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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea
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 Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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I been in Korea for 6 years in total. I paid off my mortage back home (collecting rent) and purchased a piece of land in SE Asia and built a nice vacation home while in Korea.
This is my fifth year teaching at my school. I've put away nearly 200K dollars. Another year or two, I am considering returning home to sell my house (hopefully the realestate market will be back up again) and retire permanently in my vacation home.
Am I successful? I think so. |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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You are a financial role model.
Nice work. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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| success |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:53 pm Post subject: |
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| newb wrote: |
I been in Korea for 6 years in total. I paid off my mortage back home (collecting rent) and purchased a piece of land in SE Asia and built a nice vacation home while in Korea.
This is my fifth year teaching at my school. I've put away nearly 200K dollars. Another year or two, I am considering returning home to sell my house (hopefully the realestate market will be back up again) and retire permanently in my vacation home. |
Wow, that's pretty impressive. An average savings of $30,000+ per year every year you were in Korea. Man, that must have taken an incredible amount of self-discipline to pull off. |
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jdog2050
Joined: 17 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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| madoka wrote: |
| newb wrote: |
I been in Korea for 6 years in total. I paid off my mortage back home (collecting rent) and purchased a piece of land in SE Asia and built a nice vacation home while in Korea.
This is my fifth year teaching at my school. I've put away nearly 200K dollars. Another year or two, I am considering returning home to sell my house (hopefully the realestate market will be back up again) and retire permanently in my vacation home. |
Wow, that's pretty impressive. An average savings of $30,000+ per year every year you were in Korea. Man, that must have taken an incredible amount of self-discipline to pull off. |
Yeahhhh...self-discipline or horse-shit. I hate to poo on this guy's story but the average salary for teachers in Korea is like $35,000 on the top end. Even with privates he'd be maxing $40,000? I mean, I guess you can live on $1000 a month but I kind of don't buy it.
If the story is legit though, congrats! |
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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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| jdog2050 wrote: |
| madoka wrote: |
| newb wrote: |
I been in Korea for 6 years in total. I paid off my mortage back home (collecting rent) and purchased a piece of land in SE Asia and built a nice vacation home while in Korea.
This is my fifth year teaching at my school. I've put away nearly 200K dollars. Another year or two, I am considering returning home to sell my house (hopefully the realestate market will be back up again) and retire permanently in my vacation home. |
Wow, that's pretty impressive. An average savings of $30,000+ per year every year you were in Korea. Man, that must have taken an incredible amount of self-discipline to pull off. |
Yeahhhh...self-discipline or horse-shit. I hate to poo on this guy's story but the average salary for teachers in Korea is like $35,000 on the top end. Even with privates he'd be maxing $40,000? I mean, I guess you can live on $1000 a month but I kind of don't buy it.
If the story is legit though, congrats! |
Thanks for congrats.
I want to let all newbs to know that it can be done with hard work and self-discipline. Yes, I had to bust my rear-end for first 3 years to save 100K (seed money). Once you been in Korea long enough, you'll eventually figure out other ways to earn extra money. I've also stashed away some of the money in one of the SE Asian bank where the interest rate was over 15% and this year 10%+. My rental income has been steady since 2010. The most important part is setting yourself a goal (Mine was 100K in 3 years) and get after it. Once you reach it, set another goal (Mine is 200K in 5 years). Or you can go party all the time like most do in Korea. |
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PRagic
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:41 am Post subject: |
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Been with the same woman I met here 18 years ago. Been married for 15 and it still feels like we are dating. I've been fortunate.
I have a great group of friends here from an assortment of countries. Over the years Seoul, thanks in part to them, has become home. I've been lucky and I try to never take their friendship for granted.
Came here back in 93 with two duffle bags and 200 bucks. Worked nights after getting out of the Army so that I could graduate debt free. I was motivated when I stepped off the plane, and opportunities came up. Much like newb, I set goals and plugged away.
Paid cash for my MBA here by working a few jobs, doing everything full time. As a younger couple, we somehow managed to rent a place, get by, stay happy, and save a bit.
We prospered a little and started to invest some. By 2000, we were flush enough that she could quit her job for a couple of years. We went back to the US so I could knock out a Ph.D. Fate rolled our way and I got funded from the start. One positive is that education hasn't put either of us in debt. Ever. We know that is more the exception than the rule, and we are thankful.
My first position post Ph.D. was tenure track and I've never looked back. In the interim, my wife started her own company and did remarkably well. It was stressful, but doing it together made it always seem doable. She effectively retired at 46. More power to her! My position let's us have long mornings and early dinners more often than not. We have a roof over our heads, a cool dog, and can vacation at least once a year. We have our health - knock on wood and eat more fish.
Korea has been good to me and life has been good to us so far. |
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dmillika
Joined: 24 Nov 2011
Location: Changwon
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:19 am Post subject: |
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To me, success was simple - I just wanted to complete my contract. I almost ran about 5 weeks in and decided to stick it out. While Korea was not my favorite place in the world, I am damn proud of myself that I stuck through the contract and did the right thing.
It's not a lot compared to others, but I did what I had to do and as a result believe my stay in Korea was successful. |
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timhorton
Joined: 07 Dec 2005
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:07 am Post subject: |
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| PRagic wrote: |
Been with the same woman I met here 18 years ago. Been married for 15 and it still feels like we are dating. I've been fortunate.
I have a great group of friends here from an assortment of countries. Over the years Seoul, thanks in part to them, has become home. I've been lucky and I try to never take their friendship for granted.
Came here back in 93 with two duffle bags and 200 bucks. Worked nights after getting out of the Army so that I could graduate debt free. I was motivated when I stepped off the plane, and opportunities came up. Much like newb, I set goals and plugged away.
Paid cash for my MBA here by working a few jobs, doing everything full time. As a younger couple, we somehow managed to rent a place, get by, stay happy, and save a bit.
We prospered a little and started to invest some. By 2000, we were flush enough that she could quit her job for a couple of years. We went back to the US so I could knock out a Ph.D. Fate rolled our way and I got funded from the start. One positive is that education hasn't put either of us in debt. Ever. We know that is more the exception than the rule, and we are thankful.
My first position post Ph.D. was tenure track and I've never looked back. In the interim, my wife started her own company and did remarkably well. It was stressful, but doing it together made it always seem doable. She effectively retired at 46. More power to her! My position let's us have long mornings and early dinners more often than not. We have a roof over our heads, a cool dog, and can vacation at least once a year. We have our health - knock on wood and eat more fish.
Korea has been good to me and life has been good to us so far. |
It would be nice to hear more stories like this! It's an example of what you can accomplish in Korea. |
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Lazio
Joined: 15 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:44 am Post subject: |
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| PRagic wrote: |
| Korea has been good to me and life has been good to us so far. |
How about kids?
Korea has been good to me so far but I still have some years to go untill I can call it success. I'm on the right track though.
No debt here as well which gives a good foundation for the rest. Married with no money and lived in a tiny rooftop place for a couple of months. Moved to a nicer, bigger place. 2 years after marriage we moved to jeonse and some investments were already giving us a small return. As time passes the investments increase and so as the return. Planning to buy an apartment in 2-3 years and rent it out. If everything goes well I'll be more or less retired by the time I hit 40. |
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rabidcake
Joined: 10 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:47 am Post subject: |
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| newb wrote: |
| jdog2050 wrote: |
| madoka wrote: |
| newb wrote: |
I been in Korea for 6 years in total. I paid off my mortage back home (collecting rent) and purchased a piece of land in SE Asia and built a nice vacation home while in Korea.
This is my fifth year teaching at my school. I've put away nearly 200K dollars. Another year or two, I am considering returning home to sell my house (hopefully the realestate market will be back up again) and retire permanently in my vacation home. |
Wow, that's pretty impressive. An average savings of $30,000+ per year every year you were in Korea. Man, that must have taken an incredible amount of self-discipline to pull off. |
Yeahhhh...self-discipline or horse-shit. I hate to poo on this guy's story but the average salary for teachers in Korea is like $35,000 on the top end. Even with privates he'd be maxing $40,000? I mean, I guess you can live on $1000 a month but I kind of don't buy it.
If the story is legit though, congrats! |
Thanks for congrats.
I want to let all newbs to know that it can be done with hard work and self-discipline. Yes, I had to bust my rear-end for first 3 years to save 100K (seed money). Once you been in Korea long enough, you'll eventually figure out other ways to earn extra money. I've also stashed away some of the money in one of the SE Asian bank where the interest rate was over 15% and this year 10%+. My rental income has been steady since 2010. The most important part is setting yourself a goal (Mine was 100K in 3 years) and get after it. Once you reach it, set another goal (Mine is 200K in 5 years). Or you can go party all the time like most do in Korea. |
What country were you investing your money in if you don't mind me asking? Was it Vietnam? That's really amazing!
Although I do have to say that everyone should remember, if for some reason you want to invest a substantial amount of your money in a foreign exchange, the high interest rates are high because there is a lot more risk. This might sound like common sense and I'm sure everyone knows it, but remember that investing money in developing countries has its risks... |
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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 3:10 am Post subject: |
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| rabidcake wrote: |
| newb wrote: |
| jdog2050 wrote: |
| madoka wrote: |
| newb wrote: |
I been in Korea for 6 years in total. I paid off my mortage back home (collecting rent) and purchased a piece of land in SE Asia and built a nice vacation home while in Korea.
This is my fifth year teaching at my school. I've put away nearly 200K dollars. Another year or two, I am considering returning home to sell my house (hopefully the realestate market will be back up again) and retire permanently in my vacation home. |
Wow, that's pretty impressive. An average savings of $30,000+ per year every year you were in Korea. Man, that must have taken an incredible amount of self-discipline to pull off. |
Yeahhhh...self-discipline or horse-shit. I hate to poo on this guy's story but the average salary for teachers in Korea is like $35,000 on the top end. Even with privates he'd be maxing $40,000? I mean, I guess you can live on $1000 a month but I kind of don't buy it.
If the story is legit though, congrats! |
Thanks for congrats.
I want to let all newbs to know that it can be done with hard work and self-discipline. Yes, I had to bust my rear-end for first 3 years to save 100K (seed money). Once you been in Korea long enough, you'll eventually figure out other ways to earn extra money. I've also stashed away some of the money in one of the SE Asian bank where the interest rate was over 15% and this year 10%+. My rental income has been steady since 2010. The most important part is setting yourself a goal (Mine was 100K in 3 years) and get after it. Once you reach it, set another goal (Mine is 200K in 5 years). Or you can go party all the time like most do in Korea. |
What country were you investing your money in if you don't mind me asking? Was it Vietnam? That's really amazing!
Although I do have to say that everyone should remember, if for some reason you want to invest a substantial amount of your money in a foreign exchange, the high interest rates are high because there is a lot more risk. This might sound like common sense and I'm sure everyone knows it, but remember that investing money in developing countries has its risks... |
That's correct. There are risks, but manageable if you do your homework. My consideration for taking risk was tanking US economy where banks are paying nearly 0% interest. I refuse to let my money stagnate and lose it's value with dizzing inflation or let fat wall street investment bankers manage my money back home.
Next, I'm considering banking in China where their currency is considered to be undervalued. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 3:37 am Post subject: |
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| How many of you have got what you wanted from Korea? Did initially coming as an English teacher lead you to more and more opportunities to develop yourself in Korea? |
In answer to this I will agree with what Captain Corea said earlier. I was satisfied with what I accomplished and what happened in my 11 years in Korea but that is based on personal criteria. This has to be the way to define being successful and happy with anything. Goals differ from person to person.
More precisely, I met my soul mate in Korea and 15 years later we are happy like we just started dating (got very lucky there), made tons of friends, opened up a new career path for myself, had two amazing kids, grew as a teacher and as a consultant, learned a new language, saved and invested money and so on...so yeah I am happy with what I did in Korea.
Others will measure their success otherwise, say on more financial elements. Some people will be very happy to have come to Korea for 2-3 years, paid off their loans, saved money and gone on to other things. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 3:42 am Post subject: |
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| Lazio wrote: |
| PRagic wrote: |
| Korea has been good to me and life has been good to us so far. |
How about kids?
Korea has been good to me so far but I still have some years to go untill I can call it success. I'm on the right track though.
No debt here as well which gives a good foundation for the rest. Married with no money and lived in a tiny rooftop place for a couple of months. Moved to a nicer, bigger place. 2 years after marriage we moved to jeonse and some investments were already giving us a small return. As time passes the investments increase and so as the return. Planning to buy an apartment in 2-3 years and rent it out. If everything goes well I'll be more or less retired by the time I hit 40. |
Retired at 40? Well I hope you have a mountain of money to support you and your wife for the next 40-50 years considering how we tend to live longer, healthier lives now.
Also, what will you do for the next say 25 years of very active life?
I assume by retire you mean move on to other activities and work! |
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Lazio
Joined: 15 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
Retired at 40? Well I hope you have a mountain of money to support you and your wife for the next 40-50 years considering how we tend to live longer, healthier lives now.
Also, what will you do for the next say 25 years of very active life?
I assume by retire you mean move on to other activities and work! |
There are plenty of developed countries (OECD) where even say half a million dollars go very far and puts you to at least upper middle class.
As for working or not I have a couple of ideas to keep myself occupied. I might start a business but it would be more like a hobby rather than a money chase. |
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