Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
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  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance
Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

teach abroad

    How to choose a TEFL course

    7 Tips On Choosing The Right TEFL Course

    by Nick & Raychel June 29, 2019

    After moving to Cambodia and starting our YouTube channel, our most frequently asked question was ‘How do you choose a TEFL course?’. Find our tips on choosing a TEFL course below.


    Prefer to watch instead of read? Find our YouTube video on getting your TEFL.


    1. Check the requirements for the country you are going to

    The first step in moving abroad is deciding where you want to go. Many countries such as China, South Korea and Japan require a four-year bachelor degree and a TEFL certificate in order to get a job teaching. When we were deciding to move abroad, we had to take this into consideration as neither of us had a four year university degree.

    A major factor in deciding to move to Cambodia was that Cambodia is a country that does not require a university degree in order to get a legal working visa for teachers. The next step was researching what type of TEFL was required to teach.

    CELTA is an international certificate program that is, by far, the best type of English teaching certificate besides obtaining a full teaching degree. If you go for the CELTA route, you will likely be safe to get an ESL teaching job in almost any country. 

    That said, a CELTA certificate is both the most expensive and the most intensive route to take. In most countries, you can get by on a 150 hour TEFL/TESOL certificate to teach English.

    Our advice? Decide where you need to go and do your research. 


    2. Choose an in-person course if possible

    While doing your research, you will find that many countries prefer that you do an in-person certificate program, rather than an online option. This is because in-person TEFL courses will give you the chance to try out your lesson plans in front of a real class. You will also be able to get feedback on your lessons and get great tips face-to-face.

    We did our TEFL course in a classroom and highly recommend doing the same for those reasons.


    3. Find a course that is accredited

    Don’t be fooled by the stamp of approval you may see some TEFL courses advertising. If a course is $10 and you obtain a “So-and-so Academy Accreditation”, think about what that means. In most cases, it doesn’t mean much.

    We chose a course that was supported by an accredited university in our city.

    Accredited courses should always offer a practicum and a teaching assessment. So, even if it is an online course, there should still be a practicum to pass with students.


    4. Be prepared to spend some money

    Let’s go back to the $10 courses again. If the price sounds too good to be true, it’s probably because it is. We were also tempted to buy the Groupon courses online, but really considered what we would get out of it.

    Remember, the end goal is to teach real students in a real classroom. You want to do a great job and make a real difference. It’s not just about the certificate. It’s about getting an education, learning new and valuable things and becoming the best teacher you possibly can.

    We are not telling you to buy a 5,000.00 course – but what we are saying is that if you find a course with great reviews and end results, don’t turn away from it because you may need to spend a couple hundred bucks. 

    If you are serious about teaching English abroad, you will need to invest. Trust us, it pays off.


    5. Choose a course with job placement guidance

    Good TEFL courses will offer you lifetime guidance on finding a job abroad. If the company doesn’t offer you this, then move along. There are many great companies out there that will assist you in your job hunt after completion.


    6. Read TEFL course reviews

    Read the reviews. Spot any red flags and check that the good reviews are coming from real accounts. Like anything you would buy online, you want to be sure that you are getting the best product.


    7. Once you’ve decided on a course, wait for offers or deals (if you can)

    A couple of weeks after we found our course, a promotion came up. If you recommended a friend, you would both save $100 off of the course. Since we did our TEFL course together, we saved $200.00 by waiting for this promotion.


    We learned some very valuable lessons in our course it made teaching a lot easier. We were prepared for the interviews, demos, and challenges we were about to face. Remember, you want to be a good teacher. So take your time and find the right course. 



    Thinking of moving to Cambodia? Find our blog How to move to Cambodia & teach English

    Wondering how much we made in Cambodia? Full breakdown here

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  • How to Move to Cambodia & Teach English

    by Nick & Raychel March 18, 2019

    Moving to Cambodia to teach English? Here’s EVERYTHING you need to know: from TEFLs, to locations, to cash, to contracts, to lesson plans, all in a step-by-step format to make your life easier.

  • 8 Tips You Need to Read BEFORE Moving to Phnom Penh

    by Nick & Raychel March 18, 2019

    Cambodia in retrospect: what we wish we had done differently.

  • 8 Things to Know Before MOVING to Cambodia

    by Nick & Raychel March 10, 2019

    Flights? Real estate? Jobs? Transport? Friends? Here’s our quick guide that will make your move to Cambodia a lot easier.

  • 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Teaching English Abroad

    by Nick & Raychel February 28, 2019

    *hint* It’s more than a gap year job.

  • Saving Money: Teaching & Living in Phnom Penh

    by Nick & Raychel February 19, 2019

    Can you save money while teaching in Cambodia? The short answer is yes. Find our tips & tricks here.

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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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  • Every choice comes with sacrifice. We chose to use our money that we work for to travel, and we continue to make that choice every day.

But making that choice means we haven’t been able to do other things that another 30 year old couple would maybe do. We sold our car, all of our things, we don’t have a stable place to live, we haven’t started a family, we don’t own a home.

We work overtime to afford our travels, and we have very little money for anything else. 

And of course, we must acknowledge that we have huge amounts of privilege to even be able to make that choice. Our strong passports allow us to see much of the world, we were born into a country where our currency is valued worldwide, and we always have a friend or family member’s couch to crash on if we need it.

So this post is not meant to complain, rather show: everything comes with a sacrifice - and if you’re considering giving up your stable life for full-time travel, there may be some things you have to leave behind.

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips  #girlslovetravel #travelgram #getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #canadiancreator #vancouverblogger #vanlifesociety #vanlifediaries #traveldiaries
  • We’ve lived on 3 continents by travelling slow and working when we end up 🫶🏼

& somehow our travels brought us back to our home city for the summer this year for the first time in 6 YEARS! Damn.

But we’ve said it once and we’ll say it a trillion times, we will do almost a n y t h I n g in the name of travel.

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

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Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips #gapyear #travelgirls #travelgirlsgo #girlslovetravel #travelgram #granolagirl#getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #vanlifeculture #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #tinyhome #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • If you want to live in a van in 2023/2024, here is our roadmap for getting started with van life. 

⇾ Embrace minimalism and downsize your possessions

⇾ Research different van options that fit your lifestyle and budget

⇾ Set a realistic budget for your van purchase or build

⇾ Plan your layout and storage needs

⇾ Learn about solar power and sustainability

⇾ Source materials and supplies for your build - you can learn on YouTube

⇾ Talk to insurance companies and classify your van as a motorhome

⇾ Download iOverlander and create a budget for your travels

⇾ Connect with the van life community and attend meetups

⇾ Hit the road and embrace the freedom of van life 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

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Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifemovement  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving #vanconversion #vanconversionideas #vanbuild #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #granolagirl #vandwellers #explorecanada #travelcanada #yvrcreators #canadiantravelbloggers #outdoorscreator
  • How much I spend in a day living *basically* rent-free in Vancouver 

As many of you know, we live in a van, but we also do housesitting with @trustedhousesitters 

Transit with a compass card is $2.50 which I use frequently - especially to visit my parents who also live in Vancouver 

This day we checked out To Live For Bakery @tolivefor.bakery which I highly, highly recommend to anyone who is cruising through the city and ends up on Nanaimo 

Also popped by @welksonmain for some N/A drinks from  @sobercarpenter & @getgruvi 

And our Trusted Housesitters membership is $11/mo totalling $0.38 for rent per day

& the one day total was $18.23 

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlifeculture  #traveldiaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vandwelling #discovercanada #vancitylife #bcadventure #canadiancreator #vancouverfoodie #veganfoodie #outdoorsycreator #minimalism #housesitting
  • Things we would have never done if we had listened to ✨ fear ✨(and these are just a few)

• quit our jobs to teach English in Asia
• sold everything we owned (twice) 
• moved to a country we’d never been to before (twice)
• converted an old ambulance into a tiny home with no experience
• drove from Canada to Mexico in our van 
• met up with people from the internet and became best friends 

But mostly, taken a chance on ourselves.

We do our best to not let fear or the opinions of others lead the way. 

Do you have any to add?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

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  • Is van life really cheaper than renting? Van life costs vs. monthly expenses living in an apartment.

Not to mention the average price in Vancouver now is $2,700 - so not sure where we’d find that $1,300 rental anymore.

Any questions about van life?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

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