Anyone moved to Spain to teach English?

[Firstimefreaked]

I know it won't be a great income hoping for 1200 euro a month, we currently live in England and are expecting our first DC in August. My OH is currently on about £1000-1200 a month and our rent is 500. We both feel like we have no quality of life and we are unhappy with what's happening my OH will probably lose his temp job in Nov...are we being crazy for him to apply for sept jobs with me to follow a couple of months later with DC. You hear stories of people emigrating with only a dollar in their pocket etc we don't have any real prospects and if we move next sept when DC is a year older there's a chance of miserable times spent on benefits. Is teaching English a good enough job to get by?

Meh. I know what I mean.

I think the economy in the uk will just get worse, benefits are being cut and everything is debt built on debt. Being broke in the sun just seemed nicer especially with nice free parks.

China can be quite strict, more lenient on westerners I lived in Hong Kong which was amazing but expensive and then we moved to Australia then to the uk.

There are 3 bed flats for 350 euro just seems crazy considering we pay 500 for a 1 bed.

this I just think you could phrase it a bit better. I live in Korea and the whole 'ASIA IS SO WEIRD' thing gets old.

first you have to factor in the fact that the flats are cheap because pay is less and the market is less secure. I don't want to shit on your dreams but TEFL is not a well regulated industry. If it paid well and was a good job, people would be flocking to Europe to work, in my opinion.

You also have to take into account that after Brexit, we may no longer have freedom of movement in the EU.

Our hope was after brexit they may be kinder than the uk and keep the people who emmigrated but since the nasty party has gotten in it might be better to just move closer to my mum it's just the rents un controllable. It's 700-900 for a two bed 😫 Job prospects are not brilliant.

Asia is delicious, full of fun amazing things kindness and cruelty.

Sorry seoul it was an ill considered remark. I agree that for a comfortable life in tefl it's better to look further afield including China/Korea. The problem with the Western European schools is that there is a steady stream of not too fussy recent graduates who'll put up with questionable working conditions and low wages in the short term to have the experience of living outside the UK. So the schools don't have to be much cop.

That's ok this thanks for taking it in the spirit it was intended

Do either of you have a degree, OP?

If you don't, Asia is definitely going to be difficult, you usually need one for the visa.

If you do, you have far better options than Spain. I'd recommend a few years in the middle east or Korea to save money to put you in a better position financially. I live in Korea with my Korean husband and we save my entire salary and about 25% of his. Living costs are low.

Firsttime I understand your feeling of despondency especially with a child on the way. Housing in the UK is at crisis point and that colours everything when you're private renting ie paying massive amounts of money for an insecure home.

Fwiw I don't think this govt will last long anyway, even with the terrorists propping them up - they're already imploding. So there will be yet another election and Corbyn has a good chance of winning. He's already six points ahead according to the most recent poll. He has promised to cap rents and build publicly owned housing which will sort out a lot of problems. I'd hang fire if I were you. It really is difficult to support a family on tefl wages in Spain. And it's all very well saying your dh would work hard - I mean, I'm sure he would but preparation takes up so much time that there's a limit to how many extra hours you can physically do.

Maybe it would be best to stay for now, I could finish my degree I have two years left on my BA. At least she won't be in school yet, we would need to improve our Spanish either way, maybe OH could save some money by teaching Tefl through Skype? I just think we are having a massive fight or flight atm money just gets tighter and tighter, even education isn't a great way to go my mum has a MA and she only get 9 phr. I just want our child to have a decent life in a warm country, I miss warmth so badly.

first the situation is crap, isn't it? And the weather in the UK is miserable (although in Korea the constant summer heat gets to me too, and freezing in winter)

Finish your BA, definitely. Having a degree opens so many doors. But like you said, even with an MA, it doesn't mean you're going to be rich.

Sorry you're stressing.

China is also changing the way visas are issued for overseas workers. There will be three categories based on skills, qualifications, language ability and the job you are coming to China for. I think you would find it pretty difficult to get a visa for a tefl role without a degree.
There are plenty of dubious language schools here, but pay and conditions will not be great. Also China is not the cheap country it used to be. I have been here for 9 years and prices have rocketed. Clearly, if you want to live away from the east of China it will be cheaper, but I would be concerned with a young child about quality of healthcare.
My advice would be to finish your degree.
I used to do tefl work in Germany, working freelance and teaching business English at Siemens and other companies. It was well paid, but not a secure income.

You can earn 1200€ teaching English in Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia. I don't know about other cities but presume the richer or more populous ones would also offer opportunities.

You can belong to an academy such as International House; you can also get qualified to give official English exams. such as the Cambridge First Certificate and Proficiency. You can always take a few private pupils for cash in hand too, some families like a babysitter who will "play" with their children in English for a couple of hours once or twice a week which can provide a nice break from teaching adults and doesn't require any lesson planning.

You could also look for employment as a language assistant in a Spanish school or a TA in a British or American or international school such as Caxton College, as at least then you'd have regular income (for 10 months of the year - you'd need to sign up to work at a summer camp or find some other work for July and August, or save your 10 paychecks to eke out over 12 months of living).

I'll look into th exams as that seems a smart thing to do, I believe at least waiting a year seems like a smart move. I could do an open university course which if it completed my last two years I could do a year abroad maybe? It would give us time to improve our Spanish and be out before brexit is finalised which would hopefully give us a better chance at being able to stay. I think I'm stressing so much partly because it's my first child and I f'd up and I'm not entitled to any maternity benefit or currently any benefit, and I'm trying to set up a business while being 7 months pregnant. A lot can change in a year.

I did the CELTA 5 years ago to come to spain and earn quite a bit more than the amount you suggested, but my rent is high (expensive city). Had DS1 here and am 38 weeks pregnant with DC2. State childcare means I can still earn while they're little.

I was utterly miserable in my job back in England and the move was the best thing I ever did. I have found I've been able to negotiate well and although i don't have the security (although i could have if i accepted a lower paid, duller job at the big chain academy) I pick up extra work easily examining or doing private classes.

Now we are aiming to open our own academy in the next few years.

We're not in Valencia but i know it well and it's a brilliant city, although the problem with it (and Barcelona, & where we live in San Sebastián) is that Spanish itself isn't the preferred language so you can't work in state institutions unless you speak Valencian, Catalan, or in my case Basque.