Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nyc2010]

Can I survive my first month in Korea with $500 USD before my first paycheck?

I plan on trying to eat as much cheap street food as possible, eating at home, going out to eat not more than twice a week, keeping my travel within Seoul, and going out Saturday Nights.

Is this a feasible amount? If not, how much should I bring?

[Ramen]

[yeti08]

500 should be enough.

[loose_ends]

[carleverson]

bring no more than $30-40 USD. No need for credit cards either. You'll be OK.

[ssuprnova]

[akcrono]

They're right on about he credit cards. If you don't have the means to get more than $500 in cash, most places take MasterCard or Visa, so you can still eat (and even go out drinking) after you run out of cash. Depending on your boss, you may even be able to get a small cash advance a few weeks in.

Expect to be paid an average of 6 weeks after you start working, but worse case scenario is you arrive the first day after the new pay period starts and you have to wait almost 2 months (disregard if you get paid hourly).

You can live off $100 a week if you do nothing, but it will not be fun. You will almost definitely want to furnish your place as well. I'd say $1,000 is a reasonable amount where you can still enjoy life. More will help you furnish your place quicker.

[cyui]

Is your employer providing housing? It is never a good idea to carry lots of cash anyways ( plus customs).. :wink: ..yeah..

Maybe around $300?

[ldh2222]

The truly sad thing is when people bring about $500 or less because that's all they could scrape together... due to the fact that they don't have any more money!

Sad. If you're a post-graduate, even if you've got loans etc. to pay off, you should have more than ____ amount, c'mon people.

[ktkates87]

I live outside of Seoul and live the type of lifestyle you're describing. I get by on about 600 a month or so, however my bills are shared with a significant other which makes it that cheap.

Short answer about the 500 though, I'd say no way. You will underestimate how many things you'll end up needing to get in order to get settled. We were lucky to replace a former teacher that left behind everything from laundry detergent to a fridge half full of food. If you had to buy most of what you need from scratch you'd be facked.

I'd bring about 700-800 or so, and a credit card to help you jump ship if need be and that would be an absolute minimum. I mean, if you're content to sit in an apartment and eat ramen until you get paid, by all means do that but you wont be able to get out and do too much.

[pangaea]

You can get by on $500 if you do nothing. If you do a lot of traveling, even within Seoul, and go out on Saturday nights, you will burn through all of your money in no time. You also need to consider when your payday will be. Is it at the end of the month or sometime during the middle? The wait will be one month if you are lucky, 6 weeks or more if you are not. Also, you will need to buy things like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, other toiletries, towels, and possibly bedding if your employer doesn't supply you with a new set.

If you can only come with a little money, as many people do, it is best to focus on daily living expenses and saving, rather than traveling and going out. I did it on roughly the same amount of money but I was lucky in that my payday is at the end of the month and the previous teacher left behind a stash of soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. I also don't care for bars or drinking and I knew which inexpensive foods I could get at the grocery store to tide me over for the first month.

It's not a great idea to come here with only a little money to start out and no emergency fund, but if it's all you've got, it's all you've got. Just don't plan on doing a lot of things that require money and definitely don't plan on hitting the bars with so little cash.

You will gain a little when you exchange your cash due to the current exchange rate. Every little bit helps.

[Draz]

Making a budget for 500 bucks for 4-6 weeks with stuff like "only eat out twice a week" is why some people only have $500 to bring to Korea. I recommend the OP read some books and learn what budget actually means. Might get lucky, might have to beg your coworkers for a loan before payday and look like a goober.

I ended up with very little money (who knew that ATM machines overseas won't accept a 5 digit PIN) and my credit card saved my butt.

[allovertheplace]

If you only have 500 you can make it. I came with 600 and a credit card and lived to tell the tale. By the 5th week with no pay I was actually just going out to dinner with friends, paying for it on my card, and they paid me the cash...worked out fine. But I thought the 600 would get me much further than it did. I didn't expect to get paid 6 weeks after arriving.

The hard part about being short on cash is you'll want a phone, you'll need to take taxis home sometimes (not knowing the proper route home), etc. These add up fast and when you're short on money. After my first week I had around 200 left until the unknown pay day.

[fake_blood]

My monthly expenditure on groceries (strictly for at home eating) excluding weekends:
- 4 cartons of eggs (2 eggs for breakfast every day): 4x2,400=9,600
- 5 cases of 500g chicken breast: 5x7,200=36,000

actually. that's pretty much it. I eat simply. +/- around 20,000 to account for random beer or snack purchases. Groceries are expensive depending on what you want to eat. You don't have to eat like a king, nor will you be able to if you can't afford it. Worst case scenario, you eat out for dinner EVERY night for 6 weeks at kimbap chunguk, that'll run you 210,000. It'll be awful, but it's not like you have a choice about it.

At any rate, if you are on a budget then BUDGET yourself. DON'T go out twice a week, DON'T spend a hundred bucks a night in Seoul. Just live frugally the first month and try not to do anything stupid- you'll have 11 more months to spend/do whatever the hell you want.