It is one of the reasons John McGlashan College deputy principal John Veitch has accepted the principal’s position at the European International School Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam.
He said his love of adventure made it his dream job.
"A lot of people like to stay put, and that’s fine. We’re all different.
"But once I feel too settled and I feel I’ve done as much as I can do and I can’t roll, I start looking for the next challenge.
"I need to keep moving."
Mr Veitch said he had taught at several international schools in Asia, but this was his first as a principal.
International schools cater mainly to pupils who are not nationals of the host country, such as the children of the staff of international businesses, organisations, foreign embassies, missions, or missionary programmes.
He said pupils were taught in English and the curriculum was most likely to be the International Baccalaureate or an American curriculum.
The European International School of Ho Chi Minh City is only 10 years old, and has a roll of about 500 pupils, from preschool to year 13.
He said one of his goals was to grow the roll to about 850 pupils within the next two years.
He was delighted to have been appointed principal because most international schools were funded by American organisations, and senior leadership positions usually went to Americans.
"I’ve applied for a few jobs and got a few Dear John letters.
"But this being a European international school, they prefer European people.
"They flew me over last November for eight hours of interviews with 27 different people from the school population, and a couple of weeks later I signed a contract."
Mr Veitch and his wife Anita had hoped to be in Vietnam by mid-July, but the Covid-19 pandemic intervened.
His contract starts on August 1 — the start of the Vietnamese school year.
"We’re confident we can get there by August 1, but will we have to isolate ourselves in a hotel room for two weeks before we can get out and go to work?
"We’re not sure yet."
While he was excited about the new challenge ahead, the decision to leave Dunedin had been a difficult one to make, he said.
"I’ll miss the people most.
"Dunedin people are genuinely good sorts."
