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...
Simon
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to South Korea, Seoul on the 11th Jan 2015, so just over two weeks now.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked in Bangkok for about two years at a private language school. I started off working full time and then moved to part time so I could focus on studying Thai and my hobbies.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I finished my Delta in Bangkok and felt if I wanted to progress my teaching I should try to get a couple of other countries on my resume. I also found that a lot of my friends had recently moved on or got girlfriends and it seemed like a good time to leave.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
The money is better here and the students are definitely quite a bit more advanced. I think Korean culture is more similar to English than Thai so it is easy to get a good debate going in the classroom with students expressing well thought out opinions and arguments.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Currently I am missing the weather but that will probably change once Korea warms up. I am missing my condo gym and swimming pool and playing tennis outside. The accommodation here although clean is not of the same standard as Bangkok. I am also missing the relaxed nature of Thailand. Most people in Korea are quite serious and seem to complain about their jobs a lot.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I would advise anyone to go to Thailand. It is an amazing place and your first year will be unforgettable. After you have worked for 1 or 2 years I think you need to consider what your life goals are. If you want to make money or take teaching seriously then your probably best to leave Thailand in your 20s with a view to coming back later.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I will definitely be returning to Thailand. I have already planned to return in January next year for a month or so to join a Muay Thai camp. After that I will probably head to The Middle East to save some decent money. I have met quite a few teachers who are on crazy money in Saudi so I will try that for a couple of years before reconsidering a move back to Thailand.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I think it is important to remember that Thailand will always be here and although things will change, you can always return. I have been in Korea for two weeks and have a new job, friends, bank account, condo. If you are on the fence about leaving I would recommend just going. You can always come back.
Chris
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to Wales in October 2014.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I taught in Thailand for five years. Well, to be accurate, I taught at a high school in Thailand for two years. Then I got itchy feet and moved to China for nine months. Then I returned to Thailand for another two years - at the same high school!
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
That's not an easy question to answer. I think that perhaps I fell out of love with both teaching and also living in Asia. I started to miss my family as well. I thought I would have got over that feeling of homesickness after five years away, but I never did. I still loved Thailand and the Thai people though.
I knew though that moving back to a small village in Wales was going to be a huge gamble for someone who was now 27 years of age. The job situation back home wasn't great. But I didn't have a wife or partner here to worry about. I was still a free spirit. It just seemed like the right decision to return home and spend some quality time with family and friends - at least for a short while.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Absolutely none whatsoever! Getting back into full-time customer service work has proved impossible. I could definitely find something full-time but it would mean relocating to a large city or town.
I'm living under my parents roof again (not an ideal situation for a man in his late twenties) and to keep the money coming in, I've taken on a couple of part-time jobs. I do four evenings a week behind the bar at a local pub and I'm doing some driving work for a car rental company during the day. The bar work is guaranteed income (albeit not a fantastic hourly rate) but the driving work is a few hours here and there (whenever the company needs me)
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Having answered the above question as honestly as I could, I would have to say that I miss the independence :) Your own apartment, your own job with enough money coming in to pay your bills and to go out whenever you want.
And of course now we're in the depths of winter in the UK, I would give my right arm for some of that Bangkok sunshine. You'll never hear me complain about 30 degree humidity again. Try walking home from your bar shift at almost midnight with that icy wind coming up from the valleys. I'd forgotten what it was like to be so cold, you could almost break down and cry.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
We all know that the teacher salaries are generally crap in Thailand, but you would be hard pushed to find a nicer country in Asia to live in. As I said in an earlier answer, I did nine months of teaching in China - and hated every minute! It just made me realise how much I loved Thailand and how much I was missing it.
In my second spell of teaching in Thailand, I noticed far fewer teachers sticking around for as long as I did. The teachers room became a revolving door. No sooner had you made friends with a teaching colleague, the end of term would come and they would be gone. It seemed to be the way teaching in Thailand was going. Not exactly what I would call backpackers (although the school had its fair share of those) but young guys only interested in doing a year of teaching at most.
So if you're thinking of coming to teach here for a short period, you couldn't choose a better country in my opinion.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I'm missing the Thailand lifestyle. I really am. But something is telling me to give the UK just one more try.
Ideally I would love to have one of those jobs here where I could earn enough money to come to Thailand for three or four weeks every year. Now wouldn't that be fantastic?
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Perhaps I should do another one of these 'great escapes' in six month's time. Hopefully by then I'll be making a better fist of life in the UK and Thailand will be a distant memory. Only joking! Thailand will never be just a distant memory.
Matt
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to Japan about 7 months ago.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked in Thailand for 3 years
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Money, money and money. I felt I had reached my maximum earnings/career potential in Thailand and was offered a job in Japan with perks (flight paid, rent paid, cash bonus at end of year). Also, my wife is working part time and making more than she did working full time in Thailand, so we can save a lot more money here.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
We like the cleanliness, safety, delicious ramen, hot springs, nice weather, our awesome Japanese-style soaking bathtub and 100 yen shops! My wife also loves the Terminal 21 style toilet seats that are everywhere here and loves to ride her bicycle around town. We were both pleasantly surprised the day we accidentally left our shopping bag near the train ticket counter and it was still there untouched hours later. Add in an efficient mass transit system across the country as we can go almost anywhere in Japan on a 3 day weekend (bullet trains are better than the Thai trains and my wife says she can't go back to taking Thai trains now), great infrastructure, insanely fast internet speeds and the cherry blossom season. Oh and no visa stress (no 90 day check ins and our visas are not tied to our jobs) either! It was also easy to get my wife a dependent visa/working visa here.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Friendly people, cheap food/street food, less hectic lifestyle, Thailand is more flexible with rules/less by the book than Japan is, cheap massages, cheap haircuts (3500 yen here for one!), pool and fitness centers in condos, shopping at the market, Songkran. The ability to get a cell phone without a 2 year visa.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
It depends on the person. Japan is a great place to start out and the students are great. If you can get past the lack of diversity and woeful English ability by the locals out of town, then maybe Japan is a good first start for you. I also feel more than a few schools overseas look down upon teaching in Thailand for a lengthy period of time (unless you are at a top tier school). Sadly, some schools assume all schools in Thailand are run poorly. That is why I think having Japan on one's resume looks better than Thailand for those starting out. This way you can apply for jobs in Thailand after your first contract and are more attractive to employers.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Of course! We will have more than enough saved up to pay cash for a nice condo or house in 3 years. Then we will return to Thailand and take life slower and enjoy life more.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I was worried at first my wife would not adjust/adapt to Japan and want to return to Thailand, but she is doing fine here and enjoying life in Japan. She even does not mind the occasional earthquake and enjoys showing her friends back in Thailand photos of Japan. She also ships Japanese skin care products to her friends and makes a little extra money from that as well. She found it easy to make friends here as she feels her Thai smile and easy going attitude attracts new friends.
Oh, and if you have a Thai wife and plan to relocate elsewhere, get her family set up with Skype so they can talk to her daily. My wife says stock up on Thai spices and whitening skin creams if you plan to relocate to Japan and get an app to watch Thai TV - because Japanese TV is awful.
Barry
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to Hong Kong in July 2014.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Was it three years or four? I can't quite remember. I was directly employed by a Thai school in The North-east for a couple of years - and really enjoyed my time there - but when they put their recruitment in the hands of a local agent, things rather fell apart. I did a year at a school in Bangkok. Didn't like the big city that much after a couple of years in the countryside, so moved to a college down south. As you can see - I slowly worked my way down the country :)
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I guess that money was the major driving force. I always survived well enough on 30-40K a month, especially in the rural areas but as you start to hit your late 20's, there's the realization that perhaps you should be saving a bit more money towards your future.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Well, Hong Kong is a bit of a mess at the moment because of all the protests but it's still a world-class international city, but with a Chinese flavour of course. I landed a gig at a decent language school with several branches around the city and they also provided accommodation. OK, it's not a palace but it's a clean apartment in a modern building and the commute to work is only half an hour on the subway. The students are also very motivated compared to Thais I would have to say.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Teaching out in the sticks, I quite miss the buzz of being a celebrity. Whenever I walked around the local town, so many people (both students and parents) would say hello to me. It made me feel very welcome and at home. In Bangkok, I would say I miss the weekend market the most. I used to love that place! I miss the Thai food as well. Don't get me wrong, the Chinese food in Hong Kong is exceptional but it can start to weigh heavy at times. In my local neighborhood restaurants, the portions are enormous! I must have gained about 5 kilos in the few months I've been out here.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
That's such a tough question because everyone is different. Thailand will suit some people and I think others will hate it - particularly if you like everything to run smoothly and systematically. I used to have days in Thailand when I couldn't imagine wanting to live anywhere else in the world. Then on other days I would almost cry myself to sleep with the frustration of it all. Then again, I don't think Hong Kong would suit everyone either. Every place is what you make it.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I would certainly come back for a holiday. Who wouldn't want to laze on a beach in Phuket for a week? (provided they bring back the beach umbrellas of course) But for teaching work, no I don't think so. Actually I'm fast approaching 30 years old now and I think it might be time to get out of the teaching game altogether. But TEFL is always something to fall back on once you are qualified and experienced.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I know I'm not alone with this opinion but I can never fathom out if Thailand wants foreign teachers or not. One month there will be some sort of crackdown and life will suddenly becoming harder for those teachers wanting to stay legal. Then it will go quiet for a period of time and you begin to feel settled again. Then along comes another crazy rule change. Does Thailand see English teachers as some sort of necessary evil? Even after four years teaching there, I can't answer that question.
And from what I've heard, salaries for the average TEFL teacher haven't increased for 20 years. More to the point, I can't honestly see salaries increasing much in the next 20 years either? English teachers - especially those at the bottom of the TEFL ladder - are going to become some of the lowest paid workers in Thailand if things carry on as they are now.
Perry
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to Yangon in Myanmar in September 2014 (a couple of months ago)
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I finished a one-year contract with the same secondary school.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I had a very enjoyable year in Thailand. The school was great and the Thai staff were always very supportive. The students were polite and eager to learn (most of them anyway) I think there were two main reasons for moving on; firstly, I wanted to try my hand at another South-East Asian country (and it basically came down to Myanmar or Vietnam) and secondly, I wasn't keen on the way things seemed to be going in Thailand for teachers (tighter visa laws and difficulty staying legal, etc) Even though I'm a qualified and experienced teacher, I never felt as secure in my job as I wanted to be.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I've only been in Yangon for a couple of months so you might say that I'm still in the 'honeymoon period' (if that's indeed the right expression) Frankly speaking I'm still feeling my way around. In some ways, Myanmar is similar to Thailand but in other aspects, they are poles apart. Yangon is chaotic and polluted but the people are extremely friendly towards foreigners. I managed to get a job with one of the best language institutes in town and so far - touch wood - they are looking after me well. I do about 16 contact hours a week (fewer than I did in Thailand) and the class sizes are much, much smaller. The pay is better too. I was earning about 35,000 baht a month in Thailand but pulling in closer to 55,000 here.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
A lot. The cheap street-food. The vast selection of international restaurants if you fancy a splurge. And there are so many places to travel to in such a big country like Thailand (if you have the time of course)
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I don't think I've been here long enough to form an opinion. It's certainly very different to Thailand.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I've signed a one-year contract with the new school and I fully intend to see that term out. Then I'll just go with the flow. I certainly wouldn't rule out returning to Thailand though and I'm keeping my eye on how things develop for teachers there.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
When you talk to teachers who have taught in two different countries, they nearly always say the previous country was better. Perhaps teachers become complacent in one country and don't truly realise how good life is. I don't want to fall into that trap. When you are a TEFL teacher, the world is your oyster. You can keep moving around until you find the perfect destination. That's the beauty of teaching and travelling.
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