Why do teachers remain in schools affected by prolonged crisis? Using longitudinal data on 1,831 teachers across 124 schools in Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we examine the drivers of school-level teacher retention over three survey rounds. We find that retention is shaped primarily by local embeddedness, pay, and exposure to violence. Higher salaries are associated with retention, but almost entirely among teachers who have not always lived in the village where they teach. Pay and local embeddedness therefore operate as alternative rather than cumulative retention margins. Local embeddedness is among the strongest correlates of retention, but mainly for male teachers. Exposure to violence is the strongest predictor of exit, with effects roughly twice as large for women as for men. These findings highlight the relational, material and gendered dimensions of teacher retention in conflict-affected settings.