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Where to begin???

 
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carmensharpe



Joined: 03 Aug 2016
Posts: 3
Location: South Africa

PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 2:42 pm    Post subject: Where to begin??? Reply with quote

Hello!
I am currently teaching in Japan and my contract will soon be coming to an end. I like it here, don't love it... so I won't be renewing my contract. I would like to go to Indonesia.
When having accepted this job I currently have, I accepted the first thing that came along and didn't do much research. I soon learnt that there were so many more options available and would have probably chose a different city to live in had I done more research. (At the time I was more like, I'll love anything! I just want an adventure!)
I've been to Bali before on a vacation and loved it, however I do know going on a holiday and living somewhere are very different things.

So questions:
1- Best cities in Indonesia to live in?
2 - Who are the main companies offering ESL positions?
3 - Minimal salary to expect?
4 - Suggestions of recruiting websites
5 - Anything else you feel you would like to share, like " I wish I knew before I came..."

I am a 30 year old female South African, Bachelors degree, CELTA qualification with just under a year of teaching English abroad experience.

Thanks
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jaybet3



Joined: 15 Dec 2010
Posts: 140
Location: Indonesia

PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 3:37 am    Post subject: Indo Jobs Reply with quote

Bali is not Indonesia. You are correct. Most jobs will be in Jakarta which is an overcrowded, traffic-jam nightmare. Salaries will be higher, but so will your cost of living.

If you do find a job in Jakarta, it would be helpful if your employer offered you housing as well. If not, find something close to work so you don't spend a chunk of your day breathing exhaust fumes as you commute.

Best cities: I've heard good things about Bandung but never lived there. Surabaya is like Jakarta. Very crowded. Jogja might be okay, but I don't know the language school market. I live in Solo and there are only two private language schools. EF and IELC?

I've read good things about KELT.

Under, "I wish I knew" ... you might find the things you don't like about Japan will be the same things you don't like about Indonesia.

Do some research. There's lots of info out there.
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Alphid



Joined: 04 May 2015
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Where to begin??? Reply with quote

carmensharpe wrote:
Hello!
...
5 - Anything else you feel you would like to share, like " I wish I knew before I came..."

I just want to comment on this one point either for your benefit or for others who may also read this index.

Indonesia is a very third-world country. This is probably the most important thing to consider. It means the roads are rough and no one follows the traffic signals, if they are working. There is no police to call in case of emergency, and no ambulance either. Whole neighborhoods flood. There are diseases like dysentery, typhoid and mumps. There is rubbish and dust everywhere. The heat is sweltering. Internet connection may not be too good. The people may be generally wonderful and good hearted, but the average IQ is about 70; punctuality and diligence are unknown. Processing documents is slow and the time it takes unpredictable. Corruption and dishonesty are rampant. And one thing to be quite careful about which is particular to only some 3rd-world countries, of which Indonesia is one, is the issue of mosques. There is a mosque on every block with megaphones, some are not as noisy, but many are, and they will blare day and night continuously.
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ericmckay



Joined: 12 Sep 2006
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I highly recommend Bandung...its beautiful, not a high rise filled eye-sore like Jakarta and best of all its about 10 degrees cooler year round. If you find a decent job there, go for it.
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markustm



Joined: 15 Mar 2010
Posts: 95

PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 3:06 pm    Post subject: Its your Choice but........ Reply with quote

I guess moving away from Japan to Indonesia would like being in a completely different World, and I would be very wary about moving here, especially as their are better options elsewhere in South-East Asia.

Why?

Work visas are hard to get, and only valid for one year. There is no guarantee another visa is issued, even if you stay in the same company.

Accommodation, if not supplied by your school is limited, because either you can rent a furnished room by the month, or usually have the great option of paying up 12 months rent in advance for an unfurnished house or apartment. This is nonrefundable, if you leave early.

Transport- Most Indonesian cities are planned around people owning a car or a motorbike, but not the often ill-equipped transport system. Foreigners are not allowed to own a car or a motorbike. This means you spend a fortune in taxis or buy a car/motorbike in an Indonesians name, and take the risk of losing it. Electric bikes are an option, as anyone can own one, but are limited in the distances they cover.

Cities like Jakarta can be more expensive to live than some countries in Europe, mainly because the traffic situation is so bad, you either live close to work which means you pay a higher rent or spend hours commuting everyday to a far off polluted suburb. Apartment rents in Central Jakarta are higher than in many parts of Spain, Germany, Portugal and most other South-East Asian countries.

Lifestyle- Indonesian cities are focused on shopping malls, more shopping malls and theme park type places for entertainment. People seem to like luxury, and a very mainstream lifestyle, most cannot afford it, but think you can offer it, consequently if you are interested in travel and adventure, a local gf or wife would expect the opposite- shopping, luxury and a night out at the local KFC/Pizza hut.

Nature- Once Indonesia was known for its jungles, wildlife and unique cultures. Thats disappearing unless you venture into the more remote parts of the country. Plastic garbage is a serious problem, smog and acid rain in many cities, and chemical food is fast replacing traditional food.

Barring these issues, their is a growing intolerance level inside the country, which is often one reason many local people look for a way out. This will probably change, but one reason why many expats I know want to leave.

Personally, if you still want to work here, Bali, and Medan would be your better choices. Medan is a strange city, but local people seem to like expatriates, and their is plenty of work. Its only 45 minute flight to Penang, which is a nice place to chill on weekends and much cheaper than Indonesia.

The British Council have a school in Medan, or you could try one of the many International schools which can pay the same rates as in Jakarta.
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Atoms for Peace



Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 135
Location: NKRI

PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 2:01 am    Post subject: Re: Its your Choice but........ Reply with quote

markustm wrote:
The British Council have a school in Medan, or you could try one of the many International schools which can pay the same rates as in Jakarta.


The BC branch in Medan has now closed. Teachers were all transferred to Jakarta.
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Tudor



Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 339

PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 3:35 am    Post subject: Re: Its your Choice but........ Reply with quote

Atoms for Peace wrote:
markustm wrote:
The British Council have a school in Medan, or you could try one of the many International schools which can pay the same rates as in Jakarta.


The BC branch in Medan has now closed. Teachers were all transferred to Jakarta.


I was told the other day that BC Surabaya has also closed down. Whoever thought allowing these schools to be locally run and managed had clearly never worked in Indonesia before.
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bule_boy69



Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Posts: 158
Location: Jakarta

PostPosted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 7:22 am    Post subject: Re: Its your Choice but........ Reply with quote

markustm wrote:

Personally, if you still want to work here, Bali, and Medan would be your better choices. Medan is a strange city, but local people seem to like expatriates, and their is plenty of work. Its only 45 minute flight to Penang, which is a nice place to chill on weekends and much cheaper than Indonesia.

The British Council have a school in Medan, or you could try one of the many International schools which can pay the same rates as in Jakarta.


I agree that there are better options in SE Asia these days, especially considering the visa situation. Perhaps its only worth looking seriously at Indonesia if you really have a specific existing interest in the place for some reason. or just do a year for the experience.

Medan? Is there really much of a job market for foreign teachers there these days?

I was only aware of one international school there, and didnt think it was particularly big. Dont think there's many language school options, especially since the demise of BC Medan. Curious if anyone knows otherwise.
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Alphid



Joined: 04 May 2015
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 4:15 am    Post subject: Re: Its your Choice but........ Reply with quote

markustm wrote:
a growing intolerance level inside the country, which is often one reason many local people look for a way out. This will probably change, but one reason why many expats I know want to leave.

Hope you're right. But before Anies sent the former governor of Jakarta to prison for blasphemy and rode to power on the wake of Islamism he was a scholar based at Wisconsin and John Hopkins Universities. His work was on the coming Islamist takeover of Indonesia. You can find his publications and PhD thesis through Google Scholar. The hope that Dutch withdrawal and granting of independence brought has given way to frustration as the country stagnates in backwardness fueling the rise of radicalism. (A problem everywhere in the 3rd-World as 'blame White people' becomes less and less believable.) In the best case scenario the sharia constitution Anies predicts is coming via democracy will apply to Muslims only, as in Malaysia, leaving non-Muslims free to form a progressive and affluent parallel society. In the worst case of course the whole country devolves into an Aceh-like Islamic state of civil war. Since the broad view is, whether this is actually correct or not, that English is a threat to Indonesian culture and also the national language project, the future of ELT is not bright nationally, although for the elite it is indispensable for higher education and international connection. It is a race between the neo-liberals and the Islamists. Can development bring broad prosperity to the impoverished Muslim masses fast enough to head off disillusion and an Islamist takeover? Indonesia being a democracy for now, this is the deciding question in Anies's analysis, of which the answer he concludes is: no.
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workingnomad



Joined: 26 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: SE Asia

PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Its your Choice but........ Reply with quote

markustm wrote:
I guess moving away from Japan to Indonesia would like being in a completely different World, and I would be very wary about moving here, especially as their are better options elsewhere in South-East Asia.

Why?

Work visas are hard to get, and only valid for one year. There is no guarantee another visa is issued, even if you stay in the same company.

Accommodation, if not supplied by your school is limited, because either you can rent a furnished room by the month, or usually have the great option of paying up 12 months rent in advance for an unfurnished house or apartment. This is nonrefundable, if you leave early.

Transport- Most Indonesian cities are planned around people owning a car or a motorbike, but not the often ill-equipped transport system. Foreigners are not allowed to own a car or a motorbike. This means you spend a fortune in taxis or buy a car/motorbike in an Indonesians name, and take the risk of losing it. Electric bikes are an option, as anyone can own one, but are limited in the distances they cover.

Cities like Jakarta can be more expensive to live than some countries in Europe, mainly because the traffic situation is so bad, you either live close to work which means you pay a higher rent or spend hours commuting everyday to a far off polluted suburb. Apartment rents in Central Jakarta are higher than in many parts of Spain, Germany, Portugal and most other South-East Asian countries.

Lifestyle- Indonesian cities are focused on shopping malls, more shopping malls and theme park type places for entertainment. People seem to like luxury, and a very mainstream lifestyle, most cannot afford it, but think you can offer it, consequently if you are interested in travel and adventure, a local gf or wife would expect the opposite- shopping, luxury and a night out at the local KFC/Pizza hut.

Nature- Once Indonesia was known for its jungles, wildlife and unique cultures. Thats disappearing unless you venture into the more remote parts of the country. Plastic garbage is a serious problem, smog and acid rain in many cities, and chemical food is fast replacing traditional food.

Barring these issues, their is a growing intolerance level inside the country, which is often one reason many local people look for a way out. This will probably change, but one reason why many expats I know want to leave.

Personally, if you still want to work here, Bali, and Medan would be your better choices. Medan is a strange city, but local people seem to like expatriates, and their is plenty of work. Its only 45 minute flight to Penang, which is a nice place to chill on weekends and much cheaper than Indonesia.

The British Council have a school in Medan, or you could try one of the many International schools which can pay the same rates as in Jakarta.


Way too negative dude! Methinks you are better off going home.

Penang would be way more expensive than Indonesia if you are visiting for the weekend as a tourist. Cannot comment on comparisons if living there, but that is not relevant to this thread.

Still huge amounts of nature in Indo if you look beyond the usual places and local food will never be replaced by American junk.
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