Shanghai, China
Are you considering whether the city you might work in is a city decline? Are you specifically looking for international schools in cities that are considered to be the fastest growing in the world?
It might be something to consider as it might directly effect your experience at a school in one of those cites. If in a declining city, the international schools there might have declines in student numbers as a result, cash-flow might be a problem in the business department, your benefits might not increase each year or even worse might disappear altogether, etc… If you are placed at an international school that is considered to be in one of the fastest growing cities, the international schools there might have increasing students as a result, the city you are living in might be improving themselves left and right, the expat life there might been a booming one, etc…
So, which cities are the ones in decline and which cities are the ones that are the fastest-growing?
A new survey from the Brookings Institution ranks the world’s 200 largest metropolitan economies — which account for half of global GDP — from 1-200. And the winners are …
From the report: Shanghai won gold in the Brookings report by winning a double silver in income and employment growth. “Only Shenyang achieved faster income growth, and only Riyadh achieved faster employment growth, than Shanghai last year.”
It is sometimes said that geography is destiny. But a tour of the cities dotting the Mediterranean Sea suggests that nearby metros can have wildly divergent fortunes. Turkey is home to three of the most dynamic metros in the world, according to Brookings, including the surprising Izmir. Meanwhile across the Aegean Sea, Athens had by far the worst 2011 of any major city, with the world’s largest drops in income and employment. A little further west, three Spanish cities along the Mediterranean coast — Valencia, Barcelona, and Seville — were also among the 10 least dynamic cities in the world last year.
“The metro areas at the bottom of the rankings are overwhelmingly affected by the euro zone crisis,” said Emilia Istrate, a senior research analyst with Brookings. “This cities are facing national and international crises.” Richmond and Sacramento are the only American cities in the bottom ten. “These state capitals are still in decline, not because of international crises, but because of local circumstances,” Istrate said. “Government cuts and real estate over-investment from the better years are dragging down growth.”
The most important lesson from this survey is a lesson you already know. The fastest-growing cities and countries are almost always in the developing world. As poorer countries join the vibrant global economy and gain access to consumers and investors with considerable means, there is more low-hanging fruit for them to build on a smaller base of wealth. A city like Hangzhou, China, can triple its GDP in eight years. In fact, it did. If a city like San Jose (CA) tripled its GDP in eight years, the median wage would be nearly $200,000.
Izmir, Turkey, and Santiago, Chile, two of the fastest growing cities in the world, are also among the 20 poorest cities in Brookings’ survey. In the full list of the richest and poorest metropolitan economies, only Houston finished in the top 20 among both the richest and the fastest-growing metros. That’s a remarkable accomplishment for the Texas energy hub, but it’s also an indication that “fastest-growing” and “richest” are barely overlapping Venn diagrams.
Check out all the international schools in these cities on our Schools List page on International School Community.
Comments and information about salaries on ISCommunity #3: Morrison Christian Academy, Jeddah Knowledge Int’l School & Colegio Granadino Manizales
Comments and information about salaries at international schools on International School Community
Every week members are leaving information and comments on the salaries that teachers are making at international schools around the world. Which ones pay more? Which ones do you have to pay very high taxes? Which ones offer tax-free salaries? All important questions to think about when job searching, but where to find the answers to those questions?
Why do some international schools keep their specific salary information so secret? Even at international school job fairs, you don’t really get to see the exact amount of your yearly and monthly salary until you see the contract paperwork. Even then sometimes you don’t know what will be your exact take-home pay each month. At International School Community, we want to make the search for salaries easier for international school teachers. In the benefits section of the school profile page, there is a section specifically for salaries. The topic is: “Average monthly salary after taxes and in what currency (explain taxation situation). How often do you get paid throughout the year?”
Here are 3 out of the many comments and information related to salaries that have been posted on our website:
Morrison Christian Academy (3 campuses)
“Staff receive salaries from July to June. New staff’s July payroll will be paid in NT$ cash and can be picked up from the campus cashier when they arrive in Taiwan after July 20. In light of summer travel, May and June payrolls are both paid in May. Normally, the salary is deposited into a NT$ Post Office (which functions somewhat like a bank) account, unless staff specify otherwise. Staff can choose to have all or portion of the salary paid in form of a US$ check or direct deposit into a US checking account.”
Jeddah Knowledge International School
“Teachers can expect to get around 3600 USD a month, net, because there are 0 taxes on their salaries. It is important to know that salaries are paid in Saudi Riyal.”
Colegio Granadino Manizales
“Deductions on your salary is social security which is 8% of your pesos salary (50% of your salary is paid in local peseo, the other 50% is paid in USD.). Manizales has a low monthly cost of living. Staff members typically live on their pesos monthly salary and save their US payment.”
Check out the other comments and information about these schools on our website: www.internationalschoolcommunity.com