The paper explores dynamic positionality of international teachers in Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) in Kazakhstan. The study participants include 11 international teachers from three NIS schools. The experiences of international teachers in NIS schools are characterised by two main tendencies. On the one hand, the study participants report a fascination and enjoyment with the stimulating academic environment of the schools. On the other hand, the participants report a degree of disaffection as a result of multiple constraints, which prevent them from being fully integrated in the life of the schools. The paper contributes to the literature on teacher mobility and migration examined from the perspective of Bakhtin’s dialogical approach.