Moving Home Success Stories?

sciteach
Posts: 258
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:49 am

Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by sciteach »

At the moment - it seems as though there has been plenty of comments about problems with getting visas, getting flights and being able to do stuff in different countries all over the world.

Has anyone had much luck with moving home and been happy with the choice - specifically looking on the job front?
fine dude
Posts: 651
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:12 pm
Location: SE Asia

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by fine dude »

A good friend of mine accepted a middle leader position at a charter school in North Carolina last year and the family is quite happy with the decision.
twofromusa
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:42 am

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by twofromusa »

fine dude wrote:
> A good friend of mine accepted a middle leader position at a charter school
> in North Carolina last year and the family is quite happy with the
> decision.

Makes sense for the family to be happy. Wonder if the friend is.
Lastname_Z
Posts: 120
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 12:17 pm

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by Lastname_Z »

I moved home just before COVID (summer of 2019). I'm still at home and am pretty happy to be near family and friends, and I'm building a comfortable life here. I was just a substitute at the beginning (by choice, was nice to have a break) and then took on full-time teaching again. Work has been much easier to come by since COVID happened.

This is in Ontario, Canada to give more context.

The thing I do miss about being abroad (travel) would not be accessible during COVID anyway, so I'll be staying put for awhile. I do see myself going abroad once more, but not for awhile. Even if I do go back, I know it will be temporary. I've realized that being abroad is nice as a temporary change in lifestyle (like a gap year of sorts), but it's never going to be a lifestyle in itself.
sciteach
Posts: 258
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:49 am

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by sciteach »

Since the post I started has been kind of dead - I should say what's happened to me.

In the 2019/20 school year (prior to covid), I decided to go back home for a couple of years after living in mainly asia for around a decade at the end of the school year.

When I went home (an English speaking country), lockdowns were in place which basically stopped schools being open and there was little or no need for replacement teachers. Thankfully the government gave some money for living expenses to people who were affected by the lockdown.

I tried working a public school in a rural area and hated it - I thought I wanted a tree change. I've learnt that in my home country - getting jobs happens much later than internationally. For example - I was also offered an ongoing position in my nations capital the day after I accepted that job.

Fast forward a couple of months with replacement teaching - I applied for 2 jobs through an agency who specialized in private schools. I was offered an interview with both, with the first one which is an IB school interviewing me first. I accepted this position - and a few months later they offered me an ongoing position.

My current position is not a dream position but in the long term - it's better for me financially. The facilities make the better international schools look like second rate schools but some of the parents make god look poor. It is however nice to have 2 week breaks between terms with a slightly shorter summer vacation.

It will also make me rethink ever taking a job at one of the Third Tier low wage schools - when I can save in a month what they pay in a month if I'm frugal in my home country.....
jschott
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 4:31 pm

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by jschott »

sciteach wrote:
> Has anyone had much luck with moving home and been happy with the choice -
> specifically looking on the job front?

Reverse culture shock: it was the worst thing ever. Took me about six years to readjust to the United States, and even then the readjustment was more like resignation than acceptance.

Also notable: The fantastic teaching experiences I had abroad meant next to nothing to local schools. They seemingly didn't know what to make of the experience. In many ways I regret ever coming back.
TeachHereTeachThere
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:40 am

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by TeachHereTeachThere »

I moved back home too in 2019 to Ontario, Canada. I'm supply teaching, there's lots of it. And I'm applying to contracts and long term supply which pays at grid salary. No regrets. I'm at the top of the payscale and the salary is amazing. The medical benefits are outstanding for teachers in Ontario. The pension is also amazing though I won't get enough years in to get a nice one. Oh well, no regrets as live abroad was so good. I do miss being abroad, the life and school experiences. But there's a lot I don't miss: I find gossip and backstabbing in Ontario nowhere near to what it was abroad. We also don't get meetinged to death. I was at some good schools but the salary was never as good as here. No way the medical benefits were as good as here and of course no pension. There's good job security and holidays.
What I would say though is teaching in Canada right out of teachers college is a mistake. The salary is crap. My board accepts 10 years of teaching abroad experience which put me right at the top of the payscale. My advice would be to teach abroad for 10 years and have a blast then move back home but make sure you get that experience documented and get it in writing your board will accept that experience for the pay grid.
Lastname_Z
Posts: 120
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 12:17 pm

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by Lastname_Z »

TeachHereTeachThere wrote:
> I moved back home too in 2019 to Ontario, Canada. I'm supply teaching,
> there's lots of it. And I'm applying to contracts and long term supply
> which pays at grid salary. No regrets. I'm at the top of the payscale and
> the salary is amazing. The medical benefits are outstanding for teachers in
> Ontario. The pension is also amazing though I won't get enough years in to
> get a nice one. Oh well, no regrets as live abroad was so good. I do miss
> being abroad, the life and school experiences. But there's a lot I don't
> miss: I find gossip and backstabbing in Ontario nowhere near to what it was
> abroad. We also don't get meetinged to death. I was at some good schools
> but the salary was never as good as here. No way the medical benefits were
> as good as here and of course no pension. There's good job security and
> holidays.
> What I would say though is teaching in Canada right out of teachers college
> is a mistake. The salary is crap. My board accepts 10 years of teaching
> abroad experience which put me right at the top of the payscale. My advice
> would be to teach abroad for 10 years and have a blast then move back home
> but make sure you get that experience documented and get it in writing your
> board will accept that experience for the pay grid.

Glad I'm not the only one who had a great adjustment returning home to Ontario. Everything you said about schools abroad is exactly what I don't miss either.
shadowjack
Posts: 2138
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by shadowjack »

Depending on your teaching area, 10 years prices you out - they can hire two new teachers, one of whom will last, for what they pay you. Given school based budgets, this can be a concern for some administrators when hiring.
Lastname_Z
Posts: 120
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 12:17 pm

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by Lastname_Z »

shadowjack wrote:
> Depending on your teaching area, 10 years prices you out - they can hire
> two new teachers, one of whom will last, for what they pay you. Given
> school based budgets, this can be a concern for some administrators when
> hiring.

Not in the case of public schools in Ontario. The people making hiring decisions are completely separated from budgeting concerns. That's all decided on a Ministry level. People value experience more than how much it will cost them.

Plus, once you are in, you are in because it's a union position.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

One couple I know got stuck in the states at the start of the pandemic in South Carolina but are doing pretty well working in DSs. The work is very different and they miss the easyness they had in IE but the coin is better.
Bioguy21
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2021 9:42 pm

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by Bioguy21 »

TeachHereTeachThere wrote:
> I moved back home too in 2019 to Ontario, Canada. I'm supply teaching,
> there's lots of it. And I'm applying to contracts and long term supply
> which pays at grid salary. No regrets. I'm at the top of the payscale and
> the salary is amazing. The medical benefits are outstanding for teachers in
> Ontario. The pension is also amazing though I won't get enough years in to
> get a nice one. Oh well, no regrets as live abroad was so good. I do miss
> being abroad, the life and school experiences. But there's a lot I don't
> miss: I find gossip and backstabbing in Ontario nowhere near to what it was
> abroad. We also don't get meetinged to death. I was at some good schools
> but the salary was never as good as here. No way the medical benefits were
> as good as here and of course no pension. There's good job security and
> holidays.
> What I would say though is teaching in Canada right out of teachers college
> is a mistake. The salary is crap. My board accepts 10 years of teaching
> abroad experience which put me right at the top of the payscale. My advice
> would be to teach abroad for 10 years and have a blast then move back home
> but make sure you get that experience documented and get it in writing your
> board will accept that experience for the pay grid.

Thanks for this insight. I hadn't really intended to return to Ontario to teach, but I have more than 10 years experience and you make a pretty good case for it. How can I "get it in writing" as you suggest? Who should provide that documentation for me (is it acceptable, for example to ask my current school to just make an official looking document that declares I've been teaching for 10 years? I haven't been with any school for 10 years so I wonder how I would document my experience in an official way. Also, where and when do you start looking for jobs in Canada. I've never been through the hiring process in my own country!
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Comment

Post by PsyGuy »

@Bioguy21

You would use the combination of your service and reference letters to document the combined 10 years of experience.
jesatlarge
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:31 am
Location: China

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by jesatlarge »

Well, I hope this will turn out to be a success story but only time will tell. Leaving a job at a well known Asian tier 1 school after more than a decade. General ennui, lack of travel opportunities/Covid related regulations, and family ties back home provided momentum for the move. Took a job with a IB boarding school in suburban NY. Salary of 80k, a free apartment, a non-teaching job at the school for my wife, free tuition and dorm for my kid, free meals for all of us; and maybe best of all a very compact school year of 150 teacher/student contact days. To top it off, all the folks I spoke with seemed down to earth and quite nice. So we are stoked...it seems like a nice re-entry path back to teaching in the USA.
IE_sciteacher
Posts: 38
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:05 pm

Re: Moving Home Success Stories?

Post by IE_sciteacher »

Schools usually provide a letter on school letter head stating your years of service and your position. My guess is if you have letters of verification that add up to 10 years (or however many you have worked) that would suffice.

Bioguy21 wrote:
> TeachHereTeachThere wrote:
> Thanks for this insight. I hadn't really intended to return to Ontario to teach, but
> I have more than 10 years experience and you make a pretty good case for it. How can
> I "get it in writing" as you suggest? Who should provide that documentation
> for me (is it acceptable, for example to ask my current school to just make an
> official looking document that declares I've been teaching for 10 years? I haven't
> been with any school for 10 years so I wonder how I would document my experience in
> an official way. Also, where and when do you start looking for jobs in Canada. I've
> never been through the hiring process in my own country!
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