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EmmaHewitt
Joined: 14 Apr 2011
Location: US
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 Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 6:58 pm Post subject: Will you get better housing in cheaper areas? |
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| I am assuming that housing in areas like Seoul will cost more, so would an English teacher usually get an apartment that isn't as nice as somewhere further from Seoul? thank you! ^_^ |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Not necessarily. I have spoken with several people who live in the sticks and it seems to be about 60/40 on getting something nicer than you would get in Seoul. It varies even in the city, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the area. It's all about how hard your school looks for a nice place and how much key money they're willing to put down. |
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alwaysgood
Joined: 15 Aug 2011
Location: Changwon
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| Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 4:27 am Post subject: |
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| Some rural areas don't have much decent studio/one-bedroom housing to choose from, so you end up in a drafty little shack on the roof of a villa. Meanwhile, some urban areas (particularly newly developed areas) don't have many terrible apartments to choose from, and you get a decent office-tel. Results may vary. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 4:35 am Post subject: |
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It's all depends. I was lucky and got a larger apartment with new stuff. Nothing was around the apartment though except the subway station.
If you don't mind going to 30-40 minutes and coming back by bus or subway, then I would do it. |
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NohopeSeriously
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: The Christian Right-Wing Educational Republic of Korea
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| Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:57 am Post subject: |
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Back when I was a GEPIK teacher in a rural school.
1. A broken window at the first day.
2. The toilet was flooded after two weeks.
3. The boiler was broken in the middle of winter.
4. The fridge was broken after my third day.
Lesson: Don't take rural positions. |
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ontheway
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...
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| Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 2:24 pm Post subject: Re: Will you get better housing in cheaper areas? |
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| EmmaHewitt wrote: |
| I am assuming that housing in areas like Seoul will cost more, so would an English teacher usually get an apartment that isn't as nice as somewhere further from Seoul? thank you! ^_^ |
In Seoul (and a handful of other very large cities) housing is very expensive, so you'll generally get a tiny one-room shoe box of some kind to live in. The quality will vary and much depends on the care the school puts into providing housing for its teachers.
(Actually, living in the Seoul metro area is like living in a slightly larger shoe box with 20 million people crammed inside. Your tiny home might feel more spacious than the city itself.)
Outside of Seoul there are many medium sized cities with very nice housing available at affordable prices. Cheap schools still try to save money by sticking their teachers into a shoe box.
However, the good schools will provide large, clean, well-furnished housing in new modern buildings - one bedroom, two bedrooms, with living room and larger are common. You are likely to have the best overall living situation by avoiding the big cities, if you can find a good school.
If a school cares enough to provide the best housing, they probably take care of their teachers in other ways as well. Few teachers make the effort to check out housing in advance and it's very expensive, so it's an easy place for any school to save a lot of money without impacting recruitment in any way - positive or negative.
So, you should look for a school that guarantees nice housing wherever you go since you will spend a good portion of your life there.
If you want to live a comfortable life, have a decent home, live in a friendly community, have a short commute, reduce expenses and save the most money, you should take a good look at opportunities outside of Seoul. |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd recommend working in the satellite cities around a city. In those cities you can arrange your own accommodation more cheaply and have a pretty easy work commute. On a Saturday you take an express bus into the city if you want. From those cities the express bus doesn't take long. |
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DaHu
Joined: 09 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:24 am Post subject: |
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Don't try your own accommodations if you're a noob.
And it's all pot-luck as they say. Good school = good housing. |
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