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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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Well for me, it's not the  factor, (although I can't say that has no bearing on things) it's my ability to save money here.
I can't think of any job in Canada where I would be able to save $10,000
Can. over the course of a year.
Sure, I could earn more............but I am pretty sure I would be spending more than half of what I earned on expenses. |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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Sure.
The grass is always greener... yadda yadda yadda.
I saved a whack of cash in Korea, but in Canada I have things I could never have there (house with a garage, biking to work [in a relatively safe manner], camping trips, a car but more importantly places to go with it- it seems like anyone with a car in Korea is either looking for a place to park, or stuck in traffic, or paying tolls, or some combination).
Korea's good for making cash and I wouldn't tell anyone to who is happy there that they shouldn't be there... but on the other hand the whole "I'm only in Korea because I'm an economic exile from Canada" attitude that some people seem to cop is a bit of a crock, IMO. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Bulsajo wrote: |
Sure.
The grass is always greener... yadda yadda yadda.
I saved a whack of cash in Korea, but in Canada I have things I could never have there (house with a garage, biking to work [in a relatively safe manner], camping trips, a car but more importantly places to go with it- it seems like anyone with a car in Korea is either looking for a place to park, or stuck in traffic, or paying tolls, or some combination).
Korea's good for making cash and I wouldn't tell anyone to who is happy there that they shouldn't be there... but on the other hand the whole "I'm only in Korea because I'm an economic exile from Canada" attitude that some people seem to cop is a bit of a crock, IMO. |
Yes. Unless one plans to be a lifer, one is going to have to eventually go back to Canada and find a real job. ESL teaching isn't quite the hand over fist money maker in Canada as it is in Korea. One should cast a mind to "what the hell am I gonna do in Canada?" Being young, getting your foot in the door during a tight labor market, being given skill building jobs you might not be given in a recession can seriously have a profound effect on your future earning potential. |
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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:06 am Post subject: |
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It is and it isn't. It all depends on who you are, what skills you have, what part of Canada you are willing to live in, age etc.
If I were under 30, I would have no qualms about going back and starting again. But being middle age.....it's not all it's cracked up to be.
6 years ago when I got into this "profession", it was far easier for me to move to Korea (and more lucrative) than to move to Calagary or Edmonton...and then try and figure out what I should do with the rest of my life. And I imagine that is still true for many. |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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If you want to use age as an excuse, you'll find that you're either too old or too young for just about anything.
For the record I went to Korea when I was 28 and stayed for 5&1/2 years.
If you're happy in Korea, that's great.
If you're not, well, don't let the economy or your age hold you back... |
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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 1:02 am Post subject: |
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I am happier now than I was the first couple of years. I still think about returning someday, but I want to be sure that I have a wad o' cash and some kind of plan before that happens.
But then I also toss around the question , Why go back at all?
There's a whole world out here. Why should I "have to" return someday?
Of course, I still like to visit. |
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Hyalucent
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: British North America
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 7:42 am Post subject: |
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| some waygug-in wrote: |
But then I also toss around the question , Why go back at all?
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Two factors made me go back.
First, I figured that the girlfriend would fit into Canadian society better than I could hope to integrate into Korean society. I can never be truly Korean but she could be Canadian. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong.
The second was age. It seems the jobs in ESL might swarm around you when you're young, but once the grey hair starts taking over, you're less marketable. You can make lots of savings for the time-being but for how long? Even if the market stays hot, you may not.
Now with that said, yes, I've gotten back in my old industry, but the economy is such that I'm not saving anything. It's month to month. Am I better off? I just don't know.
The price of everything has gone up in the time I've been away too. Housing values in the city I want to live in have tripled since I left. Everything else, from phone to electricity often have the same rate BUT they've added service charges for almost everything so in real terms, there has been massive rises in the cost of living.
Car insurance was the big shock. I have a perfect driving record, having driven almost half my life now. Before I left, I was paying $400 a year. When I returned, the first company I went to refused to cover me and the second set my rate at $1600 a year. Still no accidents, but they felt they could treat me like a new driver since I hadn't had a policy while I was overseas.
The economy is rotten and rats are struggling to nickel and dime the few of us working folk into the ground. Even in prosperous areas like Alberta, housing costs and taxes will eat into anything you manage to make as profit. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 8:41 am Post subject: |
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| some waygug-in wrote: |
For those of you who are proclaiming the vast untapped opportunities which must surely now be available in the Canadian job market (and I'm not saying that there aren't any), I have one question for you:
Why are you not boarding the next plane off to the great white north yourself?
That's what I thought. |
I'm out next Monday.
Korea is fine to save a little cash and pay down (or off!) your debt. I'm leaving debt free with healthy savings. Korea has been a financial miracle for me, and many people like me (liberal arts graduates).
But, the Canuck economy will be hard for someone with a BA in the liberal arts. When I first graduated I really thought that I just had to send out a few resumes and bang(!) life long employment. How silly of me.
Instead, if we want to go home we have essentially 3 options. 1) get a quantitative degree (my plan) and/or professional qualification. 2) go to trade school. 3) start your own business. A close friend of mine went home after a year in Korea and opened a Subway in Medicine Hat. He has since added an M&M Meats franchise too. He has a BA in English Lit.
If you work hard, apply for jobs every week (even when employed) and network you will get a gig that pays you 50k/year, or thereabouts. And you will live very nicely in many Canadian cities with that level of income. You will have to limit your consumption and pinch pennies more than most of us do in Korea, but it isn't impossible. And gawddamn, it is a beautiful, wonderful place. |
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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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[quote: BJWD wrote:]
I'm out next Monday.
Korea is fine to save a little cash and pay down (or off!) your debt. I'm leaving debt free with healthy savings. Korea has been a financial miracle for me, and many people like me (liberal arts graduates).
But, the Canuck economy will be hard for someone with a BA in the liberal arts. When I first graduated I really thought that I just had to send out a few resumes and bang(!) life long employment. How silly of me.
Instead, if we want to go home we have essentially 3 options. 1) get a quantitative degree (my plan) and/or professional qualification. 2) go to trade school. 3) start your own business. A close friend of mine went home after a year in Korea and opened a Subway in Medicine Hat. He has since added an M&M Meats franchise too. He has a BA in English Lit.
If you work hard, apply for jobs every week (even when employed) and network you will get a gig that pays you 50k/year, or thereabouts. And you will live very nicely in many Canadian cities with that level of income. You will have to limit your consumption and pinch pennies more than most of us do in Korea, but it isn't impossible. And gawddamn, it is a beautiful, wonderful place.[/quote]
I agree with most of your post, except the part where you claim that "you will" get a gig that pays 50k/year. I know plenty of Canadians making
30k or less who would dissagree with you. ( and more than half of them are closer to 20k than thirty) I'm sure this is possible in larger centers, but certainly not everywhere.
And how many years of crap jobs would you have to do before you find that "decent job"?
Almost everyone I knew back home was still trying to find it. |
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