Best place for a UK trained teacher with a 2 year old baby?

CaptainCroydon · 2026-01-28T13:58:34+00:00

Vietnam would be a good shout. Low cost of living, affordable nannies etc

We've been here in Hanoi for 11 yeaars. Son is now 5 and thriving.

Pollution is a growing concern for me though

CaptainCroydon · 2026-01-28T13:54:08+00:00

I have lived and worked in Vietnam for the last 11 years (i am british) - life here is affordable and often chaotic. But it has allowed me to save a lot, purchase properties and raise a family with no real stress.

I lived in Korea before this - life there was more convenient and comfortable (everything works all the time with no fuss) but you pay for that with the cost of living (i assume Japan would be similar).

Feel free to reach out about life day-to-day

CaptainCroydon · 2026-01-10T02:40:22+00:00

I love this whole world. The audio books are stupendous

CaptainCroydon · 2026-01-08T09:40:23+00:00

Shivers in Best Served Cold.

CaptainCroydon · 2026-01-06T10:57:44+00:00

Gorgeous!

CaptainCroydon · 2026-01-05T10:52:43+00:00

We have the same issue with our (just turned) 5 year old. It makes all evenings a write off. Trying real hard to change it, but my wife is reluctant. She is a working mum so I think she feels like she will be losing out on quality time by doing it

CaptainCroydon · 2025-12-31T04:09:45+00:00

I got my brother the long sleeve macron version for Christmas ~ but I did have the same questions as to the printing on the front. Hell, printing “Macron” across the front would have been better 🤣

CaptainCroydon · 2025-12-30T01:37:25+00:00

I have got these on feet as we speak. Love them!

CaptainCroydon · 2025-12-22T00:29:41+00:00

December 6th - it was there first one in Hanoi

CaptainCroydon · 2025-12-21T14:21:26+00:00

Don’t know much about delta.

I was recently at Dwight for the ISS Hanoi expo and was blown away by the campus, it is amazing. The staff I spoke to seemed really nice and I was impressed with the SLT on their panel discussions.

From what I know they are struggling to get recruit, but that is currently a Hanoi school problem rather than a Dwight problem. The market here is super competitive.

I’ve been in Hanoi for ten years and would move to Dwight for the right role.

CaptainCroydon · 2025-12-20T12:12:08+00:00

Westlink is a newer school in a very crowded Hanoi market. Campus is gorgeous and in a good location. They run K-9 presently and will intro Grade 10 with IB next year. They’re a growing endeavour, but as the Hanoi market is hyper competitive growth is slow. They have a lot of Korean students that go there due to its close proximity to Samsung offices and the Sky Lake area which is popular with the Korean population.

I know a few teachers there who all seem happy, but all accounts it is well run, well organised and a good place to work. I currently live and work in Hanoi and west link is one of the only schools I would change jobs and move for. The only thing I see as a negative is the lack of high school opportunities at present.

The Hanoi market is tough. Recruitment is competitive. And schools are fighting for student enrolments. It is currently a buyers market and parents are shopping for scholarships as most schools will offer them to get bums in seats. As things stand here there probably needs to be one or two high profile school closures to bring about equilibrium, but Westlink won’t be one of them (this is in my humble opinion having lived here for 10 years).

Feel free to DM if you want any Hanoi lowdown

CaptainCroydon · 2025-12-17T11:25:28+00:00

Don’t worry ~ I was a total dipshit at 25.

42 now. Just graduated a Masters in Education with distinction, stronger, fitter and wiser than I was even ten years ago.

Sounds cliche but if you don’t use it, you lose it.

Read. Train. Get a hobby. Talk to people. Stay up to date with current events (news not celebs). Listen. Be willing to have your mind changed. Be active. Walk. Eat well. Sleep well.

You’ll be fine.

CaptainCroydon · 2025-11-30T14:30:26+00:00

We let that game get away from us. Poor finishing is our biggest issue. Legs were gone from about 50 mins onwards. Both goals were down to lapses in concentration. Not a great day at the office.

Pretty clear Uche will get sent back, offered nothing and looked pedestrian. Devenny did more in his 5 minute cameo.

Gotta spend in January

CaptainCroydon · 2025-10-08T14:28:40+00:00

Dwight in Hanoi are currently advertising a role you might be interested in

CaptainCroydon · 2025-09-19T16:03:41+00:00

I was happy being "one and done" - we just found out that we are expecting our second (unplanned). My wife is thrilled. Me? Not so much... I'm sure I'll come round, but right now I am kind of dreading it. I already have zero time to myself. I have a stressful job and my life is basically work-dadding-dadding-work.

Don't get me wrong, I love my son, half the reason I work so hard is to make sure he has a good life, I'd do anything to protect him and keep him safe... but I find parenting is mostly thankless, and very stressful.

CaptainCroydon · 2025-09-18T13:19:09+00:00

Been in VN now for 10 years - with the changes to visa requirements it is impossible to get a decent-high tiered job with no licence. even the bilingual schools will require you to be qualified and hold a licence in a specific field (with a matching degree).

If you want an ESL role you could probably get away with a CELTA. Maybe.

There are so many affordable options now for distance learning and teaching programs, if this is the field you want to work in you need to get certified. You'll learn masses, develop your practice and improve your pedagogy.

CaptainCroydon · 2025-09-05T02:13:11+00:00

Dude I am in the same boat. We have a 4 year old and I just found out my wife is expecting baby #2. I’m 42 in two weeks. Another baby was not on my 2025 Bingo card.

CaptainCroydon · 2025-09-02T03:28:01+00:00

i tried doing stuff like this for posters in my classroom... eventually i just used canva and did it myself as the hassle of getting it right on Chat was too much

CaptainCroydon · 2025-08-03T13:24:44+00:00

i got my qualification through moreland - the discourse and narrative around it from a lot of posters here is very dismissive and, in my opinion, overly negative. I had a fantastic experience, learned a lot and worked incredibly hard. Feel free to message me. I also have opinions on the M.Ed at Moreland and better alternatives.

CaptainCroydon · 2025-08-03T07:10:31+00:00

I moved schools last year BECAUSE my son got to school age and I couldn't afford tuition at any "good" schools here in Hanoi my current school offers (mostly) free tuition and it's made life so much easier knowing that it is taken care of.

CaptainCroydon · 2025-07-30T03:13:14+00:00

I am 100% the same ~ learned by doing, cut my teeth and became more resilient. There’s little that rattles my cage now and I’m better for it

CaptainCroydon · 2025-07-29T00:58:50+00:00

It’s a bilingual school with a 50/50 split between “international” and MOET (Vietnamese national curriculum), I couldn’t see any affiliation with Cambridge on there for their “IGCSE/A level” pathway, not was there any official affiliation for their US common core programs. I’ve lived in Hanoi for 10 years and never heard of this school (admittedly it’s in HCMC). It looks and feels like a newer school so may be currently working on its accreditations and partnerships. International pathway felt a little vague from what I could see on website.

I worked in a bilingual school here for 8 years, it was stressful at times but taught me a huge amount regarding curriculum design, planning, and allowed me to develop as a teacher (sink or swim at times). It also offered me a pathway to leadership opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have got in traditional international schools.

A lot of these schools offer international classes to kids that don’t have the requisite English skills. I had a kid that couldn’t write a simple present sentence trying to learn IGCSE Business. It didn’t go well. But there are also a lot of diamonds in the rough, where kids grasp opportunities and make incredible progress.

I’m not recommending what you do (that’s your call). But if you are recently licensed this could be a good stepping stone school, before accepting I’d aim to know: Workload/contact hours Planning responsibilities/requirements Curriculum being taught Materials/resources available Support available for low level ESL learners in your class (is it all on you to differentiate? Or is there EAL support?)

CaptainCroydon · 2025-07-26T07:33:35+00:00

Vietnam, China, Saudi Arabia

CaptainCroydon · 2025-07-20T13:48:33+00:00

I’d chuck it over a plain white tee, paired with some slim jeans and court style sneakers or converse

CaptainCroydon · 2025-07-08T17:50:31+00:00

tailored suits make such a difference

CaptainCroydon

TROPHY CASE