Things to consider before you decide to pack up and leave!

     If your thinking about moving to another country like I did, but have no idea what to do there are a few things you should consider.

First: Cost of living
Second: Finding a Job
Third: Saving money
Fourth: Learning the language
Fifth: Finding living accommodations
Sixth: The visa process
Seventh: Location

     Now I'll be honest with you and say that I didn't consider all of these things when I decided to move. I was actually just winging it and using google to help gain information. The only thing I knew about Spain was that my Grandmother was Spanish, paella was popular and people drunk sangria (later I learned that only tourists really enjoy sangria).

     However, I did save money before I arrived. I saved about 5k and started to think about what I could actually do to make money and survive. I saw that many Americans would teach English, but I had no clue how to teach English. Also, I was taking classes online to finish my Masters in Business Administration.

     I later discovered that teaching English was probably my best option since I didn't speak a word of Spanish. I searched for what type of certifications I needed in order to teach and soon discovered that I needed a TEFL, CELTA, or TSOL ( I'll get more into those in a future post). I had to search for schools that were accredited and then start making phone calls!

     I found a school that I liked and they offered classes in Madrid and Barcelona. I picked Barcelona because through them I could just go on a tourist visa and not have to worry about doing a ton of paperwork for a student visa. The requirements for Madrid were much more strict even though it was the same school! Also the school provided me with a detailed list of how much money I could make teaching English in almost any country.

     The school actually offered accommodations, but I signed up too late so they didn't have room for me. I had to search other ways to find a place to stay. I tried Airbnb, but someone tried to scam me so I went to a site called Home-away and I found accommodations. Little did I know that the woman whose house I stayed in would become one of my best friends in Spain.

     Lastly, I want to say that it's important to learn the language, but don't get to caught up in this at first. I had to use google originally, and avoid all English speaking people! later I'll talk about how exactly I learned Spanish and how you can do it too!