I have not worked in Moscow, but know it from a recent extended visit. The city has many cultural opportunities by way of music, opera, etc. which you could enjoy even if you don't know the language. However, the cost of these events has skyrocketed. Perhaps you know that Moscow was voted the most expensive city on earth last year? But the subway is still CHEAP and much, much faster than taking a car or bus in the now horrendous traffic. I remember the "good old days" when the boulevards were virtually empty except for buses and the occasional truck and . boss car. The city is huge, in the shape of a oval. Just hopping on the subway and getting off and exploring would take you many weekends. The trains arrive every two minutes most of the day and evening, to my recall and the stations are clean. Some are quite beautiful. In 2003 when I was last there, the food cost about what it does in the US. If you like to enjoy winter sports, this may be the city for you. I think the sun comes up at about 9 am during the winter solstice and disappears probably around 3pm. But this soon changes. If you stay in the summer, the sun is out for a long, long time. I think July and August are great! I have heard both good and bad things about the AAS's academics. One dissatisfied parent said it was too easy on the students. Another teacher has raved here about how glad they are they brought their kids there.
From my research on Jeddah, I would avoid that.

I am going to add a wrinkle for you to think about if you are a US citizen-- The US Congress enacted a law in the 1980's that does the following: If you work and pay into Social Security for enough quarters (40) to get medicare healthcare and benefits, the US govt will take away possibly 2/3 of what you earned IF you try to take an additional pension from a municipal or public system that DID NOT pay into Social Security. Only you know whether your school district paid into both their California Pension system and Social Security at the same time. Mine did not, so I will lose a large percentage of what I had already earned under Social Security in other types of jobs.

Some international schools pay into the US social security system as a form of pension, so this could affect you down the line.

I am also interested in SAS. Can anyone from there comment?

JIS Alum: I am also in the city. Looking for info about Asia and overseas teaching in general.

Is there anyway that JISAlum and I can have tea/coffee in the north or south side of town?

I am a very flexible teacher and have worked with students having various types of special needs in regular classes in the US, especially LD. However, I am not a trained special education teacher. I heard that Anglo American School in Moscow's upper school principal is concerned about this.

Yes, even well-paid schools will offer contracts after the fairs are over because someone inevitably leaves or someone balks on signing a contract a month after the fair. But most of the jobs will be gone at the higher paying places and it might be hard to find a good fit for both of you. QSI is always looking for teaching couples. I recommend staying in touch with the administrators.

I interviewed with the former director, Gerald Craig. The school seems to have a good pension scheme. I have only heard that it is not as expensive to live there as Prague. I have a predilection for eastern europe, but it is not everyone's cup of tea. If I were offered a job there, I would definitely take it. If you work there, please let us know how it is!

See my post under Job Open. I would like to hear more general comments, "beenthere", so I can understand their behavior better. They have current openings, so I am not surprised they are having two fairs in three weeks. They want married teaching couples. Singles are a last resort.

These schools are reluctant to hire single people until the very last minute. I know a very well-qualified person who applied for an emergency opening in one country and was offered another in a very adventurous location but turned it down. Now they don't seem interested in considering the person even when they have numerous positions to fill. This does not seem justified given the wide range of locales they serve. Can you share more about the situation and what they are really looking for? Anyway to talk to you anonymously outside this venue?

Saiyara,

Have you been able to get any info? I sense not all is well in how they run it and I saw a rebellious post from Nigerians about this school or the one in Lagos.

Will someone comment on their experience working in this school? I have heard good things about the new capital city.