Gary and Sally

When you are settled at the school there are three things you can do with your salary -

1. save it
2. travel on it
3. spend it (and live comfortably)

When you are paid you generally have a choice of three things you can do – realistically you can do two out of the three things but not all. (I am generalising here, as I am sure that there are schools where you can do all 3 on your salary).

It is usual that you can save money and travel, but live economically in the country, OR save money, live well in the country but not travel OR
live well in the country, travel but not save much.

I find this a good way to help decide before we choose the country as we look at what there is to do in the country and the cost of living etc. If you look at a school in Japan or Germany the salary may look amazing, but then there is tax and a high cost of living, so little saving potential, in a developing country like Bangladesh or China, the salary may not be as high, but the cost of living is a lot lower so you can save more.