Finally someone who doesnt want to move their whole house and all worldy possessions overseas. I travel lite, checked baggage and my carryon. To start it really depends where your going, and how big of a city your headed too. My suggestion list:

1) Medical: You dont know when your health insurance is going to kick in, when youll have a chance to see a doctor, and a lot of other factors. Generally medication is MUCH cheaper out of the states. Have your prescriptions written in their chemical/empirical formulation (Tylenol is not Acetaminophen its Paracetamol). Have your doctor write a letter listing all your medications, dosages, and what you take them for. Have your doctor stamp it with their department of health stamp. Have your optometrist do the same for your glasses/contact lens. If you use contacts research in advance whats available. Some of the newer lenses arent available yet in many places. Having that little white prescription slip, just isnt the same. Some places require a medical examination and blood work for a visa/work permit. Talk with your school about this in advance, some schools will want you to ahve it done in advance some schools will take you to a clinic when you arrive. Understand that many asian countries will not admit you if you have HIV or TB (thats the reason for the blood work and chest xray). You might want to have a physical before you leave and a letter about any chronic or current medical conditions you have. Im on the fence about vaccinations. Im vaccinated against everything practically, but unless your teaching out in a very rural or undeveloped area (such as a jungle) about the only thing id really recommend is hep a and hep b. If your traveling to africa you HAVE to have a yellow fever vaccination, even if the area isnt endemic now, you dont know how it will change.

2) Documentation: Bring AND have uploaded a copy of your contract, work permit, airline itinerary, passport, drivers license (including international driving permit/IDP). You should also have copies of your kids birth certificates and your marriage certificate (as well as their passports and other documents).
If your planing on driving in your new country you might need an IDP. They are only good for a year, but Ive heard people get and pay for 2 of them and just have them dated for subsequent years. That said if your REALLY going to drive you need to get a local license at some point, try to AVOID giving them your USA drivers license as in some countries they find their way on the black market. Your passport is the most important document, and you should register with the nearest embassy/consulate in your area when you arrive. Avoid walkinga round with your passport, yes you can be asked for it anytime, but the only time you really HAVE to have it is when your going to the bank, checking into a hotel, going to the consulate and registering at the police/immigration office. The rest of the time carry a photo copy of the ID page and your visa page. If you ever get stoped and asked why you dont have the original tell them your very sorry, and you didnt know, but loosing your passport is a time consuming and expensive process, you have to replace the passport AND the visa. Once you get a PR/or alien registration card, carry that with you. Lastly have copies of important banking, including credit card numbers and checking account and routing (ISBN and SWIFT) numbers if you have bills back home to pay or plan on doing a wire transfer.

3) Personal care: So basically unless your really brand loyal to a certain product (shampoo, shaving cream, makeup, razor blade) you can most likely find a local available brand. If your happy with any shampoo for instance you will be fine. When you start getting picky thats when you have problems. Most stores will have one (maybe 2) international brands and unless you understand the language you will recognize them from their packaging. These tend to be the most expensive as well. Some things are just not available (if you use a new razor, you might not be able to find the blade refills), in which case you have to consider the cost of ordering them online or having someone back home send them to you, or switching. Its very impractical except for small things that have a long reuse time to bring enough of something for a whole year (things like soap, shampoo, mouthwash, etc). Ive had several ethnic coworkers who were very unhappy they couldnt get certain hair care products.
Personally, the two things i have trouble with finding are antiperspirant and contact lenses. I use to have a problem finding rubbing alchohol, but then i just bought a bottle of 180 proof grain alchohol and problem solved.
Woman have it harder, guys need like a dozen things tops woman seem to amass a never ending number of bath/beauty stuff (i had a teacher this year who couldnt find a ped egg, i dont know what that is, but took her months to stop complaining about it). If you HAVE to ahve proactive or some other very specific bathroom thing, you need to find out if its available and then decide if its important enough to you to oder and ship overseas. Lastly, if you ever need to find something the airport may have a shop that carries your specific item, and also try asking or checking at one of the international hotels in your area. Sometimes the concierge can direct you to a supplier, or you may find that a shop in the surrounding area has it. You may also be surprised what you can buy from a hotel directly. I had the hardest time finding frosted flakes and was at a hotel brunch once that had frosted flakes, and then talked to the restaurant manager who was happy to sell me boxes of it (though it was expensive).

On a side note hotels are AMAZING resources. Need to send an international fax, no problem. Need something translated, they can do that. Want to go for a swim, ask about a daily facility pass. Want a bottle of Moscatto, the wine steward can take care of you. Need a haircut with someone who understand english, they probabley have a salon, and if they dont have it, they can tell you where to find it. Want to find a certain place, walk up to a hotels front desk and say your sorry but your trying to get to such and such place and they will write the name of the place down on the back of a business card in the local language then write the name of the place in english on the front and show the card to a cab driver.

4) Clothes: It should be no surprise, that you should find out the weather on your region and plan according, (you will not need a lot of sweaters in Singapore, but you will need a light jacket, sweater or wrap. Outside Singapore is hot and humid but INSIDE the aircon is set at 65-70). Some places have wet seasons where everyday you need an umbrella, dont bring one but buy one there. Check or ask about your schools dress code, some schools are fine with casual dress (khakies and shirt), some expect business attire (shirt/tie/jacket). As far as wardrobe stick with one or at max two themes. Blacks and neutrals work well for me., these type of overall themes are easy to adapt with accessories (Its easier to bring one black suit, and 5 ties, then 5 black suits and one tie). Woman have the hardest time with this because they have "outfits" that are composed of individual pieces that dont work with anything else in their wardrobe. Thats a lot of space for one days cloths. I think everyone should have one stuning piece and thats it. Understand that you may or may not have a washer and dryer. You will likely have access to a washer, but in a number of countries they dont use have dryer, you line dry your cloths. As such you should bring clothes that are machine washable, and anti wrinkle or no iron. Plan your wardrobe for longevity. There is little use in bringing 20 pairs of socks, socks are cheap and easy to find. Same thing with button down shirts and other "basics".

The only two things that are must haves are large sized shoes (above a 10) and large cupped bras (above a B) are next to impossible to find in a lot of asian countries. if your loyal (or your kids) are to "american" brand anything like A&F, Aeropostale, Hollister, etc, those brands are not likely to be available locally, or at very high (almost couture) prices.

5) Electronics: Bring your laptop, tablet, etc. Make sure you brink the adapter and a plug convertor. Be wary of other computer devices, most of them will need transformers and things like hard drives could easily short or overload. Things like hard drives, scanners, printers, are affordable and readily available. Of course if you need the hard drive because of the data, then you need it.
Smart phones are a maybe, if you have a GSM phone and can get it unlocked then bring it. If your on Verizon, or Sprint or other CDMA carrier, know that most of the rest of the world uses GSM, and your phone isnt likely to work. Maybe if you have a high end SLR camera, and wont settle for a phone camera bring that (but thats a lot of bulk). Aside from that the only other thing id recommend are an electric razor (if its dual power). Hairdryers and other small electronics are generally inexpensive cheap.
DVD's are a maybe, on one hand you can watch them on your laptop, and there isnt likely to be a lot of english language or american programing. Everywhere ive gone there has been only a couple channels. That said region 1 DVD (USA) proba ley wonk work in a foreign DVD player, and an american DVD player (NTSC) is not going to support a foreign video standards. In many asian countries DVDs can be DIRT cheap, like $.25-$.50 each (yeah they are counterfeit), but thats the way it is.

Its very normal, id be more worried if you werent nervous.

Malaysia is very hot and humid, finding good antiperspirant was hard for me. I was in KL and its a very modern city lots of available imports. The malay people are very social but very driven and have high work expectations, they are always working. You might feel over whelmed at first, and a couple teachers i knew burned out after living in KL. They got great support from their admin, students were wonderful but there marriage/home life suffered and making KL a career wasnt going to happen.

I get it your a cheerleader for south and latin america. The purpose of this website and MANY like it though is to serve teachers, not administrators they have their own forums.

But since you brought it up, this is an anonymous forum. We can make claims about admins and schools because we know who they are, and we can attribute the "what" to the "who". You cant make a claim about a teacher or member of this site because you cant verify what you think you know.

@lifeisnotsobad

The only issue ill rally raise is that there are admins who do the same thing. Admins who sign a teacher at a fair, then leave them hanging for months only to make some lame claim that they couldnt get the visas or something, and leave a teacher late in the recruiting process with far fewer if any options. This is the real world not a classroom exercise in ethics. Your free to disagree with it (and many people did), but i explore options, all options in discussions on this board.

@Irish Rover

I really dont like posting as multiple aliases, i think readers deserve some aspect of continuity and association. When i post something i want the reader to be able to associate that view or opinion with one person (good or bad). Theres a difference between being anonymous and being ethereal.

I do think there are a number of contributors to this site who have greater depth in specific experiences and more recent information, and I do often defer to them on this board. That said i have 8 years experience in international education and i have a very wide breadth of experience.

@bigfatgit

Not a whole lot to say, and I dont know how you were "libeled". I had to look up who Walter Mitty was, and the answer is just that your wrong, and you dont know what you think you know. Not really interested in convincing you otherwise.

@interteach

It would be misinformation if it was wrong, but many things are true, including that people disagree what is true. We just have different points of view, and derive our conclusions based on different experiences. The vast majority of the information on this site is opinion.

@et..al

To make it short (ive been busier lately) most of the posts on this forum and really any forum, whether they be opinions, discussions, experiences, advice, guidance, all manner of commentary is at best subjective. The truth for one person can easily be fiction for someone else. Its a dynamic world, what might have been bad one year may very well change and improve the next year. The best advice you can follow is:

1) Accumulate sources, dont take any one claim as fact. If theres a negative statement or claim out there, there are probabley others.

2) Look for longevity and consistency. A school, region, city or admin with multiple reports over several years about similar issues from a variety of sources is something you should seriously consider.

3) Consider that much of the negative out there represents the minority. Schools that are truly horrible for all just dont last long. Even the great schools have dissenters, and even at bad schools if theyre still in business they have to be doing something right.

4) This forum and others need participation, thats our power as teachers, we have numbers, and to realize that power our numbers need voices. Thats why some of the bad schools have problems recruiting because they have reputations for doing what they do, we did that.

Were the opposition, the critics to the schools flashy websites, advertising flyers, and sales pitches, were every school is wonderful, and full of rainbows. (Have you ever, ever heard a school or admin say "were horrible, our kids are underachieving brats and im a sociopath to work for"? Never going to happen).

Usually you only hear about a school if its "bad", there are MANY schools that have been around a long time and there is nothing or very little written about them. A really new school (assuming its not just a bad school that changed its name or moved) if there isnt any criticism written about the school is probabley just a school still in transition and working things out. Many international teachers recognize the difference between a bad school and a new school (not that new schools cant be bad). Its very likely that whatever experiences happen over the course of a schools first year will be different (though not necessarily better) next year. Its like a new teacher fresh out of university, or a 1st year PYP teacher, that first year is pretty much a learning year. Your probably going to find information about the region and locality the most useful,

If i was a betting kinda guy, id vote your going to pick Dulwich, its a great package and school The school back in Pennsylvania is low balling you on salary, and no one like to be undervalued.

Yes id put Dulwich ahead of BCIS. I know they won an award, but thats this year, Dulwich has a more authentic and consistent experience over the long term.

That said id also agree that its a difference without much distinction, youd have to really be interested in a technical/academic discussion instead of a practical one. Its - to arguing over which is better ISB or WAB? They are both top schools and the debate about which is better is unlikely to be settled definitively.

I personally prefer Shenzhen and Guangzhou to Dongguan. I wouldnt call the city "nice", Id say its livable. It has a small town suburbs feel to it. They dont have four season, its not Singapore, but its cool for a few months around the end of december, then its warm for a few months and then its just hot. The humidity makes it feel even hotter. I would bring a light jacket, you dont need anything more really, and forget the knits.

They dont have the access and degree of imports available, so while you wont go without soap, shampoo, shaving cream etc, you really need to plan on making shoping trips, have things ordered or just make do with whats available, and that might mean going with out. A friend could not get replacement contacts, he had to have them ordered, and shipped back home and then sent EMS to him. If you wear large shoes they will be impossible to find (anything above a 10), if your a woman finding anything larger then a B cup will be next to impossible.

Dongguan definatley has a reputation and safety would be a concern of mine, mostly petty theft, but foreigners are prime targets for mugging and pick pockets. You also wont see a great many of foreigners compared to more metropolitan parts of China, their isnt really anything to see, and not a whole lot to do. Most teachers lead a pretty routine life, and travel out to the larger cities on weekends.

They are one of the handful of schools that recruits at Bethesda every year and they are ALWAYS looking for teachers. So you can think of them as a school of last resort. The school is definitely 3rd tier, and the lifestyle isnt that great. The admins are very disorganized and have a "bottom line" mentality. They are very much a business and given the tuition they charge and how little they pay teachers the owners are definitely doing well. I could go on, but really its a hole.

I wouldnt teach/live there (unless it was a lot of money). GEMS has a very for profit corporate atmosphere and while its a very western city, its very expensive. They have all the same other problems and restrictions as any where else in the middle east, with prettier wrapping/packaging. About the only thing id agree with is that the metro is run very well. The kids all have a MAJOR sense of entitlement, and they and their parents expect top grades. Depending on your package you could lead a "nice" life but youll never be able to really indulge in the lifestyle there.

Take it... Dulwich is a very good school, right around the third top school in Beijing. The salary is good for entry level, depends how many years of credit they gave you? You could do better but not by much (salaries in Beijing at the top schools get "great" around 30K RMB).

The airfare is right around full fare economy round trip. If you went for discount economy you could fly 2 people on that. If its per person, at full fare you could upgrade to business pretty easily.

Depending on your housing package and lifestyle you should be able to save about half of that if you live frugally, but could really enjoy a nice lifestyle and save a quarter of it. Depends how you and the kids like to live. I was making over 20K a month and Im single had a 3 bedroom apartment, and lived VERY well (good restaurants, nice clubs, designer cloths, etc)

I was on 7400SGD but no housing allowance. I only had taxes taken out, you dont have to make CPF (social security) contributions until you get PR, and you get graduated rates for the first 3 years. My school paid the national health care premiums.I lived pretty well, but Im single and didnt choose to live in a premium neighborhood. In Singapore where you live and what kind of housing (HDB, Apartment, Condo, mansion/house) is a stronger factor then how new or nice the place is.

You are correct the PGCE portion is the coursework, and then QTS is the field experience, before teachers become NQT. The observations (as part of various courses) can be done at any school that will let the student observe.
Outside of the national school system in the UK, international schools accept a PGCE as a teaching credential without QTS.

It doesnt take anywhere near two years to be unhappy, unsatisfied, with a school. It can happen pretty quickly. I know bad when i see it, and dont need to "suffer though it to make sure.

I can see how youd be right about being happy with SE asia. We come from different perspectives, and probably know different people. You are right in respect that while i know people all over the globe over the years, most of the first responses I usually get are from local teachers at my school. Though the ones that are leaving every single one is staying in europe (germany, sweden, denmark, UK), not a single one is heading to Asia, and I do know a number of teachers that would like to move from asia to europe.

Actually not really. I dont like being an admin, I miss the kids. A good administrator isnt so much about being "the lead" as it is about being in a supporting role. My job is to run interference with parents, so teachers can deal with lesson planing. Its too identify and address behavior issues early, before they become a distraction in the classroom. Its to advocate for my teachers and students with the board in the evening so that teachers can rejuvenate and rest in their after school hours. Its to take on the immense amounts of paperwork and documentation, so that teachers can mark students work. If an admin is doing their job well, they actually find themselves with a pretty easy job.