Are you a teacher who once taught in Thailand but decided to seek out pastures new? Has the grass been greener on the other side? Maybe you swapped Thailand for the financial lure of Japan or Korea? Read about those who have left Thailand, and their reasons for moving...
James
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to a small town just outside of Rome, Italy in January 2016
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I was there for two and a half years. I moved there in May 2013.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
After a while I just got sick and tired of Thailand. I grew bored and disillusioned with the place and knew that it just wasn't for me. I hated the local food and ended up spending most of my salary on imitation-western food in the mall.
The culture and the people were too different for me and I got sick to death of being stared at and always called "farang" even though I learned the language and tried my best to assimilate. I would forever be an outsider looking in.
Even after I married my wife, I still felt I couldn't settle there with the ever worsening visa requirements, laws on property/business ownership and the fact that after two and a half years there I could never earn enough to save for our future and we always broke even every month. It's an alright place to go if you are free and single for a gap year but realistically once you are married and want to start a family, Thailand is not a good place to do it.
My wife also hates Thailand (and she's Thai) and I thought it was better to leave now while I'm still in my 20's to bring my wife to a western country and start our life here than stay there till I'm old, bitter and too out of touch with "farangland" to move back.
I didn't see the point in spending my life, living, working and contributing to society in a country that obviously didn't want me to be there.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
It's Italy! Me and my wife can do any job we want and buy a home even though we aren't from here. The culture is leaps and bounds better for me than Thailand, and the food is out of this world! We are just a short way from Rome where we can see all the iconic sights and attractions, My wife is artistic and is always finding inspiration for her hobby too. It's an instagrammer's paradise. We can walk pretty much anywhere we need to from our apartment without worrying about broken pavements, overhanging electrical cables and soi dogs and we both feel much healthier than we did in Thailand.
Being British, I can live and work in Italy without a visa or work permit (at least for now!), no 90 day check ins and it was much easier to bring my wife here than it would be the UK. Being dark haired, brown eyed and reasonably tanned, I blend in perfectly and there is none of the staring and harassment that I would face on a daily basis in Thailand and we have both surprisingly found Italians to be way more polite than Thais. It's also just a short Ryanair flight from home.
Outside of a few weeks in the winter time, its almost always great weather in Rome, being further up the hills, it's slightly cooler than the city and only really gets Thailand-esque heat for a few weeks in midsummer. It's great being able to chill out in a cafe on a sunny day, watching the world go by.
At school, my classes are smaller and the students are much more respectful and motivated to learn English. I only teach classes of 10 maximum, most of which are middle and high school age. They are inquisitive and always want to learn more. Much different to a room of 40 running, screaming pratom 1 kids or lazy, uninterested Mattayoms like I used to teach. I still have nightmares about their screams....
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
It's been a bit more difficult for my wife than it has me since she still doesn't speak Italian and is nannying for a family while back in Thailand she had quite a good job. She also gets homesick and misses her family but knows the move is for the best.
Life in Thailand is much more laid back and simple than Italy. It seems like there's red tape for just about anything here and everything seems to take such a long time to do. It's far more expensive here too. For example, if I still had a moped and wanted to fix something on it, I would have to schedule an appointment, take all my documents to a licensed mechanic and spend a small fortune whereas in Thailand the same job took ten minutes and a couple of hundred baht. Also, away from school, most of the Italians near me don't speak English and it's been quite hard to make friends other than a couple of teachers at school.
The schoolwork is more stressful than Thailand (where you can just stand in front of a class and teach anything "teacherrr very good!!". There's a lot of pressure with organisation, meeting deadlines and the students seem to be more anxious too. The classes are also much more grammar based and I hate teaching grammar. It can be really hard to teach without the classes getting boring. I always seem to have some superior breathing down my neck and checking the t's are crossed and i's are dotted on my lesson plans. Teaching in Thailand was much more laid back.
Winter also shocked us, especially my wife coming from the tropics. It doesn't snow like the UK but it rains a lot and the apartments in Italy are old and drafty. Luckily, it's relatively short lived and the rest of the year is glorious.
I miss being able to laze on a sunny, tropical beach in January, visiting islands and renting my large, modern apartment with pool/gym for the price of a shoe-box in Rome.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Definitely go for it, it is a really good experience and even though I personally grew very jaded, I certainly wouldn't tell anyone else not to go and give it a go.
It's great for a gap year traveller, career-breaker or someone starting out in ESL, but if you are a serious teacher, it would probably be a frustrating step backwards and Korea/China might be more up your street. The lifestyle makes up for it though.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Possibly for a vacation. My wife will definitely want to visit family someday, but for now there's so much to see and do in Europe that we aren't thinking about going to Thailand again. We definitely won't move back either way.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
No.
Gregory
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.
James
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
In 2007, I returned to Vancouver, Canada, where I was born.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Around seven years, so that means I worked in Thailand from 1999 to 2006.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I developed a voice problem that stemmed from overuse, a common affliction among teachers. I could barely speak, so teaching was no longer an option.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Honestly, if I had not had a voice problem, I never would have left Thailand, which still feels more like home to me than Canada. There are advantages and disadvantages wherever you find yourself living. For me, there were more advantages to life in Thailand: easy-going work ethic and camaraderie with my Thai colleagues, inexpensive cost of living (Vancouver is presently insane in regard to buying a home let alone renting an apartment. I was paying rent of $120 in Bangkok for a condo that I loved) and overall quality of life.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The daily adventures every time I stepped outside, green mini-buses, Klong Saen Saep canal boats, Chao Praya River Express boats, Roti Mataba, Riverview Guesthouse, strolling through Wat Pho after midnight, inexpensive movies, delicious and cheap street food, swimming outdoors all year (except when the temperature dropped below 28 degrees), the smiles, my Thai friends . . . the list is endless, and I've only mentioned the things I miss about Bangkok.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
If you have a desire to teach, try Thailand and see if it works for you and not against you. I had a marvelous experience teaching in Bangkok, where most of my students were hard-working adults who studied English one or more nights a week. I had—and still have—so much admiration for them. As demanding as teaching is, it gave me incredible job satisfaction.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Absolutely. Actually, I have been back for many visits since leaving in 2007. My plan is to live there again in the not-too-distant future.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
The truth is, Thailand was my great escape, not coming back to Canada. It's the only place where I truly felt at home even though I was a foreigner (farang) and always would be. Somehow, this suited me far more than feeling like a foreigner in the land of my birth.
Alan
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back home to Texas - USA, in October 2015
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Four years
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Salary, be closer to family and friends, not getting trapped in an endless cycle of saying "one more year" like so many others do. I wanted to be employable when I finished teaching in Thailand. The longer you stay, the harder it is to get a "real" job.
While in Thailand, I found it odd that foreign teachers love to speak negatively about their own countries - about how hard people work, how tied down they are with commitments, etc. It is generally not true at all. They are merely finding ways to reinforce and justify their reasoning for staying in Thailand too long.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Salary is the main advantage. Also, I felt I was capable of doing a lot more with my education and skill set. I could not tell you how many smart, overqualified but underpaid English teachers I worked with over the years.
I worked hard for my finance degree. It was a huge investment of both my time and money, and I cannot imagine "putting it to waste" any longer while being an English teacher in Thailand. Sure, the critics and die-hards will defend Thailand salaries endlessly - saying they make enough and even save money, and some teachers certainly do well with their CELTA or PGCE and work at reputable international schools, etc., but for the majority of foreign teachers in Thailand, this is not the case.
Also, life in America is less stressful (surprise). I might have been done working by 4:00pm in Thailand everyday, but my day started by waking up at 5:15am. So I ended up working significantly more hours in Thailand than I currently do in the USA.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The students I worked with were wonderful. They were motivated and driven, and had a great attitude. This might not be the experience with other teachers, but it depends on the age of the students, and the school, etc.
Here is a list of some specific things I miss the most - nothing major here. Just some little things that come to mind:
Seafood in Chinatown, the Mae Hong Son motorbiking loop, learning the Thai language, cheap transport, Thai music, Thai movies (funny stuff), making Thai friends, 150b massages, biking in Ban Kracaho, Ban Nam Peung market, Lumphini Park, and just general local stuff.
Don't miss:
Working with self-centered a-holes who always talk about how much they hate their jobs but can't seem to find the courage to quit and move on. Also, the lunatics that would constantly want to go to places like Climax, Cheap Charlies, Khao San Road, or the ones who could always be found outside of 7-11 drinking big bottles of Chang or Leo on the sidewalk. Also, don't miss seeing and interacting with the thousands of worn-down, confused expats that reside in Thailand for no legitimate reason.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I would recommend teaching in Thailand only if you fall into one of these categories:
1) Younger than 25, want to try something different. Commit to 1-2 years as a teacher in Thailand, but have a plan to leave after that and stick to it no matter what.
2) Younger than 25, want to be a teacher as a profession.
Not saying that people older than 25 shouldn't come here, but your reasons should be good if you do.
If you are looking for a party, you will find it, but will lose a lot in the process. If you are looking for love, you might find it, but will likely be dragged into a complicated scenario in which you alter your life plans.
Lots of people in Thailand would say "just one more year" and end up saying the same line again and again. It must be like a drug for them.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Probably not. I have visited everywhere within the country I wanted to, and seen and experienced enough. There are literally dozens of other places I want to visit (not live) on my list.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Most teachers I worked with had issues. They were in Thailand teaching English because of personal reasons. Perhaps they could not gain meaningful employment in their own country (hard to believe, but lots of teachers would say this) or perhaps they felt a need to explore/travel/see the world.
Several teachers I knew did not keep in touch often with their families, and seemed to have no meaningful relationships back home with friends. In other words, Thailand seemed to be full of people with social issues, and a lot of the people I worked with were sleep-deprived, alcohol-driven individuals who couldn't care less about the job they were doing, and only focused on getting to the weekend and unloading their pitiful salaries at the latest club or UK pub.
Teaching is a very personal profession, and a teacher can have a profound impact on a student's life. Please don't come to Thailand if you don't plan on taking the job seriously.
Bob
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Back to England in December 2013
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Just over two years in total
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
A couple of things. I felt the need to "get on with life" a bit if you know what I mean. So I guess the main reason was to do the PGCE and make myself employable in my home country. It was a certainly a tough call to walk away when we did as my fiancée and I had good jobs and the lifestyle was more than comfortable. But we knew lots of people who had said "one more year" again and again and stayed over a decade so we knew we had to strict with ourselves!
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I currently work in an FE College in England after qualifying and I enjoy it for many reasons. I think feeling more like a valued member of staff (and society in general) is a big advantage. I was always treated well in my Thai school but you were always the "farang" on the periphery really. Also I feel like I learn a lot from colleagues here and think that I'm gaining the right kind of experience for the future.
Health and safety actually exists here, plus old friends and family are nice to be around.
Cheap holidays in Europe become an option which we've made the most of since being back.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Many things. I suppose the students firstly; they were the stars and made your job/life enjoyable. Fun and friendly and couldn't misbehave (by English standards) if they tried.
The affordability of transport, food, holidays, condos etc. was a really great thing. With a half decent salary you can live very well in Thailand.
I also miss the excitement of living in an exotic place and learning the language.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I think Thailand is a great place to start a career teaching English. I would advise do a CELTA - even if you don't need it to get a job in Thailand - because it will be recognised in the UK and internationally. Plus I think it's actually really good for your teaching.
My main advice would be to keep getting qualified and don't sit on your comfortable job for too long. If you're going to stay in Thailand then get a PGCE and go for an international school. Otherwise just get out after a few years and get on with your life as you once planned! It may seem hard to walk away from but once you take the Thailand "needle out of the vein" you soon realise that your home country isn't too bad. Plus, with the right qualifications, there's a world of opportunity out there if you want to work abroad again.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I'm a big fan of Thailand so I'd say that I will pass that way at some point. No immediate plans but I wouldn't ever say no to a few weeks on Koh Chang!
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Thailand was very good to us and really opened my eyes to the world. Certainly a life changing few years. It should be a great experience but if it's getting old, then leave and be happy!
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