I interviewed for a position at a school in China where the free lunch was touted by the Principal as a great perk but which has been confirmed in the reviews section here and in person to me by a former faculty member as being indescribably inedible. When a school pushes silly things like a free lunch as a perk you have to wonder why. With regard to the aforementioned Chinese school there were lots of other negatives to contend with that the free indigestion could not hope to compensate for.

As a fellow Librarian/LMS I would suggest that with a lack of IB experience and 3 dependents you should consider the Middle East. You would gain IB experience, and receive a more family-friendly package. Schools in parts of Asia (China and South Korea) seem far more picky when it comes to trailing families but somewhere like Vietnam may be an easier entry point.

In my case, I am in the ME and trying to save enough to buy a home and an investment property. The long term view is ideally to return to Europe for the retirement run in a location with a decent pension payout. When I have moved from a job it has been either because of safety concerns, awful management/treatment by admin, or better conditions for my family. The next move for us is going to be for a couple of contract renewals until that last dash back to Europe.
I would say an expiry date can be sprung on you by the school - either you can be replaced by someone cheaper/younger, or perhaps the admin/principal changes and the work environment becomes toxic, or the stability/quality of life in the host country deteriorates.

Plenty of Library jobs already appearing for next years recruitment - China, Middle East, South America, Europe. Pretty promising compared to some years when options have been very limited.

@expatscot:
The Egyptian colleagues I work with say they would not return to Egypt not because of the poor salaries (although that must be a factor) but also because of instability, conservatism/radicalism, and a feeling for some that IS/ISIS and like-minded elements are present within the country. The Libyan border may be 500 miles away but so what if that bordering country is in such chaos and terrorist elements are mobile within your own borders. Egypt is a grim posting, with generally weak packages for the area and the political/security issues are worrying. Historic/cultural attractions to one side, Cairo would not feature on my list of places to work.

I am working with Egyptian teachers who would not dream of going back. I think it still too risky, considering what is happening in the far north of the country/Libyan border, and the whole situation ongoing in Libya. Salaries, packages and standard of living in Egypt (Cairo) are pretty grim.

I have worked in schools most would rate T1, T2 and T3 and even zero-rated national schools. Just because a school is regarded as T1 doesn't mean your experience will be better than at a solid T2 school. Higher salaries can often mean a very demanding environment with little if any work-life balance. Personally, I would always prefer a T2 over selling body and soul to be at a so-called T1. There are plenty of so-called reputable schools that trade on their name or brand name and yet act like T3s or worse.

@PsyGuy
Many thanks for the reply (and for your replies to my previous posts).

Reply @sid:

In my case, prior to moving overseas, my career history at home was:
4 years (public sector)
3 years (private sector)
5 years (academic)
3 years (public sector)
3 years (academic)

9 years (international)

Push factors for leaving my current position are a need to get my children into pre-school (no local options) and the fact that the salary is about 8-10% below par for Saudi Arabia.

I could delay and do a third year but the risk is a possible lack of suitable positions in an ideal location (in my field some years options are very limited).

My ideal future plan is to do 2 to 3 years in the next school (Middle East or Asia) for savings, followed by a long-term to retirement return to Europe for better pension (ideally switz, Neth., Germ., Scand.).

I wonder how my IT career history would look...any comments welcome.
I have been working for 27 years, the last 8 in international schools around the Middle East.
4 years (Qatar)
1 year (x - school closed)
2 years (west Saudi)
2 years (east Saudi)

For family reasons i am thinking about moving next year but am worried that my previous moves may put a recruiter off although i have valid reasons for those moves and strong reasons to move again as my kids reach school age and there are no options at my current position. Plus, 4 years in Saudi is about all we can face but if we absolutely have to I would do a third year at my current school. (And your advice will be a factor on that decision).

Eventually we plan to head to Northern or Western Europe but we need a few more years saving - maybe the UAE or Qatar.

Looking forward to your replies

Am not sure if this has been asked before but I have a question about vacation times across the world in ISs.
I have spent my IT career in the ME which has pretty generous vacation times - 2 to 3 months in the summer and/or 3 weeks at Xmas/Winter.

What is the situation like in other parts of the world, specifically:

Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Asia/South Pacific
SouthEast Asia

For example, I have been told vacation times in South Korea and China are pretty paltry.

Can anyone comment?

@PsyGuy
I totally agree - that's my feeling right now. Next year with an influx of some new expat teachers things may improve. That's being optimistic but I am still going to put out feelers for the year after. I haven't quite hit the critical point.

In the Middle East a local/regional Head would be a worry to me. I have not experienced (or been told by others) anything good about such appointments. I admit that may be a prejudice about how a local hired head here can become a nightmare. (Equally, I have worked for some indescribably bad British and North American Heads out here). In other regions that might not be the case (or not quite as bad a scenario) but in the ME I would say it can be.

Omani salaries are not as high as other parts of the ME but the living conditions are said to be better (in general). From the reviews here at ISR there are a handful of schools worth considering. Oman's proximity to Yemen may be a concern at the moment. Kuwait sounds grim, my wife worked there and it is the last place she would want to return to.

@PsyGuy

Many thanks - that is in fact my plan - personalized applications.
Granted some schools do say they accept spec applications via their HR departments, but viz. the other I plan to target the Heads/Principals.

Unfortunately a few of my target schools seem only interested in potential candidates sent via SEARCH or ISS.