Job Discussion Forums

[Hadit]

I am looking for suggestions as to the cheapest country with the best internet reliability/speed. I am looking to get a low hour teaching position and trade stocks at the same time, while enjoying a more low cost country.

I was thinking maybe Egypt or India. With India, the US market would be 8 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., which isn't bad. Unfortunately, Thailand and Vietnam are opposite it exactly.

All of South America seems a good bet too, really.

[santi84]

Egypt's internet reliability was terrible when I was there in 2007, perhaps it has changed recently.

[Glenski]

[Hadit]

No, not yet; I'm not sure I should invest in a CELTA just yet. But, I could possibly volunteer to teach for a year. I was thinking maybe India. I do have a BA, which would get me in China and Korea.

[s10czar]

I'm with you, bro. My plan is to teach and trade primarily Forex and CFDs through a UK broker. Go to the Vietnam board and you can get some insight on connectivity there that was given to me under the posting "Top Secret?"

At this point I'm thinking Korea due to connectivity and work schedule. A public school position there should get you out by 6 pm local. Korea is 14 hours ahead of PST so the New York open would then be at 7 pm Korea time. Very doable.

Please let me know your thoughts and share any insight you come up with as we have essentially the same plan: TEACH ENGLISH AND TRADE!

scott

PS: If there are any traders in Korea who are reading this please chime in on connectivity and work schedule issues. Thanks!!!

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I'm not in exactly the same boat as you two--meaning trading is only a pastime, but I do trade online. Vladivostok is 15 hours ahead of New York, so it's a good time difference, as 8am there is 11pm here, so I can move some stuff around, if need be, before hitting the hay. Then when I wake up at 6am it's only 3pm there. It works out pretty nicely.
However, as I said, it's totally a hobby for me, so I don't need to put in all the research and watch it as closely as you guys.
On a side note: I thought--for about three seconds, that trading on the Russian exchange might be fun. Then I got my sanity back

[waxwing]

I would love to hear more answers this question, but can we broaden it a little? I think the combination of:

1 good internet
2 cheap living costs (especially rents/house prices etc.)
3 low levels of paperwork restrictions (visas, residence etc. .. even owning property or getting things in your name as a foreigner)

Of course finding a TEFL job can overcome #3 partially, but it's not always a total solution. Sometimes it makes you effectively a slave to your employer. Sometimes the only types of job available are full time (which wouldn't suit you). Also, there are countries that are otherwise ideal but just don't offer good TEFL opportunities and yet they might be suitable with v. low living costs and very easy paperwork restrictions.

I'll throw a few tidbits out:
1. Russia is incredibly restrictive with paperwork; jpvanderwerf, nice to hear from you But have to disagree that Vladivostok's hours are suitable for US trading. About as antisocial as it gets. Not that that means you can't do it of course. Also I have to doubt the internet quality there. Again, you can do it, but if one is looking for the best places in the world ...

2. Brazil is interesting. I can tell you that back in 2004 already I got very good quality internet even in my own apartment in a smaller place in the South like Florianopolis, let alone SP and RDJ. I was happy doing freelance software development there back then, but had to come home due to a family illness. Problem was I had no plan for permanent residence anyway...

But for independent living it has its drawbacks. You'd better learn Portuguese. 6 months visa for Euros, something similar for US. Most important, TEFL market is not great there, NOTHING like Asia. But if money was no object so you didn't mind not getting a real salary, I think you could do it. Otherwise you'd better be a very highly qualified teacher and/or connected to the country, language etc. Also Brazil is getting more and more expensive as its economy grows.

3. China has some plus points, but like Vladivostok, and Thailand already mentioned hours for US trading would be awful. A bit better for UK. China has severe internet restrictions, you need to use a VPN (*perhaps* not for trading, but certainly for other things) and then you have the trouble of finding one with a reasonable price which actually delivers a properly working, fast connection. Paperwork restrictions are not too restrictive and TEFL is dead easy to get into.

4. I would love to say Eastern Europe was a good choice; it's an absolutely ideal time zone (start of US trading after lunch...) and most of the time there are minimal restrictions for living there in terms of paperwork, at least if you're from the EU. If from US, I guess it's a bit worse, but I'm not sure of the details. Jobs in TEFL are poorly paid I guess and again for some countries an EU passport might be very important. I've travelled quite a bit around the region but haven't worked there so someone else has to fill in those details. Meanwhile internet connection is fine in my experience in say Poland or Slovakia. In the less developed countries like Ukraine, it probably isn't that great unfortunately; outside of Kiev you'd probably struggle just to get a decent DSL connection installed, while in Kiev the internet's prob. OK, but rents (last I heard - changed in 09?) are very high if you want a decent standard of living. That's the general problem with that area; rubbish is cheap enough, but anything to European standard is more expensive than it is in the West.
Also if you don't speak a Slavic language then countries like Poland and Ukraine are very tricky anyway.

Another one interesting is the Philippines. Bad hours again. English speaking. Very cheap by all accounts, in all areas. Paperwork seems no hassle. But - quite third world I think ... (I haven't been there yet).
Also I'd like to hear about - Argentina, Central American countries..


I really have my doubts about India. It might be super cheap in some cases, but the infrastructure, bureaucracy and corruption are terrible by all accounts (admittedly personal experience ended about 16 years ago...). Also one could hardly find a TEFL job there!

So anyone got other places?

[Chancellor]

[Hadit]

Thanks for taking my question seriously.

I am a novice at trading, but see it as a potential source of income and it's a bit interesting and fun. I'd like to be free to day trade to catch the dips and whatnot optimally, while staying afloat via ESL teaching in a cheap country. I only have like 10k to invest, but I figure if I can hit a few 10% gains it might work out while being a good foreign experience too.

For the US market, South America is good, but the ESL work would have to be after 4 p.m. optimally. I'm not sure if there's part time night or weekend work work there, I might ask LA general chat. Not sure about the internet quality/stability.

Here is a good chart of the time zones: http://www.worldtimezone.com/

Unfortunately, Asia in general isn't great, being almost opposite times of day. India is ok as 7 p.m. - 3:30 a.m., but yeah hardly any paid jobs there except call center positions, which of course work nights too. I just like the hindu culture.

Re Scott: Korea has the best internet on the planet I think, the hours aren't very compatible with the US market, but sure it is an option due to it being well paid.

Re Waxwing: You're right, Eastern Europe is good. For example, Turkey is 4:30 - 11 p.m. to the US market. There is not much of a market there for ESL teachers: it's basically Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey for newbs.

[JZer]

[JZer]

[deessell2]

I agree with the suggestion of Korea. Go for the Epik programme. I had 28 hours of 'computer time', as I taught only 12 hours and needed to be a 40 hours a week government employee.

In general, it is mind numbingly boring living there and the game is to make as much money as you can. Doing and online Masters or trading would be a great option.

Work and save hard in Korea, spend in S.E.A!

[JZer]

The only problem is if you plan on staying up to trade from 10PM Korean local time to 3AM local time. Depends if you need more than five hours of sleep a day.

Language school jobs are more risky, i.e. your boss might not pay you but if you had a job from 2PM to 9PM at a Korean language school it might work better. Then you could sleep from 3AM Korean time until 12 in the afternoon. A public school job is likely to require you to be there at 8AM every morning.

[s10czar]

Thanks JZer...how's the internet in Korea? I hear it's good but that's all second hand. Have you had any problems with connectivity out there?

[JZer]

The internet is better in South Korea than the US. My parents still have dail up which does not exist in South Korea.