Moving to Chiapas with 2 children, can anyone advise regarding work and location?

[ninaromina]

Hello there,

I will be moving to Chiapas within the next year. I will be 34 years old and I will be moving with two children (they will be 3 years old and 6 months old). I have a university degree (in foreign languages) and I am fluent in Spanish. I am consiering moving to Comitan or San Cristobal de las Casas. I am very concerned about finding work to support myself and my children while over there, as well as good preschools/kindergarten for the kids and things like access to good health care. I have one year to prepare. Can anyone give me any advice on what kind of jobs I should be considering while over there and how I could prepare myself or improve my qualifications in order to ensure a more successful job search? Also, can anyone recommend either Comitan or San Cristobal or another appropriate location in Chiapas? I am looking for a cooler climate with no humidity. Howeveer, if I can find a great job in a hot humid place, I will learn how to live with it Thank you in advance for your advice!

Evelyn

[Isla Verde]

Originally Posted by ewelinaw

Hello there,

I will be moving to Chiapas within the next year. I will be 34 years old and I will be moving with two children (they will be 3 years old and 6 months old). I have a university degree (in foreign languages) and I am fluent in Spanish. I am consiering moving to Comitan or San Cristobal de las Casas. I am very concerned about finding work to support myself and my children while over there, as well as good preschools/kindergarten for the kids and things like access to good health care. I have one year to prepare. Can anyone give me any advice on what kind of jobs I should be considering while over there and how I could prepare myself or improve my qualifications in order to ensure a more successful job search? Also, can anyone recommend either Comitan or San Cristobal or another appropriate location in Chiapas? I am looking for a cooler climate with no humidity. Howeveer, if I can find a great job in a hot humid place, I will learn how to live with it Thank you in advance for your advice!

Evelyn

Chiapas is one of the poorest states in Mexico, so any work you could find will probably not pay very well. I would be concerned about having to support yourself and your children on your salary. If you're looking for a cool dry climate, you should consider somewhere in the Central Highlands of Mexico, since Chiapas is either cool and humid (San Cristobal, for example) or hot and humid (Tuxtla Gutierrez). If you are interested in looking for work as an English teacher, I recommend you post an inquiry at this website for expat English teachers: Job Discussion Forums :: Index. The posters on the Mexico forum will be happy to help you.

[conklinwh]

Originally Posted by ewelinaw

Hello there,

I will be moving to Chiapas within the next year. I will be 34 years old and I will be moving with two children (they will be 3 years old and 6 months old). I have a university degree (in foreign languages) and I am fluent in Spanish. I am consiering moving to Comitan or San Cristobal de las Casas. I am very concerned about finding work to support myself and my children while over there, as well as good preschools/kindergarten for the kids and things like access to good health care. I have one year to prepare. Can anyone give me any advice on what kind of jobs I should be considering while over there and how I could prepare myself or improve my qualifications in order to ensure a more successful job search? Also, can anyone recommend either Comitan or San Cristobal or another appropriate location in Chiapas? I am looking for a cooler climate with no humidity. Howeveer, if I can find a great job in a hot humid place, I will learn how to live with it Thank you in advance for your advice!

Evelyn

Evelyn, it is very hard to move to Mexico and get any job, let alone one that would pay you enough to live on and support two kids. You talked about degree but not work experience. The easiest way to get work status approved is to have a job before you get here but the company that sponsors you needs to be able to justify the uniqueness of your skills. Is there something about your degree or experience that would differentiate you?
By the way, most of the bajio has very moderate temperatures and pretty low relative humidity.

[Isla Verde]

Originally Posted by conklinwh

By the way, most of the bajio has very moderate temperatures and pretty low relative humidity.

Evelyn might not know where the Bajío is located.

[circle110]

Mexico heavily protects it's jobs from foreign workers so, unless you have a very needed skill (frequently technical) it can be very difficult to get the required permission to work legally.

One option you do have is to teach English. Your degree will help you there some, plus if you can get certified (ie CELTA, TESOL, TEFL) you will have a leg up in the job hunt. Unfortunately, many English teaching jobs don't pay very highly and salaries may be lower still in an economically depressed area like Chiapas. However, if you have quality certification and a relevant degree you might be able to land a better paying position. Experience would be a huge help too; perhaps you could work part time as an ESL volunteer while in the US to get some experience.

[conklinwh]

According to Wikipedia, the bajio consists of:

El bajío mexicano lo conforman los estados de:
Aguascalientes
Guanajuato
Jalisco (solo parte norte)
Michoacán (solo parte norte)
Querétaro

This surprised me as thought also included parts of San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas & Hidalgo.

[Heyduke]

Getting a job teaching that pays can be difficult. You will need a FM 3 visa to work. I live in San Cristobal and know a couple of English teachers and I don't think they make much money. Comitan is even smaller than SC so there is probably less chance for work. You may have better luck in Tuxtula. Make sure you have a job before you move here.

[Isla Verde]

Originally Posted by circle110

One option you do have is to teach English. Your degree will help you there some, plus if you can get certified (ie CELTA, TESOL, TEFL) . . .

The CELTA is the name of a well-regarded certificate program that trains you to teach adults English as a Foreign Language. TESOL is not the name of a certificate, just the name of the field itself (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages), as is TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language).

[Isla Verde]

Originally Posted by Heyduke

Getting a job teaching that pays can be difficult. You will need a FM 3 visa to work. I live in San Cristobal and know a couple of English teachers and I don't think they make much money. Comitan is even smaller than SC so there is probably less chance for work. You may have better luck in Tuxtula. Make sure you have a job before you move here.

It's almost impossible to get a job teaching English before arriving in Mexico unless you are highly-qualified and land a job with a prestigious bilingual colegio, the only ones that pay really good salaries. By the way, a colegio is not a "college" as the term is understood on the States but rather a school for children from the elementary grades through high school.

[Heyduke]

I would hate to move here needing a job and then have to find one. Check Daves ESL cafe. Lots of info on teaching from people who teach.