45-50k savings in Kazakhstan without breaking a sweat. The tenge has plummeted but local prices do not reflect the exchange rate and remain low. If you're not in Almaty or Astana, good luck trying to spend 500 bucks a month.

Almaty is a cool place to be for a while. Mountains, skiing, and hiking a short bus ride away, decent public transportation, western amenities, good expat scene, and a wide variety of entertainment options (bars, clubs, arts, etc.). Getting more expensive with the falling oil prices and devaluing currency but if you're paid in foreign currency or equivalent, it will be very affordable. Air pollution can be an issue in the winter as many houses use coal for heating. Overall a fairly green, increasingly cosmopolitan city and a great jumping off point to explore Central Asia. Bishkek is 4 hrs by bus and a new low cost airline has made things easier to travel around the country. Still very Soviet in many ways and if you're into the language and history, you'll enjoy more.

I'd say I'm up over fifty applications sent out, have had four interviews, two within the past week, and going to the second round for one of them. Getting closer and closer.

Thanks for the clarification. Definitely not as daunting as I initially thought.

It seems like there is a heavy preference for UK schools to hire UK teachers...more so than American schools hiring American teachers, for example. Through your experience, is there any truth to this? Not being from the UK and no experience with the British system, I have been somewhat hesitant to apply to British schools as the postings often specify UK experience as a requirement or preferred. How different are the secondary curricula to teach and does someone stand a realistic chance without UK experience at a British school?

Almaty is a decent city to live in for an expat, and the most convenient in the country. Big mountains at its doorstep, Shymbulak ski resort, ample hiking opportunities within a couple hours of town, safe, and plenty of Western comforts. Air quality can get a little sketchy, especially in the winter as most houses use coal. The tenge has taken a nose dive over the last 6 months and has lost almost 40% of its value due to the oil crisis but hasn't affected the prices much, except imports. If the school pays you in the USD equivalent (which most do I think), the fluctuation shouldnt be an issue. Could you live there long term? Depends how much you're into the culture. It is a city that is trying to Westernize slowly but is still very Soviet. In terms of becoming a better teacher, you would have to choose your school carefully as some aren't conducive to that aspect of education. Good place to save money if youre a responsible spender. Easy to travel to other Central Asian countries for relatively low cost.

I agree with wrldtrvlr123. I havent heard anybody who was really into Kuwait. Definitely seems like a place that is tolerable rather than desirable. If its your first time in the ME, it is also considered one of the tougher first posts as the more conservative, restrictive lifestyle can be a challenging cultural adjustment.

Im bumping this up from the depths to get some more opinions

This is something I havent been doing as I figure it is a busy time for schools, a busy time for receiving applications, a chance HR/HOSs are simply collecting apps and may not be reviewing.

Do many people send email follow ups to assert interest in positions/schools at this point in the year?

Congrats! great to hear people are getting offers.

I think it comes down to what your looking to get out of your next job/school. Since you have applied to a couple jobs in SA it seems like that is a desirable location for you..so check that box. As you mentioned, even though the salary is lower than what youre making now, saving potential will be more...check. It sounds like one of the better schools in SA, not only to start off at, but to work at in general...check. If you do hold out for a different offer, what would you want that to look like? Would it be drastically different than this one?
Your posts indicate that your reservations stem from safety and the fact that it is an early offer. If you can feel comfortable about the city in terms of safety, and are happy with all the other aspects of the offer, Id say go for it - early offer or not.

Shadowjack describes his fair experience with Mrs. SJ at the BKK fair a few years back in great detail here http://internationalschoolsreview.com/v ... php?t=2915

I would take your associate's advice and bring your spouse along. For those with trailing spouses, I think it is important to be transparent about the total package you are offering, which includes your spouse. Schools will want to meet them too as they will be part of their community. Maybe someone else can comment on the specific days/events it is more beneficial to have your spouse with you at the fair.

I'm headed to the BKK fair this year for the first time. When I requested an invite, it was more or less based on timing of vacation and the general understanding that the earlier the fair, the better. My net is as wide as it gets (which makes applying a seemingly endless process) so based on location, Im not too concerned about the make up of schools at fairs. However, now that things are picking up with openings, I find myself checking the fair lists twice to see who will be where. I'm really looking forward to BKK but have been looking at what I might be missing by not going to LON or CMB. Here are some stats based on fair info from Search:

BKK: 120 schools, 32 unique to BKK (27%)
LON: 168 schools, 59 unique to LON (35%)
CMB: 153 schools, 67 unique to CMB (44%)

Based on numbers, it doesn't seem like BKK is all that, but considering reputations, that just puts the intangibles into perspective (timing, quality of attendees, etc.). Just curious, for those who have attended fairs, or will be this year, what was your motivation for choosing the fair you did?

@senator

Yes, I caught your drift, but all I was trying to do was to highlight the discrepancy between an international teacher's reality and outside impressions. I didn't mean it to come off phony righteous in anyway.

I think @overseaslife provides relevant examples of how safety is a relative term.

senator wrote:
> A friend of a friend who worked there within the last 3 years called
> Caracas "Caracastan". That pretty much said it.

Pretty much said what? That you summarized an entire geographical region based on the idea that a country that ends in "stan" is somewhat dangerous? I currently live in a "stan", have spent time in four others, and have never run into a bigger problem than someone short changing you at a shop...which they quickly apologized for once it was pointed out. Regarding safety and stability, the reputation the "stans" have is pretty much irrelevant when it comes to foreign hires. Through my experience, people will go out of their way to ensure your safety rather than to let harm come your way. I can't speak for the situation in Caracas but one should not get put off by statistics. Yes...there may be a high rate of gun crimes/homicide, but does this truly represent the environment you would experience?

Thanks for sharing, as that is exactly where I am..."The Doldrums". It is comforting to know that while others may be getting interviews, and perhaps offers, we may not be as left in the dust as it seems.

Of course I am aware of the function of school visions and mission statements, however, the more schools I look at, the more difficult I find it to differentiate between them. As a good job hunter, I have been tailoring my cover letter and CV to each school I apply to and have been trying to demonstrate how my experience/philosophy/skill set lines up with the direction they're headed. But recently I've been noticing it seems like vision/mission statements are a different combination of buzz words that do not change very drastically from one school to the next....global citizen, critical thinking, 21 century skills, socially responsible, etc. Does anyone have an opinion about this? It seems paradoxical that recruiters want candidates to differentiate their school from others but, based on mission statements/visions, schools aren't very differentiated themselves. Thoughts?