Would you still teach in W.Europe?

[fine dude]

This question has been asked before, but in light of Brussels attacks, would you still be willing to take up a teaching job in W.Europe? If you are already teaching there, how many of you are considering to relocate over the next year or two?

[reisgio]

No. The Europe of our dreams and of our past is gone. Was offered two positions there last year and said no to both and so glad I did.

[joanveronica]

Yes. Absolutely yes.

[IAMBOG]

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.

[twoteachers]

In a heartbeat!!!!

[PsyGuy]

Belgium, Paris doesnt make a difference unless your the one in the fire storm ITs seem uneffected by their desire to obtain appointments in WE.

[Thames Pirate]

Funny, there were attacks in Iraq and Istanbul. No threads about Istanbul? What about Nigeria?

Of course people still want to teach in Europe. It is still safer than almost anywhere.

[fine dude]

@Thames Pirate
Iraq, Nigeria, and Turkey just pale in terms of the sheer number of established international schools in comparison to W.Europe. The question has been asked as most teachers go to W.Europe for lifestyle, not for personal savings. Of course, people are concerned teaching in the countries you mentioned and even, the US DoD is relocating diplomatic and military families out of southern Turkey as bases could be hot targets for attacks.

[PsyGuy]

@Thames Pirate

Agree with @fine dude, this is an issue of breadth and scope. Darfur was a campaign of genocide, but it wasnt in the WE, the only issue in the region that got much of any global play was how soon can we get the expats and whites out. If machette wielding Africans were in the streets of Lyon, Antwerp and Stanton Island, that would be a 'global issue'. Look at the very recent demonstrations in HK of the suffrage of the Chairman, and that position. How much press and attention did that get in the west? NYC/Paris/Belgium that hit westerners at home.

Want to see the poo really hit the fan, wait until ISIS takes on an Asian power like hitting Beijing (there have been terrorist attacks in SG and KL) but when the Chinese . hits the big red button of the PLA on ISIS, after an attack. That will be one really, really, really, short but intense firestorm. The US dominates in a technological conflict but no country can put sheer number of boots on the ground like China. The Chinese wont care about civilized appearance of conflict, they wont care about international approval, they will come just short of the equivalent of "nuking the site from orbit just to be sure". Weve seen what they do to their own people, they arent going to give quarter when confronting a violent and foreign power they can squash like an ant on the tire of a Mercedes.

[Thames Pirate]

I'm not on here to debate international relations (separate spaces for that), but the reality is that WE is still incredibly safe and the lifestyle hasn't changed much. If people want to pass on a job in WE because of terrorism concerns and instead teach in (name almost any country) Thailand, with its significantly higher murder rate, or the US with its significantly higher rape rate, then that's their loss. Honestly, WE is still safer than the US, Thailand, and many other highly desirable locations. But perceptions shape actions, and the news coverage shapes perceptions. Facts, however, differ from perception.

But whatever. I would (and will) still teach in WE in a heartbeat. But that's me.

[fine dude]

According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) study in 2013, Sweden has a higher rape rate (66 per 100, 000 population) than the US (29 per 100, 000). You are right about Thailand murder rate, though. The facts on the ground also shape people's perceptions, especially when families with children consider relocation.

It's the uncertainty prevailing in W.Europe right now that makes people think twice. For example, you are on the sub-way back from work and the next moment, you are not. The worrisome trend is the recurring of these events and the intelligence and security apparatus is not able to neutralise these threats. Right now, W.Europe is the most targeted due to its borderless and visa-free travel. I wish Europeans had something on the lines of US Homeland Security.

[IAMBOG]

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

[Thames Pirate]

Actually, Sweden has an incredibly broad definition of sexual assault and counts each offense separately whereas we don't. Were they to define it as we do in the US, it would be much lower. Furthermore, they appear to have a higher instance of reporting than the US, though of course there is no proof of that. Again, perception vs. facts. The statistic creates a perception if it is not thoroughly understood.

[wrldtrvlr123]

I think it's important to note that many people who actually live in WE feel that there has been a change for the worse in the last few years. Some of this may be due to just a perception of feeling less safe and some of it is due to actual negative changes that they have experienced (e.g. shootings, bombings etc on their streets, actual experiences of women/children being harassed and assaulted etc.).

It's fine to say yes, but it's still safer than the US or you are still more likely to die in a car crash then be blown up by a terrorist or groped by a migrant in WE but I think it is fair to say that some elements of the lifestyle have been diminished by recent events since many of the actual citizens of these countries do feel that way. Feeling the need to increase police presence to avoid another New Year's debacle in Cologne, feeling the need to have separate swimming areas/times to avoid women being assaulted/harassed, feeling the need to re-evaluate border controls to try and make it harder for terrorists to get access to targets may all be fueled by perceptions but they are also in response to very real and factual events.

Is WE still a prime destination for many people? Sure, and for many still valid reasons. But it would be wrong to ignore some of the negative changes that have happened there when considering living and working there.

[fine dude]

@Thames Pirate
Your perceptions change when you actually live there and you'll realise that soon first-hand. BTW, you need to cite your sources before you justify your claims.