As a career international teacher, I am happy to continue this series on Save $$$ ANYWHERE! Last month we introduced the housing package topic as a way for international teachers to save $$.
Helpful Hint #3: Avoid Large Purchases
As an expatriate teacher, I have never needed a car, even though many of my colleagues have one. It’s a great luxury, but also a great expense when you consider gas, insurance, maintenance, license plate, and the loss in resale value. Uber is available in just about all counties now, and if a car is really necessary, a short-term rental can be obtained economically.
Avoiding the big purchases will make for better savings and fewer inconveniences when it comes time to move to the next assignment. Anyone who had to move without a shipping allowance understands the pain of letting go of your expensive cappuccino machine for pennies on the dollar.
Never own anything you can’t walk away from in 20 minutes. When the COVID-19 pandemic first came, and many teachers were locked out of their work country, saying goodbye to everything was very real. Teachers lost baby photos, family heirlooms, and all their personal belongings. One friend of mine who got locked out of China told me, “All my stuff wasn’t worth anything anyway”, and moved on happily. Others are still fighting with schools and governments to get back what was lost.
Having some creature comforts are important, especially with lockdowns and quarantine. Just be aware that having a new 80’ Smart TV is great, but you’ll never get back the money you invested. Avoiding large purchases can help you reach your savings goals.
Stay tuned next month for Tip #4 on Save $$$ ANYWHERE!
This article was submitted by an ISC member and veteran international school teacher. If you are interested in being a guest author on our blog, please contact us here.
Many of us international school educators would ideally like to teach abroad and also have close access to nature.
Escaping into a forest or a big green park can often reset our minds and bring our stress levels down to manageable levels.
Some international schools are already directly in nature. Maybe they are in a forest or right next to a water source, or maybe they are just in a city center that has a number of very green parks.
But not all international schools are in cities that have easy and quick access to nature.
Some cities do have a few trees lining the streets and also a few small parks scattered around, but often the number of buildings outnumbers these two things. And if you look closely, there can even be a layer of dust/dirt on the leaves making the green look more like a brownish color!
Even if there is not a lot of nature in the city center itself, it is still important to note that it can be worth it if you can find some nature close by via public transport or car.
Having access to a number of day trip options that go into nature can really be a selling point to working in a certain city and country.
Nature is important to many of us international educators, so it is necessary to ask around and do your research before making a decision to relocate.
Luckily, ISC was designed to help international school teachers find the information they are looking for. Using the Comment Search feature (premium membership needed), we found 235 comments that had the keyword “Nature” in them. Here are 11 of them:
Thailand
“The school is quite far from the center of Chiang Mai but it is possible to find nice places to eat and plenty of local shops and markets a short car or scooter ride away. The plus side is that you have total peace and are surrounded by lush green making it a wonderfully relaxed place to live and explore. Staff are given apartments on the school grounds with the option to live off-campus for those who wish it.” – Prem Tinsulanonda International School (55 total comments)
United Arab Emirates
“Single people enjoy their lives here. There are many other expats to date. There are a lot of things to do during the day and night here. There is a good coupon book that some people use. The book is huge so that means there is much to do. With regards to nature, there is actually a lot of living things in the desert. In our garden, there are many kinds of critters!” – American Community School of Abu Dhabi (30 total comments)
Malaysia
“There isn’t much to do in Putrajaya apart from nature walks and the lake activities. KL has lots to offer but lacks the excitement of other SE Asian destinations. It’s great for families though and has a charm of its own.” – Nexus International School – Malaysia (94 total comments)
Germany
“I would say there is a lot of nature here in Hamburg. There is water everywhere basically. There are many parks in the city as well. Just no mountains.” – International School of Hamburg (55 total comments)
Costa Rica
“Anywhere you around in the city, you will be able to see beautiful mountains. The sun is typically shining as well making all the views of the trees and flowers so lovely. And if the nature in the city isn’t enough, then you are not too far away from more nature in other cities around the country.” – American International School of Costa Rica (12 total comments)
France
“There is so much night life here, if that is your scene. There is also a lot of nature here too with so many parks around the city. On a sunny, warm day, Paris just looks sooooo beautiful! Last night I saw two gay men holding hands while walk down the sidewalk, and then around the Seine, I saw a group of gay bears meeting up for a mini party/gathering. Seems like Paris is really gay friendly.” – International School of Paris (24 total comments)
“It is possible to find any kind of activities you want here. There is a lot of nightlife, but also easy access to large parks and nature. Buying or renting a car will allow opportunities to get out into the country and really experience nature, if desired.” – Qsi – Kyiv International School (36 total comments)
Japan
“There are so many temples/shrines to see here. Many of them are going up the nearby mountainside. There is such beautiful nature there with amazing trees everywhere. In the spring, it is awesome and in the fall it can be very gorgeous.” – Kyoto International School (65 total comments)
Oman
“There isn’t that much nature in the city of Muscat itself, but you don’t have to do too far to see some green. There are palm trees that are dotted around the area, like near to the Grand Mosque. There are even areas of beautiful green grass and flowers like near to the Corniche Mutrah. But most of Muscat is desert-like. Just flat and sandy!” – American International School of Muscat (34 total comments)
Colombia
“School is built on a large hillside with beautiful views of the city. It is surrounded by a sort of nature preserve so it’s very green all around. The buildings are old and cannot be rebuilt due to building restrictions but they do their best to keep them repaired best they can.” – Colegio Nueva Granada (60 total comments)
Sometimes it is fun to just see what life is like at all the international schools in the world. Even if you don’t have the slightest interest in working at a specific international school or in a specific place in the world, you still might be curious to see what the benefits there are (for example). Maybe you are curious about how the weather is there or what the city life is like. We are also always curious to know what it is like to work at the school itself and how the campus really is.
Right now we have a total of 42002 comments and information on 1184+ international schools listed on our website (out of a total of 2221 schools listed).
There are four comment sections on each school profile pages:
• School Information– Total Comments = 19481 (up 2369 comments from June 2020) • Benefits Information– Total Comments = 13061 (up 1678 comments from June 2020) • City Information– Total Comments = 6695 (up 895 comments from June 2020) • Travel Information– Total Comments = 2765 (up 316 comments from June 2020)
Want to see all these comments in ONE spot? Now you can!
The ‘Browse All Comments‘ homepage will always be a random selection of 12 comments from our database of school profile comments. To view the next 12 comments, just click on the ‘Browse next 12 comments’ button. Continue clicking on that button to view all 42002+ comments on our website!
Have fun taking a look at all the comments and information that have been submitted by our over 22376 members.
Who knows? Maybe you will see a useful and/or interesting comment that will catch your attention. If you find one, just click on the school’s name to go to its profile page where you can read even more comments that have been submitted on that school (available to premium members only).
Maybe you will be so interested that you will take a look at the school’s website and find a position vacancy that fits you perfectly. We can only dream that would happen to us (never too soon to start networking for your next position)!
