Thread: Redundancy

Well, looks like I will be losing my job in the next month. Will get 4 months notice and around £30,000 severance. I'm 54 and was thinking about working in teaching anyway. Got a degree in Engineering and 25 yrs experience in computing (dba). I was thinking of moving to Thailand and teaching for the remainder of my career as the UK is looking ropey. Trouble is, I have a 12 yr old stepson, daughter aged 5 and son aged 2. What will a reasonable education cost in Thailand for them? thinking around Nakohn Phenom.

3 kids in international school is going to cost you way more than what you would be
earning in most teaching jobs. If your lucky enough to land an international school to
work in then maybe their places would be partially / fully paid.
The 30 k would pay for the move plus car / housing etc. but I dont think it would be
fair to put the kids in a goverment or EP school if your looking at them ever returning
to Europe.

Seems a bit optimistic on the pricing there marmite. I would say at least 6 k per kid when they are young but the stepson's fees will be more like 10k

At 54 I doubt that the 30k is all you will have.
Will you have rental income from an owned property? Private pension paid off?

Raising three children on a teacher's salary (even a lot of the international school ones) certainly won't be a barrel of laughs.

Without a teaching qual you're probably limited to, I don't know, around 60k or so? Not a comfortable life to be had on that. Even with a teaching qual you're probably only going to be earning 100k without experience at home. Wouldn't fancy 3 kids on that income.

Do you hope to have a nanny raise the kids, or have the wife earning a second income?

I'd think hard about this move.

Originally Posted by Blake7

Seems a bit optimistic on the pricing there marmite.

If you're talking about one of the bigger rip-off schools like ISB, then of course, but there are a number of other, cheaper options, especially as he says he'll be outside Bangkok.

All my savings went into the house, still have a £140k mortgage to pay off. I think the house is worth around £350k to £500k. It's a strange house so it is difficult to value but it is in a small village in a National Park. When I say hard to value, it was a 200yr old 2 up 2 down cottage with a stable attached. The stable was converted into a double garage with a kitchen and utility room at the rear and a small double bedroom above them, all belonging to the cottage. The front above the garages is a 'granny flat' with a fair sized kitchen, small lounge, bathroom, double bedroom and 2 single bedrooms plus a loft conversion with a single bed. The 2 up 2 down bit is now a large lounge downstairs, a small toilet, a large bathroom with walk in shower an a separate bath, toilet, washbasin and double bedroom. There is a loft conversion which serves as a bedroom but not officially because of fire regulations. The cellar isn't really used for anything because it floods occasionally and I don't really need it. There is a 15ft x 10ft front garden and 10ft by 40ft back garden.

I have 3 pensions plus the state one eventually. The one is a final salary scheme and needs to be left alone as it will provide the majority of my income in retirement, giving around £15k per annum from age 60. Other than that I have around £100k in the other two funds combined but the annuity rates are rubbish so they won't bring much in and don't seem to be growing much either.

I was thinking if I built a reasonable house in Thailand plus enough land for farming to be basically self sufficient and rented out the house in the UK I would have enough for the school fees. Teaching would be to keep me occupied and provide money for beer, food, and household expenses.

I see contracts in London for my skills at around £320-£400 a day but I've never contracted and don't know how easy they are to win. Outside London there isn't much on offer. I'm worried that I could end up with my money just getting eaten up if I don't move now and don't get a job easily. The UK job market is getting worse by the day and a new job at my age and career progression isn't easy to come by.

Originally Posted by BigRed

still have a £140k mortgage to pay off. I think the house is worth around £350k to £500k.

I have 3 pensions plus the state one eventually. The one is a final salary scheme and needs to be left alone as it will provide the majority of my income in retirement, giving around £15k per annum from age 60.
much either.

If you need pricey international schools, it might be tough. If you have a Thai wife, Thai-speaking children and some ability to navigate Thai society, it just might work. You could clear £200k from selling your house, buy a reasonable house and car in Thailand and still have £20k a year (80,000 baht a month) for basic living until your salary scheme pension starts in 6 years. With no mortgage or car payments, it's a very comfortable middle-class Thai existence. If your kids can speak Thai, they might even function in a Catholic-run or Thai private school. Once you get there, perhaps helping to educate them yourself is time better spent than toiling as an English teacher. As an older computer professional who could get outsourced by an Indian any day now, I'm in a similar situation. We've already bought a house in Thailand and the little ones are becoming fluent in Thai just in case I lose my job. Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

^^^ i would guess that renting out the house would barely cover the mortgage repayments? Not much left for school fees anyway.

I'm with NR; pretty much double your estimate. I have two kids in Montessori, two that graduated from college in the last few years, and a big house with no mortgage and I couldn't make it, in a semi-rural area of the Philippines, on what you are planning to bring to the party. The dollar and whatever currency you get paid in SUCK against both the peso, and even more against the Baht, and that isn't going to improve anytime soon.

Originally Posted by BigRed

What will a reasonable education cost in Thailand for them? thinking around Nakohn Phenom.

Depends how you define reasonable. International schools are expensive as has already been mentioned. One of our Thai neighbors sends their 11 year old daughter to a catholic school and she is a really smart kid. Way ahead of other kids around here with an excellent knowledge of English. I don't know what he pays but it is a lot less than an international school.

As far as I see it, the big plus of an international school is not so much the education as the circle the children move in where they are likely to make some very useful friends of very wealthy parents. This can open a lot of doors later in life here where who you know counts for a lot.

Thanks for the replies folks. I think some of you don't really take into account the situation I would be in if I remain in the UK and don't find a reasonable job, but I take heed of your comments. Blake7 - I have a lodger in the granny flat and that easily covers my mortgage at the moment, don't forget how low interest rates are and they are likely to remain so for several years, plus people can't afford the deposits they are now asking to get on the property ladder and most council houses have been sold off.

I'll see if I can find a job in the UK, either contract or full time, in the next 4 months, then it is a toss up between living on limited funds in the UK or Thailand for a few years.

GooMaiRoo,

Are you in the US?

Forget about it,Thailand is not the right move, the downturn in the world economy, the strong Baht is going to see the GBP go down to 1987 values of arouind 34/35Baht.