This is a huge question and one that can be difficult to answer before taking the leap!
However, to support yourself on this decision, I ask in my guide (Gosling, 2021):
–Do you enjoy travel and adventure?
-Are you open to new experiences?
-Can you cope with differing or limited resources or classroom space/facilities?
-Are you adaptable (or willing to adapt) to new curricula or variations of the National Curriculum?
-Do you make friends easily?
-Are you happy to work within a school with teachers from other countries, as well as parents and children who may be very different to what you are used to?
-Could you be away from family and friends for an extended period should you need to?
-Are you willing to ‘start again’ in a new home, new country and new school?
In addition to other questions…
Are you looking for adventure? You are not alone! Savva (2015) found in her research that teachers often reported stagnation or frustration in their professional/personal circumstances led them to teach abroad. If you enjoy travel and embrace the opportunities it offers, then international teaching could well be for you.
Struggling with mental health issues can be more difficult to address when living and working abroad, depending on where you chose to live. Therefore it is important that you can cope with challenges. A key consideration is how would you feel with living far away from home? If this is a worry for you, you should focus your search on international schools nearby to your home country. For example, coming from the UK, Europe, the UAE and North Africa (Egypt, Jordan and Morocco) are within 7 hours travel time.
Consider if you have changed schools previously in your home country, how did it make you feel? Did you adapt easily or did you feel far removed from your comfort zone.
For further considerations on this, plus when is the best time to move abroad and possible locations, check out my guide:
New to International Teaching with Jess Gosling 