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SK or Japan or Taiwan?

 
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Where?
Taiwan
25%
 25%  [ 1 ]
South Korea
50%
 50%  [ 2 ]
Japan
25%
 25%  [ 1 ]
Different continent
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Total Votes : 4

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DNK



Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 236
Location: the South

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:04 am    Post subject: SK or Japan or Taiwan? Reply with quote

Yup, another one of these posts Razz

I'm having a devil of a time deciding between the places. I'll give a quick background: have a BA, 23, SIT 120hr certification, no educational experience aside, $10K in debt + student loans (astronomical). Some traveling experience (Europe and India, but only a month each). Yes, I have some understanding of what culture shock means. And I can live without all the typical amenities.

I'm seeing SK as a great way to pay off my non-loan debt (maybe all of it in one year, considering what I've heard), but I'm in no real rush to do so (if it takes two years or a little more, that's fine). Also, I think I'll have a better chance of finding a non-major city job there.

Taiwan seems like job prospects are worse and the environment isn't all that great, especially in terms of air pollution (huge problem for me).

I've always wanted to visit Japan, on the other hand, but prefer the countryside and don't really want to stay in Tokyo or a major city. I'm not sure, as someone living in the US, that I'll have an option though, as I think the big four don't give you a choice.

What I want:
Nature, hiking, nice environment. Large wilderness areas nearby that are not completely crowded.
Little to no air pollution (my respiratory system can't handle it).
Spatially open and relaxed atmosphere (not crazy busy or neon, flashing crap everywhere).
Does not have to have much night life (don't like bars, clubs, etc).
Good dating scene, though (note: relationship not fling).
Don't want to share an apartment.
Vegetarian food available.
Pay must be decent.
Work load must not be excessive, relative to other options.



Maybe Spain or Italy? Confused

Off topic, but does anyone else notice the large amount of misuses of "their"/"they're", "than"/"then", etc, on the board? Am I the only one a bit amused by this?
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Korea or the JET Programme in Japan sound like good options if you want to make a bit of money.
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mlomker



Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 378

PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:37 pm    Post subject: Re: SK or Japan or Taiwan? Reply with quote

Sounds like SK is a winner for you...could pay things down a good deal in a year.

How bad are the student loans? Not sure if you've considered teaching stateside but there are alternative licensure and loan forgiveness programs out there that you might want to research.

Please tell me a bit about the SIT course. Did you take it in VT?

Quote:
Maybe Spain or Italy?


I assume you're joking? You'd need an EU passport and nobody goes to Europe to make any money in ESL.

Quote:
Off topic, but does anyone else notice the large amount of misuses of "their"/"they're", "than"/"then", etc, on the board? Am I the only one a bit amused by this?


Yeah, but most people are posting on here *after* a long day and a few beers.
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DNK



Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 236
Location: the South

PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As for SK, I'm a bit worried about the lack of seirous relationship potential, as I've been reading on here. I think I forgot to mention that, but I don't really look forward to being single for a year, save some brief flings here and there. I'm also worried about finding healthy food and excessive hassles with a shifty school or whatever, not to mention pollution.

I'm, for whatever reason, having a hard time getting a decent idea of how much you can save in a non-major city in Japan. I'll go search around a bit more, though. If it's over $5K/yr, that would be sufficient.

Yeah, Spain/Italy was a bit of a joke. One day it would be nice, though... when I'm not poor...



The SIT course was a 4 week, 120hr certification program with 6 hours of practice teaching. One seasoned instructor + 6 of us. I liked it, even if it cost me a good bit (about a quarter of that debt's from the course). Help finding a job isn't their strong point, unfortunately.
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As far as saving money goes, how much do you have to pay for your loans and other debts per month?

In Japan, you could start out with basic salary of 250,000 yen/month (roughly US$2000 at today's exchange rate) and spend half of that on basic necessities. How much you save of the remaining 125,000 (US$1000) depends on your lifestyle and debts.
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mlomker



Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 378

PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DNK wrote:
If it's over $5K/yr, that would be sufficient.


The only problem I've heard about Japan is that it's easy to spend money. Restaurants and bars are expensive. In my case there are far too many electronic gizmos for sale there...
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Serious_Fun



Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 1171
Location: terra incognita

PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 6:31 am    Post subject: Re: SK or Japan or Taiwan? Reply with quote

DNK wrote:

Nature, hiking, nice environment. Large wilderness areas nearby that are not completely crowded.
Little to no air pollution (my respiratory system can't handle it).



Does not have to have much night life (don't like bars, clubs, etc).
Good dating scene, though (note: relationship not fling).




keep in mind that rural areas (with less pollution [usually]) are generally more conservative...and a foreigner will have a harder time dating locals there. AND: after a few months (weeks?) you will miss "night life" even if you aren't a clubbing type.


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DNK



Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 236
Location: the South

PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. I was including paying off debts as saving. Right now that's my primary goal. Saving after they're paid.

2. I'm very frugal. I cook almost everything I eat, maybe twice a week will I eat out, and then it's something like Subway or a noodle place (or the Indian place I'm at right now). I don't like bars/clubs so I rarely go, but tend to get dragged to them anyway. I don't drink much if I do go usually.

I also don't buy electronic stuff ever, save a laptop. When my CD player broke I just stopped listening to music when I walked. I'm cheap is what I'm saying.

3. I don't need "rural", just not metropolitan. 50K or less would be what I'm looking for, in population terms.



4. So, if I can save/pay-off $700/mo in Japan, what are my chances of getting a job not in a major city?
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