Q1. Where did you move to and when?

I moved to UAE about 6 years ago for the salary and stayed there one year. I then moved to China for two years, Afghanistan and then back to China. I have been here in China (Same university as I was at four years ago) and love it.

Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?

I worked in Surat, Bangkok, Khon Kaen and Chiang Rai for a total of about 7 years.

Q3. What was your main reason for moving?

All the main problems people list i.e., salary, the Thai BS that you have to put up with and the low quality of education. I must say that trying to save money in Thailand is difficult and owning a car and home is difficult with the red tape and low salaries. I also think that a salary of 40,000 baht/ month along with Thai teacher jealousy is a big pain.

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

Quality of education, salary, housing, flights, paid holidays (Three months) the RMB and the freedom from Thai bosses. Thailand is a great place to go if you want to start out and work for peanuts and accomplish nothing. It is for losers. The only step down is Cambodia. I have worked in 11 different countries and Thailand is the worst. I love the country and own a home there with a wife and kids but would have to see some big changes in order to come back to work.

I love Thailand as a place to live and I speak/read/write Thai but I am an educator and the skools just don't do it for me. I have worked at small countryside MEP's to universities but the quality is just not there and the incompetent/corrupt school admin/faculty/staff are hard to put up with.

Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?

Everything including the food, lifestyle, weather, beauty and corruption. Where else can you pay 10$ for a seeding ticket and have the co say "Thanks" after you bribe him? What other country can you have a student bring you gifts when they break up for a holiday?

I do not miss mandatory summer camps, meeting parents so they see my "white" face or the "class" system of Thailand. Thais are totally incapable of accepting the idea of human equality - as with most places - but they are some of the worst in the world. I also dislike the gender inequality in the Thailand workplace.

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

I advise everyone to stop working and show that if Thailand wants real educators, then they need to pay for them or hire non-native speakers for 20,000 baht /month. Let them suffer for a while and see how fast salaries and benefits go up. Any native speaker who works there supports their ability to take advantage of young or desperate teachers.

Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?

I go home twice a year for two months at a time - June 26 to Sept 1 and Dec 29 to March 1. Love my time there! I love driving by the old schools and seeing the new farangs standing outside at 8 a.m. getting rained on or baked in the sun!

Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?

Thailand is terrible and as long as you support the Thai system they are going to do what they want. Lets all have a general strike for one term and show them what native speakers require to come and STAY there.