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water rat
Joined: 30 Aug 2014
Posts: 1098
Location: North Antarctica
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 Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 5:08 am Post subject: |
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| plumpy nut wrote: |
| water rat wrote: |
@kurtz - I would suggest Japan except for the part about resenting foreigners. However, Japanese are often (too) friendly and you'll find yourself getting spotted beers, or even your meal paid for at a restaurant. although this can be tiresome, if you've been teaching all day. Also living costs are very high there. (However again, I saved $7000 in two years there.)
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I like the Japs, they are very friendly in general. The types where they give but don't have anything immediately in mind in return, unlike my experience with the Saudis. Keep in mind I have never worked in Japan though.
I think though $7000 is not very much in savings for two years. I've heard Japan is not particularly the country for making large savings. Korea and Taiwan might be better. |
This was in 1988. I checked inflation rates and currency values. That's like $14,000 today. |
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kurtz
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 518
Location: Phaic Tan
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| Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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Generally speaking, I do have to agree with CB400s sliding shite scale; highly desirable locations generally pay less than undesirable places such as where I am now.
It seems to me one either has to take up a hardship posting, or up your game and push out a Delta or MA TESOL to earn a decent income.
I saved over $20,000 US last year and expect to save more this year, and that is with a non related BA and a CELTA. However, I would make very little with current quals in a civilized country like Singapore. Just how much does one think is a decent amount of savings? I can't help stifle a laugh when I read if you live like a local you might save $400 a month.
Best Asian country? Heck, what a question. For me, Jim Morrison nailed it "the West is the best"; that's where I hope to be in another ten years; retired in Portugal with the missus. |
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chaz47
Joined: 22 Apr 2005
Posts: 157
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| Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 7:38 am Post subject: |
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I'm curious about why a few posts back Malaysia was recommended. Also, I've heard if you network and learn the language, Thailand can be quite good.
I'm nearing my 10th year in Korea and I can say that the prices on everything (except soju and cigarettes... neither of which I indulge in) has consistently increased in price (especially housing) while salaries have gone down. The market here is tightening and I'm looking to leave at the end of this contract. The pollution in China is bad, but it is also beginning to effect Korea. |
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cb400
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
Posts: 274
Location: Vientiane, Laos
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| Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 7:55 am Post subject: |
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shitescale in effect.
I heard Korea used to be good for saving if you could deal with the kimchi eaters. I fear that almost everywhere is sliding downwards except China and that is the biggest toilet of them all.
Tons of Thailand refugees going to Laos, but finding nothing. With only 200000 in the capital city lots of ESL jobs are not available. |
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theoriginalprankster
Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Posts: 895
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| Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 9:57 am Post subject: |
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Sums it up - shitscale.
Thinking of another China run. Get in, get out. |
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
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| Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:54 am Post subject: |
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| cb400 wrote: |
shitescale in effect.
I heard Korea used to be good for saving if you could deal with the kimchi eaters. I fear that almost everywhere is sliding downwards except China and that is the biggest toilet of them all.
Tons of Thailand refugees going to Laos, but finding nothing. With only 200000 in the capital city lots of ESL jobs are not available. |
The difficulty with finding jobs in Laos would be a given. It's like survival of the fittest, if they're too dumb to know that then hopefully their learning curve starts improving. As far as China having never worked there before, the thing that has kept me from even considering going there is the nice bottom salaries that I get the feeling predominate over the higher ones. Imagine working for a company for $700 US in a place that isn't even known for being that great of a place to be in. |
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EFL Educator
Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town
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| Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:24 am Post subject: |
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| Laos is an interesting place for a holiday...but am sure if you wish to volunteer there are opportunities to teach English. I saw a lot of backpacker EFL teachers on motorbikes (even e-bikes) during my time there....in Vientienne and in Luang Prabang. |
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kurtz
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 518
Location: Phaic Tan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:14 am Post subject: |
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| EFL Educator wrote: |
| Laos is an interesting place for a holiday...but am sure if you wish to volunteer there are opportunities to teach English. I saw a lot of backpacker EFL teachers on motorbikes (even e-bikes) during my time there....in Vientienne and in Luang Prabang. |
Maybe they were just backpackers  |
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kurtz
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 518
Location: Phaic Tan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:23 am Post subject: |
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Laos has lost a bit of its charm. I remember a lot of geriatric Germans on package holidays who were yelling at the locals. It seems people are spilling over from northern Thailand for something a bit different, and thus the hoards have arrived. A lot of the bush seems to have been destroyed, too. Maybe my least favorite country in SE Asia.
Time to up your game, people. Do you need the money? Or do you have a passive income? If you're a pretender like most TEFELers, it would be nice to have that passive income rolling in and not worry about your salary. Otherwise, it's time to hit the books and up your game.
Perhaps our know-it-all friend needs to get a leg up on those dastardly backpackers somehow. |
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fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 2:16 am Post subject: |
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| kurtz wrote: |
| Time to up your game, people. Do you need the money? Or do you have a passive income? If you're a pretender like most TEFELers, it would be nice to have that passive income rolling in and not worry about your salary. Otherwise, it's time to hit the books and up your game. |
Seconded. If one wants to stay in this field, then upping the game is to be seriously considered.
I was in Laos a few weeks ago to present at the Lao TESOL conference at the National University of Laos in Vientiane--nice conference, nice people.
I dug Vientiane and found it to be very chill and lacking hordes of tourists. I want to go back to Laos and explore the country further. I will go in the off-season though, in October or November.
| kurtz wrote: |
| Laos has lost a bit of its charm. I remember a lot of geriatric Germans on package holidays who were yelling at the locals. It seems people are spilling over from northern Thailand for something a bit different, and thus the hordes have arrived. A lot of the bush seems to have been destroyed, too. Maybe my least favorite country in SE Asia. |
I feel the same way about Thailand; I really have no interest in exploring that country--a shame really because I have nothing against the country itself. Thailand really does seem like a great place…it's just that that country can get hordes of really lousy tourists and I don't want to be around them.
Warm regards,
fat_chris |
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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| wailing_imam wrote: |
Anyway, this brings me back to my point regarding Singapore. As anEnglish teacher, one may get married, and have children and need to be somewhere with superb free English language state school education, access to the property markets, stable investments and good healthcare (not too mention excellent public libraries). These things may seem a tad dull, but Singapore is THE ONLY place in Asia that offers all of these things. When it all gets too banal, my salary affords me the chance of hopping on a plane to all sorts of exotic locales.
Therefore for the career English teacher, who intends to build a long term existence in Asia, I conclude that Singapore offers the best deal. |
I was under the impression that SG is one of the worst places for getting a job teaching English. I imagined it was, in part due to them being one of the outer circle countries with high proficiency level and some actually being native English speakers (not all of course), so I'd be interested in your thoughts as to why Singapore would offer the best deal? Am I missing something? I do see the points you make in the previous paragrah, but other comments led me to believe that in Singapore getting a decent gig are pretty limited, so to enjoy all of those things you need to have a decent job in the first place. Singapore did actually appeal to me a while ago, but after reading what I read I discounted it from my possibilities. |
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currentaffairs
Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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I think many people would enjoy Japan.. especially if you work in Kansai. If I went back I would try out Nagoya, Osaka, or some of the other cities in the south like Fukuoka.
Clean country, a lot of helpful people as well as the anti-social ones, lots of work, easy to get around, deep culture, and so on. |
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 12:38 am Post subject: Re: Honestly - BEST Asian country to work in? |
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| theoriginalprankster wrote: |
For me;
1. Thailand - no. Unless the salary is up around 100000bt.
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If you want a teaching job at 100,000 baht, no problem, just work for NIST or the remaining 3 International Schools that are actually accredited. That's what I would do. Everybody else averages 30,000 baht, a bit more if you start working for one of the unaccredited International Schools that are ubiquitous in Thailand. |
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Shakey
Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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| water rat wrote: |
| I would suggest Japan except for the part about resenting foreigners. However, Japanese are often (too) friendly and you'll find yourself getting spotted beers, or even your meal paid for at a restaurant. |
I do not agree. The Japanese are polite but not friendly. The Japanese are just not really friendly or outgoing people. Overall, my experience has been that the Japanese are on the whole quite frustrating to work with. But they are definitely not a friendly or outgoing people. Many people seem to confuse polite with friendly, which are two very different things. I have found the Japanese, compared to the friendly and easy going Taiwanese, Chinese or even the Koreans, to be the least welcoming and most inflexible and rigid people I have ever lived and worked with.
And Japanese students are by far the most difficult students I have ever taught. They are the most disengaged and unmotivated learners I have ever taught in Asia. They are extremely passive and resistant to learning English. Some will even tell the teacher that they refuse to speak English.
| water rat wrote: |
| Also living costs are very high there. (However again, I saved $7000 in two years there.) |
I agree. The start up costs for a TEFL'er to come to Japan, especially if they do not have a job already lined up, are exorbitant. Japan, by far, is the most expensive country for new TEFL teachers to get established.
| water rat wrote: |
| However, the Japanese are very refined and polite, and the country s clean in a nice, swept up way, not sterile like Singapore. |
I do not agree that they are refined. They can be polite, but there are many annoyances here like smokers, rude oyajis and obachan cutting in lines, etc. The loudspeakers on top of cars at 8:30 am in the morning and in markets are belligerent, also.
There is also a lot of racism, graft and corruption in Japan. Landlords refuse to rent apartments to non-Japanese, they charge Gift Money and do not return deposits, etc. This is a serious problem that the Japanese need to address.
Another point for people to consider is that taxes, especially city or residence taxes are very expensive, depending on where you live. Some people are paying up to US $300 a month for several months a year (if they are getting city tax deducted from their monthly salary) just to pay for their residence taxes. You will not find taxes as high as this in Taiwan, China, Thailand or Korea. Taxes are outrageously high in Japan. Also, the Japanese government has increased the consumption sales tax to 8% and has proposed to bump sales taxes even higher in the future.
Not to mention that the country is becoming more right-wing, or at least overtly so, and more militaristic. In sum, the Japanese do not like outsiders, and they also do not want you to stay too long.
I know people here who can save US $20,000 a year, or even more. There are millionaires here in Tokyo who have spent the last 20 years teaching in big cities like Tokyo. But they were lucky, have good qualifications and have access to the best TEFL jobs in Japan.
So for earnings potential and quality of life and all things considered, I think Japan is a good TEFL destination, but not without its irritations, rip-offs and ignorant locals. But the Japanese do not like English and are often outright resistant to learning or speaking it. Even those who are capable of speaking it. |
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currentaffairs
Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828
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| Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 2:38 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, the taxes are quite a pain in the ass in Japan. My residential tax bill was around 300,000 yen a year spread over four instalments. Then you have the income tax. However, I had a great time in Tokyo and really enjoyed myself. I didn't save much but I was out every weekend and most nights, too. You can save in Japan as long as you limit your clubbing and drinking time.. Small bars often had a 1500 yen cover charge and nightclubs were around 3500 yen just to get in.
Even to go to Kyoto from Tokyo on a special weekend deal through the travel agent, it was 45,000 yen including the shinkansen train. Travelling also eats up your money.
Students were fine for me. In the language schools they were alive, friendly and mostly happy. I worked at Linguaphone for a year and the students there went out together on trips and really liked the classes (limited to eight), enjoyed learning English, and wanted to be around each other. Very positive experience in that regard.
In the universities, you had much larger classes (up to fifty) so there were always bad students but on the whole there were many students that really wanted to improve their English. |
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