It's amazing how much 'stuff' there is to think about when you start considering a move of this proportion. I almost need to buy a notebook to keep with me so that I can jot down things as they pop into my head - as they do, seemingly at the oddest possible times.
The easiest way to do this would have been to follow Cancun Canuck's lead, and just "do it" - leave on vacation and not come back. Not as easy when you have kids to think about though.
Sometimes when you think too much about something - it's just that: Too much. Everything seems to be too much. Too much trouble, too much risk, too much money, too much time, etc, etc, etc... And then of course, everyone has their own priorities which they want everyone else to consider as the most important priority. The king of all priorities. The big kahuna.
Financially, for a lot of people including us (and I'm not saying everyone, because everyone's circumstances are completely different) moving to Mexico isn't the most beneficial thing to do. We will make less money - there's no question about that. But is it all about the money? Not for me it isn't. It's like those credit card commercials where everything costs something and then the last thing is: Priceless.
Well, the experience not only for my husband and myself, but for my daughter, would be priceless. What better classroom is there than living life? But, you have to make sure you can eat and keep a roof over your head. As I've explained, by the time we go, I'll be a qualified teacher with a combined bachelor's degree in English Literature and French. I will get an ESL certification too. I'll have a couple of years of teaching under my belt. So, what that means is that I'll have a job - we won't starve, we'll have somewhere to live and if Gerald can find some sort of employment too, then we're that much better off.
This leads me to MY greatest concern about this whole thing. Good schooling for my daughter and a job in a school for me.
I've been all over the internet researching schools in Mexico. I would like her to attend one of the International/Bilingual schools. The drawback to this is that there are only so many of them. We had wanted very much to stay in a coastal city or town, which from my research, leaves two options. Cancun and Puerto Vallarta.
Cancun is too expensive and Puerto Vallarta is not far behind. Now, I admit that I don't have all the facts. For example, I don't know how much a teacher in one of these schools earns, therefore I don't know how much money I will have available for rent. One problem always leads to another it seems.
Concern number 2. Employment for Gerald. Obviously, he can't just arrive in the country and get any old job he wants. This is going to require some serious thought and planning. I've been so busy thinking about the whole school issue so I haven't had a lot of time to start thinking about him yet.
Tied into this concern - let's call it "sub-concern 2", or better yet concern number 2.A, which is also Gerald's primary concern, or Concern 1. He would have to leave his job here in Canada for the period of time we stay in Mexico. He's no spring chicken anymore on the job front - he's turning 40 this year. Employers aren't as eager to hire more..... mature people as they are to hire younger people who may be fresh out of school and cheaper. (Concern 1.A. Subsection B - Getting a job on our Return)
So what does that mean for our plans? I don't know yet. It's another thing to "think" about.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I’m no expert, but I believe there are many more coastal towns to consider. Of course, I’m partial to Guaymas…but surely you could find one that you could afford.
Check out this school in San Carlos (15 miles north of Guaymas) at http://colamex.org/ and view a video about the school that aired on Good Morning Arizona (a Phoenix TV station) at http://www.colamex.org/summercamp/video.html. Wouldn’t it be something if you could teach there AND have your daughter attend the same school? Our TESOL instructor taught in an English language immersion school in Japan and her son went to the school and had his tuition waived!
You'll find that the rents you see when you search the net for apartments in Mexico are much higher than what you'll find when you're on the ground looking here. We took two weeks to find an apartment and then went home for 11 days, packed everything up and moved.
I think finding a good job in a good school might be harder than finding a good school for your 8 year old. The schools here aren't bad, but you might want to ask what they can do to get her up to speed with Spanish.
What does your husband do? There are lots of jobs here, especially if it's in the technology field and he's entrepreneurial. Could he telecommute to his current job? We have a vonage phone, so our clients don't know we're not in Jersey when they call (except for the ones we've told).
Post a Comment