There's a type of person who lives abroad, and it's not you. Or is it?
When I was daydreaming about moving to Thailand, I’d settled into a long term relationship, two story house, and promising career. In between paying health insurance, rent, and utility bills, I was surviving paycheck to paycheck and couldn’t afford weekend trips with friends, let alone plane tickets overseas.
In my mind, there was a type of person who lived abroad: fearless, worldly, and unburdened by financial stress. In other words, not me.
If you're like most people, you want to throw your clothes in a suitcase and go somewhere exciting, but have practical reasons to wait for the future. Legitimate fears of financial ruin, stalled careers, or loneliness can trap us in our comfort zones.
Everyone who’s lived abroad has experienced these fears, but has found ways to overcome them.
Do any of these fears resonate with you?
1. Being poor
When my plane touched down at Suvarnabhumi airport, I had less than eight hundred dollars in my bank account and a carry on suitcase full of clothes.
Fortunately, teaching in Thailand allowed me to travel and generate an income at the same time. Although many expats supplement their teaching with online tutoring, I was able to explore Thailand, eat every meal at a restaurant, live in a furnished apartment, and rent a motorcycle on my base salary of 32,000 baht.
If you want to learn more about how much money you can make teaching in Thailand, read this article NOW- How much money can I earn teaching abroad in Thailand.
2. Choosing the wrong program
Before finding a reputable agency, I scouted ESL jobs on everyone's trusted internet source: Google. Clearly, I was a pro!
I emailed dozens of inquiries and received suspicious emails in broken English luring me to remote schools in the mountains. My fear: spending thousands of dollars and getting cheated by a fraudulent business. To avoid wasting your money, I recommend getting trained and hired through a trusted agency, such as J2TeachAbroad.
You deserve a legitimate offer from a reputable company at a fair salary.
3. Having an amazing time
As strange as it sounds, I was terrified that I'd have an amazing experience. What if I changed so much I didn't recognize myself? What if living abroad changed the course of my life?
In the words of Bréne Brown, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” What I’ve learned after two years living abroad is that personal growth is worth the sacrifice, even if it means ditching your convenient life plan.
If teaching abroad is your dream, the only thing stopping you is your limiting beliefs. I encourage you to see your fears as barriers that everyone experiences and that many are able to overcome. If I can do it, and thousands of people around the world can do it, so can you.
Read about why you shouldn't fall into what we call the 'Millennial Trap.'
Why do you want to teach abroad? What fears are stopping you? Comment Below
About Journey to Teach Abroad:
Become a global citizen and discover life TEACHING ABROAD. Get paid to travel to stunning places, bond with an international community that you'll forever belong to, feel rewarded daily for teaching students who want to learn, and gain the confidence to discover new things. Journey to Teach Abroad is a teacher training TEFL certification course here in Los Angeles that GUARANTEES a teaching job abroad.
To contact please call 818-389-5884 | email: hello@j2teachabroad.com | www.j2teachabroad.com
About our J2 Writer: Megan McComb
Megan is currently serving in Benin, West Africa, as a Peace Corps volunteer. She spent a year teaching in Thailand and hopes that everyone can experience the joys and challenges of cross cultural exchange. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and chasing goats off of her front porch. To see more of Megan's adventures, follow her blog at https://meganelizabethbenin.wordpress.com/.