Search found 24 matches

by ILMathTeachr
Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:43 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Vaccination and other issues.
Replies: 54
Views: 169496

Re: Vaccination and other issues.

shawanda wrote:
> The fact that Search is now asking for our vaccination status is grotesque.
>[/snip]

Nice job, Shawanda. You made Psyguy the voice of reason and common sense!
:-D
by ILMathTeachr
Mon Aug 09, 2021 11:41 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Hawaii license
Replies: 6
Views: 6844

Re: Hawaii license

You didn't mention WHERE you want to teach, but if it's Hawaii, I'm sure you could find a job, as they're always recruiting. Their pay is pretty normal by American mainland standards. That's a problem, though, because everything is more expensive in Hawaii than most cities on the mainland, except perhaps New York City or San Francisco, so you won't save much, if at all, unless you get a 2nd job and work nights/weekends.
I met some Hawaiian teachers at a national conference years ago and they described the experience of teaching in Hawaii as... miserable. The students were described to me as very unmotivated, primarily because they've been raised with the understanding they live in paradise, yet students who are academically successful have to LEAVE Hawaii to realize their potential (exhibit A: Hawaii's favorite son Barack H. Obama, who had to move to Chicago, and then Washington DC to realize his potential). So why bust your ass to make good grades when the logical outcome involves leaving??
by ILMathTeachr
Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:06 pm
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: Teaching in Italian International Schools
Replies: 8
Views: 31243

Re: Teaching in Italian International Schools

From the time when I first began plotting an entry into IT as a 2nd, post-retirement act (stateside anyway), Italy has been on the radar, but the salary reports I keep seeing are quite cringeworthy. Maybe if I could land something via DoDS the outlook would be different? Aviano is still open, right? Either way, I'm trying to be open-minded about Asian and German destinations these days. I could always settle in Italy later if I'm dying to live there.
by ILMathTeachr
Sun Apr 18, 2021 5:26 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Retirement Goal
Replies: 33
Views: 43683

Re: Retirement Goal

Intriguing thread. There are so many teachers state-side who don't understand the value of the pension systems they pay into. I** have a colleague who is single, no kids, and has accumulated a ton of investment property and plans to cut short his teaching career before he attains full vestiture simply because he can. Even though he'd be taking a 'reduced' pension once he reaches 'retirement' age, the fact he accumulated rent-producing property will have the net effect of permitting him to be retired in his 50s. Not a bad place to be!
**DISCLOSURE - I am a career teacher in the US planning to go overseas after I'm fully vested in my state's pension plan.
by ILMathTeachr
Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:40 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: 32K - Average Salary for International Teachers?
Replies: 39
Views: 32631

Re: 32K - Average Salary for International Teachers?

"Do your own research" is a standard gaslighting technique where its user deflects from the suspect validity of their assertions for which they can't provide evidence, with the added bonus of accusing their debate opponent of being lazy.
I can't believe I just read a whole page of that crap.
by ILMathTeachr
Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:46 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: China all benefits taxed from Jan 1 2022 update
Replies: 30
Views: 28866

Re: China all benefits taxed from Jan 1 2022 update

I don't know anything about Chinese taxes, but I see you using the term "marginal tax rate," however your estimated tax amount reflects a flat tax rate of 35%. So... I suspect you are misusing the term? Does China have a graduated tax rate? If so, then you'll want to find out what the tax brackets are.
Good luck.
by ILMathTeachr
Wed Oct 21, 2020 11:24 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: If not in your home country, then where do you plan to retire?
Replies: 18
Views: 20449

Re: If not in your home country, then where do you plan to retire?

buffalofan wrote:
I think coastal Oaxaca would also be worth checking
> out, but have not been there myself.

I honeymooned in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and enjoyed it very much 17 years ago, fwiw. (And yes, I checked the phone books while I was there; no Andy Dufresne nor Randall Stevens listed.Very disappointed. ;-) )
by ILMathTeachr
Sun Oct 11, 2020 11:27 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: If not in your home country, then where do you plan to retire?
Replies: 18
Views: 20449

Re: If not in your home country, then where do you plan to retire?

We want something warm, developed, and with easy transportation options. The place the Mrs. and I agree is most appealing is Italy, though she'd settle for the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Possible draws of Spain over Italy include the fact I can already speak some Spanish, though I've rarely been forced to navigate it in an immersion setting, outside of once filing a complaint with the Mexican police, and participating in a subsequent interview. Also, our teenaged daughter is fluent in reading, speaking, and writing Spanish and could wind up being drawn to an opportunity there, should one arise.
The way things are in the US right now, even if Biden wins, the weird strain of resurgent white nationalism isn't going away and I'd sooner skip out on the continued decline of American civilization. I just hope we don't go full authoritarian by that time and I can still move away (a growing number of people here are embracing authoritarian ideas, even if they object to that exact label).
by ILMathTeachr
Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:57 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Year off?
Replies: 12
Views: 12396

Re: Year off?

I don't think any prospective school in the future is going to think poorly of you for not working the 20-21 school year.
by ILMathTeachr
Fri May 08, 2020 9:42 pm
Forum: Forum 2. Ask Recruiting Questions, Share Information. What's on Your Mind?
Topic: How competitive would I be?
Replies: 19
Views: 55396

Re: How competitive would I be?

Is Hong Kong out of the question? I know Cantonese is the favored language, but Mandarin seems to be making inroads based on what I saw there last summer.
by ILMathTeachr
Tue Feb 18, 2020 10:49 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Director Invited me Out - Help!
Replies: 40
Views: 73190

Re: Director Invited me Out - Help!

Do my eyes deceive me, or did you just suggest a teacher sleep with her director for professional advancement?
by ILMathTeachr
Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:14 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Effect of Brexit on WE teaching job market?
Replies: 18
Views: 42652

Effect of Brexit on WE teaching job market?

As an American nosing around and planning for the next phase of my life, hopefully in international teaching, it occurred to me today that with so many school that posting jobs with the warning, "**No VISA is provided for NON EU Passport holders ", is it possible the job market in western Europe opens up to more non-British applicants? That is, WILL schools need help getting English-speaking applicants, and start working with their government to issue work visas?

Interested in your thoughts!!
by ILMathTeachr
Mon Jan 20, 2020 1:37 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: In 50s ready to relocate: comparing pension options
Replies: 10
Views: 19431

Re: In 50s ready to relocate: comparing pension options

Also, a quick Google search showed me that most EU nations require you to work for 15 years before you qualify to draw a pension, though it is cumulative, so, for instance, 10 years in France, plus 5 years in Spain would qualify you for the minimum pension, calculated by each country.
by ILMathTeachr
Sun Jan 19, 2020 12:25 am
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: In 50s ready to relocate: comparing pension options
Replies: 10
Views: 19431

Re: In 50s ready to relocate: comparing pension options

When you're exploring pension systems, you need to be finding out exactly how much service time you need to put in before you "vest." In Illinois, for instance, you must work 10 years before you vest. Your pension is then 2.2% times the number of years of service credit times the average salary over your final ten years, assuming you've reached the age of 67. If you retire before then, you get 6% less per year you are retiring earlier (going out at 62 results in a 30% haircut off your pension, for instance).
Theses are the kinds of rules you must be aware of if you have designs on putting in enough time somewhere to draw a pension. The advice in the previous posts is correct; you need to find a job where you can stash enough money to invest it yourself. Consider using a brokerage where you can buy exchange-traded funds, which will have fees that are small fractions of a percent.
by ILMathTeachr
Sun Oct 07, 2018 9:38 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Taxation and Teaching in Italy
Replies: 14
Views: 15212

Re: Reply

PsyGuy wrote:
> @ILMathTeachr
>
> two more words --Red Herring--, thats what your teaching angle is. You dont
> have to teach in Italy, your spouse is an EU citizen, you can get an EU
> passport, and even if you cant you can still reside with your spouse on a
> permanent resident basis in the EU, in Italy. You can sit on a sofa in Rome
> and do nothing and your health care on the public scheme will cost about
> €250/yr.
@PsyGuy
I don't think I can just claim an Irish passport. When I looked up the rules, I have to actually have lived there for a not insignificant amount of time according to what I read. Nevertheless, my wife's Irish passport definitely makes it easy for us to go anywhere in the EU. Maybe we're idealizing Italy a bit; but my wife definitely wants to return to Europe for an open-ended stay, and I feel it'd be a great adventure to see how much 35 years of teaching math in the US translates to teaching in an IS. Could we afford to live off my pension and our combined savings? Probably. But I feel confident I won't want to spend the rest of my days sitting on my sofa.
@alexout
Maybe Spain would be a better fit with my ability to speak the language? I don't feel I'm 100% fluent, but speak it well enough to deal with the police in Ixtapa. I did learn enough Italian before our visit that I could competently ask directions on the street. I've never studied French, but my wife is passably fluent, but she has no interest in settling anywhere near Paris.
With that in mind, I'm interested to hear your other recs for places to try to settle. She has made a point that we'd benefit from finding someplace with easy access to rail transit.