BootsnAll Travel Community

Okay, so I have lived and travelled abroad in the past, but then I moved to Texas.

Houston.

It sucks you in and tries to make you stay FOREVER. (Like Stepford, but not as pretty.)

Anyhow, I have reached the end of my rope. I cannot take being here (in TX specifically, in these United States generally) much longer.

I want out.

Question is, how do I get out? To stay, I mean? My skills are vaguely marketable--I do teach English, and my students are 90% English Language Learners, AND they're thugs and delinquents--but I have a good amount of debt, about US$8000 total.

When I escape, I'll be able to sell my car and apply that money to a) my debt or b) my travel and living expenses, but that won't cover all the debt.

So...what do you, who live or have lived abroad, recommend to me?

Thanks. I'm sure it's a repetitive question, so thanks.

First, get rid of the debt! ( And never do that again).

Then get marketable skills while living simply ( to help with the debt). Maybe get a skill that you can do online anywhere in the world, which would give you more options.

Good luck!

Assuming that you want to or are willing to teach English in another country, your best bet is to head to a country where you can make a decent living doing so. Once you've paid off your debt and saved up some money, you can decide whether to stay where you're at or to move somewhere else. If memory serves me correctly, some of the best places for saving money while Teaching english are Dubai, China and Korea. The folks over at Dave's ESL cafe would know best:

www.eslcafe.com

tell me about it, I'm stuck here in the Htown myself after traveling mexico and europe and wanna just sell my house and leave out of this country....
What part of Houston are you living in atm?

I have recently decided to this very thing, though I must wait another two years until I am able to leave the military and obtain my TEFL certificate. I have been doing a fair amount of research on the subject of teaching overseas, and I would have to agree with EMH in that teaching English is a wonderful vehicle to accomplish your goal. There is really no end to the possibilities. You could span the globe while paying off your debt in the process. Everything I have read indicates that you could easily save 1000-1200USD a month teaching in Korea (which seems to be the hot spot). I am less certain of Dubai (seems much of these are working for companies training their employees), but Dave's does list a lot of interesting opportunities in a number of countries.

So my advice is to simply go for it. You have the skills and the experience and above all the desire.

I'm sure the answer depends a lot on you (and so I can't really answer it well), but as far as teaching English goes, here's what I have to say based on teaching for a couple of years in Eastern Europe and keeping up with teaching news and discussions online:

If you're flexible and kind of willing to put up with a likely difficult schedule, you can save a good deal in Korea as the above post says. The cost of living is lower than in Japan and I routinely hear that it is the best place to go to save.

I would say if you want to get a job and stay somewhere longer-term (many years as opposed to one or two), with your background in teaching, international schools would probably give you better pay and better conditions generally than teaching English. Teaching English is a great way to interact with people on a personal level and to live abroad for a time (and without a degree in teaching), but I think most jobs are not so oriented towards career-type positions. You can find them, but many are not.

I agree that work you can do online would probably give you the most flexibility.

In the end it totally depends on what you are looking for and what you want to do. Hope this helps!

This thread:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=42096&highlight=saving

give some good info on the best places to make money while teaching English abroad.

Yahoo!

I had a look at my debt today, and I am in a good place, once Christmas is over. Then I can get back to building my savings and paying that debt. Meantime I am sort of committed to this job for a couple more years (that debt I was talking about), but I am thinking that in the meantime I can maybe find some short-term (2month) work for summer break? I'll have a look around the web at the suggested links for short-term jobs.

And Optimus, I teach in Pasadena, SE side of Houston. Or, as my darling darling little thug students say, "Houstone."

Oh, wait. That's gang-related. Can't say that.

Now then, back to saving money.

Good for you!

Put that debt on the wall and start paying it down in a disciplined fashion. I had a massive debt (well $12 000 - seemed massive) and now I'm debt free. Let the savings begin! It's amazing that I've done it and feels really good, as though I'm working for me.

I believe Kyiv International School is desperate for teachers.

Here's their site.

I can not blame you for wanting out of Houston. Out of all the places in the world I have been, Houston is my absolute least favorite place. Good Luck!

First of all, the debt extermination is key. With it gone, you have no ties. Second, check out a book called "Getting Out" by Mark Ehrman. It is a good starting reference for learning about some of the different countries, their economies, lifestyles, costs of living etc. As well as their policies on someone becoming a resident or in the very least visa policies. It leaves out a lot of countries I would possibly be interested in but it is a start eh?

First of all (of course) is get rid of your debt! debt is never good. Any old junk lying around that you don't need any more? sell it and pay off your debt. If you need your car though, don't sell it until you don't need it. IE: If you drive to work, don't sell it yet!

Now, you're gonna need to buckle down and get some money to your name to help establish yourself in london or tokyo or bangkok or sydney or wherever you want to go...This might be the hardest thing to do.

You'll need to cut out all expenses, where possible. Save as much money as humanly possible. Maybe even consider getting a second job.

And last of all, good luck!

I completely know were you are coming from. I was in a similar position. I teach English to special needs kids in Texas. I applied with one of the international teaching candiacy programs. It's much simpler than trying to contact these schools on your own. I basically got my choice of places that wanted me (ESL experience can take you anywhere).I got to choose from a few schools in Europe, Turkey, Eastern Europe, but it looks as if I'm going to Africa! Plus I'm in debt up to my ears. These schools pay so much more than Texas schools that I will be out of my debt (college loans even!) after my two year contract. If you want to PM me I'll give you the names of the program I went through. I'm not big on advertising through bna.



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StellaM--My God, that's exactly what I do now. Only not special needs: holy terrors.


And good news, people who want to get out--I'm getting out!

I'll be teaching secondary school in UK, and from what I've heard, it's...well...challenging. But holy terrors are holy terrors, and pretty much all of the UK is better than Houston. So yahoo! Just a few more months now.

Good for you! I was going to suggest getting a teaching degree for either elementary or secondary and then heading to teach in international schools around the world. My husband and I (both school teachers) did that for 12 years - in Egypt, Ethiopia, Taiwan, and Malaysia. We were teaching regular school (not ESL), which has some advantages. During our time overseas we were able to save a considerable amount of money and build up a decent savings account.

Just an update (because I'm so happy to be leaving Houston I'm practically shouting it from the rooftops):

I got a job offer in UK. I start teaching in September.

I GET TO LEAVE!!!!

Hooray!

Congrats. Can we know where in the UK?

Good for you! Go get 'em!

Escape is quite possible. Many of us out here have done it.

*sheepish grin* I don't know if this is the most thrilling or exciting location to move to...but again, coming from Houston, it may well be Valhalla. I'm going to teach in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. So far everything's been working out swimmingly. Next job: find a place to live.