Q1. Where did you move to and when?

I moved back to the US (California) in May 2012.

Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?

The second term of 2010 - 11 school year and the entire 2011-12 school year.

Q3. What was your main reason for moving?

Most of my reasons for moving back were ill-conceived. I had a lot of rationales for returning but only two of them have ended up making sense. Those two things are completing / renewing my expired teaching credential (still waiting for that to get processed) and to spend some quality time with my elderly mother. I also thought I would get a good job and save money, because as many people describing their experiences here have said, there is no way to save money in Thailand (unless you get into a good international school). But I can't find work here, the economy in CA sucks. I thought I missed the States but that ended up not being the case. I arrived at SFO and immediately got the blues.

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

Well, if you get a good job, you can save money here. I have not begun teaching here yet, so I can't currently compare teaching here to teaching in Thailand. Although, I do have experience teaching in CA, it was a long time ago. Presently, I only qualify to be an assistant teacher and these jobs pay extremely low wages and have short hours. The US respects teachers even less than Thailand.

Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?

I miss real Thai massage ($60 per hour in the US), Thai street food, my friends - both farrang and Thai, the happy spirit of the Thai people, speaking Thai, Molam music, photographing the streets and urban landscapes, beautiful and friendly women, food, food, food, and did I mention food? Oh, and clothes that fit me (I am small). I generally speaking miss shopping in Thailand...funny cause I always hated shopping in America..

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

Well, I would ditto most of the comments / answers to this question I have read: Thailand is great for getting experience, but at some point it is probably better to move on. Thailand is great for experimenting and trying new techniques. I would say this, and I haven't seen this in any of the other comments: you are very lucky if you are working in a school that hasn't set you up to lose. Period. It is that bad. If you succeed, you make them look bad. The English teachers at the larger institutions, like my last high school, are set in their ways (and those ways are not good for the students), mostly unfriendly (except the typical fake smiles crap) and will stab you in the back.

Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?

Yes, I love Thailand and I miss my friends and the country already. I just don't miss my last high school.

Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?

If you have a BA and are a native speaker of English, and your only goal is to teach for a year or so, do not take a TESOL class. You will not make enough in Thailand to justify the cost. If you care about being a quality teacher and want to teach in the long term, ok. But you can learn good techniques and methodology by observing competent teachers, reading and just plain experience.