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Maserial
Joined: 31 Jul 2005
Location: The Web
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 Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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| austrian123 wrote: |
| Maserial wrote: |
| austrian123 wrote: |
| I turned down a 70k a year a job in canada to come to korea to make 200 million a year. |
Something about this doesn't jive well with your story from a year ago. |
tsk tsk Its funny how people always assume the worst without knowing the full story. So here it is; I earned over six figures in canada but the economy went south. So i was looking at a pay cut and the best offer I got was 70 but I refused. So my wife and I came to Korea and I brought my life savings with me of several hundren million won. Bought gold and silver with it. I taught toefl for a year and a bit but I quit but I hated teaching. An opportunity came up to invest in a business which we did but sold my gold and silver to do it. The business is doing well making about 15 million a month. I also work at a korean company now making 2.8 million a month. So that is about 200 million won a year. So to all you haters life is great for me because money is not an issue for me and I do not have to teach anymore.
And yes it is true. Most male E2 visa holders come to korea for P. |
Only I didn't assume the worst. All I stated was that something about your story didn't jive well i.e. there were some inconsistencies that would benefit from a bit of clarification. For the record, the only thing I 'hate' is your lack of limpidity, and if you wish to 'tsk tsk' anything, let it be your ineffectual prose. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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Alright. Let�s go through what you wrote. This is all from the same post (quoted on page 3 of this thread) that you wrote about a year ago.
| austrian123 wrote: |
| Well, from the age of 24 to 36 I worked in corporate canada as an Analyst in the area of information technology. I hit the jackpot my last five years as I earned between $100,000 to $145,000 a year, and I banked alot of my earnings. Then the recession hit North america, and being 'too expensive', my employer told me they had to cut my earning by 50% or they had to let me go. |
Ok. So this is around the end of 2008? Let�s continue�
| austrian123 wrote: |
So I quit, because there was no way I was going to work for $65,000 a year after making over 6 figures for so long. I looked around but it seemed that most companies were only willing to offer me in the 60-65k range.
So I thought to myself: 'I have money now'...I'm getting older, so NOW is the time to go to Korea before I get to old...it's now or never. I knew I would make less in Korea than I would in Canada, but I didn't care because I had money now. |
Ok. So you took an even bigger pay cut than you would have had you stayed in Canada, taking a job that pays nowhere near 60k. Right. Ok. Next�
| austrian123 wrote: |
| You see, when gold was trading at $600 an ounce I plowed most of my savings at that time into gold. Subsequently gold doubled, and then I sold out and switched everything over to silver which has also nearly doubled. Even though i knew i would be making less in Korea vs. canada this didn't bother me because I know in the end that silver is going to make me a millionare. I have hundreds of millions of dollars invested in physical silver and I know that silver will hit 3 digits. |
This is where I get a little lost. Gold was trading at $600/oz around 2006 give or take. Then you switched over to silver. Not a bad move provided you cashed out around the time you posted this since silver has kind of fallen through the floor since July 2011. And let�s say you did cash out in time and used that money for your roughly 15k/month business�why would you need to work at all? Even without your money making business, what help is working a measly EFL job for you? Yet you write the following (again, in the same post):
| austrian123 wrote: |
I wasn't expecting teaching esl to suck so bad. So it feels I'm stuck.
My plan was to come to korea, work an easy esl job, enjoy life here and experience my heritage while waiting for my silver investment to grow and retire in my early to mid forties. But now i feel like I'm stuck in jail. |
What on earth would make you feel trapped here? Something doesn�t add up. |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:26 am Post subject: |
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| ㅅㅅwho cares that's not what this thread was about. There are wackos on Dave's just ignore them. You are wasting your time, and other people time in trying to read threads related to a specific topic. |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 2:43 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| There are wackos on Dave's just ignore them. You are wasting your time, and other people time in trying to read threads related to a specific topic. |
Yep, got to concur here. I usually find these kinds of things amusing, but our man the Austrian here, with his hundreds of millions invested in physical silver [audit the Fed, man! Inflation is theft! Suckers and their fiat money! etc etc], is beyond even my tolerance. Do you think that at some point, faced with your posting history researching skills, he'll suddenly admit he's full of kimchi and stuck working ESL because he's too poor to leave Korea and too unskilled to do anything else? Me neither.
It does tell us something about why E2s keep coming here, though: Korea will hire them and keep them more or less solvent, and even treat them as something more than a weirdo who lives in a van and puts up Ron Paul signs, when no place else will give them the time of day or return their calls. Maybe he'll even find a K-girl who will put up with him, too. |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 3:27 am Post subject: |
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I've long been sick of the "everybody BUT me is a loser burger flipper" that has been a primary theme at Dave's since Dave's has been Dave's...
Today I wondered, how many of you think that teachers in your home countries were nothing but chumped up burger flippers?
"Why would anybody but a loser get a college education just to end up nothing more than a teacher making only $25,000? Must be real losers who couldn't make it as anything else!!"
The two most content people I've known in my life - going on four decades now - were my father's parents: two people living off social security. I could never have lived as simple a life as them - but it sure as heck worked - worked like most of wish life would work for us...
I've known a couple of small business owners who were doing well, and they liked what they were doing, but that wasn't for me either. It seemed to me the businesses owned them.
We had a social studies teacher in high school who was an All American football player multiple years and had offers to try out for several football teams back in the late 70s or early 80s. We thought he was nuts to not have gone for it. When he said he always wanted to teach, it bounced off us like a stone wall. Incomprehensible. We had spent the better part of our lives dreaming about getting OUT of school....To pick IT over pro football!!!
To each his own...
I like teaching. I like teaching ESL. I like living overseas. I like learning about people living life differently from what I knew growing up.
This time, I'm heading to the Middle East - partly due to higher pay - but mostly because I've been to Asia (Korea) long enough.
If someone wants to spend their life chasing money, I hope it works for them. If someone wants to spend their life teaching pre-school, I hope it works for them --- it wouldn't me. Not enough energy...
To each his own... |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 3:46 am Post subject: |
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I will point out - one of Murphy's Laws is "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach, administrate."
Which shows the disdain for loser teachers is a cultural, Western thing... |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:07 am Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
For a start, get it into your head that it matters not one iota how much 250k is in your home country's currency. What matters is what you'll have left of that 250k. . |
At least you have made a reasonable attempt to debate the issue. However, it's not accurate to say that it doesn't matter at all. The exchange does have a major impact on the live of an expat. Nearly everyone comes here with the idea of sending money home either to pay debts or move their assets home. Save 500,000 won, that's $438 in back home money. Save 50,000 yen, and that's $631. So you can save less but still send home the same amount if you live in Japan. Secondly, a strong currency boosts your spending power. The won sank and food prices rose. Be a hero and buy local in Japan and it won't make much of a difference. Buy imports and it will. So right there, two big items, savings and import purchases, are affected in a big way by the currency. And I don't know about you, but my budget is about 50% savings and 20% imports. The only thing I'm buying local is rent, utilities, and transportation. |
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kiknkorea
Joined: 16 May 2008
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:18 am Post subject: |
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Good post iggyb.
I've found that on Dave's as well as in Korea, the people who are the most interested in making money here are the biggest complainers about life here.
So Korea isn't the paradise you dreamed it would be? Fair enough, try a different place!! I have several friends who left to teach in other countries and they are all happy they did. Some just get burned out on Korea and need a change, while others just never liked it here. Sounds like you're in the first group iggyb, but you are doing something about it! Best of luck in the Middle East.
What I can't see is how some feel like they're stuck here, unless you have a family here (and even then...) Most everyone here is on a 1 year contract. Just finish (or not) and move on! If you want to still teach, there are plenty of other places to do it.
And to add to your quote "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach, teach PE."  |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:54 am Post subject: |
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| iggyb wrote: |
| I like teaching. I like teaching ESL. I like living overseas. I like learning about people living life differently from what I knew growing up. |
Totally agree.
| iggyb wrote: |
| If someone wants to spend their life chasing money, I hope it works for them. |
Yeah.
| iggyb wrote: |
| I'm heading to the Middle East - partly due to higher pay... |
Wait. What?
Last edited by isitts on Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:10 am; edited 1 time in total |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:56 am Post subject: |
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| iggyb wrote: |
| "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach, administrate." |
I can't English, so I teach it instead. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:01 am Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| b-class rambler wrote: |
For a start, get it into your head that it matters not one iota how much 250k is in your home country's currency. What matters is what you'll have left of that 250k. . |
At least you have made a reasonable attempt to debate the issue. |
Well, I said the same thing in two posts, TUM mentioned it in his and gave a link...but glad it got through the fourth time when b-class mentioned it.  |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:22 am Post subject: |
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I thought I'd explained it:
I'd rather not go back to Korea. I've been there and done that - for years.
I want to try something different - something outside East Asia.
But money is a consideration. I don't want to live on Peace Corps "wages" - nor can I afford to go to a place in Central or South America where the money might be good on the local economy but not enough to save up US dollars. Maybe that is a retirment idea: Settling down in a place like Costa Rica teaching ESL and living on the local economy...
I've seen a job or two in Mexico that would pay about as much as I'd get in the US or Korea, but that's a little close to home. It's an option...It's just not my first option right now.
But the Middle East pays well and is largely unknown (to me).
Good money. An adventure. Great learning opportunity. And I'd be teaching ESL....
That sounds good to me.
If it doesn't to others, that's fine. To each his own.
Teaching is not for everybody. I personally couldn't teach elementary school except for ESL classes. I couldn't handle teaching preschool year after year regardless.
I'm certified to teach middle school English at home, but I wouldn't do that for more than a year or two. High school English or any age ESL fits me well. I wouldn't want to work an office job or something else...
So, yes, I'm chasing money is the narrowest sense: I'm looking to teach ESL in a region where you make enough money to build up some savings.
But I'm sure there are plenty of the "Everybody's a burger flipper loser but me" people would say $3,000-$5,000 a month and free rent is chickenfeed to them and only a loser couldn't do better back home...The online expat community here is full of em... |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:16 am Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| b-class rambler wrote: |
For a start, get it into your head that it matters not one iota how much 250k is in your home country's currency. What matters is what you'll have left of that 250k. . |
At least you have made a reasonable attempt to debate the issue. However, it's not accurate to say that it doesn't matter at all. The exchange does have a major impact on the live of an expat. Nearly everyone comes here with the idea of sending money home either to pay debts or move their assets home. Save 500,000 won, that's $438 in back home money. Save 50,000 yen, and that's $631. So you can save less but still send home the same amount if you live in Japan. Secondly, a strong currency boosts your spending power. The won sank and food prices rose. Be a hero and buy local in Japan and it won't make much of a difference. Buy imports and it will. So right there, two big items, savings and import purchases, are affected in a big way by the currency. And I don't know about you, but my budget is about 50% savings and 20% imports. The only thing I'm buying local is rent, utilities, and transportation. |
I think you don't get it though. In an ideal world...a better exchange rate would mean that you could save less and send more home, but Japan is notorious for having a high cost of living.
Most jobs there don't even pay 250,000Y a month anymore (I was offered one that paid 235,000Y in the boonies!), and if you did find a job that paid that much, remember you'll most likely have to pay for housing, utilities, and a larger chunk of insurance since employers there are notorious for cheating ESL teachers out of insurance.
Wow this thread has managed to hit on a lot of the topics that irritate me on Daves.
I'm a little annoyed at the OP. It is certainly easy to sit back and say "why do you guys bother, I wouldn't" when you have the luxury of knowing that you probably won't have to (apply for an E-2) in the future. I've heard plenty of people say "desk warm?! I certainly wouldn't put up with that crap" only to come back to Korea and do just that.
I also dont see how jumping through a few bureaucratic hoops would deter anyone who had a sliver of motivation. If getting together paperwork to get a job is too much work, then I guess it's not a mystery why one would be at home unemployed.
Also while I have met plenty of people who were probably losers back home, I've met quite a few people who just want to travel and have fun before they settle down...or others who worked in very high stress careers who wanted a break from the insanity. I was recently just chatting with a friend who worked in finance back in the US before he came over. His job paid him well but made him miserable. He wont be in Korea for a long time, but at least while he's here he can have a fun time.
I would say that I have met very few losers in Korea (outside of my orientation) but then again I guess it also depends on the company you keep. |
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earthquakez
Joined: 10 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:34 am Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| isitts wrote: |
You�d choose Japan...now? Looks like your delayed information theory might be accurate. Granted the exchange rate is good now, but salaries relative to the cost of living...you might not be moving much out. Plus the difficulty of breaking into the market doesn�t make Japan near the hot spot it used to be. I wouldn�t do Japan any way but through the JET Program and even that�s been retooled downward. |
Isn't the difficulty of entering the market proof of its popularity? I would definitely chose Japan. Why? Japan's F***in' awesome for one. Have you eaten Japanese food? Yeah, kicks Korean food's butt. And let's see, I just checked the first ad I found for Japan and it's offering 250,000 yen ($3,145 US) a month + completion bonus + housing subsidy. You're telling me that doesn't kick the butt of any job in South Korea right now?
| isitts wrote: |
Amazing fortune telling skills you have with currencies. You must be making a killing in the FOR/EX markets.  When I started working in Japan in 2003, one US dollar bought about 105 yen. Not too long after I left (in 2005), dollar bought 116 yen. Now a US dollar only buys about 78 yen. Who�d have thunk? You sure you know where the won is headed?
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You're right. It could sink even further! Especially after the housing bubble pops in China. |
It's irrelevant in practical terms that you can find a few job ads that 'kick the butt of' jobs in South Korea. The conditions and benefits quoted are highly unusual for Japan. You won't be getting that job and the countless aspiring Engrish teachers outside Japan plus the overwhelming majority of the countless Engrish teachers already in Japan won't be getting that job or the rare ones like it.
Check out the real world Japan teaching English ads and see what 'going down the dumper' looks like for real. The market is flooded and the job ads are fewer. Most of them have garbage conditions - so many demands in return for for a 200,000 yen month per salary BEFORE tax. That's actually not bad compared to 180,000 yen per month I've seen advertised for some jobs.
Remember that over 90 percent of the English teaching jobs offer no housing. Some will help with the deposit but as that can be about 7 million won Korean if you're not lucky and you won't get most of it back whether or not you keep the place spotless, so an employer should help. But they won't help you with rent.
City tax is much higher than in Korea and they hit you with lump sum payment demands for it, the National health insurance is much higher in Japan, the tv licence fee is higher, utilities are much higher etc etc. Transportation is far more expensive.
The Engrish teaching jobs in Japan have declined alarmingly over the past 5 yrs both in number and in wages/conditions. I worked in Japan for quite some time, as well as a few other countries, now I am in Korea. Japan isn't worth it anymore and I haven't even given details on just how flooded the market is with too many 'teachers' and just how part time work is rapidly replacing full time work for Engrish teachers. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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| iggyb wrote: |
I thought I'd explained it: ... |
Sorry. I was just being a little facetious. I actually like your post. |
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