Well, turns out that Bangkok really got "under my skin" in the year or so I spent there, unemployed and doing the monthly visa run routine.

I find myself making plans to go back, and am looking at info for the TEFL Certificate courses in Bangkok, beginning early May-ish. To make my life easier I'm only looking at four of them, and here's what I've got:

ECC - CELTA course, 3 weeks, $1,400

Worldwide TEFL - TEFL Cert course $699, "Guaranteed Job and Work Permit" $$2,549 (!), and both for $3,199

Text and Talk - 4-week Certificate course and 6-week Certificate course, have to go back again for prices.

Chichester - Certificate course $1,390

These schools all mention help with getting the non-immigrant B, good for up to 15 months. Mmmm....

Well, just wanted to share that, in case it's useful to anyone. Might give one an idea of the cost of the certificate. Has anyone out there gotten that 15-month visa?

The TEFL schools can get you a 12 month NIB visa in your home country. You still have to do the 90 day visa runs, so if you go on a visa run just before your 12 months is up, then you'll get another 3 months =15 Months

If you eventually get lucky during your first year of teaching here, and get a real actual valid Thai work permit, you don't have to do visa runs anymore. I know somebody who hasn't done a visa run in over 15 years, but his administration knows how to do it for him.

If you didn't like Bangkok, you can come to Chiang Mai (our site sponsor, SEE, offers a course here, for $806 not including accomodation), but the wages are much lower. Or, you could take the course in Chiang Mai, and teach elsewhere.