Q1. Where did you move to and when?

I worked in Korea for three months over the summer of 2012, as a test prep instructor, and am now in a second-tier city not far from Shanghai in China. I came here one month ago.

Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?

6 months, from November 2011 to May 2012.

Q3. What was your main reason for moving?

I wanted to work with students planning on studying in the US or Europe, and there are far more schools catering to these students in China and Korea.

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

(1) Pay is about 65,000 baht per month, and a nice apartment is included.
(2) Students have a different kind of motivation - most of them are enthusiastic about preparing for overseas study - which I am able to cater to.
(3) I find the expats here a bit more like "normal" people from back home, easier to befriend and so forth.
(4) I have also found it easier to make local friends who have connections with western countries, such as having studied in the west or planning to move there. It is easier to make good friends with people who are familiar with both the eastern and western mindsets.

Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?

(1) Life in semi-rural Thailand is, as you'd expect, definitely more easy-going than life in a Chinese metropolis.
(2) The sense that, in Thailand, everything is provided for, and there is nothing to stress about. There's always good food, always work available, etc. I think of the country as "the temple" since it seems like it's very focused in the present moment, rather in the past or future.
The Chinese, in contrast, have developed a more hardcore and driven mindset as a result of the various famines, invasions, etc., they've experienced over the past century.

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

You can get a good taste of the Asian educational system in either country. China and Korea both have substantial numbers of students that are planning to study in the west for university, and jobs working with these students can be rewarding both emotionally and financially. You won't find as many students planning to do this in Thailand, but the students there also can be rewarding to work with.

Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?

Yes, I have friends I want to see in Isaan, North Thailand, Bangkok, and South Thailand.

Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?

Be prepared to accept the fact that the Thais (and the Chinese, and the Koreans, and presumably all Asians) have a good idea about how their country - and its education system - should be run. Just focus on helping individual students out, and you'll have a much nicer time.