As a family we had a Bupa policy for a couple of years. I believe the deductible was US$10,000, because really the reality was, we weren't looking for a healthcare policy, we wanted a financial ruin prevention policy.

We sent thirty resumes out this year in response to advertisements. I got some nice emails, but no bites. I sent one more speculative resume after a conversation I had with a ten year old my daughter met by the pool at a holiday resort (I applied to the girl's school). We got the job.

You just never know.

Out of interest, anybody planning on fleeing the US if Trump gets in?
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ca ... ORM=VRDGAR

Do people ask the same question of New York, I wonder? What about London? Are Americans considering pulling their kids out of school and university in case a crazed gunman runs amok? It could happen. It probably won't, at least not to you.

Being from South London I remember well as a young lad, my social interactions being curtailed by bomb alerts and explosions, tube closures, and bus stoppages as the IRA did it's best to cause maximum disruption. But for the vast majority of people that's all it was, disruption and annoyance. Fear was a long way down the list. The biggest reason not to go to Belgium is because it's kinda boring, it's expensive, and the weather sucks. Mind you, the beer is good, so that may sway some people.

These guys have been mentioned positively over the last few years. We'll be using them.
http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com/

Hey wrldtrvlr123, I have sent you a 'conversation.'

Has anybody ever done this or heard of someone who has?
http://www.beijingrelocation.com/blog/b ... sion-back/

We thought this was going to happen to us this year. I started thinking about renting a small house in Bali or Lombok, and homeschooling the kids for six months. It didn't pan out that way in the end, but I was getting quite excited about the prospect!

I sent our thirty resumes, got one interview (it wasn't a stunning performance on my part), got the job!! Moving to Southeast Asia in August!!

Stick with it, it'll come.

I'm going to say no, it isn't worth it, at least not for us. We live further south in China and have been looking around at schools for next year. There have been loads of jobs advertised for Beijing and I'm assuming we would have a pretty good chance of landing decent jobs. However, we have two kids and the pollution is a real worry here. It's bad enough where we are, we certainly wouldn't want to put ourselves in an even worse situation.

Bentobeth, you sound like us in 2007. I hadn't even started my B.Ed. at the time. Wasn't ready to go overseas until 2011 (after my wife had also done her B.Ed.). I made lists and lists of schools at that time. I've lost most of them now, and after eight years they'd be pretty redundant anyway. Mind you, I've committed much of the info to my brain.

We started with one kid, had another whilst working at our first international school, then moved to our second school. We are now looking to move again, and while I can't say we are inundated with offers, we do have interest (waiting to hear after an interview).

From where you are now, you will find the students 'spirited' (I'm being polite). The vast majority will be Egyptian. Living accommodation will be more basic and options for going out will be less, once you've got past all the cultural stuff. Your ride to school and back will also be longer.

On the plus side, the weather is great, you'll be less than two hours from the beach (Ain Sokhna - check out the Stella Di Mare Resort). If you have spare cash you will have better access to Europe. We are a European / North American family and found it was great that we could fly to North America and stop off in our European homeland on the way. We could hit all the relatives in one trip.

It is easy to send money home. We had a monthly standing order from Egypt bank to our North American bank, which was dreamy compared to what we have to do in our current country.

Just to add, your chances of getting a math / science job in a BC offshore school straight out of your B.Ed. are very high.

Some truths about BC offshore schools vs. 'do[ing] your two years in a BC school.'

1. BC offshore schools are not tier 1, but then most international teachers don't work in tier 1 schools. Anything below tier 1 does not mean sweatshop. BC offshore schools can be decent places to work (some, not all).

2. BC offshore schools can pay well (and generally do). You can save, travel and live in a nice apartment.

3. BC Offshore schools can be under resourced, but most have at least as much as you would expect in a school in Canada. Many have more.

4. Unless you are very, very lucky you are not going to be able to do two years in a BC school off the bat. Even with math and science you’re going to be doing some subbing, particularly if you live on the Lower Mainland. That two years is likely to turn into four.

5. You won’t get much support at a BC Offshore, it is very much in at the deep end, sink or swim.

6. If you end up working at a school in the BC boonies, just to get your foot in the door, how much support can you really expect? I have a friend who came out of her B.Ed., went to a remote school with twenty students. The second year she was made principal. How much support can they practically offer in those circumstances?

Just my thoughts. There are pros and cons for both, depending on your future plans.

In our last school in Africa our two year old was in the baby toddler class at our school, even though the minimum age was three. My classroom was not more than 150 metres from hers. It was free and she rode the bus to school with us.

Our current school in Asia doesn't have a preschool, however, the organisation we work for does, and we receive a 50% discount. However, the preschool is four kilometres from our school and has different opening and closing times to our school, so we had to hire a full time nanny to deal with pick up and drop off. It's quite a big expense.

We like the city we live in now , so are contemplating sticking around another couple of years. However, we are looking at possibly moving schools, to one that has a preschool, where we could drop off and pick up our daughter. Tuition would be free and we wouldn't need a nanny for such long hours.

When looking at packages, it's not all about the salary, you have to look at the expenses side too. There will always be solutions, but the best solutions may not be immediately obvious when you hit the ground.