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weigookin74
Joined: 30 Mar 2010
Posts: 265
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 Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 3:53 pm Post subject: |
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| isitts wrote: |
| RM1983 wrote: |
I'm doing the bog standard work and a few nights part time and I am nearly at 300000 a month…
…many people pay half the shown cost cos they live with a partner. Our flat is 100,000 , which means I pay 50,000 a month, which is around 1\5 of my salary (on a bad month)…
…I actually make your argument to my gf every now and again, because she is Korean and I feel like I'd be much better off there. But she has a nice job here, with the chance for promotions and she isn't sure the Korean job market would be so welcoming to a young woman as the Japanese one has been…
…She also doesn't think its a great idea to send your kid to a Korean public school, so we'd be looking at an expensive private one if we had a kid.
Also I've worked in Korea and it also isn't a great place to work IMO. Lots and lots of rubbish jobs out there and my friends.there who have gone into uni jobs there (more serious ESL types) say it isn't a great advancement. Its the "best dead end job" but still can be unrewarding.
Personally I think we will end up back there (just makes more sense with the support of her family etc), but I have big concerns about it and I'm not always sure it will be the best choice. |
Given what you’ve said above, I think you’re better off staying put…especially if you already have part time work set up and your girlfriend has a good job.
Not sure how long you’ve been in Japan, but the social environment can be quite jarring switching to Korea But…if you’ve been to both and she’s Korean, that point might be moot. But for child safety…maybe my memory doesn’t serve me well for Japan, but I think I’d rather raise a child there than in Korea.
The only counter arguments might be that a lot of jobs in K-land provide housing…and if you could get a spousal visa (F-visa), you might be able to pick up multiple jobs like you do there. But the F-visa jobs and university jobs (since you were talking about those) don’t usually pay for housing. Also, a lot of the F-visa jobs are part time.
Perusing a number of the different countries’ threads on Dave’s, it looks like a lot of teachers are thinking the grass is greener somewhere else. These days, I’m not sure it’s really the case. |
Korea has declined for work conditions, but improved for modernity and less xenophobia during the last 5 or 6 years. China has recently risen up to overtake it for work conditions and pay. You can still save money in Korea, but less than 8 to 10 years ago. Employers are trying to chip away at pay, while trying to reduce perks such as flights, while also wanting more work. China's the place to be if you want to get in on the ground floor. But, there's a lot you got to put up with to go along with that. |
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isitts
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Posts: 193
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:28 am Post subject: |
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| Lamarr wrote: |
| I know what you mean. You can get stuck in a rut and a change of scene can be refreshing. I'm not saying people shouldn't change scene, change jobs or move to another country, but I think you've got to focus first and foremost on what it is you want to get out of your work and your life, and what goals you want to aim for. If you can work that out first, then change jobs or countries as part of that process, with those longer-term goals in mind, you'll probably be better off in the long run, or at least have something to keep working towards and keep yourself more grounded and focused. |
Yeah, I agree with that. Though, the irony is that I’d actually felt more in control of what country I went to when I was younger, doing my aimless wandering, than in recent years where I felt compelled to go to specific countries that had opportunities in line with my long term goals.
| Lamarr wrote: |
I've seen TEFLers and global traveller types who seem to drift around countries, as if they're searching for something they can't find, or trying to run away from something they don't want to deal with. It's as if they expect something to just pop up and present itself along the way, and everything will magically fall into place.
That said, plenty of people back home drift along in jobs they don't want to do. It's just another manifestation of the same thing. |
I feel like I’ve seen it both ways. Some people drift from country to country. Some people “drift” in one country (at one job).
But, that can also just be how it appears. One of my friends back home thought I was drifting because I was only in Japan two years, and then Taiwan one year. When I was then contemplating Korea, he asked me why I was doing this if it’ll just end up the same.
But it didn’t end up the same, and my motives were different. And I’ve been here 6 years. And, actually, in each of these countries (Japan, Taiwan, and Korea), things did magically pop up that weren’t happening for me in the previous country. That wasn’t always related to the country, itself. Sometimes it was. Other times, it was something that could have happened in any country, if I’d given it enough time.
In recent years, I try to keep it simple. I’m either compelled to stay or compelled to leave. I could probably work things out where I am. I could stay another year and maybe be eligible for an F visa. But I have no compelling reason to do so as I see (potentially) better options elsewhere.
Anyway, thanks for your posts, Lamarr. |
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isitts
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Posts: 193
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| weigookin74 wrote: |
| China's the place to be if you want to get in on the ground floor. But, there's a lot you got to put up with to go along with that. |
Definitely a concern. But I'm finding it easier to put up with things the older I get as these things seem more and more like trifles...for the most part.  |
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isitts
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Posts: 193
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:21 am Post subject: |
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| moviefan1987 wrote: |
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| Perusing a number of the different countries’ threads on Dave’s, it looks like a lot of teachers are thinking the grass is greener somewhere else. These days, I’m not sure it’s really the case. |
… The Middle East offers the best salaries but the restrictions there have always turned me off from seriously considering it. |
Well, this is kind of what I mean. We’ve all heard for a long time that the Middle East is the place. But looking at the forums there or job listings, conditions and salaries have gone down there as well. …Unless you have decent credentials. Of course, even if you don’t have decent credentials or even if salaries have gone down a bit there, they still may be relatively higher than what you’re used to…but not high enough for me to want to live there.
Every time I did a search for working in the ME, the top hit would be a YouTube video by a guy working there who looked worse than the guy in this thread’s OP (Barry vs. Japan).
Speaking of Barry vs. Japan, it’s kind of funny because about the same time this thread came up about not teaching in Japan and how China is better… another thread came up on the Korea forums saying, “Don’t teach in Korea. It’s terrible. Teach in Japan.” And yet another thread on the Japan forums, someone is saying China is terrible and wants to try Japan. RM was thinking of leaving Japan and going to Korea. And I’m thinking about leaving Korea and going to China.
Well, maybe that’s not all funny. But like, Barry and the girl who posted on the K-forums were bashing the respective countries because of one bad school. One bad school and the whole country is rotten apparently. |
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Shakey
Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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| isitts wrote: |
Speaking of Barry vs. Japan, it’s kind of funny because about the same time this thread came up about not teaching in Japan and how China is better… another thread came up on the Korea forums saying, “Don’t teach in Korea. It’s terrible. Teach in Japan.”
And yet another thread on the Japan forums, someone is saying China is terrible and wants to try Japan. RM was thinking of leaving Japan and going to Korea. And I’m thinking about leaving Korea and going to China. |
It does not matter. The end result is always the same for people working entry level TEFL jobs.
If you are an ALT dispatch drone or eikaiwa grunt humping it in the TEFL trenches of Tokyo, you will be bullied, harassed, threatened, intimidated, cheated and worked like a mule. That's how things get done in Japanese businesses. You will be abused. Your life will suck and you will be stressed. Stress makes people sick and then they pick up and leave, just like Barry did and many others like him. That, or they stay and crawl into a bottle and pour whisky on their problems. Many ALT and eikaiwa teachers in Korea, Japan and China do this because of isolation induced depression and work problems.
So, in my mind, it makes little difference if you choose to be exploited and abused in Korea - Taiwan - China - Japan. It simply does not matter. The end result is the same. Weebos and 30 - 40 year old losers like Barry, Tkyosam and Ryan Boundless, who refuse to obtain relevant teacher education qualifications and training will be stuck working entry level TEFL jobs in an ever shrinking and deteriorating market in Japan.
Now, on the other hand, if someone actually has a degree in education, like a licensed teacher, for example, or advanced degrees in linguistics or education, Japan can be a good place to work with good pay and conditions. I know licensed school teachers working in international schools in Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. A few of them are millionaires, or close to it.
A for me, I'm not a culture vulture, a weebo or an anime freak. Depending on the day and circumstances, I am generally either ambivalent towards Japanese culture and language, or I downright despise it. It just depends on the particular situation and the level of retardedness I encounter. However, as much as I dislike living and working with Japanese people, Japan is by far the most lucrative TEFL destination for someone with my luck, experience and education. I only teach 7 months a year, receive a western salary and benefits and a 3 day work week.
Not even the jobs in the Middle East, nor those in many western countries, come close to what many qualified foreign TEFL teachers in Japan have in terms of compensation, benefits and time off.
In short, I know international school teachers and TEFL teachers at the university level in Japan that are millionaires. They have done very, very well in Japan teaching English. And when they retire, they will be millionaires on two fronts: (1) Their investments, savings and property holdings, and (2) They will receive a lump sum retirement payout on top of a monthly pension that they will collect until the day they die. |
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kzjohn
Joined: 30 Apr 2014
Posts: 277
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| Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 2:48 pm Post subject: |
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Well, yes, there is that lump sum, 退職金 as it is called. Here in Japan, it is treated in a tax friendly way (not as plain income)--as a lump sum (one time) distribution (since when retiring from any work, that's the way it's done here). I'll owe about 11-12% to the gov't here (it's not calculated in an overall way--there's a tax-free amount based on years worked, and then a tax on the rest, but about 12% of the overall is how that will work out for me).
The 'problem' is that as a US person, the IRS only sees this as income, and at least for me, it will exceed the foreign earned income exclusion (now about $100k). So I'm told by my CPA that uncle sam will be taking a pretty big bite (30% or so) of the over-$100k part. I'm struggling to find ways to minimize that.
Other than tax fraud, any suggestions...? 
on edit: I'm not a millionaire at all. But we do own (a very old) house free and clear, and one kid has finished, and the other will be finishing college debt-free. I am aware of some folks like myself, whose kids have somehow chosen or been sent to school in the states, for $45-50k/year. Yikes! |
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moviefan1987
Joined: 23 Nov 2015
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:22 am Post subject: |
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| Shakey makes some good points. Without a higher degree in TEFL, Japan is probably a hard place for TEFL. Actually, the number of countries where one can do well with an entry level TEFL job is declining. Korea used to be a good place for entry level TEFL but it doesn't seem to that way anymore if you check out the Korea boards. Since getting a masters in TEFL, my career progression has been good. Though I will probably never be a millionaire like Shakey describes, I am happy with the money I am making here. I have co-workers doing the same jobs as me without masters degrees but they have been here in Japan much longer, and they have had to work the low level jobs and build up their contacts and network to get to where they are now. |
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isitts
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
Posts: 193
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:52 am Post subject: |
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| kzjohn wrote: |
The 'problem' is that as a US person, the IRS only sees this as income, and at least for me, it will exceed the foreign earned income exclusion (now about $100k). So I'm told by my CPA that uncle sam will be taking a pretty big bite (30% or so) of the over-$100k part. I'm struggling to find ways to minimize that.
Other than tax fraud, any suggestions...? |
As I understand it, it's becoming more common for expats from the US to renounce their citizenship over these tax matters. Perhaps not your first choice, but it's legal. |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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But it costs over 2000 bucks to do so. Nice, huh?
If you get permanent residency Japan can tax your income overseas,
and when you finally leave Japan, there is a gaijin tax to pay. |
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