Q1. Where did you move to and when?

I recently moved to Seoul in Korea. I've been here about a month.

Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?

I worked there for six years and still can't believe I was there that long. I worked at four different secondary schools (both private and government) I dabbled in corporate work from time to time and I also taught the children of the police chief inspector who lived on my soi.

Q3. What was your main reason for moving?

Truth be told I had had enough of Thailand after two years. I worked with a lot of teaching colleagues who all seemed to become burned out after a couple of years. There's definitely something significant about that number.

So why stay on for another four years if the honeymoon period was over I hear you ask? My answer is I don't know. I think it was a fear of moving on and going into the unknown. You develop a 'better the devil you know' attitude. You become, for want of a better word, 'trapped'.

I had long given up hope of ever finding a 'great' job in Thailand. I would often start a new job at a new school and everything would be fine for the first few months and I'd be lulled into a false sense of security. Then there would be a change in personnel and in comes someone whose sole purpose is to make the foreign teachers lives a misery. I worked with some appalling management staff during my time in Thailand - and the foreigners can be every bit as bad as the Thais.

I must say though that I also worked with some very talented and dedicated foreign teachers - teachers who were always willing to go that extra mile for their students. I often wondered what they were doing in Thailand working for such low salaries when to me they deserved far better.

Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?

I haven't figured things out yet because I haven't been here long enough but I've been to Seoul several times before and really like the city. I also have a good friend who I've known since schooldays who has lived and worked here several years. He really knows the ropes. It's always useful to have a good contact like that when you move to a new country and he's helped me out so much.

It was my friend who put in a good word for me at the language school he works at and they offered me a job without even as much as a Skype interview. I'm earning the equivalent of about 50,000 baht a month at the moment and the school also pays my accommodation costs. It's not a fortune but it'll do for now while I get settled.

The students can be hard work: they're not the most imaginative bunch - but they're friendly enough and seem to respect foreign teachers.

Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?

I miss the overall friendliness of the place, especially in the apartment building I used to live in. I would come home from work and always spend half an hour chatting with the various Thais and foreign expats in the communal area in front of the building. I always found it such a nice way to end the day. Very often we'd share a beer or two and a little food. In the apartment building I live in now, no one talks to each other. They either just sort of scowl at me or bow their heads to avoid eye contact. I've tried saying hello or greeting the neigbours with a cheery good morning in Korean (one of the few phrases I've learned) but it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere.

Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?

Well, I think it's a very easy place to find work as long as you have a degree and a TEFL certificate. You certainly don't need to have any experience and sad to say, it doesn't even matter if you aren't that great as a teacher. I think an awful lot of foreigners teach English purely because it's the only work they can get. They certainly aren't in the classroom for the love of it.

Another reason Thailand is a good first choice for the young TEFLer is the low start-up costs. You only need about 100,000 baht as a safety net to cover your first couple of months.

Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?

I can't think of one good reason I would want to return but ask me again in a year or so and perhaps my perception may have changed.

Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?

It's a big world out there for the qualified English teacher. As soon as the novelty of being in one particular country wears off - and I mean wears off to the point of feeling like you can't bear being there another day - pack your suitcase and move on. Life is too short to be miserable in one place. The world is your oyster! I'm giving serious thought to South America when and if my Korean adventure comes to an end.