Teaching abroad in retirement.
September 20, 2017 3:45 PM   Subscribe

OK. Starting to do some long range planning. My wife and I would like to retire in three to eight years. Probably around five years from now. I would be 60 and she would be 65. Our after tax income will probably be between 2500 and 4000 bucks a month. House paid off. Liquid assets of $150,000 to possibly $400,000. No debt--hopefully.

I'm looking at two options, or a combination of both. Teaching abroad, or private tutoring here in Abilene. I think I might like to keep the house here and tutor in the spring, and go to a different country every six to nine months during the summer and fall. No country that's not an active war zone is off my list. Doable? Anybody with experience? Just any thoughts from my friends?Certified to teach special education K-12, all core subjects 4-8, all sciences 7-12, technology applications (not programming) K-12, I would be able to maintain my Texas teaching certification.

I only speak English. Had some French, German and Spanish in school. My wife had some Portuguese.

Relatively good health, but health care is an issue.
posted by mikecable to Work & Money (6 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
My recommendation, coming from years of living and working overseas, is that unless you plan on staying in Anglophone countries, consider taking an intensive summer language course (or more than one) in a language spoken in the countries you might want to spend time teaching in. It will make your stay n the eventual host country much more pleasant if you are not linguistically isolated from the native culture.

Many countries have such courses specifically geared to foreigners. For example, there are teaching opportunities in many Francophone countries (including France), and before you propose to teach in one, you might look into the summer intensive French program in Aix-en-Provence (one I have specific experience with, but there are many). It's $2k for a month and Aix is a lovely tourist destination in its own right, in a beautiful area in the South of France. And you'll be meeting and interacting with native speakers in a non-threatening context.

After a month's intensive course, you won't be fluent, but you'll be able to get around and function in the culture at a basic level. When I took the course almost 20 years ago, there were field trips to Monaco, to a local vinyard/winery, and to some other historical sites. There was even a wine tasting course you could sign up for through the program!

Once you have a basic functional level of French, then you can leverage that to working in France or other countries where French is a language of wider communication.

There are language programs similar to this all over the world. I know of folks who have done this in Granada, Spain, in Fez, Morocco, and Alexandria, Egypt as a start to working or teaching in countries that speak Spanish or Arabic, as examples.

It may cost a bit up front, but it will be an investment in your future happiness if it means you can interact with and thrive in another language & culture. Plus, the time spent in the course is an experience in its own right. :)

Good luck!
posted by darkstar at 4:31 PM on September 20, 2017 [3 favorites]


Literally half my group of Peace Corps Response Volunteers were retirees who wanted a way to travel. Full medical coverage and living stipend. Most placements are 9-12 months and best geared toward former teachers but it's still worth checking out their page and seeing what opportunities are available.
posted by raccoon409 at 5:46 PM on September 20, 2017 [3 favorites]


In a different direction than previous responses, but another avenue to consider might be cruise ships. Many Alumni organizations offer trips where part of the draw is an expert or two in some subject related to the travel destination who can provide lectures and/or supplement the local tour guides. If you're really interested in part time/supplemental income that would also facilitate travel, this could be an option (though perhaps not health care). Sorry I don't have any details, but look up " Elderhostel" or "alumni cruise" for leads (this assumes you can/ are interested in parlaying your teaching experience with kids to an adult audience).
posted by msbubbaclees at 6:50 PM on September 20, 2017 [1 favorite]


I know quite a few people who teach in international schools as expats. The contract length and situation varies considerably by country, so I would start by looking at specific posted jobs (like here) to get a sense of what's available and where.

I am not sure how many of them would work with your proposed schedule. Where I was, teachers got long long summer breaks, which many used for travel or to go back to their home countries, but very few days off during the school year. It seems like you may be looking for more flexibility than that. Usually, they signed a contract for at least one complete school year, if not two. The advantage is that you are still exploring a new country and region, even if you can only do weekend trips for 8-9 months, and the community aspect can be great.
posted by oryelle at 6:28 AM on September 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


Have you thought about Peace Corps? I did it after college, which is probably a plurality of the volunteers, but we had a number of volunteers in the young-retirement age bracket, and they were way more useful and effective than us kids. Obviously, you need to think about whether you can tolerate developing country conditions, but if you're healthy enough for it, it's a great way to see unexpected parts of the world.
posted by LizardBreath at 6:59 AM on September 21, 2017


Just a quick reality check -- it may be very difficult to maintain local tutoring students if you will only be available 3-6 months of the year. You might consider online tutoring, if you could keep it up by working at weird times while in distant time zones.
posted by ktkt at 9:12 AM on September 21, 2017


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