Personal Finance for English Teachers Abroad
Zahra is an American and Swedish dual-citizen that has been teaching in Madrid for 5 academic years. She was working in the US as a non profit employee in teaching and social work when she decided that the timing was right for her to move to Spain. As a UCETAM auxiliar, she earns 1300 euros a month.
It’s that time of year again. The holidays? Yes. But rather than a white Christmas, I’m dreaming of airports in Spain. Why? Because it’s time to start thinking about renewal as an auxiliar de conversacion. Or maybe next year will be your first year, and you’re not quite sure how to choose a region.
Since the application period will open just after the holiday season, it’s a good idea to start planning where you’d like to go now. Maybe you want to go to where the auxiliar income is the highest compared to the local residents. This is a great plan for living your day-to-day life in Spain, but what about our international adventure seeking readers?
For those of you who want to see as much as possible in a relatively short amount of time, it may be a good idea to make your regional choices based on which communities have the best access to airports.
Updated on December 7, 2020
The average income of a population is often overlooked when people prepare to teach abroad. We usually want to know how much we can make, and that information isn’t difficult to find. According to Go Overseas, the average income for an English teacher in Spain is between 700 and 1800 euros. As an auxiliar de conversacion, you know that your income will be between 700 and 1000 euros a month, depending on where you’re assigned to teach.
What may be more important than your actual salary, however, is how it compares to the average salary where you will live. This will determine how comfortably you will live compared to other people in your city on your auxilar income alone.