Does anyone feel that whinging is one thing, and constructive criticism is another? Also, with the international community being quite small, the whinging can be a problem in future employment opportunities, as one of your colleagues may just be able to get you a job at a great school in the future.

I'm actually quite happy with the school I'm in now, but the city leaves a bit to be desired. That has nothing to do with the school, though. When and if I leave here, I think I'll keep whinging to a minimum (and only about the city) and give constructive criticism on issues I feel are important in terms of improving the school experience for staff and students.

Can I throw out a different viewpoint? Depending on the "tier" of the school (and I have no opinion on tiers, because they seem to be pretty arbitrary, and I'm only using the term in this instance for those who believe in them), some "lower tier" schools may WELCOME dependents because they help to put "foreign faces" into the classrooms with a large proportion of local children.

Directors, is that the case in some "lower tier" schools?

So you're saying I should work in the Middle East, PsyGuy??? hahahaha...(PLEASE don't respond! I'm just takin' the piss, as my British colleagues say). Last year, I actually threw in an application in one of my darker moments as I didn't have a job in mid-April. And this with a family of 4! The almighty dollar was beckoning, Middle East or not!

Now, I'm entrenched in the pollution of Beijing and thinking, "hmmmm ....wonder what I would have done if I had actually received an offer!" (Which, of course, I didn't!)

3 schools in Asia, 3 different sets of times....

School 1 - start 7.45, end 3.35; expected to do at least one one hour ECA each week;

School 2 - start 7.40 (they now start at 7.30), end 2.40, same with ECAs;

School 3 - starts 8.15, ends 3.40, same with ECAs.

So, basically, 8-3.30 seems an average with ECAs (as well as weekly whole staff meetings) thrown in each week.

That's pretty amazing money, especially if it's after taxes! Definitely enough for a family of four. I take it you're not a teacher, as you are mentioning tuition (or lack of) costs, as children's fees are usually taken care of by the school if you are a teacher. I was a teacher in BKK with 2 children and their tuition was taken care of and housing provided, but it was small. Was on about 125000/mo (after taxes) and we easily saved.

Agree with shadowjack...if you get an offer from WAB, you should probably take it (especially if the offer is on the table and you don't have any others that you think are better). I accepted my current post in Beijing at a school I rate as close to WAB in many ways (package, academics, maybe even reputation some day) and though I'm not loving the air pollution, I'm glad I took the post. As for staying for another contract, that decision is still a year away.

I'm at another school in Beijing - very happy with the school - and I've heard great things about WAB from former colleagues who worked there as well as current ones I know through work. Package will be fine I'm sure. You'll save money.

Only warning I can give you is that if you have children who are used to being outdoors, it could become an issue. We went from the extreme of Bangkok (outdoors every day with the children) to Beijing (indoors for a significant amount of time both at school and at home).

I realise we've only been here for about 6 months and it IS the worst it's been (I've been told), but it does affect us.

Hi IAMBOG
Tough it's true that many schools will try to get you for local wages, I know of at least one school that will give you the whole package. It might also depend on your role; the higher up you are on the food chain, the better chance of getting the whole package. Any chance you'll tell the school you're interested in?

@julie33...as a single, with eating at home, you could probably save half of that-approximately 15k- pretty easily. With family of four, we are trying to save about 10k/month. Start up costs are high, so don't base it on your first month or two. This is without having to pay rent.

As far as fa piaos go, I'm new here, so may be getting this wrong, but here's MY experience at MY school...maybe different at other places.

We are given a "flexible benefits" allowance at the beginning of the year. It is explained to us that we can use this for things like food, utilities, dry cleaning, etc... When we go out to dinner or to a grocery store, we get a "fa piao" - not just a receipt, but a special receipt that you have to ask for. Some places give it to us, others don't. At the beginning of each month, we submit all of these to our finance dept and they re-imburse us if they accept the fa piaos. For my school, we are given a nice amount over a year - around 36,000RMB. On top of that, there are rules about flights that involve taxes - my flight allowance isn't taxed, but my dependents' flights ARE, at around 20%. BUT, all of this money is considered "flexible benefits", so as long as I don't claim my dependents' flights, I can use that money as "fa piao money" and it isn't taxed.

At the end of the school year, if there is anything left over, it is then given to me, but taxed at 20%. I think the whole point of this is to put money back into the Chinese economy, so that's why they tax it if you take it as cash at the end of the year.

I'm sure I'll be slapped on the wrist for giving out this information, but our school DOES say we are transparent!

Hope that all helps.

HA! Agreed! I rescind my last statement about the family being interesting (or not)...

I'm always interested in these threads as well. I'm living in China and bringing home around 26KRMB/month, though there's an extra 4-5K/month because of the whole fa piao culture here (claiming back receipts). Not sure if Wrldtrvlr counts that as part of the gross.

The interesting thing for me is that I have 3 dependents (non-working spouse and 2 school age children) and we're still able to save money here. We aren't the most "interesting" family, though, so that may have a lot to do with it!

Finally, something I feel qualified to answer!

I taught for 9 years in Taipei as an Internaitonal School Teacher (though not at the American school), with a family of 3 - wife and young child. Though I was not on the international contract, I was over 100,000NTD/mo (albeit with a responsibility allowance.) Can you survive on 60,000NTD/mo? Possibly. We put away half of our paycheck, but I had a Taiwanese wife who knew where to get the "cheap" goods. We had to pay rent out of that 100,000NTD (paid around 25,000NTD for a small 2 bedroom).

If you're being offered 60,000NTD/mo, it can't be one of the two "big" international schools - TAS or TES - but if the package is good and you get annual flights and accommodation, you should be ok on 60,000. BUT, I would look for more at TAS or TES if you have the chance.

In that case, I would add Harrow, Shrewsbury, and possibly Regents. There are a lot of "good" schools, but maybe start with those, though Shrewsbury and possibly Harrow will be a bit more "British", if that matters to you.

Hi Helen,

I would say that only ISB, Patana and NIST would fit the bill of having a large proportion of native English speakers. Perhaps Ruamrudee as well? Not sure about that one.

This is not to say there aren't other good schools in BKK for the two of you, but if your first priority is large proportion of native English speakers (especially in Primary), I'd stick with ISB, Patana and NIST.

Other posters, please feel free to disagree, as I only taught at another of the "good" schools I've mentioned.