Job Discussion Forums

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

Revisiting the possibility of going back to Mexico and I'm curious what the job market is like in GDL and the city of Leon near Guanajuato.

When I visited a year ago GDL seemed safe minus the airport blockade incident. Leon never gets mentioned though as a place to teach. I'm assuming Guanajato is overloaded already with gringo teachers.

Thanks for general impressions or specific info.

FYI, I've got a TESOL cert from School for International Training and a few years experience.

Thanks
tideout

reddevil79 · Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 5:34 pm Post subject:

Can't really give any specifics, but have spoken to a couple of teachers who were based in Leon and said that the EFL market there was thriving. It's a fairly large city with lots of industry, though not that many expat teachers there, or so I gather...

Isla Guapa · Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 6:23 pm Post subject:

If you're into shoes, Le�n would be a great place to live!

Enchilada Potosina · Joined: 03 Aug 2010 Posts: 344 Location: Mexico

I really like Leon. I never it had much of an ESL market as you don't see language schools on every corner but perhaps it's picking up.

Guanajuato is nice to visit, too touristy.

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

Isla Guapa · Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 1:48 am Post subject:

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

Islaguapa,

Thanks for responding and the nice link.

After my first Korean contract last year I went back to see friends in Mexico and wanted to check out Guadalajara and Leon. Never quite got to Leon but was able to check out the shoe industry stuff in GDL and spent a day with a really nice zapetero & his family there.

I was hired for another year in S. Korea and came back for $ saving purposes. It's been quite a mistake as this new public school job is eating a hole in my stomach.

Remember when reading about violence in Mexico that violence exists other places as well - it may just look different (or even polite).

Gracias a todos
tideout

Isla Guapa · Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 2:36 am Post subject:

No job is worth getting holes in your stomach, that's for sure!

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

jaimem-g · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 85 Location: The Desert, CA

Not insane at all. Things are pretty stressful here in California, too. I got some of my sanity back just from working short term the last two summers in Mexico. And planning for many more.

From another listener.

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

Thanks for the nice responses in this thread.

It's quite amazing when you see the Korea thread. I mean, dog eat dog doesn't really describe it. The Thai boards and the Mex boards are so much more relajado!!!!

Let's face it. You go to some countries to work and you go to others to live life!!

ton a bricks · Joined: 16 Sep 2006 Posts: 56 Location: Mexico City

One reason why there may be lots of jobs in Leon is that Leon is not a particularly nice place to live. It is a big city, lots of traffic, lots of noise, lots of people, but not a place that one could say has much interesting culture outside of the ranchero culture of the thousands and thousands of people who have moved there from the outlying areas.

Even in nice restaurants (there are a few) you have trouble having a conversation because the traffic noise is so loud. I taught master's seminars in the old central prepa and had to shout to be heard over traffic, of course I couldn't hear my students' responses hardly. But I am not only referring to that experience, it is tremendously loud, and there are not many trees or parks to absorb the sound, although there is one big nice park.

The thing is it wouldn't be so bad if you didn't also have to throw in the incredible heat. Since it is all cement and little greenspace, it is like an oven. I would look into the comfort levels there before jumping to the conclusion that it would offer a good quality of life. It is also incredibly "mocho", I have taught in most of the major cities and towns in Guanajuato, and Leon takes the cake for radical ultra catholic beliefs. It's ironic, being the biggest city in the state, but the smaller cities are much more open minded. If you are going for the money, make sure you get a good salary because you will probably want to go away every weekend unless you enjoy the "cantina" or bar scene.

I kid you not, it is not mentioned here often because it is not a desirable place to live...

Cheers

Isla Guapa · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:57 pm Post subject:

I've lived been living in Mexico on and off (now it's definitely on for the foreseeable future) for many years, and I have never heard one good thing said about Le�n, except for the fact that it's a great place to pick up some shoes. Now thanks to the above post by ton a bricks, I know why it has an unpleasant reputation.

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

Ton of Bricks,

Thanks for your very informative post - really appreciated. The little things (maybe not so little after all) do add up and sometimes rather quickly. Also, I was not aware of its super-Catholic leanings. I heard from some Mexicans that Guadalajara was quite conservative also. Nothing regarding religion per se.

Of course I'm watching in horror as another narco related crime scene emerges in Guadalajara. Returning to Mexico would be something of a no-brainer for me but I keep picking places or getting interested in a city and then, bam, another round of violence.

Isla Guapa · Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:26 am Post subject:

Come to Mexico City! Apart from the usual craziness common to any great metropolis, life is good, and it's fairly easy to find work here.