This is what I have been told. I have not worked at either school. BIS and BVIS are owned by the same people. BIS follows the British Curriculum and students speak English very well. BVIS is a school for Vietnamese and also follows the British Curriculum but there will probably be many ESL students there.

The pay and benefits are the same for both schools. Having taught Vietnamese students in the past, I will say that they are the nicest students I have ever taught. I would guess that the teaching would be more focused on getting the English skills up to standard but I don't think the workload would be that heavy in BVIS. Vietnamese students work very hard and really want to learn. Actually teaching Vietnamese kids helped me learn a lot about Vietnamese culture. Some of the students had language problems but the standard of work was still very high.

We haven't found a job yet either and are both experienced teachers. Mind you we decided not to send out loads of emails to schools this time as we found all the work and effort didn't seem to pay off last time.

We ended up in a very good school that had contacted us at the fair. So this time we will see what happens at the fair and if we don't get anything after that will start making more of an effort. Top tier schools might get filled up before the fairs but I won't be going to one of those and there are still loads of jobs at other schools.

Happy New Year to all!

Try the TES (Times Educational Supplement). Lots of schools advertise here, both good and bad ones. You might have to sign up to see the jobs but it is free in any case.

http://www.tes.co.uk/Home.aspx

I guess I worked in a 'third tier' school in Spain once. The school was for profit and we didn't have many resources. I couldn't do any labs in science, all theory. The pay was very low but very basic housing was provided on campus. Most teachers didn't like it but myself and another teacher were fine with it so we lived rent free. The kids weren't that motivated at all but were okay once you got used to them.

Once I figured it out, I realised they only wanted a teacher who spoke English in the classroom, I was just really just there for show. I started teaching whatever parts of the course that would keep the kids interested. After that my time was much better.

We had to stay after school for an hour each day, sometimes I had nothing to do and I never did any school work at home. I don't regret my time at the school. I had a great time in Spain. There are a lot of schools in Spain like that.

I found the Vietnamese wonderful. I have heard that it is not so in Hanoi from teachers who have worked in both places. I have not been to Hanoi.

Our landlord took us out with his whole family when we first moved into his place. That included his parents, his wife's parents and then their brothers and sisters. And when we moved out they took us out again. I love the Vietnamese.

The Search form says flights are yearly.

I have a friend who just moved there and loves the school.

What do you mean PsyGuy?

I personally won't say there are loads of things to do in AD but you can find things to do if you look. There is bowling, karaoke, the cinema, walking/running/biking on the Corniche, camping in the desert, ice skating, kite-boarding, sailing, diving etc.

There are also a lot of meet-up groups who do things together. Check out this website:
http://www.meetup.com/cities/ae/abu_dhabi/

I live in the center and there are a lot of cheap restaurants and some very expensive ones which are associated with hotels.

AD isn't a cultural center, in fact there are very little 'cultural' activities but you can find things. You have to get the Times Out or get the paper. Also I had to look back at what I really did when I lived in other places and yes there were more things happening but I didn't do many of them.

If you have a family it is a very safe place. AD is very green actually, there are trees everywhere and grass which I didn't expect. Dubai is not so well planned and more dusty. I don't have kids but I think AD is okay for a few years. People with kids tend to stay longer than couples without kids in AD. Many people love it though, especially the British, at least they end up getting some good weather for 6 months of the year, instead of rain all the time.

Abu Dhabi is a good place for families though Dubai has a lot more to do in general. I am not sure if many schools in the ME would hire single mums though but this something you would have to check.

Lots of Brits do come to Dubai. It has seen an increase after the uprising in Egypt. Personally I don't see it as a holiday destination. Many British tourists end up getting too drunk and end up in jail.

AD is smaller than Dubai, less to do. Singles tend to prefer Dubai whilst families like AD. People who come here from Doha seem to like it. Much more to do than in Doha.

The school is a good school though there is an interim Superintendent who is changing a lot of things. Next year there will be a new Superintendent.

Money is good, students well behaved.

You could live very well on less than $30,000 in Saigon. Most of our single friends saved half their salary. Some teachers did tutoring and just lived on that and sent home all their salary.

We mainly shopped in supermarkets but the markets are very cheap, we just didn't live close to one. We took taxis everywhere but you could chose to ride a motorbike. We didn't eat out loads but eating out is cheap in Saigon. This was 2 years ago.

In the UAE, I think you need to have housing paid for you. $35,000 plus housing is just about okay.

The Bahamas is very expensive and although there are loads of islands to visit, traveling to them is very expensive. Getting to the nearest island from Nassau was $100 by boat. Rent is expensive and you have to drive as public transport is limited. It is better for couples without kids and $40,000 each or more is required to live. If you eat out a lot then you need even more money in order to save. You can do tutoring there as well.

There are some teachers at my school who are close to 60.

When we lived in Saigon, we earned around $30,000 US each. Couple, no kids. We traveled every holiday and didn't try to save. We did save 1 salary between us so could have saved a lot more if we tried.

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If you are a type A personality, who loves spending most of your time at school and have your life revolve around school then 'top tier' schools will suit you.

The money is great, the kids are wonderful, I have all the resources I need and I have learnt loads. Just being at school each day is professional development.

Some of the teachers here came from other 'top tier' schools eg. JIS, Aramco, and more or less it seems the workload and the amount of time given to the school is the same.

So because this isn't a top tier school is not necessarily a bad thing.