being an unmarried couple would we find it hard to get schools in the same town? So that we can live together yet work apart. I kind of already know the answer city wise but what about rural japan?
Just how did you imagine you'd go about job hunting? Bigger cities obviously offer more opportunities, which in reverse pretty much means smaller towns offer fewer. If you plan to go through an ALT dispatch company like Interac, they will send you wherever they have the jobs, so it doesn't matter if they are urban or rural. If you just show up in some town and limit your hunting to that place, it's the most likely scenario in which you will find work "together". There are no guarantees. (And, it doesn't even matter if you are married vs unmarried.)
*Footnote: I'm not sure, but I think dispatch agencies won't hire people on WHVs. Go to the
ESL Cafe and ask the teachers and wannabes there.
Is it wise to apply before we arrive? Or actually move to Japan on the WVH and search while in country?
Not an altogether easy or straightforward question to answer without knowing a little more.
- When do you want to start work?
- If you were to come, when would that be?
- Where have you considered working?
- What kind of jobs do you want?
My best advice is to look ahead and see what openings you can find and then notify those employers when you will be in the country. After you arrive, continue to search. Keep in mind that most positions begin in April, so Feb/March is the best time of year to come.
I see on gaijinpot that most jobs require you to be in country
I haven't checked in a year or so, but I'd tend to disagree that most jobs require that. Last time I checked (on OhayoSensei), it was more like a third of employers. Either way, it's a significant figure, but your logistics may influence whether you come first or not. Some people prefer to apply to the big companies (only a handful exist) in their home countries and let that security blanket (staying in your homeland) take care of things. I wouldn't claim that you have "a good amount of experience", either. Many employers here won't consider teaching in Vietnam to be equivalent to teaching in Japan for cultural reasons, and trust me when I say that 2 years is a pretty short period of time. Better than a lot of people who want to teach, though.
Now, if you don't mind, I want to point out something. Your grammar is a bit stilted, and there are a couple of spelling mistakes. Is that due to writing on a phone or just poor writing? Personally, I find either to be unflattering for someone who wants to be a teacher and who has any experience at it. Just because you're on a discussion forum doesn't mean you have to be so sloppy.
Examples:
Well I didn't I'd have to explain that bit =? Well I didn't
think I'd have to explain that a bit ?
Keeping work shouldn't be the problem it's getting my foot in the door --> use punctuation to separate these 2 sentences (there are other similar instances of this)
thanks for you reply --> your reply
move to Japan on the WVH --> WHV
"So i am currently a ESL teacher" vs "The reason I write this" --> inconsistent capitalization of "I"
"with an PGCEI" and "So i am currently a ESL teacher" --> improper use of a and an
