I was a language teacher for seven years and now work remotely in an applied linguistics related tech career. There are pros and cons to teaching abroad. Teaching can also be hard work if you take it seriously.

Teaching in person can lead to some well-paid opportunities depending on the country. Professional training gigs in corporate environments take some credibility to get but are usually much better than language schools. To work in a higher paid position in a private school or the like you’ll likely need an education degree or background. Demand and pay will depend a lot on the country ranging from very low to pretty solid for the local economy. You will get paid in local currency as well. Places that pay well will expect you to be pretty serious and are very wary of traveling backpacker teachers who stick around for a few weeks or months. They’ll want you to commit from 6 months to a year and in some cases will withhold pay if you break a contract. You also get an easy in to integrate into a local scene as you’ll have coworkers and places to go. You can also often get a longterm visa for places. It’s more of an expat lifestyle than a digital nomad lifestyle though.

In general, pay is best in East Asia and some parts of Southeast Asia. Eastern Europe can be good too though be wary of visa requirements and how likely jobs will be to sponsor you for a visa. Latin America is generally very low paid and not a great option unless you have an in for a better position.

Teaching online is more of a grind but also more flexible. Pay is often quite low and it can take some time to build up enough students to make a living. You’ll likely be paid by teaching hours online, you also need to be online and talking a lot to earn significant cash so you need a fair amount of space and reliable internet, etc., so in the end you’re pretty restricted to needing space. Some people I know have used online teaching as a supplemental side hustle so they don’t need to do so many hours. Editing and writing coaching can also be a more lucrative and less labor intensive way to earn money with your English skills.

It’s not a reason I wanted to live abroad but it’s a huge factor in choosing where I go and where I stay. I also previously lived in cities in the US that didn’t require a car as well.

I really dislike driving, parking, bills and the headaches of car life. Whenever I visit family I’m always struck by how much we need cars to do even the most mundane things.