Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Summer Wine]

To those long timers who have gone home, I have a question as to what they found most difficult about moving back into your country?

What was the approximate cost to you of getting a place to live? Finding a new job? and purchasing all that you needed to begin your life a new back home?

How long did it take you to find work? How much time did you allocate yourself to just getting used to being back home before re-entering the job market?

I am going home after a number of years in Korea and apart from expecting culture shock with going back, I am curious as to how difficult or costly it was for those long termers to get back into the groove back home.

[Summer Wine]

A few views, but no answers to my questions. I guess those who have gone home dont visit this site as often as many people accuse them of.

Anyway, if anyone does have any information on difficulties encountered going back home after time in Korea, I would like a heads up. Especially those from down under or the UK.

[xingyiman]

[creeper1]

Well you are the impatient one.
You only gave a few minutes and then jump to the conclusion that no-one answers your thread.

In UK (Glasgow anyway) the culture shock is one of seeing so many fat people, people that smell, chavs aka neds, knowing it's not safe to walk the street at night and high, high prices.

Work wise, how does working in a fast food restaurant asking ppl what kind of burger they want sound?

[Summer Wine]

Quote:

Work wise, how does working in a fast food restaurant asking ppl what kind of burger they want sound?

Sounds great. How much are you offering?

Also depends on what fast food restaurant it is and what are the long term benefits.

[Tiger Beer]

I went back twice.

Once to New York City. That was great, all the cool stuff I lived about Seoul, but a large mix of significiantly different people. Found a job quickly and was well-paid as well. Since they have great public transportation, I didn't have to get a car or have any large initial expenses. Easy transition, and I stayed there for 2 1/2 years.

Second time I moved back and went to San Francisco. Unlike NYC, the public transporation sucked, and everything was overpriced. The city of SF discourages cars, but has few viable other options, so when I wasn't constantly paying for overpriced parking, I was getting my car quickly towed for the many meters that only had short-time parking. Most of my time was spent looking for parking, and worrying about it expiring. The job market at that time was a mess, just post 9-11, and everyone was overqualified for everything. I lasted about about a year, and said this was enough, I gotta get out-of-debt from this debacle of moving 'back home'.

In short, New York City was a BREEZE, San Francisco was NOT. I think SF didn't work because public transportation sucks and they discourage cars. I really think you have to be in one or the other. Either a NYC or Chicago where public transportation works! Or you gotta go to a car-oriented city and can park and use free parking lots everywhere and a much cheaper cost-of-living for rent, etc.

[Jandar]

I'm going back in March.

I've been here 2 years.

I expect when I get home I'll be able to stand up in my shower,
there will be heat in my bathroom,
my butt will not get frozen to the toilet seat.

Seriously, my adjustment should go well.
I own my own home (no mortgage) in Florida.
I expect to be accepted onto the Substitute Teacher
roster in my home county.
I will be studying for Certification in Florida.

If this doesn't work out I'll be posting details here.

[moosehead]

I was home for about 3 months a couple of years ago.

interestingly, the hardest thing for me to adapt to was counting money - I just couldn't get used to seeing American dollars again - and the coins - it was also kinda hard because I'd traveled for about 2 months after leaving K - to various countries -and so was still converting in my mind even tho I didn't have to any more.

people thought I was stupid or something because I'd be holding up the line while I counted out my change - sometimes alittle slowly. then I'd hand it to the clerk and apologize saying I'd been living overseas for a while - they'd start asking questions and they always thought I was in the military for some reason. hmmm, never figured that one out.

anyway, it'll be good to get home - wait and see. I'm looking forward to it myself, in about 5 months now

[moosehead]

[Gimpokid]

[Gimpokid]

[Tiger Beer]

[Yaya]

[teachteach]

I decided to by-pass the job market and go back to school. Got my pilot ratings and settled into a low-paying yet extremely satisfying second officer job.

[soviet_man]

I can't understand the attaction of anyone wanting to live in a western country (any of them) - unless it is for strictly family reasons.

There is little incentive to go back to a country in recession, where you will have to be a mortgage slave for 30+ years to pay off a pile of overpriced bricks and concrete, be slugged huge taxes, be gouged on gas, have to protect your home with iron bars on every window, probably have insuffient healthcare, and labor away for the next 5 decades under increasingly poor workplace laws.

So it is not just "culture shock" >>> it will be the shock of living in a society that just doesn't "get" human/social capital.

The best case scenario is go home, buy an investment property, positively-gear it, rent it out, then return overseas.