Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Private school teachers generally make less than public school teachers here. (Unless you are in a high need field and at a top school.) For a point of reference, public school teachers start around 40K here. Additionally, private school jobs are very hard to come by here as are all teaching jobs.
Could you budget to just live on your husband's salary?
I have 9 years' experience and a Master's degree, plus excellent references from my current school (which is nationally very highly regarded), so I am hoping to be seen as a strong candidate. But yes, I know that private school jobs are very scarce these days (in NY, too). I teach English, which unlike math or science is not in super high demand, so that makes it even harder. The tentative plan is that my husband will get a job first (if he doesn't, we don't move), and then for the first year we budget well and I will spend the entire year doing a thorough job search. It will be easier as I will be local then. I think we could live on my husband's salary for a year or two (renting) if we budgeted very well, but I would be unhappy if I could not find a job in Atlanta eventually -- partly because we could use the money, but also largely because I love teaching and I enjoy my career.
Do you know anything about what it takes to become a certified public school teacher in Georgia? I did look on the department's website but there wasn't much to go on. My "back-up" plan is to spend that first year or two taking whatever exams, etc. to become certified in Georgia so that I can teach public school, if need be. I started my career in a NYC public school and passed all certification exams in NY State, so that might help. I also have a Master's degree in Teaching.
Anything info you have about teaching/teachers in Georgia is highly appreciated!
Hello Im a single parent recently divorced with a angry EX. I need to relocate ASAP. I would like to live near airport. I need info on elem schools with am - pm care, im looking for employment in admin/clerical field. i need to find safe apt. i have a car but i would like to be near public transportation.
I have 9 years' experience and a Master's degree, plus excellent references from my current school (which is nationally very highly regarded), so I am hoping to be seen as a strong candidate. But yes, I know that private school jobs are very scarce these days (in NY, too). I teach English, which unlike math or science is not in super high demand, so that makes it even harder. The tentative plan is that my husband will get a job first (if he doesn't, we don't move), and then for the first year we budget well and I will spend the entire year doing a thorough job search. It will be easier as I will be local then. I think we could live on my husband's salary for a year or two (renting) if we budgeted very well, but I would be unhappy if I could not find a job in Atlanta eventually -- partly because we could use the money, but also largely because I love teaching and I enjoy my career.
Do you know anything about what it takes to become a certified public school teacher in Georgia? I did look on the department's website but there wasn't much to go on. My "back-up" plan is to spend that first year or two taking whatever exams, etc. to become certified in Georgia so that I can teach public school, if need be. I started my career in a NYC public school and passed all certification exams in NY State, so that might help. I also have a Master's degree in Teaching.
Anything info you have about teaching/teachers in Georgia is highly appreciated!
I think the idea that teaching jobs are impossible to come by is overblown. I have about a dozen friends who just graduated with masters in teaching and they all got jobs. Most of them didn't get their dream jobs, but they all are working somewhere. You just have to market yourself extremely aggressively and be relentless--typical stuff, really.
The be a certified teacher in GA I think all you need is take pass the certification exams (GACE) which are administered every few months. I wouldn't devote a huge amount of time studying for them--if you're smart and knowledgeable, you'll almost surely pass. If you have any interest in teaching middle school, make sure to take the reading exam additionally (this will make you a way more flexible candidate so you can teach your own reading period).
Yes, admittedly it's a very big range. 165K would be the very high end -- if we both got paid the most possible. 115K is the low end -- if we both got the lowest amount typical for our jobs. Realistically -- if we both earn an average salary or if one earns high and the other earns low -- we're probably looking at 135/140K.
We obviously won't be able to know exactly how much we'll earn, combined, until after we move -- and we don't want to move without some sense of what our lifestyle might be and whether we could afford the things that are most important to us.
As a side note, having an income above the national average doesn't feel comforting to me, because we have that now and it gets us very little. We live in a 650 sq. foot apartment (that costs over $2000/month), can't afford private school yet can't afford to live in a good zone unless we move far out, which then leads to a very long commute, etc. So our "high" income is not providing us with the quality of life people tend to think of when they think of high incomes.
Since the whole point of moving would to be to have a better quality of life, I want to make sure it's realistic before taking any serious steps. It would be horrible to make a big move only to discover we're still priced out of the quality of life we want. That's why I am really appreciating everyone's feedback here, as well as all of the old similar posts I have been able to dig up.
The problem is, lilachu, that it's hard for others to have a clear picture of "the quality of life [you] want." Needless to say, there are lots of families in Atlanta (and NYC, I suppose) who get by on much less income than your proposed range. On the other hand, there are plenty of people (some here on CityData) who consider $200K about the minimum income for a family with kids to enjoy an acceptable lifestyle.
The quality of life we want is pretty simple. We don't want a huge house, fancy cars, exotic vacations, private school, or the most prestigious address in town. We just want to live somewhere safe, where we can come and go with a low chance of being the victim of crime. We want to live where we are zoned for a good public school -- a solid place for our kids to be educated. We would like to be near a nice park. One thing that limits our options in Atlanta is that we would like to be somewhere walkable, with shops and restaurants not too far away (ideally). We definitely need sidewalks, at least.
But that's basically it. So my question is whether a family of four, in that income range, can have that quality of life in Atlanta. (In New York City, they definitely can't. You can get it only if you move way out into the outer boroughs, and then you're looking at a very long and unpleasant commute, often over an hour each way.)
I know many families get by with a lot less -- but that's exactly it. We don't want to just "get by." We want to be happy and comfortable. We're trying to find where we might be able to do that, because NYC definitely isn't it.
The quality of life we want is pretty simple. We don't want a huge house, fancy cars, exotic vacations, private school, or the most prestigious address in town. We just want to live somewhere safe, where we can come and go with a low chance of being the victim of crime. We want to live where we are zoned for a good public school -- a solid place for our kids to be educated. We would like to be near a nice park. One thing that limits our options in Atlanta is that we would like to be somewhere walkable, with shops and restaurants not too far away (ideally). We definitely need sidewalks, at least.
But that's basically it. So my question is whether a family of four, in that income range, can have that quality of life in Atlanta. (In New York City, they definitely can't. You can get it only if you move way out into the outer boroughs, and then you're looking at a very long and unpleasant commute, often over an hour each way.)
I know many families get by with a lot less -- but that's exactly it. We don't want to just "get by." We want to be happy and comfortable. We're trying to find where we might be able to do that, because NYC definitely isn't it.
My wife and I earn somewhere in your range. We are more than comfortable. We do not have any kids yet, but we live in town so we have slightly higher costs. In turn we put away a bunch of money every year and take some nice vacations. We don't have huge material wants and our cars combined are worth under 30k (paid off). The biggest driver for you is going to be how much other debt you have. If you don't then, that income will be fine. If you make reasonable housing choices (house 4br/3ba, 2300-2600 sq ft, in a northern suburb) you'll have disposable income, even after paying for the kids and hopefully saving for their college costs. The commute might be a tradeoff. There isn't any utopia, but it's doable, and I grew up in Queens and Long Island, believe me, the quality of life is a significant improvement, and you will not have a feeling of 'getting by'. BTW, I have a mortgage that is 190, and with taxes, we pay less than 1300/mo. Good luck..
Thanks for the feedback and well wishes, VJP! If we were willing to sacrifice size of home for location, do you think we might be able to afford to live in town, even with kids? We'd honestly be happy with a 1500 square foot, 3 bedroom home, or something similar. We don't need big.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Single parent relocating to atlanta
