Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Nester Noodlemon]

[giraffe]

[Yaya]

Who knows what the future holds for Korea but given the low birth rate, humdrum economic prospects like a lackluster job market, high education costs and low growth, it ain't looking promising.

[PRagic]

We keep our options open. With a tenure track job here, we have a plan that would take us through to my retirement. Work here is great and my wife retired early in her mid-40s so we can afford some flexibility.

Either pick up a home for vacations and sabbaticals somewhere warm in the US, or spend the odd few months a year on a beach in SE Asia and base out of Korea. If an opportunity comes up somewhere we'd both like to live and the job looks interesting? Maybe then make a move.

But for the post retirement years, we've already decided that we won't be living in Korea. I think the only thing that would change that would be a monster housing bubble pop. If we were to pick up a great place here somewhere we really liked, then why not hang out? Well, aside from the cost of groceries.

Hmmmm. That 'why not' would be the health care/insurance/pricing system here. Great for a cough or a skin condition, but if you ever need anything serious done, while top notch in terms of practice, it'll bleed your savings dry. And that's even if you share your room with 5 other patients. Keeping my fingers crossed we won't see that day, but, yikes, not something you want to deal with long term.

[Joe Boxer]

[PatrickGHBusan]

PRagic is right about medical costs. It has to be something you plan for or think of down the line!

[Yaya]

Well, the U.S. is hardly a model of affordable healthcare.