Should I migrate and leave behind my inheritance?

What country do you live in currently?

I do know quite a few immigrants, but elementary education isn’t exactly going to give you a cushy income here. You should seriously research the realities of life as an elementary school teacher in the US as compared to your country (or any other country, really).

Why do you think you would be happier here?

My daughter-in-laws parents are both from Nepal and have a very nice life here. One studied geology, the other biology. Both have PhDs and teach at a university. So it is possible.
Unfortunately (or fortunately if you are an introvert) they have visitors from the old country all the time. They are constantly hosting or showing people around.

I believe Eggie is from Trinidad, an Island nation off Venezuela.

There are a million personal factors that only you know about – we don’t. So it’s difficult for us to give you wisdom without knowing all the facts.

For example, what’s the size of your inheritance? If it is a couple million dollars, then you ought to stay where you are and live a good life there. If it is less, then you have to do some serious thinking – financial – about where your economic future will be best. Only you have that information.

And of course the other factors have to do with personal feelings – if you come to the US, will you miss your family and friends? What sort of a life will it be without old friends?
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So… you have a lot to think about.

I’m awaiting answers to some of the questions above before I wade in too deep.

My knee-jerk is to stay where you are and try to gain some job experience while making visits to the US often.
This is not a great time to be an immigrant in America. If you doubt the profound ignorance and bigotry of the American populace, just look into the top two Republican contenders for the Presidency.

Well, it’s raining like cats and dogs here and I’m socked in, so I did a little initial research for you.

@Eggie, you need to look into this a bit further. Don’t come here blind. I would start at the U.S. National Education Association (NEA) site, the largest of two teachers’ unions in the US. Read it and in there find links to other sites where you can communicate with actual teachers in your field and get a feel for the situation here. The NEA will be able to inform you on statistics and general job prospects, and local NEA groups and affiliates in the parts of the U.S. that you wish to work. The NEA is the largest teacher’s union in the US. They have links to blogs. Read the blogs.

Here is the NEA Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Education_Association

Here is their homepage:
http://www.nea.org/

For the low down on the different pay scales, benefits packages, job prospects, etc., in different school districts around the US, contact the American Federation of Teachers. This group, the second largest teacher’s association in the US, is more vocal about the funding and labor problems teachers have in the US today and it is important that you understand what is going on in the states you want to teach in. The Archives at the bottom of their Wikipedia page will get you up to speed on the general situation here. There are links to blogs here as well.

Here is the AFT Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_of_Teachers

Here is their homepage:
http://www.aft.org/

At the bottom of the Wikipedia articles, you will find further External Links and “See Also”. Open them and see where they lead. These could be good sources of information. Look for sites where teachers hang out and lurk for a while, get the feel of what you’re going into.

There is also the non-union American Association of Educators (AAE). They are a smaller group, and their site looks easier to navigate. Off to the left there is a drop-down menu the headings of which look very informative.

Here is the AAE Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Educators

Here is their homepage:
https://www.aaeteachers.org/

Check for work incentive programs for foreign teachers on these sites.

I would also look through the US Department of Labor (DoL) site for information on where in the US we most need teachers. The DoL is an excellent source of information and statistics concerning how many teaching jobs there are in the US, what and where the demand is, average pay per region, and incentive programs for study and work toward certain jobs that are currently in demand. This is a very helpful site and will give you a general idea of pay and job availability in the US.

I know that we always need teachers and nurses on our Native American Reservations. That will lead you to the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and they may have more specific information there. On both the DoL and BLM sites look for incentive programs for teachers. Every once in a while when the shortages get extreme, they put out a call for teachers. Most of the time, they are tuition incentive programs for American citizens only to study toward a teaching degree in exchange for a few years work. I’ve listed the official sites for these government departments at the end of this post.

But sometimes, things get so short in certain places that they open the jobs to foreigners, such as when the US experienced a major nursing shortage in the early ‘90s. They took in many foreign nurses, gave them instant work visas and placed them in hospitals around the country. Many of the nurses I worked with came from the Philippines, Canada, Australia, Bahamas and other Caribbean islands, and England. The State Department sent notices to those countries’ foreign ministries announcing the need for nurses. They do this for machinists and other disciplines such as teaching when there are shortages.

Finally, check with the US State Department to see if any programs are offered. Also, check on the rules, regs, and process for Trinidadians to work in the US. Each country is treated slightly differently due to the various treaties, pacts, and agreements the US has with your nation and the national alliances that Trinidad may belong, such as CARICOM.

Check both your Foreign Ministry or Department of State and our Department of State (foreign ministry) for these programs as well.

Sometimes these jobs are in poverty areas, but they are a gateway to other work later when your initial obligations are fulfilled. I knew a teacher from Australia who worked in a poverty-stricken area in the Appalachian Mountains of east Tennessee. It was tough, and the conditions were extraordinary to say the least. But he adjusted, made some very tight friendships with people of a class and culture he never would otherwise meet, and wrote a book on their culture, music and folk medicine the royalties of which supplement his retirement income today.

I always thought working on a Native American Reservation would be interesting. I would stay away from inner-city work, if I were you. Growing up on an island in the Caribbean Sea does not equip one emotionally for the work in American inner cities.

These jobs for foreigners are rare and you might have to wait for them to come around. You may have noticed that the US has become quite paranoid after September 11, 2001, and even more so after the Paris attacks, so things are a little tighter than they used to be. The vetting process you must go through is lengthy, but the way is greased by the US government when they actually want your skills. But remember, things can change overnight. The US got real friendly with you guys after Chavez was elected in Venezuela. Suddenly things like work visas, scholarships and development money can fall from the skies overnight.

Check Canada as well. They have a lot of Native American reservations out west. Winnipeg has a large inner city Native American population. These people are poor for the most part and have all the social problems associated with poverty, but they are a fine people and not known for violence. Canada just elected a liberal prime minister who has talked a lot about doing something about this problem. It might be a good time to contact their corresponding agencies to see if they are taking in any foreign teachers.

I haven’t checked out any of these sites, but this is where I would start looking if I were you. You are no stranger to research. Just keep following the trail of links.

US Department of State (foreign ministry, or ministry of foreign affairs)
http://www.state.gov/

US Department of Labor
http://www.dol.gov/

US Bureau of Land Management
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html

Trinidad Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs
http://www.foreign.gov.tt/

As to giving up your house and land: Call a reputable property management company in Trinidad and ask about live-in house-sitters and property managers. I manage a property on St. Lucia for a Yorkshire banker who can’t decide when or whether he will ever retire here. In the meantime, I live in the house here, manage his pecans, fruit orchards and sheep. I get paid a pittance in pay, but I love the lifestyle here—and the free rent. The vetting process to get this work was long and iffy. Property management groups don’t let just anybody live in their client’s homes. Give a few a call, tell them you may take off-shore work for a couple of years, find out if they handle live-in house-sitters and find out what their vetting process is and, if you’re satisfied, keep them in mind for when you land your job. In a case where there is only land and a house, the usual compensation is free rent and no monetary compensation.

Call someone at your foreign ministry, tell them what you’re planning and ask them if they have a list of approved property management groups on the island.

There are also international groups who handle these things as well. Some tourist agencies will rent the place out for you. Just make sure their vetting process is thorough. Rich people do this with their properties all the time, Eggie. They don’t sell just because they don’t live in one place. That’s how they stay rich. There is absolutely no reason to unload your property just because you will be leaving the island for a while. I’ll bet there are a couple of Flutherites who that would love to spend a couple of years down on Trinidad rent-free and live on their retirement income or other stipend.

Shit. I just thought of something. It is Trinidad, right? Well, anyway…

I would also contact the US Embassy in Port of Spain and ask what it takes to get work as a teacher in the US and whether or not there are any incentive programs for such.

The US has an embassy in Port of Spain. Here’s their contact information:

Homepage
http://trinidad.usembassy.gov/

Physical location:

Embassy of the United States of America
15 Queen’s Park West
Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 622–6371

@Eggie Depending on what you end up doing you don’t need to sell your parents home and property, you could lease it out or have someone live there as a caretaker and keep it until you determine your long term plan.
@Espiritus_Corvus Has more than covered any and everything you might need to know.

@Espiritus_Corvus Damn, and I thought I was the researcher from hell. lol

There is ample opportunity here for dedicated quality teachers and you are very welcome to come and make a go of it. My advice is to sell the property and pack your bags.

Whether it works out for you will largely depend on what your expectations are and why you want to go there. Both need to be realistic. Even though you may really want to go, you’ll have to go through a transition period. You’ll feel a bit like a fish out of water at first. You’ll need to make an effort to make friends, to get used to the culture, to acclimatise. You’ll need to get a job. There are things you can do before you to help with all of those things. Ask questions here. Where do you want to settle in the US? Talk to people about how they socialise.

Check with the Department of Education what qualifications you’ll need to get a job. Where are the most vacancies for teachers? Ask here about the places where you’re most likely to get a job. Is it somewhere you want to live and work?

Do your research and expect to feel a bit lost at first.

I emigrated here many years ago and even though I’m from the UK and I came to Australia, I still had to go through a transition period. It’s different. They have different social structures and mechanisms. Even though we speak the same language, I had to find my feet. Whether you’re successful and whether it works out for you will depend very much on your personality and how determined you are to work through the differences. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Think about your own personality and figure out how you’ll manage feeling isolated until you do make friends.

Another thing to think about: If you are considering selling up, what is your property worth, and what will that equivalent amount get you in your chosen area of the US.

Just a little googling-around puts a low-ish estimate of the value of a 3-bedroom home in Trinidad at $280,000. Now, if you live in Kansas, that’ll buy you a gorgeous 4 bedroom home. If you want to work in New York City, that can get you a 3 bedroom condo on Staten Island (meaning a pretty serious commute) or a 1 bedroom co-op in Brooklyn, with a waiting list for a parking space.

I will ask you a question if you dont mind, why do you think you would be happy in the Usa?

I think I would be happy in the US because every day there would always be an opportunity for me to learn and explore something new. I know that I may not have enough money, and it may be harder for me to work and the climate is different, but I just think the ability for me to visit a lake that I have never seen or visit a beach or meet someone new is just priceless. My kids would have a greater opportunities to become what they want. I can also have greater opportunities to evolve myself into something better. It would be hard…but I think I could adapt. The main reason I want to live there is for the constant opportunity for me to have a new experience. I think that is worth living.

How long before you complete your Masters, @Eggie?

Counting from this month, about 5 months until I am finished next year. Im done at the end of April 2016

I wouldn’t be in a hurry to immigrate, honestly.

The political climate in the US scares me, and I would hesitate to encourage anyone to move here right now. Especially anyone with an accent and brown skin, if that applies.
Things will likely simmer down or heat up after the RNC in July, and depending on those results, doubly so for the Presidential election.

I hear seemingly rational people make the most ignorant statements imaginable, nearly daily. Hopefully a lot of that will die down by a year from now.