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I taught in APS, at the middle school level, for four years. There are generally jobs, especially in the hot areas of math, science and SpEd, but principal's usually can't really say they'll hire you until June. Which is nerve-wracking if you have to take leave of your current position.
Have you checked the pay-scale? I don't know where you're coming from, but I had to really adjust my thinking, the pay was much lower than I was used to. I thought I could do it, but in the end, even though the cost of living is somewhat commensurate with the low pay, it really cramped my style for going on vacations, etc. Airlines and hotels didn't care that I was suddenly making $25k less!
For perspective: Starting salary for teachers in San Francisco is 45K.
Median home price in Albuquerque is less than 200K, median home price in San Francisco is over $1 million. A one bedroom apartment in Albuquerque rents for $600, a one bedroom apartment in San Francisco rents for $3300.
Compared to San Francisco, a teacher in Albuquerque would have a dramatically higher standard of living.
A long time ago, during my teaching days in the San Francisco Bay Area, I vacationed in Taos and liked it so much that I walked into the district office to see whether there was an opening in my subject area. When the director of personnel said there was and that, based on our conversation, he would be interested in hiring me, my heart jumped. Gravity took over, however, when I learned that I'd be earning almost half of what I was making in the San Francisco Bay Area.
So, I waited until retirement came to move to NM, where I spent 10 pleasant years. I was astonished to learn that I was making more than some Abq. school principals.
I agree with Abraxas that buying a house or renting one is an impossibility in San Francisco. Nevertheless, from what I have learned from APS teacher friends, working conditions are often not the best and teacher morale is often low. This is too bad, because there are probably a lot of out-of-state teachers who would jump at the chance to work in central New Mexico.
If you work in any large urban school district, then you probably already work in a place where people say that "working conditions are often not the best and teacher morale is often low." If you were to move to Albuquerque, your experience at work would probably be comparable (which, depending on who you are, might be great even if your colleagues complain). The question for you is how much would the rest of your life improve? And if the rest of your life improves, might that not also improve your morale while at work?
And just to be clear, if you are a good teacher, we really want you. People here recognize the importance of your role to the community.
did the previous teacher quit to make some real money?
It was meant to be funny... A guy named "Walter White".
I just saw this scrolling down through the forum... thought of Breaking Bad.
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