Extended Travel in Europe

Teaching English Europe

In this soft economy, many college graduates are opting to take hiatuses rather than take jobs that they feel undervalue their skill set, never mind the cost of their education.  But with parents often just as strapped for cash as little Johnny or Sue, the post-college trip – once funded by graduation money or signing bonuses for jobs starting 3-4 months after graduation – is an unfunded liability, as it were. That’s why more and more students are discovering ways to travel and earn money at the same time – working on cruise ships, couriering, or even teaching English. Teaching English is especially lucrative as English is perceived globally as a kind of bridge to the global upper middle class regardless of nationality. And when it comes to making money for traveling by teaching English, Europe and Japan are standouts.

English teachers with TEFL training or certification can make upwards of $100/hr for class time or tutoring by virtue of the TEFL designation in Japan and Europe. Luckily for Americans, since most Britons and their English-speaking brethren around Europe take their travels before or doing university, they often don’t have the credentials to take these high-paying English-teaching jobs and so aren’t able to pay for travel through work in the same way that Americans can should an American decide to undergo TEFL certification.

Being a teacher of English in Europe is therefore an under-the-radar way to pay for what could be endless globetrotting on a frugal budget. Since teachers are paid in local currency as well, it is also easier for teachers of English to ESOL students to afford local costs of living, whereas workers in the hospitality industry – many of whom are paid by foreign national companies – are paid in dollars, which, of course, don’t go the distance they used to. 

For those looking to take a trip to discover what they love, to explore the world at an age of little responsibility, or to wait out what is – in the eyes of those capable of looking past the red and black numbers – a recession, then working while traveling is the way to go. And if working while traveling is a dream of yours, then getting a TEFL certification that will allow you to secure high-paying jobs teaching English almost wherever you go is probably one of the best decisions you will ever make. (That is, of course, until you decide to blow off the whole ‘career’ thing for good!)

Tags: teaching english europe

Moving From China To USA

MOVING FROM CHINA TO USA

Finally, the time had come to retire and I was left with the big question: Did I want to live out my days in the land I’d come to love this past twenty years or did I want to return to the US of A, my birth place and home of my remaining family?

After months of sleepless nights, soul searching and emails back and forth to my daughter, I had finally decided to move back to my original home. Having moved overseas twenty years ago you would think I’d have found it an easy task. But you would be wrong. My wife had organized the whole move back then. She was no longer with me. And so much had changed in the last twenty years; I didn’t know where to start. The task seemed monumental.

Until a close friend said to me, “Get with the program Ed…use the Internet.”
“Okay,” I said. But I was skeptical. The same friend said to Google ‘international moving company.’ What I found totally took me by surprise - you could have knocked me over with a feather! All I had to do was put my country of residence, China, and my destination, USA, into a form and a bunch of international moving companies came up on the screen. They all offered free quotes so I got one from every one on that list.

Now, I believe in being frugal, but to me it was more important to make sure my precious possessions, most of which were bought with my wife when she was alive, got to the USA in one piece and not go missing somewhere along the way. So I researched every one of the international moving companies in the Better Business Bureau and epinions, again on the advice of my friend. The international moving company I chose was priced in the middle, but its license was in order and it had a good reputation.

So a date was set for the international moving company of my choice to show up and pack up my house. Once the details were all set, my feelings were bitter-sweet. I wanted to stay, yet I wanted to go. China, land of ancient wisdom, timeless culture and polite society had been the only home for me these past twenty years and the place where I had scattered the ashes of my beloved wife. How could I leave?

I took my wallet from my back pocket and dug out some pictures. Looking up at me were the smiling faces of my daughter, and my precious grandchildren. There was my reason for leaving.

China would always live in my heart and a chunk of my heart would always live in China. But the USA was where my future lay – in the eyes of my grandchildren.

International Moving