Job Discussion Forums

[namorbust]

Hi there,

I'm another disaffected teacher here in Korea looking for a major change in my life. After 4 years of teaching here, the visa situation and overall atmosphere of the place has become almost unbearable.

I have 4 years teaching experience and a bachelors degree in poly sci/philosophy.

I have spent a total of about 2 months of in Vietnam as a traveler. I really enjoyed the people and the laid back pace of life that I observed.

From reading this board it appears that Vietnam is on the cusp of major change on several different fronts.

Is it a good time for me to jump ship here in Korea and dive into Vietnam? I'm not liking what I am reading in regards to the visa and economic situation of the place. Is it really that bad? Can I still obtain work with no visa? Do I need a CELTA certificate to get a work visa?

Things appear to be moving quickly and I would like some updated information on what I can really expect. Thank you for your kind advice.

PS I would be arriving with about 4 grand to my name. Is this enough to get me through until work starts coming in?

[mark_in_saigon]

I would assume you have read the discussions here, some of which give a very good feel for the situation. I would only guess that the visa/wp thing here is as least as bad as Korea. It might be good to give a brief summary of what makes the overall atmosphere of Korea so bad, for comparison purposes. The atmosphere here, in the truest sense of the word, is hot and polluted, but life itself (other than all that) can be a lot of fun.
It is just speculation on what the future holds. My personal feeling is that the world economy could still fall back, in which case, it would not be a good thing here. On the other hand, if that happens, those of us with money already are in an even better position. The visa wp thing has several good discussions already going, just read the relevant threads. Same thing with the CELTA discussion.

Not to disparage your education, but I think the political science thing would be something you might not put at the top of your agenda to teach. I also think philosophy might not be totally relevant. Not that your education disqualifies you, but that you just need to focus on the English thing, and let them believe what it is they want to believe in those other fields. I know I have to hold myself back a lot on advanced discussions, even though they are very intelligent, there are some things we do not need to try to teach them, or so it seems to me. Hope no one takes offense at this, just trying to state my opinion on this touchy subject.
The amount you mentioned is about 3 or 4 years worth of income for the average vn, nationwide. It would not be that much in the big cities of course, but there are a lot of educated young VN only earning $100 a month or so in the cities. My preference is to have an income stream, which enables you to essentially retire here, then any income you can squeeze from the deal is extra. I would hate to come here actually needing income. I am pretty conservative, you younger folks are a little braver than I. My cost of living as a westerner is about $600 - $800 a month, on necessities, depending on my level of need for lodging (in terms of size). Strawberry smoothies are a necessity in my book. A decent place to live can be as low as about $250, twice that will get you a pretty nice setup, multiple rooms and a terrace. Not quite the Taj, but plenty nice. If you consider romance a necessity, cost of living will likely be quite a bit more. You mileage can really vary on that one. IM any posters you think you might trust for a more brutal discussion. One of the guys calls it Disneyland, I like the sound of that, but I think it does not imply the true zaniness of it all. �Wonderland� from Alice in Wonderland might be more like it, as it is almost bizarre sometimes. What was the world in the Bizzaro Superman story? Maybe that�s it. �Disneyland� is too clean, safe and controlled for what is happening here, but it is a colorful and somewhat true description.

[jb0072009]

Yes Disneyland in the sense things are imaginary and fantasy at times. Just when you think you know something you find out you do not. Also like in Disneyland you can just walk down a street and discover something new, something either wonderful, aweful or just plain bizaar from our view point. Just today when driving back from work on my motorbike I saw a man on the bridge sleeping on his motorbike parked on the side. I laughed at that would have made a great picture.

I have a wife, spend $500/month rent on a 2 bedroom furnished apartment near district 1. That is pretty typical of rent for a nice place of about 75sqm. I spend another $600/month on her and utilities and food. I manage to save quite a bit. I also suggest you find a place to live near work as you will get real tired of the traffic or commute times if you drive yourself or taxi fares if you do not. Many districts here are similar and as stated there is no lack of spending money on places anywhere. If you can get a job here I suggest you go for it because the pay here is good and you can save money. Also there are less diversions to spend money on then say in Thailand. The quality of life is good as well. The only thing bad here is the health care. Even Viets admit that.

As for the visa/wp thing well that is always changing. The safest thing now is to get a job where they guarentee in writing to get you a wp and make sure you see the wp. Then you will have no visa hassles

[Mattingly]

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

Living and teaching in Korea should be discussed on the Korean Job Forums and not here on the International forums.