International Schools: Teacher Housing
When you teach for an international school abroad,
your housing is, for the most part, taken care of. As housing is
often a big chunk of a teacher's expenses in the West, "free" or
almost-free housing, is a huge perk when teaching overseas and can
quickly increase a teacher's disposable income. In fact, the free housing should always be considered when looking at a sometimes-low international school salary.
Housing Provided by Schools
Most international schools provide their teachers with housing in
a good location convenient to the school. However, "convenient" is a relative term so it is always a good idea to ask the school how far the housing is located from the school and how they are supposed to get to the school from the housing. Some schools provide local transportation, and other don't. When housing is provided
to a teacher, it is generally already furnished with basic furniture
necessities and is expected to be shared with another teacher of the same sex.
Housing Allowance
Most schools that do not provide housing will offer a housing stipend
or salary increase to help with a teacher's housing costs. When
schools provide financial compensation in lieu of housing, they
also assist teachers in finding an adequate apartment or house. A housing allowance can be a plus because it might mean that teachers can bring dependents with them, since teachers will be getting their own private housing. Or to save more money when schools
provide a housing allowance teachers can rent with
another teacher to save money.
House vs. Apartment
In most major cities around the world outside of America residents,
even families, usually live in apartment houses instead of single
family homes. America seems to be unique in the concept of urban
sprawl; other countries combat this by building up instead of out.
Think New York City as opposed to LA. The advantage to clustered
housing so close to the city is that people often don't need a car
to get around. When living overseas you'll likely live in a nice
apartment building, often complete with a private terrace and a
doorman, although usually without a swimming pool or gym, as is
typical in U.S. apartment buildings.
Utilities
Gas, electricity, and water expenses for teachers overseas are handled
in the same manner as housing. International schools usually pay
for all a teacher's utilities, often without a teacher ever even
seeing the bill. In some cases, instead of paying directly for their
utilities, schools will help remunerate teachers for utilities with
either a stipend or increased salary.
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