💳 How many of you are still saddled with debt decades after you graduated from college? Who still has those pesky student loans that seem like they will never be forgiven or paid off? How many of you are getting tired of living paycheck to paycheck? How many of you feel that you are too old to have a second job only to never have enough to pay the bills? If any of these sentiments sound familiar, then considering a life abroad may be the answer you have been seeking.

⚕️ As you can imagine, many countries around the world have a cheaper cost of living than the United States. Anyone who has ever traveled down to Mexico for cheaper cocktails, prescription medicine, or dental surgeries knows the joys that come from getting something for cheaper. Well, that is exactly how living abroad can feel, but for longer than a weekend. When you choose to take a job internationally, you are usually trading in that overpriced basic lifestyle at home for a much more affordable and luxurious one elsewhere.

🏦 Oftentimes people who have never taught abroad panic when they first come across the salary schedules for the international schools. You may see that your annual salary would be lower than what it could be working stateside. However, you must look instead at the “savings potential” for each school’s contract to understand truly what the cost of living might be. For example, I was able to pay off my student loans my first year abroad because of the savings potential I had working in Uzbekistan where one could live quite comfortably on $100 a month and yet I was being paid more than $3000 a month. The cost of living in Uzbekistan was so low for me because my school provided me housing, flights, visas, shipping, retirement, health care, and even “rest and relaxation” trips all for free so my only cost was food and car rides to work. Thus, when considering a contract at an international school, you must weigh in all that is included in the package, find out what the cost of living is in that area (I like to use websites like https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ to find out what basic items cost in a city compared to what I am used to), and really evaluate the deal holistically. Free housing, health insurance, flights, and shipping are some of the perks you can expect if you land yourself the right school package. Another bonus for all those rebels out there that like to “stick it to the man,” any chance they get, income made abroad is tax free in America so long as it is under $120,000 (as of 2024), though some countries like Brazil will pull local taxes from your salary, but will return it eventually after a lot of paperwork and patience.

🏝️ When considering which country to move to, some basic facts should be recognized. First, most popular locations like Western Europe or South America typically have smaller salaries and savings potentials than schools located in places like Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Knowing what your priorities will help you decide which international schools you would like to focus your attention on; if you are wanting to make money at all costs, than apply at the less popular locations, but if you prefer location or quality of life over hardship locations, than apply to those popular tourist destinations you have been dreaming about. Just know this, anyone can survive working anywhere for two years if they can afford to leave every vacation to those luxury locations and still have money left over to pay the bills and to plan for retirement.

💰 There are a few deals you can look for when evaluating school contracts. By choosing to live in developing countries or perhaps dangerous locations, it is sometimes possible to be offered “hazard pay” as part of your contract. This helps add to what you can save annually and drastically improves your story-telling content to the folks back home,  around the campfire, or following you on your socials. As mentioned before, some schools even add a flight home each year, or even a “R & R ” (rest and relaxation) bonus allowing you to vacation on your employer’s dime. I have also heard of schools offering a sign on bonus, though I have not experienced that before myself. What I did absolutely love taking advantage of was the $15,000 being offered as part of my contract at the International Community School in Addis Ababa for a no-interest loan, a salary advance, to be paid off monthly during my two-year contract. This was a wonderful way for me to pay off some of my credit card debt from my stay in America rather than using it to buy a car (which is what most people used the money for) since I found hiring local taxi drivers way cheaper and way less stressful than owning my own car. As long as you are observant, you will make an informed decision about your future employer.

🏡 The amount of financial freedom living abroad offers an educator more accustomed to penny pinching is reason enough to take the risk, in my opinion. Not only will becoming an international teacher provide you with short-term financial benefits, there are several long term ones as well. A number of friends have afforded to pay off their mortgage back “home” or pay for a “down payment” on a house when they return from living abroad based on the money they earned while teachig abroad. Others have been known to sock away funds to pay for a lavish retirement full of luxury cruises and dinners out or to build retirement homes in other exotic locations which all happen to be my personal happiness goals for the future.