Ready to Teach Abroad? You Need This Pre -Departure Checklist!

Early years Ideas
Jun 26, 2022
7 min read

How excited are you now that you’ve secured that teaching job abroad!? #happydance! You’ve texted all your friends, told your parents, and are contemplating when to finally tell your boss that you’re moving on. There’s so much buzzing through your mind that you find it’s all become a bit overwhelming.

One day: excitement! The next: fear. Later: tears. Then, of course, back to excitement. You’re a hot mess. But hey! That’s normal and that’s why Early Years Create is here to help get you organised with some pre-departure tips for teaching abroad.

Trust me, it’s not normal to snag a job abroad and then happily trek off to your school in a brand new country. There are many things to do before teaching abroad that happen between the time you sign your contract and show up for your first day of class. (Those are the posts that Instagram forgets to show us!)

Why it’s important to have a game-plan before you move abroad to teach?

“My passport expires in six months?!”

#nightmare, #teachernightmare Whoa, whoa, whoa, this will not happen. Slow down, breathe, and let’s write up a teaching abroad pre-departure checklist for all of your to-dos.

First of all, get a planner. Yes, we all love Google Calendar, but a tangible write-it-down, old school pen-and-ink paper planner will help you organise your thoughts without the hectic additions of happy hour with friends and comedy shows thrown into the mix.

Having a moving abroad planner with a list of things to do before teaching abroad will make life much smoother while the clock is counting down to your adventure abroad.

With a planner, you’re sure to have a great trip and peace of mind!

What are some of these pre-departure tips for teaching abroad? Well, you need to say bye to grandma, tell your parents you won’t be gone forever, and buy new school clothing. Also, make sure to hit up your local pub one last time and sip one more IPA. Don’t wait until the last minute!

No email required! Get your FREE teach abroad pre-departure checklist now →

4 important things to do before teaching abroad

Yes, moving abroad means more than just booking a flight and updating your passport. Make sure to take a look at these pre-departure tips for teaching abroad to make sure you are in for the best experience.

1. Close Up Shop

Toodle-ooh my friends! Yes, a going away party is one of the crucial things to do before teaching abroad. But there’s more to it than a few hugs, tears, and cheers that need to urgently get done before you leave home to teach abroad.

You don’t want to be on the other side of the world and realise that your debit card expired! Make sure that you tie up all loose ends back home so that it can be an easy transition to move abroad. This preparation can begin months before take off so that you’ve got peace of mind.

Host a garage sale to make quick cash. You finally have a chance to do some serious household cleaning and get rid of what you don’t need. Take this chance to snag some extra cash by selling clothes, household goods, and even your furniture and car if possible. All that extra $$$ can help you start your life abroad.
Move the rest of your stuff to storage. Can mom and dad hang on to any extra things you may leave behind? Photos, books, and those random souvenirs you got from studying abroad that you can’t get rid of?
Find your new home abroad. Check out your school’s neighborhood and see what’s nearby. Although some schools provide you with housing, there’s a chance you may need to find something on your own. Let the house-hunting begin!
Update all addresses to your permanent one. And register to vote from abroad! You don’t need the new tenants of your apartment getting all your mail and pizza coupons. Update your address or see if Mom and Dad will be able to receive your mail while you are out of the country.

2. Sort Your Documents

One of the most important (and not so fun) things to do before teaching abroad is to organise your documents and file them! When you pack for your teach abroad life, it’s good to organise all important documents together so that they aren’t just swimming through your suitcases in unknown corners.

Make sure to have copies of everything saved to your computer, a flash drive, and at your parents’ house so that if anything goes missing you’ve got backup.

Passports and visa(s) for the win! If you don’t have a passport yet, get that application started ASAP. Otherwise, make sure you have a couple of years left on your current passport. You never know if you will want to extend your teach abroad contract. If a visa is needed before departure, speak with your programme advisors about obtaining your teaching visa.
Ensure you’ve got up-to-date immunizations. While you may need to get shots to head to certain countries, it’s not always required. However, chat with your doctor or browse the web to see what sort of pre-arrival immunizations are necessary and in these time those pesky COVID shots. Even if you don’t need shots, it’s still good to see your doctor and dentist before you head abroad.
Buy travel health insurance (because we care about you). Check with your programme advisor if health insurance is included in your teach abroad package. If it’s not, start browsing online for the best deals for expats abroad in your country.
Book your plane tickets, snag the window seat! Time to flyyy! Grab a window seat if you love those views or an aisle seat if you’ve got a tiny bladder (like yours truly) oops... did I reveal too much there.

3. Get Your Finances In Order

Hooray you have a teaching job abroad! Now you are officially rolling in the dough overseas—well, soon enough anyways. Dreams do come true! However, keep your head on straight. Have you gotten that first paycheck yet? NO.

You will need to be financially responsible more than ever when heading overseas to teach abroad. You will likely not have a payday until the end of your first month of teaching. So don’t get too excited yet. This is the perfect opportunity to create a budget and stick to it.

If you go abroad without a budget you will be far too tempted to buy that adorable silk sarang and splurge on the first weekend excursion with new friends. Living abroad tempts you to spend too much and shout out “YOLO” upon arrival in a brand new place.

Outline your travel budget. Say it with me: “I will not blow my savings within a week because I am so excited.” Have a rough idea of what you will be spending each month. How much money should go toward bills? How much toward food? How much toward entertainment? How much toward weekend trips away? You get the idea. If you have a rough outline and use a budget app, you are more likely to spend within your means.
Stack your new salary against the cost of living. You’ve got an idea of what your monthly salary is. Now how can you make sure that you don’t spend more than your income each month? Check out the cost of living in your city to give you a better idea on where your money will be flowing each month.
Buy and pack your can’t-live-without-it school supplies. You know that adorable planner, the pen that doesn’t run out of ink and makes your handwriting nice, and the backpack-turns-purse that is also waterproof. You deserve to treat yo’ self to a few fun items before your first day of school.
Get a travel reward credit card & bank card with no ATM fees. You are off on a travel adventure and what better way to spend money than to rack up miles? There are tons of credit cards that offer rewards plans for frequent travelers. As long as you pay off your credit card each month, you’ll be getting free or reduced flights soon!

4. Prepare for Day 1 On the Job

It’s normal to feel a bit overwhelmed when moving abroad, living abroad, teaching abroad, and starting a new life abroad. Before you enter your first day of class, do some review of what to expect.

Have you looked at your schedule? Do you have your clothes ironed? Have you brushed up on saying “Hello” and “Thank you” in the native language to impress your coworkers? Don’t sweat it. It’ll be a breeze!

Crack open your TEFL course books for some quick refreshers. Read through some basic classroom management tips and first-day activities. Right off the bat, you want to figure out how to balance being a fun teacher while also gaining respect from your students. Refresh yourself on some basics before walking into class on the first day.
Prep for your first lesson plan. This can be fun! Make your first lesson engaging and interactive. It can be get-to-know-you activities and games. Engage the students on day one to create a fun learning environment.
Inform yourself about local classroom etiquette/culture. Teaching in South Korea? Don’t write anyone’s name in red. Do I wear shoes in class? Do I bow to the students first? Do I shake hands with a coworker of the opposite sex? Do I get bathroom breaks? Can I use my phone to play music in class? Yep, there’s a lot to learn and although you can read up a bit beforehand, you will likely learn a lot as you go!
Roll (don’t fold) your first-day outfit #travelhacks.#travelhacks. And buy a steamer or iron upon arrival. You don’t want to show up on your first day all wrinkly. (Unless your'e teaching on a remote island in the Falkland Islands, which by the way was a real treat). I absolutely loved my 2 years spent there.

You’re ready to set sail for teaching abroad!

Teaching and exploring abroad will be the adventure of a lifetime!

Easy peasy! You’ve got your pre-departure tips for teaching abroad! Teaching abroad is a very rewarding job for those who love to travel. However, it’s not just a click of a button and wa-lah: off to another land! It does take some time and effort to make the process smooth.

There may be glitches with your visa, there may be extra expenses with your housing. You’ve gotta have a go-with-the-flow attitude to make your teach abroad experience the best!

Go off and teach abroad, but don’t forget your teaching abroad pre-departure checklist! Stay organised and everything will go as planned. But also, don’t plan too much as you never know what situations may present themselves once you settle in abroad. The key is to be FLEXIBLE. You’ll make new friends, create a great classroom environment, and learn more about yourself than you ever expected.

If you are reading this and have been thinking about taking the leap to teach abroad, my top advice is to JUST GO! If you need help along the way re: where to start, teacher interviews, planning and prep then fear NOT. Within my Patreon community I've got a tier just for you for the low monthly cost of USD$25.00 per month where I mentor/coach new, experienced or interested teachers to take the leap and teach abroad. You can check it out HERE.