Job Discussion Forums

Crazy Eagle · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 56 Location: Canada

As a newcomer to ESL and this forum, I am struck by the number of contributors from my home country of Canuckistan.

I already have lived in England and the USA.

Is life for us really that much better in Korea? I have some high school teaching jobs available here. Should I take them, or apply for a position overseas?

Would like to know. Thanks!

Crazy Eagle

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

khmerhit · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 1:21 am Post subject:

Why indeed? when will the UN make world passports available to the average citizen?
Inquiringly yours (because inquiring minds like to know)
Khmerhit

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

No doubt I'll get some stick for saying this, but over the years I've observed that Canadians are more than averagely careful with their money. Some might say 'tight' even. This isn't just a personal observation, BTW, but one which I've also found amongst travellers. Can this (at least among TEFLers) be partly explained by a desire to save as much as possible as fast as possible and return to the beloved homeland?

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

khmerhit · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:00 am Post subject:

Marcoregano pointed out

Celeste · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:14 am Post subject:

Due to high taxation in the homeland, we canadians are accustomed to having relatively little disposable income. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

Why so many Canadians in EFL?

Could it be the insane tax rates? High unemployment rates? The winters? A desire to learn about other countries that aren't the US (which isn't that easy to do at home)? A natural wonderlust (no, not that guy)? A wish to escape the white picket fence purgatory?

For me, it was a combination of all these.

Edit: There is a separate forum on this site for Korea. For some mystical reason that to this day I have not fathomed, the Korean side of the site gets more traffic than the "rest of the world" side.

foster · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 485 Location: Honkers, SARS

I am not tight with my money as much as I am wise. I am now saving for retirement, which will most likely NOT be in Canada.

Taxes and disposable income are my main reasons for staying away from Canada. I miss the winters, although from the reports of this past winter, I am glad I missed this one. End of January saw temps of -55 in Saskatchewan. Shocked

Travel from Canada to other places is CRAZY expensive, and since i love travel, I enjoy being in a place where it does not cost an arm, leg and kidney to go on a week long vacation. Wink

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

This is not a maliciaous statement in any way, shape or form..... No wonder Canada is trying really hard to bring in more immigrants if all the Canadians are moving away.....

I am surprised that some of you speak of high unemployement rates....is that in the field of education or is it in all fields? my mailbox is always flooded with e-mails asking me wether I would like to move to Canada or Quebec...

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

foster · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 485 Location: Honkers, SARS

I have never had trouble finding a job in Canada. Being a French teacher, I have a good shot at many places. I do not wish to live in Quebec or Ontario tho, so that does narrow the playing field for me.

Also, I do not wish to live in a one-horse town of 200 people, each and every one of whom feel it is their god-given right to know everything you do.

Why we import so many immigrants may be part of the reason some of us are leaving. The Gov't is so keen to get them working, that often, they will take jobs from 'Canadians' looking for work.

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 7:29 am Post subject:

I will admit, however, that I really miss sushi and non-nescafe coffee and multi grain bread and....

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 7:32 am Post subject:

I have spent most of my adult life Elsewhere, at least the working part of it. I just found Canada (or BC rather) to be too hard to work in-- too many low paying, part time positions with very little stability. Right now especially, since the government has just fired a whole bunch of union workers in hospitals and replaced them with minimum wage lackeys. This is a widespread trend there now.

The ESL industry in Victoria/Vancouver was frighteningly unstable for me-- very seasonal, very unreliable. Before I started teaching, I was trained to do home care for the elderly and disabled during my 3 years in the UK. When I returned home I found out that my skills and experience were not accepted there and I'd have to take another 1 year home-care course... It was very frustrating! I couldnt even get a job as a waitress because I didnt have Squirrel training! How on earth do you get squirrel training????
I ended up as a cashier at an alternative medicine shop for 8 bucks an hour, with erratic hours. People with less experience and education than me were hired and promoted to better and more stable positions while I was there. When I asked why I was still on cash at 25-35 hours a week after 6 months, I was told it was because I was over qualified (um, BA???) and over experienced and they assumed I was going to get another, better job and leave them in the lurch... They prefered to hire and promote people who didnt have many other options. Shocked

I prefer Turkey. They pay me a good salary, they appreciate my experience and education, and I have yet to be belittled and disrespected as I had been so many times back home. I may go back, but to be honest, I really like travelling, and that's why I have been doing this for the past 10 years.

By the way, I still had to pay taxes to the Canuck gov't for the past few years even though I dont live there, simply because I cant be a non resident as I have financial ties there (rrsps, credit card cos you cant get one here if you are foreign), etc. Lunacy!

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia