Job Discussion Forums

[mick_luna]

I've heard the Ukraine, Poland and Belgrade, but nothing more specific. Does anyone have any links or info?
cheers
M

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I might be biased, but I found Ukraine to have a good combination of all of those. The biggest downfall was the pay, but that can be supplemented with private teaching.
The girls are phenomenal.
The culture is intriguing.
Good luck!

[mick_luna]

THanks JP
Any suggestions about getting contact info for schools? I suppose there is reasonably priced real estate in some areas there? Could you survive on your salary there?
cheers
Mick

[Blue Jacket]

First time I've put anything on this, hope I have done it correctly.

I've been in Poznan, Poland for about 5 years (planning to leave this summer). I can only tell you about my experiences here and you should assume that others have had at least somewhat different experiences. Some of this info will vary from city to city.

Plenty of work (except in the summer). Normally you can get 40 pln or more and hour (at a school this is 45 minutes). Rent for an apartment will be 800 pln (furnished, sleeping on the bed/sofa in the living room), for a 1 bedroom (known here as a 2 room apartment) you will pay 1000 pln or more (prices do not include bills).

Most of the native speakers here have enough money to live and have a bit of fun.

Poland has a 'special' economy. Most people would have money if they got paid what is owed to them. Even between companies here it is normal to be as late as possible when it comes to paying each other. This being the case it is best to do more work than what seems to be necessary up front. You will also find that not all the schools (mostly speaking about private schools) practice things such as honesty and and keeping their word. There are many schools that do pay close to on time. A few schools that pay on time every time. An occasional school that has every intention of stealing your pay. Doesn't have much to do with having legal working papers since the court system is so far behind.

Frankly I don't like the weather. I don't mind the cold (here it isn't as bad as farther east or in the mountains) but it is lacking in sunny days. Only a few weeks in the summer that you can stay out all night without a jacket or having blood in your alcohol. I don't usually drink so I prefer the walk fast method.

Women,,,,,, If you are interested in physical attributes only then this is a decent place. If you are interested in a decent relationship then you might want to look elsewhere. I'm not stereotyping just working off of percentages. There is a noticeable difference between the city girls and some of the country girls.

Infrastructure,,,,,, I can only speak for where I am. No major complaints until you start to drive,,,,,,, the roads suck. You may find driving habits here to be annoying, unless you like to put your life in someone else's hands. You can check the death tolls, they will verify this.

The old parts of city centers are rather nice (assuming there is anything left after WWII, Warsaw was a demolition project for the Germans). I think most of the cities have some area that is pleasant for the eye.

I don't like to swim in the Baltic. It just isn't very warm and after hearing about it being used to dump mustard gas and other chemicals I just don't feel like getting in. Most people here find it a pleasure, I don't.

The mountains here are nice to walk around in. Most skiers complain about the ski facilities here and many of them go to other countries. I've been to Slovakia and it was ok but not comparable to Austria, Italy, Switzerland,,,,,,,

I hope this is the kind of info that you are looking for. I suppose that one or more of the regular posters on this website will try to find something wrong with what I have written (the reason why I haven't written before, just not interested in petty arguements). I am also searching for info about Latin America and thought I should do my part to help someone else.

[Brooks]

for Poland, I pretty much agree. I was always paid late.

One of my former students was in a car crash and she has to use a cane for the rest of her life.

As for women, well, I kind of felt that it was one thing as a girlfriend, but since we are just teachers we just don`t have the bucks (or zloties) that they are looking for. I found that many women wanted to get hitched at 25.
I found that annoying.
Lots of golddiggers.

But I had a good experience.

I think things in Ukraine are looking up (as in wages).

[mick_luna]

Your comments on Poland have a lot of similarity to my experience in the Czech Republic, and confirm my suspicions re: effect of proximity to W.Europe and joining the EU. I found much of the Czech rather jaded, in a sense, by exposure to Westerners since the Fall.

Have been told Ukraine and Bulgaria and perhaps Romania offer more opportunity in terms of work, business and relationships, but i am still seeking more specific info.

As to Latin America, I can only tell you about Brazil. Sao Paulo supposedly has work opps., i wouldn't recommend working in Rio to my worst enemy (well, maybe my worst enemy). Slavery still exists in Brazil. I found one school called Picadilly Circus, in Rio, offering all the work i wanted, at 5 Reais per hour. That's around 2.50 CAD, less than 2 USD per hour. If you lived on the street or in a violent ghetto (favela) you might be able ot live on that in rio. I saw a few expats apparently working there, not sure if they were really that desperate or what. A lot of Brazilians thought that foreigners were escaped convicts, or on the lam from some crime, and they were often correct. That is the only reason i could see someone staying and teaching at those wages and in those conditions. The job i did get lasted 6 weeks, teaching the most godawful business textbook (it may have been Cambridge Business English, something like that) that was 10 years out of date, for less than 5 USD per hour. THis involved a 5 or 6 hour commute on the bus for 4 hours of teaching.
Then you can fall asleep to the sound of automatic gunfire (there is an undeclared war in rio, btwn rival traffickers and cops, 10 000 murders a year), never mind the frequent armed robberies of buses (since they don't have security, as usual, it is the poor who get robbed) and the muggings.
However, very nice girls there. Very sexual and feminine, but relationships in such an inequitable society can be complicated, and honesty is not a noted Brazilian characteristic. Not that its a noted Canadian characteristic, or any other nationality, but i've never met people so intent on building dream castles from the moment of meeting, with no intention of fulfilling anything they say. Also, girls are very jealous, there was a case last year of a beautiful 25 yr old who was wanted for the burning and beating death of a 16 yr old girl who had taken her boyfriend. Brazilian men tend to be very promiscuous, it is almost always assumed a man will cheat if he has the chance, and there are lots of chances.

Beautiful architecture and scenery, wonderful music and dancing, great culture, but it saw its heyday maybe 30 years ago and is on the decline.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

mick -
I do have some contacts, though I worked there 3 years ago, so I don't know how valid they still are. Please PM me if you'd like them.
When I was there, from 2001-03, I made just under $400 USD/month while living in L'viv. My rent was paid for, so it was enough to live on (including going out to restaurants/bars). Of course, that kind of salary doesn't get you far outside of Eastern Euro, so if you want to travel you're stuck or have to delve into your savings. I didn't have private students, and they paid anywhere from $10-$15/hour. Like I said, this was a few years ago and, as Brooks indicated, wages have likely improved.
If money is a major consideration, I suspect Russia is a more viable option, and has everything Ukraine offers. Especially here in the East, it is still relatively "untouched" (for lack of a better word) by westerners.
Good luck!

[Brooks]

Romania sounds possible.
Bulgaria has a lot of crime.
My aunt and uncle visited Bulgaria and had a good time there.
They liked the folk music.

[Blue Jacket]

Thanks Mick. All info on SA is appreciated. Based on what I have read from several different posts including yours I have ruled Brazil out. Hoping to find a place near the coast somewhere between Venezuela (and including it) and Texas (definitely not including it). Hopefully not too many mosquitos and enough money to live on.

Oops, we were talking about Central and Eastern Europe,,,,, Happy to help anyone interested in Poland.