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My husband and I will both be entering the education field shortly. We currently live in Florida, but with rising home and insurance cost we are afraid we won't be able to stay. Not to mention homeowners insurance. Teachers here make about 6000.00 below the national average, and health insurance is expensive.

Can anyone tell us about some great school districts. We are open to any place in the U.S. Oh, and somewhere with some diversity (the more the better).

2007-08-01 09:40:29 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference Teaching

5 answers

I would suggest the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas. The districts around there are very diverse and you can pick and choose from some great ones. I just left a district there and was making 46k on 5 years of experience. Also, in Texas, we do not have teacher's unions exactly, we have organizations that help out but it works differently. Most people I have talked to seem to prefer it. And, yes, the housing market is quite affordable in that area as well. There are so many great towns around there and lots of cultural activities. I miss it!

2007-08-02 07:45:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Dear Sara : I made the move from California. I would definitely suggest that you come over here first, spend a week or 2 driving around (watch other cars, Puertoricans can be the worst drivers of the universe), make an "active" visit (spot companies you could work for depending on your work experience, go visit them with your resume... in spanish). If you're nice, skilled, and perfectly bilingual, your profile might interest some of them. Maybe your best bet is to target San Juan, where you may find more job opportunities (but once again, I don't know what you do). Now, don't expect big fat paychecks in PR. For the same job, I make two times and a half less here than in L.A.. But the cost of life is also much much lower. Living in the sun has a price. As far as I'm concerned, I think it's worth it (but that's me). On the other hand, the island is beautiful, people are nice (you just need to be patient with...everything and everyone), the weather is just great (somehow humid from May to Sept/Oct. though). Being a US Citizen, you won't have any immigration or work problem legally (Puertoricans are US citizens). The reason why you don't find a whole bunch of US natives living here are: 1) The language barrier: most people here speak spanish and only spanish; only educated people or upper social classes speak english fluently 2) Culturally, PR is a LATIN island, with a catholic heritage... which has a lot to do with a different way of thinking, living, scale of values, etc etc. Most Americans can't take that. Now, practically, you won't find the same degree of convenience here than in the US. Go try to find some organic veggies at a decent price for example... I miss my Wholefoods so much... But you can't have it all. Sometimes, I have the feeling I live in Africa... But there is something in the air over here that might enchant you, so far from the coldness and the stress you often find on the continent. Save some money and come visit. Life is not easy here but where is it nowadays in this world?? Good luck to you, Lauren

2016-03-16 05:07:08 · answer #2 · answered by Jane 4 · 0 0

Perhaps I'm a bit impractical, but I would approach your question from a different standpoint.
I would draw up a short list of the places you'd like to live--based on your own criteria. Think of your hobbies, for instance. Suppose you like hiking or mountain activities. Colorado then comes to mind.
If diversity is a priority, I would consider most any college town.
I would contact teachers' organizations within your preferred states. Unions, also.
Online you can find useful information about what various cities have to offer--their demographics, income, taxation, etc. Sorry but I don't know the sites, but I bet 10 minutes with Google would give you plenty of info on this.
There also may be incentives to take an early job in a difficult area, such as a ghetto, which will give you a foot in the door in more desireable communities. I think my state, CA, may have such programs. For instance, if you were willing to teach in Oakland for a spell.
I live in Santa Cruz. One thing that teachers do here is live here, where the llifestyle is nice, but teach in the San Jose area where the pay is much higher. But let me warn you--Santa Cruz is an expensive area to buy a house in. The median house price is something like 750 K. Indeed, most of Cal is expensive.
In my opinion teaching is one of the most important yet underpaid jobs there is. I hope you find something that works for you. You deserve it.

2007-08-01 10:12:46 · answer #3 · answered by dnldslk 7 · 2 0

What kind of diversity?

Anyways, the midwest has the best teaching salaries compared to cost of living that I've seen. I made over 41k for step 0 last year and you can buy a big house for pretty cheap.
I think Alaska pays really well and is cheap to live there, but you have to live in Alaska. It's expensive to move there, but once you're there I'm assuming you stay indoors a lot.
But I'd suggest checking out Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. I live in Michigan and I'm just assuming that all of those states pay well, but I think at least a few of them will.
If you want racial diversity, find a big city and go like 1 mile away from the border. In the city you won't find diversity, and away from it in the suburbs you probably won't. But in the middle you're probably golden.

2007-08-01 10:39:54 · answer #4 · answered by smilam 5 · 0 0

Try looking at some of the major cities in Texas. The teacher's unions really work well for them and you can make a good bit of money. The cost of living in Texas is not very expensive and you can build a home for as little 100, 000(depending on which area of the city you choose to live in). I would definitely check into it. Check cities like Houston, Dallas, and Austin...and see if there is anything you like.
Hope this helps!

2007-08-01 10:52:10 · answer #5 · answered by science_star 1 · 0 0

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