Author Topic: Looking ahead (Read 3422 times)

sajay · « **on:** February 04, 2002, 12:31:00 AM »

I just have a few questions, looking for advice from those of you who are teaching and working in Spain right now. I\\\'m going back to Spain after graduating from college of this year; I spent this past summer there on a TESOL course and looking for a job. I wasn\\\'t able to find a job with the time and money that I had and I had to go back to school. I realize that I probably won\\\'t be able to have a job secured before I leave, though if any of you have advice on how I might be able to find a post before leaving the States please let me know. I am also thinking about taking MSedu in TESOL courses through a long distance program while I\\\'m starting out, though I don\\\'t know if it\\\'ll be a good idea or not. Part of the reason why I would be taking them is to delay paying off student loans until I have a steady, legal job in Spain, and the other reason is to have better qualifications. However, in delaying my student loans and creating new ones I\\\'m afraid that once the MS is earned and my work is stable, I won\\\'t be able to pay off the loans and will have to return to the States. I loved living in Spain and I want to live there permanently. If you have any advice, please don\\\'t be afraid to give it!

~Sajay~

Tracy · « **Reply #1 on:** February 04, 2002, 12:09:00 PM »

Hi sayjay...

Sounds like you\\\'re in a tough position. I generally advice people who want to move to Spain permanently, to do so AFTER the loans are paid off. The interest rate and monthly payments are American made and therefore, reflect American economy, not Spain.

Have you thought of deferring your loans for \\\"internship\\\" possibilities. You may be able to do that, depending on the type loan you received. And speaking of internships, you can turn virtually any opportunity into an internship. WHat about au pairing? Or teaching English under-the-table for awhile? At least then, you\\\'ll have been in Spain long enough to make solid contacts-thus possibly leading to a fulltime job.

Otherwise, I\\\'m stumped.

Tracy

PR4552 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2002, 03:21:00 AM »

I would have to agree with Tracy. I am going to pay the majority of my student loans down and then move to Spain. I also have plans on playing the lottery every Saturday and hoping for the best. :-o

You want to live in Spain comfortably and not have to worry about outside expenses. I disagree with Tracy slightly about deferring the loans. Don\\\'t have th interest build up on you. Try and pay off as much as you can.

Spain isn\\\'t going anywhere and make it easy for yourself.

Buena suerte,

Shawn

Expat_teacher · « **Reply #3 on:** February 10, 2002, 11:40:00 PM »

Hey There! I agree with both Shawn and Tracy. Don´t incur further debt to put off paying what you already owe. ...especially if it means getting an MEd in TESOL to teach here in Spain. As Tracy said, what you would earn here does not make economic sense to incur that kind of debt in the USA. There are all sorts of courses that you can enroll in here if that is the direction you want to take.

And as Shawn said, Spain isn´t going anywhere, it has been here for centuries and will certainly be here for centuries to come.

Good luck!

jer · « **Reply #4 on:** February 26, 2002, 01:00:00 AM »

Hey sajay, the above advice is something to consider but have you though about blowing off your student loans entirely.

Ok, don\\\'t think I am a dolt for saying this but your credit rating in the U.S.A. does not follow you here in Spain. I had bad credit in the U.S. before I moved to Madrid forever. I had a discrepency with Citibank over a 500 payment that I said I had made but they disagreed. So, I let it go on and on and never paid them.

I coulod not get a credit card in the U.S.A. when I left and although my moving here had nothing to do with that credit problem, I applied for a VISA card from my banks here ((Caja Madrid and La Caixa) and both were head over heels to give me them.

So, as far as I can see, a TRW credit report means crapola in Spain and unless you open an account in an American bank like Citibank here in Madrid, it should not affect you.

I am an expat here in Madrid and my brother is doing the same in England (we are from NY, U.S.A.). While I paid my student loans off in the year teaching high school Spanish in the U.S.A. after college (beofre I ran screaming from that job and pulling my hair out), my brother never did pay his and left the country.

If you decide to go this way, be sure you want to live abroad ofrever although if you just bail out and leave the govt. hanging on the loans and then go back if your stint in Spain does not go as planned, they will always be happy to take the money even if it is very late.

My brother still gets letters asking for the $$$ and even got one (10 years after his college graduation) a few weeks ago asking for just the original loan amount. Guess they will take what they can get and know they will never se those 10 yrs. of interest from him.

Saludos,
jer...

hola all, for the ultimate virtual madrid site check out [!-- BBCode u2 Start --][A HREF=\"http://www.multimadrid.com\" TARGET=\"_blank\"]www.multimadrid.com[/A][!-- BBCode u2 End --] - videos, photos, screensavers, real streams, message board, chat and the 2 LIVE PLAZA MAYOR W****AMS!

[font size=-1][ Edited by jer On Date 25/02/2002 ][/font]

PR4552 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 26, 2002, 03:34:00 AM »

Jer,

Interesting advice, but she has to make sure that her parents didn\\\'t co-sign for her loan, or else they will have to pay. That\\\'s a stipulation in fine print that most people don\\\'t realize.

Just my 500 pesetas worth.

Shawn

jer · « **Reply #6 on:** February 27, 2002, 02:06:00 AM »

good point Shawn, I did not think of that.

Hey, her parents could always leave the country too :-D

jer...
[addsig]

sajay · « **Reply #7 on:** March 05, 2002, 08:03:00 PM »

Thanks for your advice everyone! Yes, my parents did co-sign on my loans, so I\\\'m afraid that I couldn\\\'t just leave the loans behind (my parents have showed no interest in ever leaving their house). I did take the advice on finding other MA programs in Spain, and I\\\'m going to apply to St. Louis University for next April. I should be able to apply for a student work visa and it\\\'ll also give me at least a year to see what I can do. And since it\\\'s dual enrollment with a Spanish University I could also apply for a Phd program at a Spanish University later on in life to change from teaching in schools to teaching in universities if I can\\\'t quite make the payments.
Once again, thanks for all of the advice!

Sara

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Author Topic: Looking ahead (Read 3422 times)

sajay

sajay