I’ve tried to write this article many times, because it is probably the situation that I get the most questions about. What about teaching abroad as a couple? Having a spouse or a significant other tends to be the number one reason why people feel they are unable to move abroad and teach. So yeah, it is definitely a situation I want to give guidance on. The problem is, not only is every country different, but there are many types of ‘couple’ situations, and some countries might be feasible for some and not feasible for others. The possibilities are endless! But in all seriousness, being married and/or having a boyfriend or girlfriend should not prevent anyone from pursuing their dreams of teaching abroad, so let me provide some guidance as best I can.

First Things First

Let me start off by saying this: teaching and travelling as a couple is 100% possible AND sustainable. That being sad, it’s important to know from the jump that very few teaching jobs abroad pay enough to support two people. Moreover, it will probably not be very practical for you to sponsor a dependent on the work visa you will be getting in most countries. Not impossible, but certainly not practical either. In that sense, the teaching couple situation that is the hardest to accommodate is ‘married teacher with dependent significant other.’ Why do I want to make sure to get this out of the way first? Well, I want everyone to know that if your significant other wants to come along, but not to work as well, it will only complicate an already difficult situation. But if your significant other DOES want to teach to travel, shall we say, then read on.

Types of ‘teaching couples’

To be as helpful as possible, I’m going to make a distinction between the most common couple-type situations that exist. So, aside from the ‘married teacher with dependent s/o,” we also have the ‘married teacher couple,’ and the ‘unmarried teacher couple.’ I’m not discriminating in any way between married and unmarried couples, but that piece of paper could affect the type of job you are looking for. For example, many jobs in the Middle East require you to live in their company-provided housing, and do not let unwed couples live together. 

Can we live together? Can we work together? In the case you have children, is childcare provided? etc. These are probably the questions that you are most concerned with. So with that in mind, I’m going to evaluate some popular teaching destinations for expats in terms of their feasibility for teaching couples.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, and most of the Middle East. 

Best for: Single teachers, married teaching couples.

OK for: Married teacher with dependent significant other.

The Middle East is great for married teaching couples. It is very family friendly, so there are often a lot of fringe benefits added to contracts, such as free accommodations, free childcare, and sometimes free tuition for dependent children. What’s more, most teaching jobs are concentrated in a handful of cities, so the likelihood of you both finding teaching jobs in the same city are fairly high. There are also a lot of international schools where you both can work together. 

Since the Middle East is so family friendly, it is relatively easy for the married teacher with dependent s/o to has out a visa for their non-working spouse, but keep in mind that the salaries are not what they use to be, and quite often your non-working spouse cannot live in the company provided housing, so you’d have to pay for your own apartment.

Japan

Best for: Single teachers

OK for: Teaching couples

Japan is nearly the polar opposite to the Middle East in this regard. Teaching jobs tend to be quite scattered and many English schools only employ one or two foreign teachers. The likelihood of you two finding jobs in the same general proximity is quite low. Housing is also quite tiny, and expensive. So on the one hand, you can help each other with the rent, on the other you will be living in MUCH smaller areas than you are probably used to. Salaries are also quite stagnant in Japan which makes it pretty close to impossible that you would be able to suppose a dependent on them. Read more about finding a job in Japan here.

Korea, China

Best for: Single Teachers, Teaching Couples, Married Teaching Couples

There are quite a few teaching jobs in both private and public institutions in both Korea and China, so from a logistical standpoint, there really aren’t many more considerations to be taken into account whether you are single or you are coming with a significant other. As in the Middle East, there are a lot of international schools and universities where the both of you could find employment together, and housing tends to be included with the employment package. Hunt around enough and both of you should be able to find jobs in the same general area if you aren’t able to find work at the same place. If you both apply to EPIK together, you might also b able to negotiate assignments in the same town.

Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia

Best for: Single Teachers

OK for: Teaching Couples, Married Teaching Couples, Married Teacher with Dependent S/O

The teaching situation in South East Asia is a bit similar to Japan in that the teaching jobs tend to be quite scattered about and many of them are at English schools which only employ a few foreigners at a time. There are more public school and university jobs available than in Japan, however, so S.E. Asia has a leg up in that regard, but they don’t tend to hire large faculties either. 

While salaries are not particularly high in these countries, the standard of living is VERY affordable. When you combine that with the fact that it is extremely easy to get tourist visas, South East Asia definitely has a leg up for married couples where only one of you is working. The other can come and go, constantly re-upping their tourist visa, without having to worry about visa sponsorship. This leaves the door open for some s/o to do tutoring and other side gigs (I don’t advocate this, but I know that people do it.)

South America

OK for: Single Teachers, Married Teacher with Dependent S/O

The situation in South America is very similar to that in South East Asia, however there are just much fewer opportunities in general. What this means is that it is even less likely that teaching couples, married or otherwise, would end up finding good opportunities in the same general area. However, living is cheap and it is relatively easy to come and go, so if one of you found a job, the other could live with you without much logistical effort. It would probably require some savings for you both to survive here if only one was working, but it could be an interesting way to spend a year.

Have questions about teaching and travelling abroad as a couple that I didn’t address? Want to know more about the prospects in a particular country? Send me an email at matthew@teachfortravel.com Also, don’t forget to check out my guides page for more information about teaching to travel!