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UK-SunSeeker
20-05-2004, 18:31
Hi, I'm new here! Hope everyone is well!
Need some advice please.
I live in the UK, which is a great place, but I struggle during the winter months due to the lack of sunlight. I have a slight blood disorder and have been told that sunny Florida would be ideal.
I am single and have three part-time jobs: a Physical Education school teacher, tennis coach and Mathematics tutor.
How easy (or hard) would it be for me to move to Florida?
Pete
chrizzy100
20-05-2004, 19:04
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by UK-SunSeeker
Hi, I'm new here! Hope everyone is well!
Need some advice please.
I live in the UK, which is a great place, but I struggle during the winter months due to the lack of sunlight. I have a slight blood disorder and have been told that sunny Florida would be ideal.
I am single and have three part-time jobs: a Physical Education school teacher, tennis coach and Mathematics tutor.
How easy (or hard) would it be for me to move to Florida?
Pete
[/quote]
If you have a degree as a school teacher..then its worth looking into.....maths is the same all over.....its not like history or English....my sister in law was offord a job at a collage in New York.....so it can be done....but she is a Doctor of whatever now....so maybe it was easier for her.....
I would worry more about your health problem......healthcare is very costly over here.......
I've just done a quick search online and there is info on teachers coming to the USA....and what you need to do etc.....I had a link to a forum somewhere that is very helpful......if I still have it I'll send it to you......if not then search for US visa forums.......
UK-SunSeeker
20-05-2004, 20:20
Hi Chrissie
I am absolutely thrilled to receive my very first reply. THANKS!
My blood disorder is not serious - do not need to take any medication. I do have a degree in Mathematics, plus coaching qualifications in tennis and soccer.
Is it best to:
1) Find a job first.
OR
2) Buy a property to live in.
Pete
chrizzy100
20-05-2004, 21:36
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by UK-SunSeeker
Hi Chrissie
I am absolutely thrilled to receive my very first reply. THANKS!
My blood disorder is not serious - do not need to take any medication. I do have a degree in Mathematics, plus coaching qualifications in tennis and soccer.
Is it best to:
1) Find a job first.
OR
2) Buy a property to live in.
Pete
[/quote]
Unless you want a FL rental home anyway....I'd find the job......
Homes in none short term rental areas are cheaper in most cases.....
A degree is a good start.....teaching is not that well paid.....but I'm sure you could make the coaching pay.......its really worth looking into this more......if I were not going away in like 1 hour...I would find you some links......you need to find the USA visa forums.....they have tons of info on them.....good luck....
I sent you a start link.....in DM......
We looked into this a couple of years ago, as both my husband and I are degree qualified teachers, but decided against it in the end - mainly for financial reasons.
There is a shortage of teachers in Florida. The biggest downside is that they are paid so little, around US$30,000 for someone with a great deal of experience. A good friend of mine has been a teacher in the St. Cloud area for lots of years and still supplements her income by working at Gatorland during the weekends!!! She was also one of the finalists for "Teacher of the Year" and is paid above the normal level. If you can live on that then you should be fine, especially as you are used to supplementing your income with extra jobs.
I looked on google for "teaching in Florida" and loads of useful sites came up.
You might even find that you can get onto some kind of exchange program to see if you really do want to teach there. When I was teaching around 15 years ago my school had an American teacher over for a year and one of our teachers went to her school.
Best of luck.
:D:D:D
PS: Get the job first and then worry about where you'll live!! It's one heck of a big State.
:D:D:D
UK-SunSeeker
21-05-2004, 02:34
Hi Carla
Many thanks for the valuable advice, I had no idea that teaching was so badly paid in the US.
I am also thinking about studying French and Spanish in September which will give me further options. I already have relatives in Cyprus and am able to speak Greek so if all fails, I still have the Cyprus option.
A friend of mine recently suggested that if I wanted to travel, I could always teach English as a foreign language. Not sure that this is a good idea?
Kind regards
Pete
sunseeker
21-05-2004, 02:47
Hey Pete
Back the sunseeker truck up a minute, could get a bit confusing dont you think.[V]
UK-SunSeeker
21-05-2004, 03:10
Hi Dave
Not quite sure what you mean.
Is this some kind of joke? A garage owner telling me to back up a truck.
sunseeker
21-05-2004, 03:20
Hi Pete
lol :D
It just seems i have a screen name very similar to you, or is it yours is similar to mine?
Dave
UK-SunSeeker
21-05-2004, 03:32
Hey Dave
Afraid that's my fault, sorry!
Talk about great minds......
Pete
sunseeker
21-05-2004, 03:35
:D:D:D:D
Dave
My cousin has worked for years abroad as a teacher - Kuwait, Australia, back to Kuwait - had to leave in a hurry 10 years ago, and now is in Peru. He met and married a welsh girl doing the same thing. I think they get the jobs through the UK though. I will ask my uncle and let you know. Not Florida I know but you may have a choice of somewhere nice.
Forgot to say he teaches PE and Geography.
There's an agency called VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) who can get jobs for all types of workers in many countries in the world - they do pay you, but not a lot, however you get to see a number of different places, if you want, and meet some wonderful people whilst doing your job.
Florida teachers are poorly paid Pete, but in many States the pay is extremely good.
UK-SunSeeker
22-05-2004, 16:29
Thanks for the help Carla!
That's strange that teaching is poorly paid in Florida compared with other US states. I wonder why?
There is a program on ITV at the moment called 'I want that house'. This week it featured houses in Orlando - you just get so much more for your money in the US.
Seminole
24-05-2004, 19:49
Florida wages typically tend to be below the national average. No entrenched industry other than tourism. Florida is actually in the bottom ten of the 50 states in commitment to education. It passed a state lottery on the representation that the funds raised would be used for education but, simply put, that just has not happened.
chrizzy100
26-05-2004, 06:41
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Seminole
Florida wages typically tend to be below the national average. No entrenched industry other than tourism. Florida is actually in the bottom ten of the 50 states in commitment to education. It passed a state lottery on the representation that the funds raised would be used for education but, simply put, that just has not happened.
[/quote]
There was a thing in the local paper I was told saying that lots of families with two working parents live on under $40k a year......there is now a worry that those kind of people may start to find it hard to buy a home and may move on....leaving the area short of workers.....thats happening on the Keys......and here on the Cape....
You will need to go through labour certification on teaching so it is a bit of a haul. Math is actually quite different here than in the UK ( yes I know it is supposedly an international language nut it isnt, all the Brit kids coming here have difficulty adjusting). Physical education. again quite different. Tennis coaching, yes maybe. How good a player are you? Could you be a person of exceptional ability??
chrizzy100
26-05-2004, 08:06
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by esprit
You will need to go through labour certification on teaching so it is a bit of a haul. Math is actually quite different here than in the UK ( yes I know it is supposedly an international language nut it isnt, all the Brit kids coming here have difficulty adjusting). Physical education. again quite different. Tennis coaching, yes maybe. How good a player are you? Could you be a person of exceptional ability??
[/quote]
I found that my son at 11..was years ahead of the kids here......he was even teaching maths with his teacher at his Tech school at 14........