Job Discussion Forums

[FoxandMe]

After wanting to travel to South America for some time, I recently decided to alter my plans a bit and move to Mexico. I have a dog and have found that staying within the continent is infinitely easier when traveling with a dog. I would like to teach English and possibly help out on a local farm every so often on weekends. I have some experience as an ESL tutor, a B.A. in liberal arts, experience working with kids. I currently work as director of a youth program. I speak a little Spanish, and study privately in a program now. I'm 23.

I have read alot of the postings, and they have helped me quite a bit. Now I need particular advice on things I haven't found postings on.

I realize that most teaching opportunities can be found in larger cities, but I'd much prefer to live and work in a smaller town, maybe in the middle of a rural area. I'd like to be in an area with not too many expats and retirees. I would prefer working with junior high or high school students.
I am thinking about going early in 2007, say around January or February. Is this a good time to find work and to move there? What towns or area of the country might I want to look into? Where might I find work and the kind of place I'm looking for?

Thanks.

[cwc]

I suggest you quit thinking about it and do it. The longer you wait the harder it is. I sold everything and came on a small boat.

[ls650]

[FoxandMe]

I realize that it's a ways off and things could change for me, but there are other things I'd like to do and have wanted to do for awhile. I will be leaving my job in June 2006. I won't leave sooner because it's a good situation for me and I want save up more money.

I had read that February/March is the best time to look for teaching jobs, though that might have been more for Spain and/or South America but I took it in the same vein for Mexico. So I figured, if that's the case, I wouldn't go until the beginning of the following year. Does timing matter? Is July, August, September as good as any time?

Come on, people. Talk to me.

[Cdaniels]

[Guy Courchesne]

Maybe a town like Jujutla or Cuatla...both in Morelos, would interest you? Close to Cuernavaca, yet small and close to farming areas.

[ls650]

One of our local teachers also volunteers time on the weekends with an NGO. That includes going into rural communities to help out farmers. The employer thinks its great.

[MELEE]

Okay,

If you want to work with Jr. High or High School students, you can probably find a town you want to live in and pick up some hours at a local school---but you will be very hard pressed to make a living. If, as a young person with few expenses, you can save up a nice bit of money, say 5,000 US dollars, between now and then, you could move to Mexico, set up house and probably find enough to work to cover your day to day expenses as small town living is pretty cheap. You'd need your savings for any big purchases (like a bike to get you around town), and to get you back home when you're ready to leave.

You really have to think about what kind of experience you want to have. What kind of agriculture are you interested in? Traditional? Industrial? Alternative? if its the last one take a look at this page it might be a better stratedgy to meet someone involved in farming and establish a relationship--rural Mexicans can be suspicious of outsiders--between now and then, then you will have a place to go where you can live like you want, and there you could look to teach English either in a local school or giving private lessons.
Of course, I don't know what kind of visa you'd get for this, but I do know a couple of Americans who have been living illegally in small town Mexico for a number of years--the immigration offices are all in big cities. It's a risk they take, but for them its worth it, for many it wouldn't be.

[FoxandMe]

Everyone's comments help me out quite a bit. The farming on the side is just a thought, nothing that would be a deciding factor for me in where I live or what I do in Mexico. I guess that I'm just beginning to research these things and figure out when I want to go, where I want to go, how it'll work out.

When is a good time to go?
Advice on researching the different parts of Mexico and where a good place to live might by? Small towns with schools? And I would like to support myself with full-time or close to full-time work. I can go down there with some money to get myself started, but definitely not the suggest $5,000. Maybe $2,000.

I know next to nothing about Mexico and its states and towns.

[ls650]

[FoxandMe]

Thanks for the response, Is650. I'm glad that you can help me out with this question, even if you don't appreciate my other.

Others have said what you said, and it makes sense. I'm just a little worried about doing it that way. I definitely don't want to commit myself to a place and school I know little about, but I'm a little tentative about travelling through Mexico with my dog and so-so Spanish.

If I did go that route, what should I do to prepare for travelling through the country? Where should I start? Should I be concerned about safety? What kind of reception should I expect as a white, American boy and his dog bumming around in Mexico? The more I think about it, just throwing myself into travel sounds very exciting and romantic and like a great experience. I'm absolutely looking for adventure. Not to get too far off topic but I'm planning on hiking some, if not all, of the Appalachian Trail and then living on a communal farm down south for awhile next year. I wanted to travel in the country a bit more before heading to another country to live. I just don't know if I'm emotionally prepared for that kind of independence quite yet. Well, if anyone's still reading this long response, thank you.

Ok, I'll end with a question... Who went the route of just bumming around in Mexico and seeing what was out there before commiting to a town and job? What was it like? How much did it cost? Where'd you start? How'd you get around?

[cwc]

I came here on a small sailboat. I went to the Caribe and wound up in Merida. I can show you several places where you can buy a half acre of jungle for 500 USD. The poeple in the Yucatan are very friendly. I have built two small but comfortable houses for 3000 USD each. A high rent in the small towns is 40 USD. I am very well thought of, and can send you in with some goodwill. You can live reasonably well on 75 USD a week. Your dog will need a certificate of health issued not more than two weeks before arrival. Your immigration paperwork is about 125 USD annually. If you want to lay back under the palms, I know the place. By the way, the soil is excellent. We are a big citrus producer and they always need workers. Now that I have two kids, I had to move out of the jungle to Campeche. There are places to live here for 200 USD monthly.
If you want to, you can go straight to work making a lot of money at my school. It is a lot more expensive to travel. You will be travelling on the bus and they won�t let your dog go. I have done it both ways and it is better to find a spot and explore from a base.

[Guy Courchesne]

You said you were in Cd. del Carmen, right? What�s the cost-of-living like there? My brother-in-law is moving there next week to work with Pemex...

[cwc]

It is very expensive. My rent is 8000 pesos. The other life essientials are about 50% higher than in Merida. A lot of people live in Merida and commute for their time �on the water�. Is he going to work on the platforms or is he going to be land-based? My neighbor rents nice studio apts. for 2500 pesos monthly. She is very picky about who she rents to. She doesn�t advertise or a million people would fight for these places. There is excellent security and family ambience. We live in an exclusive area. Living in a boomtown has been good to me. I, like your brother will be, am insulated from the down-side by money. I live 300 meters from the beach. It is not the Caribe, but it is nice.

[Guy Courchesne]

My cu�ado is going to be helicoptered back and forth to rigs, Cd. de Carmen, and somewhere in Veracruz. The company is putting him in a hotel...