Job Discussion Forums

[silverdolls]

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[Dedicated]

Sadie bear,

I'm based in the north of England, where the cost of living and housing is markedly cheaper than in the south east or west, but still expensive. The average house price in the North East is about �175,000, in Devon and Cornwall even more.

You don't state what type of post your husband is seeking, but presumably in the TEFL field ?? Are his qualifications British? If he only has a BA, he is not going to be hired by a university, who require a minimum of an MA, so that would mean language school work. Generally, this is very poorly paid (about �12 an hour maximum). If he wants to teach in a state school he will need to get TQS.

If he has a good job in Canada, I would hang on to it. If you can give me more details of his background etc., then I'll try to be more specific.

[silverdolls]

[silverdolls]

Forgot to say that I'm British and also Canadian (mostly british). I'm hoping to find a Language/College sch. that offers an ongoing job for me in England in the West/North. 175,000 pounds for a house is still pretty cheap compare here in Vancouver, Canada- for that price (350,000), you can only buy a condominium or an apartment. We'd been looking for some properties thru the net in the north/west of Eng. and the properties starts at 120,000 pounds but what do we know, u're from the north so u might know better.

[BS.Dos.]

I'd say South West, partly as that's my neck of the woods, but also as I think you're employment opportunities will be higher.

There are loads of language schools dotted around the South coast (Bournemouth, Dorset etc) that extend down to South Devon, especially around the Torbay area where I was born. They handle mostly seasonal students (French mainly) but are operational all year round. I received a few application forms myself before changing my mind and opting for South Korea instead.

Additionally, there's a thriving and growing foreigner community in the Plymouth area, (gained my TESOL there in June) which may also prove fruitful and there are also a good number of private language schools in the area that operate all year round.

I wouldn't say that there is much in the way of prospects once you head over the Tamar bridge and into Cornwall though. I lived in Looe, Cornwall for 2-years (family are still there) and while you couldn't ask for a more idyllic part of the country to live in, you need to remember that Cornwall is one of the most economically deprived areas in Europe. Having said that, there is a large number of migrant workers down there (seasonal mostly) so it may be that there is the opportunity of getting some work through the council etc who may lay on English classes. Probably not what you had in mind but there you go.

The other thing about choosing to locate in the South West, is the easy links up to London, the South East (where a significant of foreigners are located) and also the M4 corridor, with growing populations of Polish and European communities etc to be found in all the satellite towns (Trowbridge, Swindon, Reading, Basingstoke etc) that are located near it.

The cost of living in the UK is pretty uniform now regardless of where you live, so that shouldn't influence your decision. Ultimately, I think you'd stand a better chance of using your existing teaching skills in the SW. Sorry I can't be any more specific about pay etc, but I don't imagine it would anything other than average.

[Dudess]

Yep, it's a tricky one - Devon is a lovely place to raise a family and to teach in Language Schools, but there's only 2 Universities and not many colleges, so for that reason Manchester/Lancashire might be more appropriate. There are lots of international schools in the UK now so I'd attach yourself to a good uni to do your MA/M.Ed and stay away from language schools.....especially if you're looking to gain QTS.

[Dedicated]

Sadiebear,

Universities are just starting to advertise work on the INTO and summer pre-sessional courses (check out jobs.ac.uk regularly) and some of them may accept you with your qualifications and experience. These start in June through to September, and pay about �28 upwards an hour with subsidised on campus accommodation. Try Sheffield and Leicester, which have several universities in each town, and are reasonably cheap to live in.

This might give you the chance to test the water, and see the cost of property, which is much higher in the south. Also you would get your foot in the door. Please PM me if you want two contact e-mail addresses for Sheffield and Leicester pre-sessionals.