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...
Brian
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to England in early January 2024
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I was there for about a year and a half and worked for three different agencies at three different schools in Bangkok or just outside Bangkok. It all just blends into one big city really.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I couldn't make teaching in Thailand work for me, not on 35-40K a month. I got tired of being messed around by teaching agencies and their empty promises and their inability to take care of their teachers. I was pretty much left to sink or swim at every school I worked at, and sort out the numerous problems myself. It wore me down until I decided enough was enough. And all the while, you're working out daily budgets to survive and to try and keep your sanity. I'm happy back in England but I bet my mental health took a battering over there.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
England is home! I just needed the Thailand experience to help me realise it. I'm amongst family and friends here. I'm earning a wage that I can live comfortably on.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I really miss the Thai friends I made at a couple of the schools. These were people who really did do their best to help me out whever I encountered a bad situation. Most of what Thailand offers a low-paid foreign teacher, I just tolerated.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Difficult to answer because although teaching in Thailand didn't suit me, it may well suit others. I always think it helps if you are something of a free spirit and have no real family ties back home.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I might come back for a holiday but I'm not exactly aching to return.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm sure there are some excellent teaching agencies out there but I never found one. I guess the more questionable companies prey on teachers like me who are short on qualifications but brimming with enthusiasm (at least in the early stages) Choose wisely who you work for if you go the agency route. Look for any reviews on-line and see if you can spot any red flags.
Anyone considering teaching in Thailand should not be fooled by its appeal, which can be experienced on a vacation there. The obvious beauty of the country makes a vacationing teacher imagine living there. But living and working there is a whole different ball game, as I imagine is the rule for anywhere abroad.
Goo
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to the UK in Feb 2023. It has been a rough time re-acclimatising to the UK. I am definitely suffering reverse culture shock. I am adjusting slowly, but the UK is not the same place i left all those years ago. People are very much more insular. Maybe it's me who's changed, but I don't feel the people of the UK are very open to different ideas.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I lived and worked in Thailand for 20 years. My first job was in Lat Phrao at English First. Then I moved to a nearby school on Lat Phrao 94. I stayed there for a year and moved on. I moved on from that experience because the school was, well, a bit of a magnet of all the waifs and strays of the TEFL world. I cut my teeth in the teaching game there, so I don't regret it, but the daily comedy show of the school, mostly from management, was enough.
I then moved to a far more organised school in Lat Phrao. After that (good) experience, I moved to an international school on Lat Phrao 101. That produced the most bizarre working experience of my life. The school was run by a religious (SDA) fanatic. We were subjected to calls from Jesus on the mobile phone and all kinds of other crazy religious stuff.
After that troubled 9 months, I moved to Korea because my girlfriend at the time moved there for work. I had a great year and a half in Korea then came back to Thailand to work at a university in Bangkok. I stayed at that university for 15 years until moving back to the UK.
Alongside all this teaching work, I also did quite a lot of writing work. I was a travel writer earning a decent income for a number of years. I mainly wrote about cycling in Southeast Asia and did guidebook work. My passion was cycling in the region.
I have cycled in most countries in Southeast Asia, including some quite remote places. In my time I cycled every province in Thailand, I cycled the Ho Chi Minh Trail, I found Pol Pot's resting place and got held at gunpoint in Laos, amongst other crazy, stupid things.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I moved to the UK for a number of reasons. I have a young son who I want to put into a decent(ish) education system. Also, my beloved job at the university in Bangkok was turning sour because of new management. My final reason was that Thailand really had become a little too stale for me. It had become just 'ordinary' and 'home'. There was nothing alarming in that per se, but I prefer a little challenge in my life.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Well, the main advantage is that everything kinda works in the UK. The UK education system is streets ahead of Thailand. The UK is a country of laws, whilst Thailand is a country of connections. I also work a 4-day week.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I miss just about everything about Thailand. I know that sounds a little strange, but I miss the bad stuff as well as the good stuff. I miss the people, I miss the weather, I miss the adventure. I miss the nightmare traffic in Bangkok, I miss the feeling of being out of my comfort zone.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Yes, definitely, go work in Thailand. It can be infuriating, it can be annoying, it can drive you insane, but it is a special place with a great many wonderful people and experiences. Just learn to ignore the crazy management of the institution you are working for.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Yes, I haven't cut ties with Thailand and own property in Bangkok and Jomtien. I will return regularly as I don't want my son to lose his Thai side. My wife is also Thai, so I think I'd end up in the divorce courts if I cut Thailand out of my life...I will return one day to work, I'm not sure when, but it will definitely happen.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm a bit of a nomad, I always have been. I don't ever hate anywhere I am living, but I do like a challenge. If I can, my life would be full of challenges. That was my driver for going to Thailand in the first place. Now I am back in the UK I am starting to think of my next adventure.
Cass
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to the UK in 2018. I intended to work in education but my teaching certificate from Thailand (University of Perpetual Help, Las Pinas) did not count for anything, so I became a teaching assistant. That was a tough move as I felt like I had to bite my tongue most days. Then covid hit.
Fortunately the school I worked for saw my potential and employed me as an unqualified teacher while I completed my on-the-job training. Being in my 30's, I found some of this process very patronising considering I have taught for 8 years and studied for one.
I am now fully qualified, finally.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I moved there in 2010 and worked in Sawangdaendin, in Sakon Nakorn for 6 months. I gained a TEFL with a company called 'Teach Abroad Thailand' and 'Media Kids' who secured the Essan placement. It was lovely there but very far away from everything. I Christmassed in Bangkok with other teachers from the same company and heard about amazing places they had travelled to. I decided after 6 months, I would go to Chiang Mai and search for a.position there.
Luckily, I bumped into a friend from the company who had a position in Lamphun: there was still one opening so I went for an interview.
I successfully worked there for one year however, in the meantime, I would spend many of my weekends in Pai, Mae Hong Son. I fell in love with that place so that, after a year, I decided to move there and approach the school. I did and was successful, I volunteered for.a term before moving back to the UK for winter in 2013.
I spent the Christmas with family but had always intended to move back to Thailand, in particular Pai. I had made many friends there, who I am still friends with today, and it felt to me like home. I approached the school again and they agreed to take me on. I was only receiving 10,000 baht a month at that point!
I stayed there for a further 5 years as well as helping out the local NGO project: Kwah Dao who supports Shan children in Pai. I developed my own curricula for Kwah Dao and the high school which is very etensive and has helped me in my qualification status here in the UK.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Unfortunately, my auntie was sick with lung cancer and I couldn't know what was going on, being so far away. I decided to move back to the UK to be close to family. It was a hard decision to make.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Now I work in a middle school in Dorset. There are many advantages and disagvantages: pay is considerably more but the cost of living is also; no language barrier; centralised planning - this can also be seen as a disadvantage as takes away the creativity; time and extra duties- unions fight for your extra time, however, I struggle to get everything done and work long hours.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Food!! Definitely food!! English quinine is very mundane. Luckily, my partner is a chef and loves Thai food, however, it still is not the same.
I miss the mai pen rai attitude. The welcoming feeling I got from everyone. I miss not being judged and the freedom of expression.
I miss the heat of the dry season. Living in Pai, it would.get chilly in the winter time so I experienced my fair share of chilly nights by a fire, with some Scandinavian friend traipsing off into the undergrowth to obtain more.wood to burn.
I miss being able to live where you pick; being able to afford it; not being held to ransom for everything.
I miss riding a motorbike, albeit a Honda Dream, I still miss that mentality of popping to the market and squeezing everything into the basket.
I miss the people. Even though we were from different countries, there was a strong sense of acceptance and friendship and that is something I do not experience in Dorset unfortunately.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Both. I would recommend someone to experience a different reality and to make their own minds up about which one they prefer.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I will return to Thailand in the future, but I feel obliged to stay close to family at the present moment.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Please contact me if you have any questions: cassandra.watters@gmail.com
Graham
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to teach in Hanoi, Vietnam in May 2023, so I've been here about half a year.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I taught at a school in Khorat for two years and then its partner school in Bangkok for a further two years.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I simply needed a change of scenery and felt as if life had got a bit too routine. I'd heard good things about teaching in Vietnam from a couple of ex-colleagues and they invited me over to join them. It wasn't a step into the complete unknown though because I had been to Vietnam a couple of times before. However, as we all know, living and working somewhere is entirely different to being a tourist.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I'm kind of in the honeymoon period so I'm still enjoying the change. Hanoi tends to be a bit cheaper than Bangkok in terms of everyday expenses like food and transportation, plus the school pays for my accommodation. I didn't have that luxury when I worked in Thailand. It's a lovely apartment as well.
Unlike my teaching gigs in Thailand, we have a lot of tech at our disposal in Vietnam and we use martboards, cool apps, and online tools to make lessons more engaging and fun. The school here is dialed in to help teachers grow, it encourages sharing and innovation, and has more resources. Not that the students really need 'entertaining' because they are far more motivated to learn than Thai students. That said, they aren't as much 'fun'.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Firstly, I made decent money in my job back in Europe so I have considerable savings behind me. I say this because if you can work in Thailand and not have to worry about money, you can focus purely on all the wonderful things Thailand has to offer and not get hung up on costs. I had an amazing four years there, I made some great friends, travelled around the country as much as I could and despite its downsides, I have so many positive and happy memories.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Everyone's situation is different. I'd advise anyone to teach for a year and see if they like it. Thailand is not for everyone and I worked with many teachers who tried to live a 60K a month lifestyle on a 35K salary. That's never going to work. Always live within your means.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Oh for sure! Thailand is where my heart is. As the days go by in Vietnam, I see more and more why Thailand has so much appeal.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
It's been said before in these surveys, but the teachers who fare the best in Thailand are the ones who go with the flow and don't let setbacks get to them. Your life in Thailand will be very different to the life you left behind. You have to embrace it.
Warren
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to Madrid, Spain at the end of last year, so I'm coming up to a full 12 months here. I'm not a teacher anymore though.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Just over three years. One year was spent in Chiang Mai engaged in TEFL activities followed by a couple of years in Chiang Rai involved in an EP program at a government school.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I didn't transition directly from Thailand to Spain. After exploring Southeast Asia sufficiently, I returned home for Christmas. My intention was to continue teaching English as a foreign language, and I was curious to see if securing a teaching position in Europe would be as straightforward as it was in Thailand. I ended up abandoning the teaching idea and went to work for a computer software company.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
The pay is obviously higher, but that's expected. Living costs and demands are higher here, so it kind of balances out. If I want to put away some cash, this place beats Thailand, but since I love traveling, stretching my salary has proven to be tougher. Back in Thailand, lots of places targeted expats and tourists, which got annoying. But here, it feels more like everyone's part of the same group, with no outsider vibe.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The people, for sure. I guess I got used to being in those northern towns where there were plenty of young westerners teaching and exploring. Thailand was definitely a breeze to live in; that's what everyone says, and there's a solid reason for that. Everything else—like the food, the weather, and the relaxed pace of life—was pretty fantastic too!
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
For a new, probably younger teacher, I'd recommend Thailand, especially up North in places like Chiang Mai. It's more geared towards the younger crowd. However, if you're aiming for a significant career step forward, unless you're a fully qualified teacher, Thailand might not offer the best opportunities. But if your focus is on lifestyle and overall quality of life, Thailand wins hands down every time.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I'd never rule it out completely. There are plenty of other countries on my list to visit, but I can't deny how much I loved my time in Thailand. So, yes, I'd head back there to work again if a decent opportunity came along. Plus, it feels like a missed opportunity if I don't put to use what I learned during my time there.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
If it's feasible, it's definitely better to acquire the proper teaching credentials from your home country before starting a teaching career abroad—unless you're absolutely certain that teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) will only be a short-term adventure lasting one to three years.
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