Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

I am currently on two months vacation from Saudi Arabia, and travelling in Colombia and Ecuador. There are jobs for teachers in both countries, with slightly higher pay in Colombia.

Here are daily costs (in dollars) for both countries. These are prices that I am paying, and are considered budget style.

Colombia

Hotel - 25,000/$12.50

Lunch - 5000-6000/$2.50-$3.00

Bus travel (6 hours) 20,000-30,000/$10-$15

600ml water - 2000/$1.00

Small beer - 2000/$1.00

Breakfast - 3000-5000/$1.50-$2.50

City bus - 1300-1500/$0.65-0.75

Internet one hour - 1400-2000/0.70-$1.00


Ecuador

Hotel - $8-$20 (average �decent�hotel = $15)

Lunch - $1.75-$2.50

Bus travel 6 hours - $5-$7 d

600ml water - $0.25-$0.30

Small beer - $0.80 - $1.00

Breakfast - $1.25- $1.50

City bus - $0.25

Internet, one hour - $0.60 cents


Overall, I find that I am saving more dollars in Ecuador, despite the fact that Ecuador uses the u.s dollar. Prices, overall, are cheaper in Ecuador.

In Colombia, as a budget traveller, I was spending around $30 -$40 u.s per day. In Ecuador, I am spending around $20 to $30 u.s per day.

You can eat really cheaply in Ecuador, and bus travel in Ecuador is a real bargain. A 7 hour bus journey (Tulcan to Quito) cost just $4.80 which is less than one dollar per hour. In Colombia, for the same amount of travel time, you would pay at least twice as much.

In Ecuador, you can get a decent haircut for $1.00-$1.50, and the list goes on.

So, overall, Colombia is more developed than Ecuador, but you can save more in Ecuador.

Unless you work in big cities in Colombia and Ecuador, teacher salaries are very low in other places.

Ghost in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.

[Atassi]

Hola Ghost. You really do like to travel. I miss the travel articles you used to send me by email.

[Nabby Adams]

Thank you Ghost.

How do you find Ecuador? We ave both spent time in Indonesia and liked it. (I presume) Which country do you think is more congenial as a place to live and teach?

It"s a $2000 flight for me in Japan, but I may just pop over there to have a look myself?

[Mattaro]

Well I havent posted here for a while but have to say you do not have to pay $15 for a decent hostel. My hostel you can pay $7 for a bed in a dorm or $11 for a private, other "decent" hotels/hostels cost from $6 a private room or $5 for a dorm bed. As a backpacker and a hostel owner I think I have a fair understanding of what is decent or not. We were rated best hostel in Ecuador 2008 on one of the most popular booking engines, I am not advertising or saying who we are, but often hostels can be better than hotels offering free internet/wifi, a more social atmosphere, opportunity to glean info from other travellers etc. Many people are missing out by isolating themselves in more expensive hotels. My opinion anyway.

In any case, if you are teaching here (I taught English for a year) you would be looking for an apartment or long term accom. Probably $100 the cheapest you could get away with (room in shared apartment/house). $150-200 a month is prob the norm.

[Atlan Training]

Thanks Ghost! That was really helpful.

I would add, for the older, lazier, more sybaritic, that on a higher end salary in Ecudor for an EFL teacher, which you can get with the CELTA, about $1000 a month, you can live very well indeed, with a large private apartment in a good district and plenty left over for the finer things in life.

[spanglish]

Yep, good numbers, though I've found budget hotels to cost 30.000/night ($15.00).

Definitely can't live it up in Bogota, Colombia on $1000/month. For the aparment alone, a large 1 bedroom in an upper-middle class area (Chapinero Alto) would run you around $600/month total costs.

In Bogota, starting salaries generally prohibit living alone. I'm definitely ready to move on to a more cost effective place.

[ghost]

Medellin is good, but a lot of competition for the jobs. The Colombo Americano Language center in Medellin is a wonderful place, with superb materials and facilities, but difficult to get in as there is a large demand.

When I was there last summer, they were paying 15000 pesos per hour, basic pay. That is around $7.50 per hour.

You will have more chances of finding work in medium sized cities like Pereira, Armenia, Pasto, Popayan and other towns away from the coast. Those 'highland' towns (altitude around 1000m) are very well organized, and very safe as well, with regard to crime, of which there is very little.

I was astonished at the change in Colombia from 15 years ago, the last time I had been there. Now most cities look very well run and organized compared to the past, and there are much fewer street people and beggars, and aside from Medellin, Cartagena and Buenaventura, very few street children.

The mayors of the cities in Colombia imose fines on parents who let their children beg in the streets, and work for minors is now prohibited.

The average prices I paid for hotels this past summer was around 25,000-30,000 pesos ($12-$15 u.s.).

Strangely, I found the price of bottled water in Colombia very expensive (at $1 a pop for a 500 ml bottle) for developing country. I was spending more on water than on food on many occasions!

I love the vibrancy of Medellin - but it is not for everyone.

PM me for details, if necessary.

Ghost in Saudi.

[teacherdude]

I worked in Bogota years ago.

I have noticed that what few jobs are advertised for Colombia these days don't seem to pay that much; although, it's good money by Colombian standards.

I have an interest in Cartagena, Baranquilla and Medellin.

Ghost spoke a bit about Medellin, are there any other decent options in that city?

What are the job opportunities like in Baranquilla and Cartagena.
I have my Celta Certificate. I have taught ESL for more than ten years.


I'm wondering what kind of pay I can expect, also what are the prospects for private lessons and how much would they pay?

Thanks.

Teacher Dude