4 ways to live rent-free while teaching English abroad

Teaching abroad already has many perks – the opportunity to travel while you teach, to feel like a local in a totally different culture, to meet and inspire people all over the world. So, imagine doing all this whilst not having the drawback of paying rent – you can spend extra money on exploring your new country or save up for your future. This blog explores four ways you can live rent-free whilst TEFL-ing.

#1 Find a job where your rent is covered by the employer

This is fairly common practice in numerous countries around the world. As part of your employment package, your employer will provide free accommodation. There might be some conditions – for example, sharing the flat with a colleague from your school or having to cover all bills (energy, water and internet) yourself.

There are obviously great benefits to this. You don’t have to find accommodation yourself, so no staying in a hostel until you find yourself a flat. Plus, often the flats provided by employers are well-located in relation to the school, meaning you’ll have a short and sweet commute.

On the downside, you won’t get the luxury of choosing your own place to live, so if you’ve got a specific area of the city in mind or a specific type of accommodation, this option might not be for you.

To find a job where the rent is covered by the employer, search ‘free accommodation’ on jobs boards to filter only these gems.

#2 Do an internship or volunteering program

As part of internships, you’ll receive free accommodation – and sometimes free meals. You might even receive a weekly or monthly allowance too.

Accommodation types vary – from a flat share with other participants on the program or a homestay with a local family. This depends on the internship or program you choose and the location.

For volunteering projects, charities often use locally-owned accommodation. The quality of your living space will obviously vary. These teaching positions can often be quite short – from a minimum of 4 weeks, so even if your free accommodation isn’t quite what you expected, it won’t be forever!

#3 Teach in a summer school

International summer schools take place across the world with plenty of them happening in boarding schools and universities. There are plenty of opportunities for native-level qualified teachers, teaching children and teens of all ages. You’ll be provided with accommodation for the length of your contract – often this is within the boarding school or university, but it may be close by in a house share. You’ll be expected to teach, run activities and often supervise bedtimes for the students. In terms of qualifications, it’s highly likely you’ll need a degree and a CELTA/TrinityCert as a minimum.

Most summer school opportunities tend to be in Europe, where this type of schooling is really popular – especially so in Italy. There are also huge summer camp schemes across the USA, offering plenty of positions for people who want to spend their summer working with young people.

Search for summer camps or summer schools on jobs boards to find work. If you aren’t a qualified EFL teacher but have experience working with kids, apply for jobs as an activity leader instead of as a teacher.

There are lots of perks to summer school work – it’s incredibly rewarding and a lot of fun. The downside is that the contracts tend to be short – from 4 to 8 weeks in the summer only.

#4 Be a nanny/governess/private tutor

This type of work is a little different to those we’ve discussed already. As a private tutor, you’ll live in a family home, looking after one or more children. You’ll be responsible for getting them up in the morning and taking them to school then collecting them at the end of the day and providing some one-to-one English lessons. If the children aren’t of school age, you’ll look after them throughout the day.

These jobs can be incredibly well-paid but you’ll have very long days, although you might be part of a childcare team. As part of your employment package, you’ll have your own room, usually en suite, in the family home. You’ll find these jobs across the Middle East, usually in Saudi Arabia, and in Russia.

Perks of the job include going on holiday with the family as well as free time in the day if the children go to school. On the downside, you might not have as much freedom as you’d like – with only one day off a week usually.

As you can see, if you’re looking to live rent-free as a teacher, there are plenty of options. Although lots of positions we’ve discussed are on quite short-term contracts – internships and summer school teaching – you might land on your feet with a full-time permanent contract with free accommodation year-round. Remember to read job adverts carefully for mention of this. Then you can start planning what you’ll spend your extra money on!