As chilagringa says, it depends on life circumstances. When I took this contract, I thought I'd be out in 2 years, but the country and school has really grown on me and my bank account has grown significantly as well. However, if my dream job suddenly presented itself to me (or I realised that my mental health was suffering, or I had a change in my relationship status, etc.)...well, it would definitely be time to rethink things.

Thanks for the feedback. We've already accepted the fact that some large cities and schools that provide apartments as housing are out for us, but that's okay. We actually prefer smaller schools in rural areas, or cities (such as Bangkok) where one can still find houses with yards within commuting distance of the major schools. I suppose I am more worried about the fact that we might come off as crazy dog people with two rescues in tow.

If anyone does know of particularly dog-friendly schools in the Middle East, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, or Central/East Africa, I'd love to hear about them.

This may seem like a silly question, but I want to make sure we're not severely limiting our future employment options. Basically, my husband and I are currently fostering a puppy and are thinking about permanently adopting him. This would be in addition to our current street dog. The puppy is the same breed, so in a year or two when we're looking to find another job, we will have two "dependents" that are 70lbs each of pure muscle and large teeth. They're both very nice though.

My question: From a hiring perspective, is there really any difference between a teacher having one dog and having two dogs? We realise that some schools have a no-dogs or no-pets policy, but those were never an option for us anyways. We just want to make sure we're not making ourselves un-hireable with too much excess baggage. I should mention that we are childfree, so it's just the dogs.

I think it's too early to tell. I still have a lot of friends working there (at NIST, ISB, and Concordia), and they've all told me the same thing: The repercussions of the king dying aren't likely to be felt until after the official mourning period ends. None of them are planning on leaving the country or seeking new employment, but everyone is aware that they should have a back up plan in place, just in case.

Wow. You seem like a fun person to work with.

The only thing I've heard about Chennai from the people who work there is that they will work you to death and that your commute may be excessive (>1hr each way), depending on how close to the school your apartment is. Other than that, it seems like a lovely place.

I can't speak directly on teaching in Western Europe, but I have travelled regularly between there and Asia (where I work) for the past 5 years or so. In a nutshell: I love Asia. I love the cultural differences, I love the low cost of living, I love how many weird (but good) little international schools there are, and I LOVE how much I can save here while still having an extremely high standard of living. Since I do visit family in WE quite a bit, I have looked for jobs in places like Warsaw, Madrid, Munich, and Paris. Ultimately, I always decide to stick with Asia. I think I'd enjoy living in any of these places and some of the schools would be a great fit professionally, but in the end it comes down to money. I have no complaints about my life now, so taking that much of a hit to my savings in order to live in Europe is a bridge I'm not quite ready to cross.

Edit: I should add that, as an upper level math teacher, the salaries I was offered were going to be just enough to pay for an apartment (much smaller than I'm used to), living expenses, and a couple of frugal international trips a year (instead of my current 4-5), while saving about 20,000-30,000 less than I currently do. Granted, I would still be able to put money away, but it just wouldn't be enough at my age to make me happy.

You might want to start here: http://www.dodea.edu/Offices/HR/employment/teacher.cfm

I can't answer all of your questions, as it's been a long time since I looked into moving into the DoDDS system. I do seem to recall that you were on the hook for US federal and state taxes (better than paying European taxes), although this is offset in part by the salary increase you receive in some countries, as well as the housing allowance. Other benefits (tenure system, retirement, etc.) were excellent, but I know for a fact I am saving more money at my current job and have more opportunities for paid PD. I can also attest to the fact that it is an INCREDIBLY difficult system to get in to.

"One question about leadership. Is a Masters in Education essential to being in leadership?"

I am wondering this as well. And would it need to be an M.Ed in Administration or would something like an M.Ed in Ed Tech suffice? Also, how much does the name of the school actually matter in the long run? I ask mostly out of curiosity, as it seems that everyone I work with has an M.Ed in Admin or Curriculum Design, so part of me feels like the field has to be super-saturated at this point.

Are there any places that will give you a pension with less than 10 years? Ideally 5 or 6?

Thanks for trying to get this thread back on topic, senator.

//So, what do career IT's do/what's their plan/ for the end of their work careers?

Our plan is to save up as much money as possible so that we can live off of dividends/investments. For our lifestyle, this translates to about $40,000 a year in a developing country. This means we need to save $1 million before we can retire OR we need to look at doing the last 5+ years of our IT careers in a place that will allow us access to a pension system. Honestly, I'm not sure if the latter is ever going to happen, so right now we're just hoarding money by working in questionable locations. Perhaps in a few years we'll be able to comfortably work in a place like Germany or Switzerland but I'm not counting on it.


//Or is the common belief that most teachers don't know how to manage money - as stated by one IE school head at a Search job fair - actually true?

From what I've seen of my coworkers and others in the international community, there is definitely a grain of truth to this. I have met numerous teachers who blew their income on vacations and other material goods and are now bemoaning the fact that they have no money for retirement now that they're in their early/mid 50's. This is shocking to me, since I know for a fact that many of them worked at schools earlier in their careers that would have allowed for a decent savings rate. Then again, everyone has different priorities in life. Mine just happens to be early retirement.

No ATM fees in the US, but they don't charge you any additional fees (some banks do) for using international ATMS. THere's also no foreign transaction fee if you're using your card overseas at shops.

I use TD Ameritrade. No ATM fees, can deposit $5000 a day via my iPad (which shows up as soon as the US markets open), and comes with a Visa debit card.

>>One way to save a ton, STEMteacher, is to get your wife certified and get two incomes coming in at a good school :-)

This is sound advice, but I would caution the OP about the realities of looking for two STEM jobs, as opposed to say one STEM job and an elementary position. In my experience, finding two HS level science/math positions at the same school can be difficult. This is especially true if you are looking at schools in hardship locations that have incredible savings potential, as they are likely much smaller than the high paying Tier 1s (ISB, SAS, etc).