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| Longtimer: Would you come to SK now? |
| Yes |
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37% |
[ 33 ] |
| No |
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62% |
[ 56 ] |
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| Total Votes : 89 |
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byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
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 Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 2:19 am Post subject: |
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If you have the proper credentials then you can make a healthy salary teaching in China at a stand alone position. Extra income earning potential is certainly available as well if that is your thing. There is no magical visa that allows you to do that here legally that I am aware of (ie...the F in Korea) however. The tier one cities are comparable to Seoul in expenditures.
With that said, I did 5 years in Korea (not a long-timer by any stretch) and would not go back there to teach. Enough was enough and life is pretty good where I am. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:12 am Post subject: |
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If I were starting over today, I'd be drawn to #1 on that list. Malaysia is nice! I visited Borneo last year. Their new public school program for foreign teachers looks to be offering a decent wage. Teaching in smaller outlying communities appeals to me, but it wouldnt to everyone.
China's pollution would be a deal-breaker for me on that front.
Age. I'm ever grateful to Korea for taking me in as an older teacher & giving me a chance, back when. Thats harder almost everywhere now.
I'd say follow your cultural interests, the promise of reasonable returns, & gut instinct, wherever that might lead you, & best luck! |
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byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:21 am Post subject: |
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| schwa wrote: |
If I were starting over today, I'd be drawn to #1 on that list. Malaysia is nice! I visited Borneo last year. Their new public school program for foreign teachers looks to be offering a decent wage. Teaching in smaller outlying communities appeals to me, but it wouldnt to everyone.
China's pollution would be a deal-breaker for me on that front.
Age. I'm ever grateful to Korea for taking me in as an older teacher & giving me a chance, back when. Thats harder almost everywhere now.
I'd say follow your cultural interests, the promise of reasonable returns, & gut instinct, wherever that might lead you, & best luck! |
schwa, you live in Sokcho, right? There are plenty of similar places in China where pollution is a non-issue. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:42 am Post subject: |
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| byrddogs wrote: |
schwa, you live in Sokcho, right? There are plenty of similar places in China where pollution is a non-issue. |
You're right, I really dont know that much about China's air outside alarming news reports. I know its a huge country & must have some smaller nice-air places.
Next step for me though, I think I'm looking at some south Pacific isle with balmy trade winds. |
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byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 4:22 am Post subject: |
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| schwa wrote: |
| byrddogs wrote: |
schwa, you live in Sokcho, right? There are plenty of similar places in China where pollution is a non-issue. |
You're right, I really dont know that much about China's air outside alarming news reports. I know its a huge country & must have some smaller nice-air places.
Next step for me though, I think I'm looking at some south Pacific isle with balmy trade winds. |
The alarming reports you read are just cause for being reluctant to consider here. I will only stay in Shanghai until I've saved enough bank to move on with the wife. In all honesty though, other than this past year where the aqi got to absurdly bad levels, I've not noticed much difference between here and Seoul.
I'm with you on the South Pacific thing. If only I can convince the wife of that. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 3:59 am Post subject: |
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I visited Shanghai a few times for work now, Beijing as well. The pollution level there is pretty bad. With kids, I would hesitate to live there long term (over a year or two).
As for "starting over" I have no idea where I would go. Hong Kong would be on my list for sure, as would Vietnam. |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:27 am Post subject: |
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| I think that unless Korea finds a new growth engine (and many thought it could be biotech then Hwang You-suck got busted as a fraud), it will face inevitable decline and thus opps for teachers will, too. And despite the improvements made over the years, many expats say they don't feel welcome in Korea, and that could really bite Korea in the butt over the long term. You'd think that things would get easier in a country the longer you are there, and I don't see that at all in Korea. |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Yaya wrote: |
| You'd think that things would get easier in a country the longer you are there, and I don't see that at all in Korea. |
Interesting you say that. I find my life easier (jobs, apartments, food, etc.), but I don't find it any easier to integrate with the locals. I'd say in 10 years here I've had 2 or 3 real Korean friends. (Defining real as "would lend you money", and "you've been to their house several times.") I've probably had hundreds of Korea acquaintances, and some of them for years, but that's how they stay - friendships don't develop. |
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DosEquisXX
Joined: 04 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:10 am Post subject: |
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Nah. I compare what it's like now (according to you guys) to what it was when I was there and the glory days are done. Unless a person is interested in specifically South Korea and has no interest going to any other country, then fine. But the amount of hoops you have to jump through to get a position is too much to deal with.
| byrddogs wrote: |
schwa, you live in Sokcho, right? There are plenty of similar places in China where pollution is a non-issue. |
No. I taught there for 3 years and it's an issue pretty much everywhere. Exceptions would be Hainan Province (which is an extremely small province in the southeast of China) and Tibet and I have never heard of people teaching English in Tibet.
I would definitely recommend China over South Korea. The only pain is to have to go through the same paperwork process every year to get your visa and work permit. Get a uni job and some part-time work on the side and you'll have a lifestyle resembling that of South Korea. If integration is a concern, you'll have just as difficult a time integrating there than you did in SK. The main difference in that area is that there's far less animosity towards foreigners. I had way, way more Chinese than Korean friends. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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| schwa wrote: |
If I were starting over today, I'd be drawn to #1 on that list. Malaysia is nice! I visited Borneo last year. Their new public school program for foreign teachers looks to be offering a decent wage. Teaching in smaller outlying communities appeals to me, but it wouldnt to everyone.
China's pollution would be a deal-breaker for me on that front.
Age. I'm ever grateful to Korea for taking me in as an older teacher & giving me a chance, back when. Thats harder almost everywhere now.
I'd say follow your cultural interests, the promise of reasonable returns, & gut instinct, wherever that might lead you, & best luck! |
Knew of a guy who did something there (Malaysia). But he was always cryptic in his answers. Odd fellow. He had a TESOL but never seemed to know how to teach and was always asking me for advice.
Is this the same thing? Experience, TESOL? Anything else needed to go there? |
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byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 1:13 am Post subject: |
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| DosEquisXX wrote: |
| byrddogs wrote: |
schwa, you live in Sokcho, right? There are plenty of similar places in China where pollution is a non-issue. |
No. I taught there for 3 years and it's an issue pretty much everywhere. Exceptions would be Hainan Province (which is an extremely small province in the southeast of China) and Tibet and I have never heard of people teaching English in Tibet. |
Here is a reference for least polluted cities in China (mostly along the SE coast as mentioned) from about a year ago with some equivalents to US cities. Pollution is certainly a problem overall, but it seems that there are some places that it is reasonable at least. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 3:12 am Post subject: |
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| Weigookin74 wrote: |
Knew of a guy who did something there (Malaysia). But he was always cryptic in his answers. Odd fellow. He had a TESOL but never seemed to know how to teach and was always asking me for advice.
Is this the same thing? Experience, TESOL? Anything else needed to go there? |
The article linked above doesnt really detail req's & your questions made me curious so I checked: fluent speaker (from any country), BA, celta or trinity cert, 2 years experience teaching primary grades, crc. For that program anyway.
So its definitely not for gap-year travelers or beginners. I wouldnt have qualified. |
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fosterman
Joined: 16 Nov 2011
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:28 am Post subject: |
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Korea = hotel California.
you know it's true. |
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Stain
Joined: 08 Jan 2014
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| fosterman wrote: |
Korea = hotel California.
you know it's true. |
I think so, especially the part about checking out but you can never leave. Another song that I think fits is Holiday in Cambodia. |
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