Teaching abroad is a fantastic opportunity to explore the world, well-behaved pupils learn and earn a generous and often tax-free salary. But it is not all a bed of roses, there are some drawbacks. A major drawback is that being so far away from family, if something goes wrong. However, it should concern not stop you from moving your teaching career abroad. There are some things you can take to manage the distance.

the first and perhaps most importantly, you can control the distance by choosing where to work. By this I mean you should look at the cities where you can get to and from the direct flights are scheduled at least several days each week. You can use any Internet travel site to find this information, I usually use Expedia. com. With direct flights get you home faster and not have to worry about to make connecting flights. If you can not get a direct flight to the city where your family is located, make sure you can get a direct flight to a city in your home country which has regular flights to your hometown or final destination.

else you can look into the details of your teaching contract. Many international schools recognize that teachers working abroad may have to rush home when family members become ill, and build aircraft and / or time off in their employment contracts.

When hunting for a teaching job abroad, you can add this to the criteria you test teaching contracts to support your decision making. It’s not something you would ask up front at the interview, but when you are offered a teaching position you can request a copy of employment contract to investigate.

Thirdly, you can create an emergency fund. I’ve had an emergency fund since I began to travel and work abroad more than 12 years ago. My emergency fund has enough money in it to fly me home, wherever I’m at full fare flight and back again once the crisis has sent me home is resolved. The money is in a bank account that does not earn a lot of interest, but it is readily available, which is the whole reason for its existence.

In the 12 years I have been abroad I have never had to touch my emergency fund and I hope it stays that way, but it gives me great peace of mind knowing that if something were to happen that would cause me to rush home I do not have to worry about whether I can afford it, or how I pay my credit card later that the money are already there.

the money to come home with myself means that I have not been limited to only go home in the circumstances under which my employer To finance the trip. For example, the international school that I currently work only covers emergencies where immediate family, so problems with grandparents, cousins or best friends are not covered. However, most employers give you unpaid leave for emergency situations with more distant relatives, although they will not pay for flights. Financing your own aircraft is not a problem if you have planned ahead.

I know that having an emergency fund to get home also gave my parents peace of mind as well. They know that if something would happen to a member of our family, they can call me home without any stress on my finances.

With modern technology and transport, it is not difficult to keep in touch with loved ones at home, do not use it as an excuse to hold you back a teaching career abroad!