I STILL want to be mortgage free - 2011!

Sepa74

Teaching English is a good way to make a living abroad, and relatively recession proof as people will invest in their English in order to maintain their employability.

However the schools that teach English can be quite mercenary, and don't guarantee your hours.

On the other side of the coin, there are lots of opportunities to spend your spare hours tutoring private students!

My brother has made a good life for himself in Italy, although he is in the north and it gets far more humid there than it does here!

One tip is to go to less touristed places (for goodness sake don't try and get a job in Tuscany!!!) but find a little known university town where your students will be lecturers and researchers who need decent English to publish their research and will want lessons consistently over a period of several years.

twinklie

Oh no, Sepa I think you may have grasped the wrong end of the stick. I want to teach Science in an international school not English as a second language. I also don't want to tutor, I want a salaried regular income. It's not a short term thing, I'm after shipping off completely. Obviously, I don't expect "the job" straight away, but would hope to fine a permenant one that I could grow into over the long term.

Nothing like a health ambition eh?

Sepa74

lol.. sorry! Funnily enough, I have a friend who used to do that in Rome, but I don't know much more than that she hated the particular school she was at - the kids were all spoilt brats!

Good luck!

twinklie

Don't worry about it - I appreciate any input anyone can offer - it might be an avenue I've not considered. Unfortunately teaching in international schools the majority are probably spoilt brats. But its the lifestyle for my family I'm interested in more than anything.

twinklie

I just got a tax rebate of £30.25 from 2007 - 2008. Nice. And I have 67.50 to put into my bank for tutoring as well. :j

Still not heard from OCR so hoping that I'm still doing some marking in January - fingers crossed they don't get rid of me at the last minute. A bit more to payout for in the coming days: Car on monday (boo), Belles christmas presents, food and drink for over christmas (using necter points to pay for most of it though).

Time to be getting organised I think.

Lois_E

Just caught up with your diary, twinklie. What an eventful time you've had - getting gassed and DH's accident and striking and observations and trip and dissertation topic. Hope everything's going OK now.

twinklie

Savings at a new all time low....stupid car costing £1060 to fix. Far to much expense this year. Unhappy twinklie.com!

twinklie

OK so car hasn't cost £1060, it's cost £860. But despite driving 30 miles to go and collect it after being given a time by the garage....it isn't fixed! ARGH!

museumworker

Merry Xmas twinklie, hope you have a fantastic day.

Lois_E

Hope you've been having a great Christmas Twinklie.