Job Discussion Forums

[burngirl]

I understand this is an incredibly general question, but I am merely looking for a place to start a serious round of researching (have been perusing and searching these forums for months, and they seem to run in circles).

Assuming I am a B.A. graduate with a CELTA degree, in an entry-level position, and also that I have very minimalist tastes - even at home in Canada, I get by on very little and quite happily. While I do not have a EU visa, I would be easily able to arrange a working holiday visa to France, Germany or Austria, and I have been most seriously looking at Eastern Europe for obvious reasons of easier access.

If I were able to pay the basic bills, including rent and groceries, and still have about $300 of my salary left at the end of the month, I would be content.

So what say you? Is it possible?

[joshsweigart]

You can easily do it in Poland if you have a modicum of self-control and teach around 30 hours a week.

[thrifty]

You people are awfully ambitious.

[coffeespoonman]

Thrify will turn on the flame if he pops back in here, but here in Istanbul, I generally save about $1500 USD a month. Now, my situation is a bit different (I got lucky with a good uni), but even my roomate, a non-native speaker teaching English at a generic cowboy school, saves more than $150 a month.

PM me if you've got questions. I can point you in the right direction.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

[poro]

[thrifty]

[jpvanderwerf2001]

You left out the part of my quote where I wrote that everyone has their own perogatives. For some--shocking!--owning a house, car and boat (and paying for them for 30 years) are not at the top of their list. Who's to judge which way of living is better? You?

[Jetgirly]

I did it in Northern Italy. Just be picky about where you live and try to find a school that will help with your apartment search. I paid EUR 300 per month for a bedroom in an apartment shared with other foreigners (great location, new bathroom, no living room, paper-thin walls) but an Italian girl I knew lived in a studio apartment in an even better location for EUR 200 per month. I taught 22.5 hours per week and was paid EUR 1000 per month, with overtime paid about EUR 11 hourly and travel time paid minimally. In an average month of working hard but not too hard I took home EUR 1200 and saved about EUR 400. You definitely won't have ANY income in August, and you might only get paid for half of December and July (because nobody studies then), depending on your contract.

[ghost]

Places like Spain, Italy and Greece where quality of life is high - pay poorly for EFL teachers (800-1000 euros) and with rents in the 500 euros per month, those countries will leave you with little or no money at the end of the month.

Ironically, countries like Turkey which have much lower GDP's not only pay better, but often throw in free or subsidized accommodation.

In Turkey most TEFLERS even the basic qualified backpackers are able to save about a third of their salaries, and that would be around $300-$500 U.S. per month.

If you want to save much more, come to Korea, where in even the worst paying 'Hagwon' job, you will make around $2000 U.S. per month with free accommodation. In Korea, it is easy to save $1000 per month.

I have just started out in Korea, working as lecturer at a Teacher Training College, and hope to put away about $1500 - $2000 U.S per month.

The quality of live may not be as good in Korea as Europe, but if saving money is your objective, this is the place to be. Forget Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece where you will live like a pauper, and be paid like one. You can go there in retirement, once you have saved big bucks in places like South Korea if you go there for a few years.

Ghost in Korea

[naturegirl321]

I think saving money depends on how you spend it. Your lifestyle and what you're used to. In most places saving 150 USD a month shouldn't be that difficult, especially if you take on some private classes.

[JZer]

[thrifty]

[jpvanderwerf2001]

[scot47]

Dog food is quite nutritious. There are also some nice places on The Thames Embankment where you can sleep.