Korean Job Discussion Forums

[braindrops]

avalon only gives out 100K a month? that seems so low! that's not an allowance...that's a phlegmwad!

[iggyb]

Key money is the issue.

How many ESLers have 10, 20 or 30 million to put down for key money?

I've met some illegal ESLers who had their own place. I've known some other long-term expats who have done the same. Both types saved up key money after starting out in regular jobs with provided housing.

Monthly rent vs housing allowance is nothing compared to key money unless you want to get greedy in terms of style and location of the place you want to live.

[northway]

[Skippy]

You have to understand how many hagwons and places operate. If they provide housing it will generally mean the have already picked a place, put down deposit/key, and furnished. Some schools can have the same place for years. The teachers just circulate. Schools rarely do new teacher/new place. You will not be given a tour and a pick of many place to live. Well they might give you a choice of one or two places.

As explained before that some schools like in EPIK and GEPIK already have places, sometimes there is shady going ons. Collusion happens. The apartment they provide could be the deaprtment/principals brother-i- laws place. It could be nice or horrible. I knew one girl who worked in Daejeon in public school and she had to take a bus back and fourth. Plus something about dodgy plumbing I think a sink in the middle of the room. I suspected the place was the principals friends place.

Other schools offer the housing allowance well because some teachers are already settled in one place ie married and living with spouse, staying with GF/BF in their hagwons supplied housing, second job and already have housing, homestay, roommates, etc.

Also the housing allowance at times can be a savings for a school. They can save upwards of a couple hundred thousand won. Expect 300,000 to maybe 500,000 housing allowance. With a 50/50 chance of housing deposit.

Some offer the housing deposit because well the school could be **((& to deal with finding, furnishing, dealing with apartments an housing. If they could just concentrate on teaching, they would.

Unless you are Gods gift to ESL teachers do not expect to get a million won per month. Go ahead and ask for it, but expect a NEXT applicant from the school.

[technique]

[wanderkind]

[tachileik]

I got 20 mill key money with the uni I work for, but I still have to pay 460 rent.. Would have far preferred to just get housing. As it is, after housing, I basically make what a second or third year teacher in a hagwon makes. Go for the provided housing, man. You get used to where you live, and a few hundred bucks a month adds up to a few thousand dollars a year.

[Malislamusrex]

Ouch.

You can get a place for 400k pretty easily, obviously further away from the subway station the better. But for 200k you can maybe find a sublet.