Ever wondered how you are going to afford to retire early to improve your lifestyle by moving to your favourite destination?

Does the idea of being chauffeured to your teaching job at an English Language school somewhere exotic appeal to you? How about living in a multi-cultural city in Asia, Europe or South America- with help with your accommodation costs?

Or does the chink, chink of your evening gin and tonic appeal to you- brought to you by your maid at the end of your workday?

All these things are possible for YOU- depending on which country you decide will be your next best place to teach and live abroad.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is a great way to combine living abroad while earning enough to enjoy your new lifestyle. You’ll usually be paid a lot more than the locals. Your most important qualifications are being a native English speaker (from UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada for example), a couple of years’ teaching experience under your belt and a university teaching degree and/or TEFL certificate are bonuses.

If you don’t have a teaching TEFL qualification, there’s still time to do a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. These courses are offered: online, correspondence or classroom based or a mixture of all three. Having a degree is often asked for, but by just being in the country, being a native speaker and having a TEFL certificate often works just as well.

The good news is that the number of English language schools worldwide and the demand for TEFL teachers is growing rapidly.

Start your search for a teaching English job anywhere in the world here:

Dave’s Cafe: www.eslcafe.com

A fantastic free website to search for TEFL jobs worldwide, get teaching resources and post your CV.

Search TEFL jobs, TEFL courses, businesses for sale for free. Sign up for free (daily/weekly/fortnightly) newsletters detailing both long and short term summer vacancies at: www.tefl.com

You can even search your daily living costs on this website-in 158 cities in 87 countries!

Browse a Directory of English schools in any country: www.english-schools.org

Check out the world job index at: www.internationalteflacademy.com

Job recruitment fairs are a great way to see what’s on offer under one roof. See the links above for the dates/venues of jobfairs near you. Often, once you’ve expressed your interest in a certain country/school you can have an interview at that time and a new job within days! (Think of the whole process as a bit like speed dating!)

It’s important to check out what’s offered as part of the total package: are return flights included (or just one way) or not at all? Is accommodation included- if not what are rental costs? Is accommodation subsidized? You need to be asking plenty of questions before you leave home rather than discover some nasty answers on arrival at your new location.

Also check out local living costs: food/taxes etc. Make sure you have a written contract-so you know your hours, salary and general responsibilities and the length of contract. Check resources available at the school, what visas are needed and whether medical insurance is part of the package benefits. And most important of all- don’t part with any money upfront.

Although it’s not essential to know the language of the country you will be living in- it will make life a lot easier if you know enough of the basics for everyday living.

Here are 3 recommended online language resources to get you started learning a new language.

– BBC Languages www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other

– MIT Open Courseware http://web.mit.edu/fll

– Open University (Learning Space) http://openlearn.open.ac.uk

Billie, an experienced schoolteacher and freelance travel writer, is currently living in New Zealand with her family. To discover more about the best places to live abroad and how to fund your life overseas then read her blog posts/articles at: http://www.bestplacestoliveabroad.com

Billie, an experienced schoolteacher and freelance travel writer, is currently living in New Zealand with her family. To discover more about the best places to live abroad and how to fund your life overseas then read her blog posts/articles at: http://www.bestplacestoliveabroad.com

Author Bio: Billie, an experienced schoolteacher and freelance travel writer, is currently living in New Zealand with her family. To discover more about the best places to live abroad and how to fund your life overseas then read her blog posts/articles at: http://www.bestplacestoliveabroad.com

Category: Education
Keywords: TEFL, live abroad, work abroad, teach abroad, education