ESL Teacher Questions
Hello all,
I am a 36 year-old single American male considering a move to Qatar after living 6 years in Europe. I am an ESL teacher and want to travel for a couple of years seeing other parts of the world. I'm seriously considering Qatar because I have a great respect and curiosity regarding the Middle East and Gulf Region, and as I am American, I figure Qatar is my best bet for getting a taste of Arabic/Muslim culture because safety is obviously a massive concern of mine. So I have a few questions that I hope someone in a similar situation (single expat ESL teacher)will take the time to respond to.
I do not want to live in Qatar or the Gulf Region forever, just for a year, max. My idea is to SAVE some money while living in the country and move on, maybe after 6 months. I am a simple man who lives a humble lifestyle. I do not want to acquire any more possessions (clothes, accessories, whatever) than what I already have. I will be in the country only for the experience of the people and culture, take some pictures, make some friends and move on. Is saving money easy to do under the above mentioned lifestyle choices?
Of course the ability to save depends on salary earned, I realize this. So, what is the typical salary I can expect? From what I've seen advertised, an average salary is $2,000USD monthly. Correct?
I've seen some schools offer housing to their teachers, this to me is a great benefit as I DO NOT CARE about the poshness of the flat, if it's clean and safe I'm happy. I don't care about size or noise. If I take a position that offers housing I should be able to save the majority of my salary, correct?
Am I naive to think that, with housing provided and a monthly salary at $2,000, I can save $1,000USD monthly?
Apart from food, I enjoy recreational sport, so a gym membership will be in order, maybe some weekend excursions, I enjoy kayaking and other water sports...are these things costly?
Is a car necessary? I'm a great fan of public transport but only if effective.
So that's me, a simple guy far removed from extravagant notions looking to experience a little of the Middle East while saving for his next travelling adventure. Possible?
Thanking you in advance for your opinions
Dave
You can save money here, living the lifestyle which you described. Salaries vary, so depends where you find work -- at a language institute, in a K-12 school, corporate language program, etc. But you should certainly make no less than $2K, and depending upon your qualifications, I would say $3.5 is more the norm (college degree with TESOL certif).
Contracts here tend to be minimum 1 year (more like 2) but you might find some shorter term work at the language institutes and corp. programs if you look...
Saving $1K/month should definitely be do-able.
You will need a car. Public transport here sucks. The upside is that gas is dirt cheap. :-)
Gym memberships vary -- pure gym will run you less than membership at local hotel where you get pool and beach access as well. Single membership can be pricey -- search online here, I think someone recently posted rates for local hotel gym memberships.
Kayaking...have never seen anyone here do that. Most folks here scuba dive, sail, stuff like that. There is a cycling group, loads of runners and folks who do biathlons, etc.
Hope this helps. Doha is a great hub to travel around from!