Job Discussion Forums

[carleenmarie]

Hello all. I was hoping some of you vets could give me some advice: Taiwan or Korea? (and which areas/cities in those countries?) I've narrowed it down to those 2 b/c of the pay and the low cost of living. I don't have experience teaching English, but plan on taking a TEFL course before I leave, and I have a BA in English.

I need to be able to pay bills- I have about $15K b/n student loans and credit cards. I'd love to be able to pay some of that down, but if I only manage US$500/ month or so, I'd be cool with it. One of my big priorities is going to be travelling that part of the world.

So what am I looking for? Well, I'm an outdoorsy person- love hiking, boating, biking, camping, historic things. Having great places to go on weekends/holidays within the country is pretty key (and people to go with).

Also like to party- not in an extreme sense, as in heading oversees to go on a year-long bender, but I like going out, and want to be someplace where others do too.

I'd like to have a decent amount of Westerners around. Not that I don't want to mix with the locals, but from what I've read about Korea, I figure you have to be realistic going in.

One final thing- I am thinking that January is going to be the earliest I can get the hell out of Dodge. Does either country fit better with this timeline?

Thanks everyone!

[naturegirl321]

First of all, posts about Korea disappear from this forum as there's a separate one for Korea. Second, try posting on the Taiwan and Korea forums. People there could probably give you more info and may have worked in both places.

I think that it's a personal opinion, I hear that in Korea you can save a lot, but the lifestyle isn't that nice, don't like foreigners, dirty, etc, but I've never been there.

I was in Taiwan for a bit and liked it, but prefer the Mainland. Taiwan is good if you can stand the heat.

About both of them, you'll probably end up teaching kids, so if you don't like kids, look somewhere else.

Both are pretty crowded places, I don't konw where you can get back to nature, that being said, I'm not an expert in either of these countries.
Also, both seem to recruit pretty much year-round.

Good luck.!

[carleenmarie]

I think you're probably right as far as posting in both forums- thanks for the tip.

Yeah, that's the thing that has me most nervous about Korea- the xenophobia that seems to be so prevalent. Did you find the Taiwanese people to be welcoming? What I've read makes it seem that way, or at least more so than Koreans.

And I can handle heat just as long as the AC isn't too far away.

I appreciate the input. Just trying to figure it all out...

[tedkarma]

I taught for two years in Taiwan - and six years in Korea (twice in Korea).

You can save good money in both countries but you can probably save about 30-50% more in Korea.

Conversely - I felt my quality of life was much better in Taiwan and I liked the weather a lot more (too cold in Korea for me - very long winters).

In Taiwan I also liked that my employer didn't provide housing - as that be a source of friction in Korea. I could choose exactly where I wanted to live - and it was none of my employers business if I had private students over or whatever.

In Korea - I think life is better in smaller cities away from Seoul and Pusan. The transportation system makes it easy and inexpensive to get to the major cities for shopping and partying. In Taiwan, IMO, traffic is far worse and transportation doesn't work as well. I lived in Taipei and would go there again if I went back.

It's a real toss up. Taiwan - people are more open and far more worldly - much less xenophobic - but in Korea you can sock away more money.

Don't plan on saving any money for your first month or two while you get set up and organized - and then US$500 will be easy to do in either location.

[tedkarma]

I was writing my post while you were writing yours and you beat me to it!

Anyway - I would have to say that, in my experience, Taiwan is the most pro-American place I have ever been.

I had numerous people over the couple years there approach me ask if I was an American and then tell me they went to school in the States, or had family there. They would then give me their business card and say if I EVER needed any help to please call them. WoW!

In Korea I almost always felt the sense of being a lowly foreigner (I don't let it bother me mind you - but it is there) and in Taiwan I never felt it. Others will disagree on this notion - but that was my experience.

Taiwanese tend to have relatives living around the world - and many of them in Canada or the US - and I think that is part of their pro-US notion as well as their far better understanding of the world - vs the Koreans thinking the world revolves around Seoul.

My landlord in Taipei was a dual citizen of Canada and Taiwan - and that wasn't uncommon.

[carleenmarie]

You're right- it is such a toss up. I want to make money b/c I have bills to pay, but I don't know how I feel about being in a culture, but never being able to experience it (Korea). I studied abroad in Australia and they put me in an apartment building of all international students. I had a great time, but I met very few Australians, which is a shame, b/c every Aussie I ever met was fantastic.

I guess I am kind of curious-and this will sound ridiculous-where do you think tall people fare better? I am a 6' tall American broad, with blondish hair. Clearly, I will stand out, but might Taiwan be more welcoming of this? I have a friend from PSU who has been in Korea 1 1/2 months and she's regularly stopped for pics for her large *beep*. I can handle it, but it's def. going to get annoying.

[tedkarma]