ITP - 52: First-Time International Teachers Leaving the U.S.

Greg: All right, welcome to the International Teacher Podcast.

Kent: This is Greg. Who's on our show tonight?

Greg: Funny you should ask. We have a special three-part—maybe two or three-part—episode going here. The first part is with Dylan and Valerie, and they are not even overseas yet, but they’ve signed a contract somewhere. We’ll find out where. They had the idea to interview with us first on ITP, the International Teacher Podcast—the greatest podcast ever for international teachers—before they even leave. Then we’re going to get them back on the show after a while when they get to their destination.

Kent: Next year, maybe.

Greg: So Kent, I want to introduce the teaching couple-to-be in international education. They teach right now in, I believe, Houston. It’s Dylan and Valerie. Welcome to the show.

Dylan: Welcome. Thanks, guys. We are excited.

Greg: So why don’t you start off by telling us where you're from, where you grew up, and where you got your education?

Valerie: Okay, well, I am a native-born Texan. I grew up in the Houston area, got my education here, went to Texas A&M, and now I’m still teaching here.

Dylan: Yeah, I live in Houston. I’ve pretty much lived in the area in which I teach. I’ve been doing that for—this is year six in the same district, floating around a couple of different schools within the same district. My wife and I actually met in high school, and now we teach in the same area that we grew up in.

Greg: Valerie, what was your first impression of Dylan back in high school?

Valerie: Oh, Kent—well, he was very big. He was very tall, very muscular, a football player, a rugby player. So of course I was like, “Who is this guy?” And I was about to go to college, so I thought, “I can’t be with him. There’s no way.” So I tried to hold it off, but he kept pursuing and pursuing. We went to prom together my senior year—he was a year younger than me—and I said, “I’m cutting him loose when I graduate.” But he just kept following me. He went to A&M with me and everything, and I said, “I guess I’ll keep him around.”

Greg: Oh, fantastic. Did you guys know that you wanted to be teachers when you got to A&M?

Dylan: No, not really. It was more about getting the basics done in the first two years. I was guided toward history, and I got my degree in history. There’s not much you can do with that, so I didn’t really know my possibilities. I ended up going into the teaching program after I graduated college.

Greg: Dylan, what brought you to teaching?

Dylan: Honestly, I thought summers off would be really cool. Doing the same thing as my wife—or my girlfriend at the time—and having the same time off would be neat. I figured I’d get really jealous if she had those two months in June and July off. So I said I’ll go ahead and do teaching too, and it’s turned into a career—something I enjoy.

At that point, we had been traveling a lot. Senior year of college, we were going on family vacations to Mexico, Europe, things like that. I thought teaching overseas would be great, but all we found was TEFL—just teaching English overseas—and that didn’t seem like it paid enough to make it sustainable.

Greg: So when did you hear about international teaching?

Dylan: That’s kind of where it all started. It was a Google search last February. We were getting tired of what we were doing and the hours we were putting in, and we wanted to try something different. When I stumbled across it, I brought it home to Valerie and said, “Hey, what do you think about this?” I was expecting a little pushback, but she was like, “Yes. Yes.”

We did more research, but it was already kind of late in the hiring season. We also had a family, a house—lots of things to consider. So we decided to wait a bit, let it sit, and see if we still wanted it. By August, we started applying, joined recruiting sites, interviewed, got a job offer, and now it’s really becoming a reality.

Greg: Whoa, we’ve got to slow down a little bit. You just went through six months in about 30 seconds. Let’s go back a bit.

Kent: Yeah, let’s unpack that.

Dylan: One thing I’ll add—we did teach at the same school for our first two years, and we loved it. Being able to do that again internationally is really exciting.

Greg: What have you been teaching the last couple of years?

Dylan: I’ve been teaching math since day one. It wasn’t something I planned, but it was my first job and I stuck with it. This is year 11 now. I spent two years at one school, then moved to another in the Houston area, which included coaching along with teaching math.

I’ve been coaching for about nine years, and that’s a big factor in why we want to make this change. It takes a lot of time away from home. It’s year-round, and I don’t get that time back. So moving internationally means I can still teach math but not coach anymore.

Valerie: I was teaching in lower-income schools at first, which was really rewarding. I taught social studies—sixth grade world cultures, seventh grade Texas history, and eighth grade U.S. history.

But when we had our baby in 2020 during COVID, things changed. Dylan was working 14–16 hour days and sometimes wouldn’t see us for days. After COVID hit, it became clear that family needed to come first.

Dylan is like a dog with a bone—once he gets something in his head, he goes for it. He came home asking how we could change our situation and still maintain income. If he quit coaching, we’d lose that stipend. So he started researching options, and International Search Associates was the first place he reached out to.

I said absolutely—this lifestyle wasn’t sustainable anymore. The workload kept increasing, and teaching was getting more negative, especially with increased parent pressure through things like Facebook. It just wasn’t something we could continue in Texas.

Greg: I’m going to ask a follow-up here. Don’t Dylan and Valerie strike you as relatively unique in the sense that they’re mid-career teachers? A lot of people we meet going international are either newer to their careers or closer to retirement after building a pension in the U.S. system. But you guys are 11 years in and now making the leap overseas. Was that ever part of the discussion?

Dylan: That was the biggest shock for us for so long. We didn’t think there was any money in it. In Texas, we have something called the Teacher Retirement System—TRS—and that’s what we pay into instead of Social Security. It kind of makes you feel stuck because you can’t access it until retirement.

So we thought we were locked into the system. I tried to improve within it—getting my master’s, looking at administration—but that’s also really difficult to break into. So we started looking at other ways to save, like a 403(b), just to give ourselves options in case we wanted to leave around age 35.

We knew about international teaching a little, but only through TEFL, which didn’t seem viable long term. We thought international schools were mostly tied to military bases and that they preferred military spouses, which made sense to us at the time.

Then I stumbled into the broader international teaching world. I spent months researching, asking, “Is it really this good?” And the general consensus seemed to be yes. Not everyone has a perfect experience, but overall it seemed like a better lifestyle—more family-oriented, more community.

Even listening to your podcast, it just felt friendlier, more connected. And the people you meet seem to have these incredible life experiences—traveling, living in different places. That really appealed to us.

Greg: All right, I just heard you say the magic word—“y’all.” I lived in Texas for a while, Dallas specifically, and I learned the plural of “y’all.” Do either of you know what it is?

Valerie: You all? You guys?

Greg: No, no. That’s Midwestern. In Texas, it’s “all y’all.” That’s the plural.

Kent: I say it all the time—“all y’all get over here.”

Greg: I used to have a license plate that said “fixin’ to.” I love that phrase.

Valerie: Yes! Dylan’s family is from the Northeast, and I’d say, “We’re fixin’ to do this, do y’all want to join?” and they’d just stare at me like I was speaking another language.

Greg: All right, let’s talk about recruiting. Dylan, you mentioned joining a couple of recruiting agencies. Can you walk us through how you started the job search?

Dylan: It started with a lot of research—just going through different websites, reading everything I could. One of the biggest helpful avenues was actually Reddit. There’s an international teacher forum there, and that’s how I found you guys.

That’s where a lot of my questions were answered, and I got a general sense of what people liked and didn’t like about international teaching.

As for recruiting agencies, I looked into several—Search Associates, Schrole, ISS. I know experiences vary, but I found Search Associates really helpful, even with the price tag.

I worked with a representative who helped us fine-tune our resumes and guided us in the right direction. From there, I started applying for jobs and got most of my interviews through Search.

I did get one interview through Schrole—my first interview in 11 years. I thought it went okay, even though I didn’t get the offer. It was good experience.

Greg: Valerie, what was your role in the research process?

Valerie: I was super busy raising our child while Dylan was doing most of the research. During the day, I have about 180 students, so I’m constantly grading and planning. Dylan would come home and say, “Look what I found.”

At night, while feeding our baby, I’d start looking into things—checking out the schools, the countries, and helping narrow down where we would or wouldn’t go.

I had a list of places I was open to and places I wasn’t. For example, I initially said no to Africa. The medical requirements, the shots—it just felt overwhelming. And I was also just tired of hot climates, even though ironically we’re heading to the Middle East.

Greg: How old is your child now?

Valerie: She’s two and a half—a COVID baby, born July 2020.

Greg: So Dylan’s bringing ideas home, and you’re filtering them. Were there any places he suggested that you immediately shut down?

Valerie: Yes—Africa was one. I just said no right away. South America was another one I wasn’t too excited about at first. I had certain perceptions that probably weren’t fully accurate.

But over time, as we looked at more schools and talked about it, my mindset started to shift. I think if Dylan had pushed harder, I might have been convinced on some of those places.

Greg: Did you guys meet any schools in person? Did you go to a job fair, or was everything online leading up to the job you accepted?

Dylan: Everything was online for the most part. I applied through Search, and we did a video conference with the superintendent first, then the principal, and then another follow-up with the superintendent. So it was a three-part interview process.

If we hadn’t landed a job by January, I was planning to go to a job fair—probably the one in Boston—but I’m glad we didn’t have to do that. It was all handled through Zoom or Google Meet.

Valerie: We did have one in-person experience, though. A school from Saudi Arabia came to Houston, and we were able to meet with the superintendent and a couple of staff members.

At first, I was really hesitant about the Middle East. You hear a lot of things, and I just had a certain image in my head. But meeting them in person changed that for me. It felt completely different from what I expected.

After that meeting, I started hearing from other people—friends, family—who knew someone who had worked there or in the region, and they had positive things to say. That really helped shift my perspective.

We didn’t get that job, but it was an important experience because it opened my mind.

Greg: That’s how this process works. You kind of weave your way to your destination.

Dylan: Exactly.

Greg: One thing you mentioned earlier—Search Associates helped with your resumes. Can you talk a bit more about that?

Dylan: Yeah, that was huge for us. We hadn’t updated our resumes in over 10 years, so they were outdated. Search really helped tailor them to international schools.

A lot of my experience was framed around behavior management, which is important in U.S. schools, but not necessarily what international schools are focused on. They helped me shift that toward building positive relationships and student engagement, which is more aligned with what these schools are looking for.

That alone made the fee worth it, in my opinion.

Greg: Did you guys interview together for the job you accepted?

Dylan: Yes, we did.

Greg: Did you get a sense of whether they needed one of you more than the other? Sometimes it’s like, “We need Dylan, and we’ll find a spot for Valerie,” or the other way around.

Dylan: We had a couple of interviews like that with other schools, but for this one, it felt pretty balanced. It seemed like they genuinely wanted both of us.

Greg: And what were you hired to teach?

Dylan: I was hired for a middle school math position—grades six through eight, probably mostly eighth grade.

Greg: And Valerie?

Valerie: Something in social studies—possibly world cultures or something similar. I’m not entirely sure yet, but it’s within my background.

Greg: Sounds like a good fit for both of you.

Greg: Now that you’ve signed, are you starting to feel the paperwork pressure from the school—documents, visas, all that?

Dylan: Yeah, they’ve actually been really organized. They have a portal set up for new hires, so submitting documents has been pretty straightforward. I tried to get that done as quickly as possible so it wouldn’t hang over me.

Now the focus is more on logistics—what to do with our house, our belongings, things like that.

Valerie: For me, the stressful part is figuring out retirement and finances. Moving from TRS to something else, figuring out Social Security contributions, and understanding how banking works internationally—it’s all new.

Greg: That’s a big shift. A lot of teachers don’t realize how different that system can be.

Dylan: Yeah, it’s definitely something we’re trying to wrap our heads around right now.

Greg: Have they connected you with current teachers yet? That’s usually one of the best ways to ease that transition—just talking to people who are already there.

Dylan: Yeah, they’ve started setting that up. They’re trying to organize a Zoom call with all the new hires, but with time zones, it’s been a bit tricky.

They also connected me with another teaching couple at the school. I talked to them about everyday things—cell phones, internet, how to communicate with family back home, just the practical stuff.

That conversation helped a lot. It was reassuring to know there are people there you can reach out to.

Greg: That’s huge. Those early connections make a big difference.

Dylan: Yeah, it made it feel more real in a good way.

Greg: What about your house? Have you decided what you’re going to do—sell it, rent it, keep it as a backup?

Dylan: Yeah, that’s been a big discussion. We’ve decided to sell. If we ever come back, we want to start fresh rather than return to the same setup we already know we don’t really want.

We talked to a financial advisor about renting versus selling. Renting could make a bit more money, but it also comes with management headaches. Selling and investing the money seemed like a cleaner option for us.

Greg: That’s one of those big decisions everyone handles differently.

Dylan: Exactly. For us, it’s about fully committing to this move.

Greg: And Valerie, how did your family react when you told them you were heading overseas?

Valerie: They were actually really excited. They’ve known for a long time that I wanted to teach overseas. I had looked into TEFL programs before, and even though that didn’t work out, they knew it was something I was interested in.

So when this opportunity came up, they were supportive. They also know they can always get on a plane and come visit, which helps.

Greg: Dylan, what about your family?

Dylan: My family is split between different parts of the U.S., so for some of them, not much changes. But my mom is here in Houston, so it’s been harder for her. At first she was excited, but as it became more real, it got more emotional.

Greg: Did either of your families bring up concerns about the Middle East—safety, things like that?

Dylan: Oh yeah, all the time. We hear, “Isn’t it dangerous?” or “Are we ever going to see you again?”

Valerie: That was definitely a reaction we got at first.

Dylan: Our response has basically been: do your research. We’re not going into a war zone. Everything we’ve found suggests it’s actually quite safe—probably safer than where we are now in some ways.

Greg: That’s a common reaction. I remember when I told my parents I was going to Honduras, my mom said, “You’re going to die,” and my dad said, “They’ve got great scuba diving.” So you get both ends of the spectrum.

What you’ll find is that there’s a huge expat community in most places in the Middle East. You’re not going to be alone—you’ll have a strong network around you.

Greg: So you’ve got good vibes about the school. What’s giving you that feeling right now?

Dylan: A lot of it comes from comparison. We had another offer at the same time from a school in South Korea. On paper, South Korea was one of our top choices—safe, beautiful, everything you’d expect.

We went through most of the interview process there and were waiting on the offer. When it came, it was the same time as the offer from the school in the Middle East.

If you had asked me a year ago, I would have picked South Korea immediately. But after going through the interviews and talking to people, the school just didn’t feel like the right fit for us.

There was nothing necessarily wrong with it—it just didn’t feel like home. The school in the Middle East felt more aligned with what we were looking for.

Greg: That’s something I always tell people—the location matters, but the school fit matters more. You can be in an amazing country, but if the school isn’t right, it’s a long two years.

Dylan: Exactly.

Greg: Valerie, what about you? What made you lean toward the school you chose?

Valerie: For me, it shifted over time. At first, I was very focused on location. When we interviewed with schools in the Middle East, I had to really adjust my mindset.

But after talking to people and hearing from others who had lived and worked there, I started to feel more comfortable. A lot of people we know in Houston work in oil and gas and have connections to the region, so I was hearing positive things.

Then when we compared the two offers, it came down to community. The school in South Korea felt more focused purely on academics, while the school we chose seemed more focused on building global citizens and a strong community.

That felt like a better fit for our family, especially for our daughter.

Greg: That’s a big factor when you’ve got a family involved.

Valerie: Definitely.

Greg: All right, we’ll take a quick moment to remind listeners how to reach out to us. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter at ITPExpats, or email us at [internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com). You can also visit our website.

Back to the show—this is part one of a series with Dylan and Valerie. We’re going to check back in with them after they arrive overseas.

Greg: Let’s talk about one of the big stressors—packing. I remember when I first moved overseas, it was overwhelming. I was giving things away, trying to figure out what to keep.

Are you starting that process yet?

Valerie: Yes, and it’s been interesting. My parents are actually selling their house and moving into an RV, so I can’t even store things with them.

So I’m trying to give things away or figure out what to do with everything. It’s definitely a challenge.

Dylan: We’re trying to sell as much as we can. If we come back, we want to start fresh. But we haven’t made much progress yet, so there’s still a lot to figure out.

Greg: That’s always one of the biggest stress points.

Dylan: Yeah, just figuring out what to bring and what to let go of.

Greg: Do you have any pets?

Dylan: Yeah, we have a cat, and we’re bringing him with us.

Greg: Of course you are.

Dylan: Everyone asks why, and I’m like, we’ve had him for nine years. Why wouldn’t we bring him?

Greg: Fair enough.

Greg: I’ll give you a little advice here. When I first moved overseas, I had way too much stuff. I packed everything I thought I needed, and it turned out to be a mistake. So my advice is—bring less than you think you need.

Make sure you keep all your important documents with you—passport, birth certificates, certifications—anything official. Keep the originals with you and have digital copies as backups. You never know when you’ll need them.

Also, don’t overpack your classroom materials. You won’t know what’s available until you get there, so just bring a few essentials.

Dylan: That’s good to know.

Greg: And honestly, enjoy this time. The last few weeks before you leave are special. Take it all in. And when you arrive, take time to look around, explore, and absorb everything. Those first impressions stick with you.

Kent: Yeah, those first few weeks are intense, but they’re also amazing. Just enjoy the ride.

Greg: All right, before we wrap up, let’s get some advice from you guys. What would you say to teachers who are a year or two behind you and thinking about going international?

Valerie: I would say don’t worry so much about the money. There are ways to make it work—you just have to do your research. You’re not stuck where you are. This is an opportunity for something new, and it’s an adventure.

Dylan: I’d say just do it. The only reason we didn’t do it sooner is because we didn’t know about it. It’s scary, but you have to take that leap.

Greg: That’s advice we hear all the time—just go. Even a two-year contract isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things.

Kent: Exactly. And you can always come back if it’s not the right fit.

Greg: All right, let’s get some final thoughts from you both.

Dylan: We’re really excited, but also nervous. It’s a big move for our family, and we’re kind of removing our safety nets. We’re hoping it leads to a better balance and a better life overall.

Valerie: I’m excited to see how this experience helps our family grow. I think it’s going to be something really special for us.

Greg: I love that. And just know—you’ve got support. We’re here for you, and we can’t wait to hear how things go once you’re settled.

Kent: Yeah, we’ll definitely be checking back in with you in a few months.

Greg: Thanks again for coming on the show.

Dylan: Thank you for having us.

Valerie: Yes, thank you.

Kent: On behalf of Greg, the single guy, Matt, the family guy, and myself, Kent the cat guy—thanks for listening. We’ll see you next time.