Job Discussion Forums

[Truscifi]

My hubby and I have a 5 year old son. We want him to have a global perspective, and thought living abroad for a while would help with that, and were considering teaching English as a way to make that happen. I would be the teacher (hubby's not very patient). I have a BA in Political Science and I currently tutor Chinese students in conversational English over the internet with Idapted/EQEnglish, but I don't have a certification. So, my questions are:

Is it practical to try to take this on with a family?
If so where would be the safest and most family friendly places to look for work?
Is the certification necessary, and if so which one? Money is an issue and some of the programs I've looked at are very expensive.

We would be interested in Asia or Central America/Caribbean, basically anywhere with a nice coast.

Thanks for any input,
Tru

[Truscifi]

We currently live on one income, which is why money is an issue. We are good at living within our means and still having most things we want, and we could afford the cost of the certification if we decide we really want to move. Unfortunately there are no CELTA sites in our area (not even in our state!)

I homeschool my son, and if we did this we would switch - hubby would homeschool while I went to work. I have heard that some jobs offer furnished apartments, but I would assume those are generally for 1 person. We are willing, and would even prefer, to go to smaller cities or even to more out of the way locations - I thought perhaps the cost of living would be more manageable that way. If homeschooling is not an option, we will probably not make the attempt to live abroad at this point.

Does that change your assessment any?

Tru

[mlomker]

[naturegirl321]

Distance study also might be an option.

As for visas, the majority of countries will probably let your spouse and children come with you. I can't think of any that wouldn't. The BIG problem would be if your spouse cuold work or not. Some places allow PT work, or privates, but some are strict and allow NO work.

While you manage now, living in another country, where you don't speak the language, can't bargain and don't know where to shop makes for more expenses.

Asian jobs and those in the Middle East, offer housing, but for the ME, you need a couple years expderience.

If you were willing to fall back on savings, it could work.

[denise]

With minimal qualifications (a BA + whatever TEFL course you decide on), you can really only get entry-level jobs, and it'd be hard to support a family that way. If you were qualified teachers--or even if one of you was (either asubject-matter teacher with credentials or an EFL teacher with an MA), I'd suggest that you come on over here to Oman, where it is quite common for expat families to raise their children. Housing is provided and there are plenty of international schools. Since that's not the case, though, I'm one of those people that mlomker mentioned who will try to dissuade you from your plan. I'm sure you've put a lot of thought into it, but it would take a lot of time and money to get properly qualified.

d

[spiral78]

Actually, with newbie-level qualifications, a spouse and child will probably NOT be easily able to get a visa in most of the Central/Eastern European countries that are open to North Americans (noting the OP is from Florida).

At higher levels, people get jobs with international schools, universities, or state schools that are able to provide visa support. Private language schools, that hire newbies, are not as able/willing to support visa applications (they are time-consuming and expensive) and would not be very likely to go thru the process for a non-working spouse.

[Truscifi]

Thanks for all the feedback. It sounds like an MA is in order to be able to get a good enough job to support the family, so I'll have to start researching programs.

[Chancellor]