure enough. I mean, surely enough.

Now I have cold feet. Heck, it was 13 here this morning, and 20 in the puerto! I can stay here and make decent money illegally (without a work permit), roughly 8800 pesos per month, independiente.

MO39, I lived in Chiapas for most of 1999-2001, had a place on the beach and worked in Los Altos. I vacationed many times, 1965-1998, including the northeast region. Lots of things appealed to me, and at this point the advantages to Mexico over Thailand, as Melee has listed, are that I could work legally, and be closer to my kids in Brownsville, San Antonio, and Houston. As she points out, I also could live on my pension while building up my private lessons.

Leap of faith, indeed. Thanks for the comments. Now to get my darn TEFL certificate apostillicated. Or is that apostillized?

[MO39]

[GueroPaz]

I'm neither an apocalyptic apostle nor an apoplectic apostate, so I didn't know the word when it cropped up a year ago on a Thai website. The nice se�orita at the Mexican embassy (in English, with a Mexican accent) knew just what it was, and she told me all three lengthy steps to get it done. Apostilled, what a simple past form of a difficult verb.

To salvage this discussion, where's a good, online, free, English/Spanish dictionary? I've been trying to remember the term for gravel pit for over a year now. I've looked in two online sites, and neither had the word that's on the tip of my tongue. However, as my first training instructor taught us fledgling instructors, if you don't remember the word, it's not on the tip of your tongue!

[MO39]

Hi, it's me, your friendly on-line dictionary service. When I can't help, check out this website:

www.dictionary.reverso.net/spanish-english

It's the free on-line version of the wonderful Collins bilingual dictionary.

MO

[Phil_K]

[GueroPaz]

[MO39]

GP,

Try it this way:

http://dictionary.reverso.net//english-spanish

Regards,

MO