How Much Cash to Take?

[Niko]

Common question amongst teachers...

Teaching contracts and services on offer differ vastly depending upon country and school/recruiter. As such, it sometimes makes it difficult to know exactly how much in cash to take.

Some schools and recruiters offer an airport pickup service and free accommodation for the initial few weeks. If teaching in China, then usually your accommodation will be free for the entire teaching contract. If teaching in Japan, then you can expect to pay USD20 just to get from the airport to downtown.

Strong advice for all teachers! Don't arrive to a foreign country relying wholly on your employer. Have sufficient cash accessible should things go wrong.

1. What if the school/recruiter doesn't meet your requirements and you want out?
2. What if no-one even comes to the airport to pick you up?
3. What if you are scammed and there is no job waiting for you?

Basically, what I'm trying to say is don't rely too much on anyone else.

Back to the initial question. We recommend enough "accessible" cash to support your stay for 1 month without work. If you already have a teaching job secured, then all the better.

An option now being used by many English Teachers is their ATM card from back home. An ATM card with the Cirrus or Maestro logos allows withdrawal of cash from around the world.