Well, this was an unexpected decision. With all of the places we thought we’d go, Poland wasn’t even on the radar, but it’s off to Warsaw we go! I’ll back up and explain.

This weekend, Jess attended a job fair in Cambridge, MA for International Schools. These are usually American, but not always, but are all English Speaking. These are the schools that traveling businesspeople, diplomats, and other expatriates send their children to while they are living abroad. They are typically well-funded private institutions, and Warsaw is no exception!

Anyways, at this job fair, Jess received 10 offers! This may not seem like much, but when you’re trying to decide which foreign country to spend the next 2 years of your life in, it’s pretty huge. Not to mention that the organizer Jess was working with had never in 30 years heard of someone getting that many offers. He could have been flattering her, but the impression I got was that most people got maybe 3 or 4 offers on average.

Well, after hours of deliberation and research, we had narrowed our choices down. But here is the full list:

1. Cambodia – Phnom Penh
2. Thailand – The Prem School (near Chiang Mai)
3. Thailand – Bangkok
4. China – Beijing
5. China – Suzhou
6. Japan – Tokyo
7. Poland – Warsaw
8. The Philippines – Manila
9. Egypt – Cairo
10. Panama – Panama City

The decision was very difficult. The school in Manila had an excellent package as far as salary and benefits. Probably the best of them all. However, the location and job were less than ideal (though not bad by any means). As much as we wanted to go to Japan, it would be too expensive to live there (at this point), and the job wasn’t a perfect fit. We really wanted to go to the Prem School in Thailand, but were very intimidated by being so immersed. Additionally, the job was not as good of a fit as the Warsaw school. But we really hope to go there at some point in the future, if only to visit. Bangkok was a little too overwhelming for us, being simple rural folk.

Little by little, our list shrank to Manila, Thailand (Prem school), and Warsaw. Of the three, Warsaw was the best fit for the job, with good pay/benefits, as well as most likely being the easiest transition to living abroad. Plus it’s centrally located in Eastern Europe, and gives us some travel opportunity. To give you an idea, it is as far of a drive to Paris and Milan as it is to the beaches of North Carolina. Maybe even a little closer. But definitely quicker travel, since we’ll be able to take a train.

Ideally, we will be saving my entire paycheck, and a good chunk of Jess’, since housing is paid for. And that’s if we live frugally. We can also travel relatively inexpensively and see everything we’ve ever wanted to see! Not to mention learn languages and culture right up close. It is going to be an adventure, and I can’t wait!

I’ll be working from home, telecommuting with my current company. I need to work out all of the details, though, but it is going to be really awesome. Difficult, for sure, but I have no doubt it will be worth it.

[edit] The school Jess will be teaching at is the International American School of Warsaw. Here are some more informational links:

US State Department on the International American School of Warsaw