My kids were 7 and 8 when they made their first international move. It was a difficult move for me, but by making it sound exciting and fun they both looked forward to it and it went smoothly for them. I tried to make every change sound like the best thing that could possibly happen. Kids are sensitive to what their parents say and do, so be sure to keep it positive and they will believe you! My 7 year old - the social one - fit right in, and my 8 year old - the introvert - took a month or two to settle. At no time did they complain about the move, and they did happily go back and forth to their birth country every summer. They made friends easily - more easily at that age than older. It could also have a lot to do with personality types.

I was 8 when I made my first international move, from the United States to a small third-world country. I loved it and was excited about the new experiences, which were completely different from what I was used to. Moving back to the US at age 11 was devastating. It took me two years to get over it. As an adult I have continued to have the same problem - I can move to other countries with little culture shock, but it hits hard when I return to the US. That's why I'm staying overseas! (And my kids are now grown up and living in all new countries as well.)

Good luck! I'm sure it will work out well!

I agree! Thank you, stirdaddy! What is also interesting is that there seem to be more posted openings in April of this year than in April of last year. There can be many different reasons for this - more new international schools opening, a coinciding of ends of contracts, mass departures at certain schools or countries, etc. No one can really know. Gathering this data is a lot of work, more than I would do, but it sure would be interesting to see this over a period of several years, especially with the scarcity of good teaching jobs in some places, and an increased willingness to go overseas...

I am a single female living in Saudi Arabia right now. Everything mamava says is spot on, completely true, and an excellent description of what it’s like for a single female western teacher here. What Psyguy says - well, I can’t even imagine who he is getting his information from. The Internet, probably. It's so frustrating to read things that are horribly one-sided by people who clearly have an agenda that's more important to them than the truth. I run around by myself regularly, never get hassled, am ignored until I make a little fuss, and then get helped quickly and respectfully. I, too, love getting ushered to the front of lines just because I’m female. What a change! I never cover my head and have seen increasing numbers of western women who dress modestly but are in public without an abaya. (I don’t go that far out of respect. Anyway, wearing a “house coat” when I go out is pretty darn comfortable! ) Burkas? No way. Women who wear burkas are few and far between, and clearly aren’t international teachers! I have plenty of single female friends here and have never heard of anyone getting hit on in the kingdom - in Bahrain while out drinking, yes. I feel safer here than anywhere else I’ve been, and very respected. I do believe it might be different for Asian women. Asians are not treated the same as Europeans and North Americans.

My issues with Saudi are different. It is boring. There is little to do out side of work. I’ve had wonderful experiences and have traveled within the country and am very grateful I had the chance. Some of those places are now off limits for westerners. But I’ve run out of things to do. You can find other expats with similar interests, but sometimes that pool is very small and can be disappointing. It becomes a matter of luck. I also don’t care for the “guest worker” mentality. I prefer to be appreciated because I am part of a local community, not just a specialist brought in to do a job. (That said, the Saudis I work with are very supportive and appreciative of everything I do - they are extremely kind.) And I prefer living somewhere my friends and extended family can come and visit. They can’t here.

If you want to settle in Europe and you have an offer now, take it, especially if you are a North American. You might not get one again. I was looking for a job in Europe this year (I'd been there before) and found the recruiting scene to be very closed and very selective, and I doubt that will change in the future. I was successful, but believe me, I know how extraordinarily lucky I am. The quality of life in Europe is amazing. For me, it's worth being poorer. I'm leaving great savings potential in Asia for a simpler, happier life in Europe and can't wait. My children were born in Europe and spent their early school years in school there. I'm so glad they did! Look, if you go to Europe and decide that after a few years you really need the money, you can always go back to Asia. If not, you're set. Good luck!

I started IT in Europe.
I loved everything about it - the well- run school, the amazing country, so much to see, do, and places to explore - I was the happiest teacher in the world, and convinced I had the best job ever.
The only frustrating aspects were the ones you can find anywhere, like grading papers. Learning the language was frustrating at first, but after two or three years I could hold my own.

Congratulations!
I taught in Europe (another country, though) for many years, left for many years, hated being away, and will return later this year. I won't leave again!
It simply comes down to quality of life vs money saved. If you don't have to save or pay off debts, definitely go and enjoy yourself. If you do have to save or pay debts, can you put it off for three years? Living there is worth the experience. Then you can leave, make more money somewhere else, and return later. It's interesting how much easier it is to get a job in Europe once you've already been there.
For me, the quality of life is definitely worth it.

I don't think it's unusual, and please don't worry. You had a lot of interviews! That's a good sign! I also have a lot of experience, but I never land that many interviews.
I've been to fairs twice. At the first one I had a job offer on Saturday but it wasn't the one I wanted. That one came the day after the fair.
At the second I got the offer I accepted the day after as well. I think a lot happens once the fair is over, and that seems to match up with what Search says, too.

I am currently attending the London fair. It’s very hard to say how things are going. If you are in a high needs area, things are great! If you are one of 50 equally qualified teachers there for 2 openings, things aren’t so great. It all depends. So some people are having a wonderful, successful time, and others are looking pretty stressed out. As usual, candidates start out excited and optimistic, and then later you see the same people when the tension sets in.

Some things I’ve noticed today, the sign-up-for-interviews day: a lot of people are getting a lot of interviews. Some schools stopped taking resumes and scheduling interviews very early because they had enough strong candidates to consider and didn’t want any more. Lots of math and science positions are open at MS & HS levels. Loads of interest from candidates in the northern European countries. Middle Eastern schools often had no one in front of their tables, but I overheard candidates showing interest in some of them. Openings posted can be quite different from the openings posted on the Search database, as things change quickly. I heard quite a few recruiters admit they already have strong candidates in the pipeline that they’ve been in contact with before the fair, so it almost feels like they are looking more for backups than finding a new, exciting candidate who hadn’t gotten on their radar yet. A lot of openings are tentative, and I think that’s because the teachers leaving are also trying to find that new position, so they’re holding the old one until they do.

What I find interesting is comparing the London fair to the Cambridge fair I attended a few years ago. I’d say London is better planned and more smoothly run. The recruiters are a bit more cheerful - I think they’re worn out by the time Cambridge comes around. There’s no social event here in London. The candidate pool seems to be more experienced than the one in Cambridge. But the sign-up session needs to be in a bigger space - that was better at the Cambridge fair.

Overall, I don’t believe you can make sweeping statements about how “good” a fair is - everyone’s experience is theirs alone. My fair experience now is going to be very different from my last, not because of the fair, but because of the very different - and very narrow - focus of my search, which is what I want to do this time around. It might work, it might not, but I have all the possibilities planned, so that’s ok. I still think the face-to-face experience is invaluable. I know that there are schools looking at me now because I spoke personally to a recruiter who would not have considered me just through an emailed application. And that makes it worth it.

wrldtrvlr123 gives good advice here. My experience has been the same. I've worked in Europe at an IS and it was not an issue. Recently I checked out a European IS that stated they would not consider anyone with an EU passport. No one else (that I've seen) seems to care. It might be that a bilingual public school would prefer EU citizens, or maybe a school so poor they cannot afford the paperwork and/or labor required to get the work visa. So yes, check the website of the school you're interested in, but don't assume it's a problem all over.

1. File for an extension AND prepay - if any - taxes owed for your US income only - even if it's an estimate (pay a little more - you'll get back whatever's too much).
2. Then file taxes for your total income from January until say, July, or August , when you have been working overseas 12 months.
3. If you can prove you've been a bona fide resident of another country for 12 months during that time, or been out of the USA for at least 330 days, you will not pay any taxes on your foreign-earned income as long as it's below $96,700.
4. You will pay taxes on your US income. Just figure out what the exact amount is (Turbo Tax is good for this), and either get a refund on any overages of you prepaid, or pay the extra you missed. (If there is extra you missed, you might have to pay a fine - I've had to - which is why paying extra is a good idea.)

You can have a tax accountant do this, or do it yourself - up to you. I had a tax accountant do it for me last year because my US income was complicated with a small business, but I would do it myself if it were to happen again.

jmods, you won't want to ask your references to write separate letters for each school you're applying to. Ask each one for a generic letter of recommendation, and then scan them and send the same ones in for each email application that asks for them. If they're interested in you, they'll contact those people anyway for more specifics. The schools don't expect letters from your references that are customized to that school.

For Search, your references answer a list of questions instead of writing letters. You give Search their contact details, and they receive an email with a link to the questions. I believe it's the same for Schrole. Honestly, I think that makes it easier for them than having to compose something in a letter. So really, they only write one letter for you, that you can use again and again, and answer a set of questions for Search or Schrole. (I don't know any others.) It's do-able.

If you don't plan to go to a fair, I'm not convinced it's worth it. Two years ago I applied to many schools through the SA site .This year almost every school does NOT want you to apply through the SA site, but through their own, or via email with a cover letter, cv, and letters of reference attached. You don't need to join Search to do that.

I'm registered with SA, but in addition I have a bookmarks folder in which I bookmark the employment page of every international school in the continent or country I'm looking at. Then I open the folder, click on "open in tabs," and within minutes can see updates to all the openings. When I see one that's a fit, I apply directly.

For me, joining Search is about the fairs. I love them and have been successful at them. But for actually applying for jobs through their database, it's not much help anymore.

Sally has been having trouble receiving emails, and has been asking people to resend them. Have you tried that?
Also, I find picking up a phone and calling is faster, more efficient, and gets the job done quickly. If you're overseas, the MagicJack app lets you call the US for free - it's super helpful. Sometimes you just have to talk.

Search is aware that schools are asking candidates to apply through sites other than Search's, and that the number of schools doing so is increasing. The advice they've given me is to apply the way each school asks you to apply, even if it means a whole lot more work for you. It's one way the schools are weeding through hundreds of applications. To not do so, only relying on the Search website, is decreasing your chances of being noticed. Search is apparently looking at ways to improve this situation. It helps to talk with your associate about this, and not just rely on what they say on the website. Things are constantly evolving.

Definitely tell each school you have a file with Search - those confidential references are valuable to them. But apply exactly the way they ask you to if you want to be noticed.

Climberman, I think it's a good plan. I'm in Saudi now. You should have no trouble finding a position as a single man. I think they all say they prefer couples because of housing, but it doesn't work out that way in the end. There are only so many couples with the right combination of experience for the openings they have. The read, workout, and travel plan sounds just right - there isn't much else to do. (Travel within the kingdom is becoming easier and very worthwhile.)

I work at a school with Arab/Middle Eastern students and they're great. I have no complaints in that respect. Do your homework, speak to a teacher at the school you're interested in, and find out how things run there. A lot has to do with the administration and expectations they are willing to support. Good luck!