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creeper1
Joined: 30 Jan 2007
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 Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| bobbybigfoot wrote: |
| I would venture to say that most old timers have little to nothing to go home to and thus must stay in Korea. Any and all job prospects would be worse than what they have now. Knowing this, they make things as comfortable as they can in Korea with decent to above average success. |
Nail on the head. ESL wonomins have nothing to offer any employer at home.
There is also an addiction to the bum lifestyle. |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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| creeper1 wrote: |
Nail on the head. ESL wonomins have nothing to offer any employer at home.
There is also an addiction to the bum lifestyle. |
If one is an "old timer" and still living a hand-to-mouth, zero responsibility, peripheral lifestyle, then that is indeed why they are here. Those are loser traits no matter where you hang your hat and why I am thankful to be far from that type; the misanthropes slumming it in Korea.
For me, home offers nothing, not the other way around. I left for a reason.
The key for living abroad long-term: make it a home. Learn the language, get involved, just as you would in your home country. Stop seeing yourself as an outsider and become an active participant in your life. |
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Vagabundo
Joined: 26 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:30 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| There is also an addiction to the bum lifestyle. |
sure beats a mortgaged house deep underwater, wifey and kiddies to boot with very uncertain job security, should you even land a half decent job. Uncertain and way overpriced healthcare and education priced way out of your pocket and the future doesn't look very promising, does it?
add to that the "generous" 2 week vacation you get and the crap weather you'll have in most of the best areas of the country , being surrounded by obese, uneducated and snaggletoothed hillbillies or northern white trash and the "bum lifestyle" becomes something to be aspired to! |
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offtheoche
Joined: 21 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:03 am Post subject: |
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I would imagine....(in no particular order).....
Ease of dating/hooking up with Korean women.
Making good bank.
Cheap booze. |
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IlIlNine
Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 3:12 am Post subject: |
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| 9 years in. My secret? Changing careers every 3 years or so. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:05 am Post subject: Re: Old-timers, what keeps you going? |
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| T-J wrote: |
| tanklor1 wrote: |
I'm about to turn the corner on the signing of my fifth contract and I feel that I'm doing it out of routine. The magic that I started with years ago seems to be almost gone. I'm not certain what is keeping me going these days outside of the slight possibility that the next year could be better than the last.
To all of the long term people: what keeps you going? Is it the job? The family? The pursuit of money? What is it? Because I've seem to have forgotten what is keeping me here. |
The thing that has always separated the true long timers from those that have just been here a long time is their perception of what here is.
When "here" stops being "there" and just "here" then you stop comparing there to here and what you are left with is just here, enabling you to go on about all the things that used to make there better than here, but no longer do because you have what is important here rather than there....
Get it?
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Quite true. |
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Vagabundo
Joined: 26 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:48 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| hand-to-mouth, zero responsibility, peripheral lifestyle |
can you define these a bit better so that we can better determine whether they're "loser" qualities or not for ourselves?
for e.g. seems like you're big on adding responsibility. Can you elaborate?
I like to be responsible for my own actions, which is a simple mark of adulthood, but am not too keen on expanding that "responsibility" any further and fail to see the benefit in doing so. Indeed, it's all downside, and little to no upside. |
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Poker
Joined: 16 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:20 am Post subject: |
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| offtheoche wrote: |
Having a SERIOUS Korean gf, well educated, good job, fluent in English, trustworthy, wife/mother material etc - Not so easy |
Exactly. Anyone with a decent amount of "game" can play with the local woman. But show me waygooks with real quality woman and the number drops dramatically. Quality Korean woman almost never marry waygooks. |
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Vagabundo
Joined: 26 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:41 am Post subject: |
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| Poker wrote: |
| offtheoche wrote: |
Having a SERIOUS Korean gf, well educated, good job, fluent in English, trustworthy, wife/mother material etc - Not so easy |
Exactly. Anyone with a decent amount of "game" can play with the local woman. But show me waygooks with real quality woman and the number drops dramatically. Quality Korean woman almost never marry waygooks. |
dangerous ground when you start defining "quality woman". One man's scourge may be another man's idea mater, but I "generally" agree with your sentiment. |
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Harpeau
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Location: Coquitlam, BC
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:53 am Post subject: |
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| Hotpants wrote: |
| Where else are you going to get jobs that can offer 5 months of paid vacation time? You'd have to be insane to give that up. |
+ 1. |
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offtheoche
Joined: 21 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| Harpeau wrote: |
| Hotpants wrote: |
| Where else are you going to get jobs that can offer 5 months of paid vacation time? You'd have to be insane to give that up. |
+ 1. |
Me (Actually it's 5.5 months of paid vacation). I have a very cushy uni job but it doesn't matter as my esl career is drawing to a close. I shall leave next year. Each to their own but I need a (new) challenge....... |
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fustiancorduroy
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:13 am Post subject: |
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...
Last edited by fustiancorduroy on Sat Feb 21, 2015 6:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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T-dot
Joined: 16 May 2004
Location: bundang
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:35 am Post subject: |
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Challenges/Goals
My current goal for the past few years is getting all my students into good universities abroad. Its a rewarding experience knowing that it was you that helped the kid take a step in achieving their dreams.
I havent gotten tired of it yet because with each student there is always something different. The challenge is to not leave any student behind regardless of where they started. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:43 am Post subject: |
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| fustiancorduroy wrote: |
This year will be my fifth in Korea. That may or may not make me an "old timer", but I've certainly been here longer than most folks. What keeps me here?
- My career progression. I have consistently gotten better jobs here in Korea and now have a large network of work connections. Right now, I am highly satisfied with my current projects and the income they generate for me.
- Being able to speak Korean. It's hard to live comfortably in a country and really feel part of the society if you don't speak much of the language. My Korean is still far from fluent, but I am about conversational in the language, and this allows me to connect with the greater society here more easily.
- The food. I like Korean food quite a lot and enjoy eating at the many wonderful Korean restaurants around Seoul. The city also has its fair share of good Japanese, Chinese, and other international cuisine. It just takes a while to find all of these good places.
- And last, but not least, my Korean girlfriend, who is a fantastic companion and has afforded me many opportunities to experience life in Korea outside of the typical Western expat circle. |
This is something anyone thinking of staying in Korea mid to long term should read.
Very well said. |
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Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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The problem with these threads, as interesting as they are, as there is just something about hearing other people's life stories, is that there is an assumption that there is a one size fits all to life.
Obviously, there isn't.
You will find as many reasons people stay as there are people in Korea.
Some people stay. Most people don't. The reason is that people find something that satisfies them here in Korea. Somtimes it lasts; sometimes it doesn't; sometimes it goes away and comes back again. Everyone has different interests and desires. Life has taken people to different places for as long as there has been life.
I've heard people say something like there is no litmus test for falling in love, you just know it when you do. Staying in Korea or anywhere including your hometown is the same. Some people get into it; others are ready to go on to something else. Bodies at rest and in motion.
A couple of asides because I just feel like it:
Some people need "game" because they are playing a game. Others just are themselves and look for people they get along with.
There are definitely attractive, well-educated, cosmopolitan Korean women with good jobs who marry non-Koreans. I married one. I know plenty of people who have also. It is surprisingly common, actually. And, it would probably be even more common if ESLers were generally interested in marriage and settling down. Few are. And, their lives in Korea, surprise - surprise, match their interests and desires. Not that this should be anyone's interest just that for those who are interested, there are usually results to match.
This is your life. Do what you want to do to make it "happy." Don't let other people and cultural norms and expectations dictate your life if they are not making you happy. Even working toward your goals can be surprisingly enjoyable. Just make a plan - or don't - if that is your "plan" and the way you want to live your life; just accept it and be happy with your decisions.
Life doesn't have to be that complicated but many people make it that way. Oh well. It is your life. |
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