Thinking Of Moving To Thailand

[kevvy]

Also most volunteer places charge you money to work there. My daughter came here to do the same and had to pay to do the free work.why not come here for 6 months and then decide, and decide with the right head . You fresh meat in this country and there are many traps here.

Kevvy

"Also most volunteer places charge you money to work there. My daughter came here to do the same and had to pay to do the free work."

So since your daughter had to pay something you immediate conclude that "most volunteer places charge you money?"

To the O/P I would say that you are not "fresh meat" and the only trap you need to worry about is listening to cranky old farang who assume everyone is as clueless and helpless as they are. If you've been browsing these forums for awhile, you probably are aware that high pitched whining and moaning is an unfortunate constant on many threads.

Certainly some charitable groups may expect foreign volunteers to pay something for their food and accommodation or other personal expenses since the charity's limited funds are meant for a specific purpose and they might otherwise be overwhelmed by people looking for a free holiday in Thailand.

yes they do charge you money , not to rip you off but as you said for rent of a room or lodgings and food .So you agree with that statement .And as I said fresh meat , that has meaning of be careful when going out , pickpockets, rip off scams as you know there are hundreds of scams here and if you are not careful you will get taken .. gee why dont you go to bed and get some rest .read posts before you get on your high horse and start mouthing off.

[davejones23]

oz893 - I've no idea what you're talking about. I've slipped. What does that mean? You're done with what. I only asked a simple question. I love it here and just wonder how so many others find it so bad.

[kimbathewhitelion]

oz893 - I've no idea what you're talking about. I've slipped. What does that mean? You're done with what. I only asked a simple question. I love it here and just wonder how so many others find it so bad.

Sorry, I slipped & misquoted. Though done for awhile just the same. In all said, all good.

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[wigantojapan]

Lots of good advise has been given here.Personally if i was you for the long term i would concentrate more on Australia as you mentioned you were thinking of there.

6 months is way to short to see if you want to live long term,a minimum of 1 year to at least have an experience of the weather and how you handle that.

Cm has serious pollution problems which does effect everyone long term who stays there.

Cm is a good place for meeting people and getting up to the minute advise on other countries to live in for someone of your age.

Cambodia is a much better option for you in the short to middle term regarding work ,paid or as a volunteer

[pauleddy]

Be very careful about "volunteering" for anything here.

Some greedy Thais want volunteers for their greedy mates who place totally 'green' US and UK gap year kids who "volunteer' to teach English in ass-end villages "to help the poor little hill-tribe orphan children". These gap year kids get a hovel to live in and get exploited like crazy, while the "agents" not only make them pay the plane and travel costs but also take a hefty cut of a back-hander for getting free teachers in dumb-ass places where nobody would ever teach for free. This is just one example of the many scams, which exist on a small scale and much larger scales.

Listen to the advice about TEFL/TESOL courses. Only ever do a course which is accredited by Cambridge UCLES or Trinity, such as those run by the BC or IH. Never ever, ever, do a course in Bangkok, Rayong or Phuket which says that you can do it near the beach and go waterski-ing every Friday and have a barbecue every Sunday. Those courses are not accredited, and you will find that they are not accepted anywhere outside of Thailand (and maybe not even outside of the schools that these crooks use to feed newbies to with the promise of a free job after 4 weeks). Or, just do your TEFL in the UK at a proper institute, BC, IH, Frances King or anywhere "real".

Corruption is endemic, just as it is in China and in most or all of the East (and in Africa, Washington, London, you name it). In the east, it doesn't even try to be anything else.

A very old hand sat me down the other day and explained in depth the biggest current scams: the farmers and rice thing is a huge scam of smoke and mirrors which lines the pockets of the big boys who who store the excess rice and then devalue much of it because of "moisture content" or else scrap it/write it off but actually sell it over borders. Even bigger is the 2.5 trillion baht construction project involving transnational road links with Myanmar using Ital-Thai as a front. I am told that about 40% of the 2.5 trillion is used to pay the fatwads off on both sides, and in far away places like Dubai. The money involved is just telephone numbers, far more than anybody will ever see in 1000 lifetimes.

But hey, I am starting to drift off-topic, so I won't start on about other stuff I know.

Listen to the advice of everybody here. All have a story to tell. Some people are deliriously happy here, even after the bar-girls wear off. Some people hate the place with a vengeance. Some of us want to get out, and the slappy-happy people on here tell us every night that there are 200 planes a day out of the airport, so get out now...but some of us have quite a lot of stuff to untangle, loose ends to clear up, stuff to sell, relationships to sort out, etc etc.

Eddy

Edited March 12, 2014 by pauleddy

[HeavyDrinker]

Some very sound advice here....good luck pal! Hope you find your dream. my friend....

[davejones23]

Lots of good advise has been given here.Personally if i was you for the long term i would concentrate more on Australia as you mentioned you were thinking of there.

6 months is way to short to see if you want to live long term,a minimum of 1 year to at least have an experience of the weather and how you handle that.

Cm has serious pollution problems which does effect everyone long term who stays there.

Cm is a good place for meeting people and getting up to the minute advise on other countries to live in for someone of your age.

Cambodia is a much better option for you in the short to middle term regarding work ,paid or as a volunteer

I don't think it's necessary to decide whether to live somewhere long-term at all. If you fancy living someone, you just move there and see how it goes. You stay until you want to move on. That could be a few day or 10 years. Even after a year or to you don't need to decide. I've been here 3-4 years and don't have any plans to leave, but I've never decided to stay 5 years, 10 years, forever, etc. Places and people change, so it's best just to go with the flow. No need to commit to any place.

You should know after a day or two if you like it or not though. I don't understand why someone would need 6-12 months. I know whether I like somewhere the day I arrive.

[davejones23]

Listen to the advice of everybody here. All have a story to tell. Some people are deliriously happy here, even after the bar-girls wear off. Some people hate the place with a vengeance. Some of us want to get out, and the slappy-happy people on here tell us every night that there are 200 planes a day out of the airport, so get out now...but some of us have quite a lot of stuff to untangle, loose ends to clear up, stuff to sell, relationships to sort out, etc etc.

Eddy

Those are just excuses. Easy to sell stuff and sort everything out. Easy to leave a country if you really want to. But if you left, what would you have to complain about. Many stay just to give themselves something to complain about. Man up and leave if that's what you really want. Stop making excuses. List your loose ends and I'll help you sort them out. Your stuff - a yard sale and it will all be gone by the weekend. Property? I'll find someone to stay and look after it while it sells? Relationships? Say goodbye or take them with you. All very simple.

[Ojivar]

Wow a lot of mixed responses, thanks to everyone for taking the time to offer advice, this is exactly why I posted on here, to get varied responses from different people with different experiences.

To fill in a few gaps:

Yes I have a BA degree.

Yes I have a job, it pays ok (£22k per year, might was well be up front!) but I hate it and can't see any other job I can do in the UK that I would like that would allow me to be able to afford to live (cost of living is so high, even here oop north).

I am applying for new jobs in the UK, specifically animal welfare related but so many people competing for every job it is not easy.

No my wife didn't dump the dogs in me, we have three, she took the larger one, I got the two smaller ones.

Chiang Mai is the place I have enjoyed the most on my visits, plus I already have a friend who lives there and I hung out with his friends last time I was over.

No I have never taught before, and this does concern me. I was planning on taking a TEFL course in the UK that includes experience in a classroom to see if I like it, at least then I would know.

Why Thailand? Well I guess to be honest I want a simpler life, I want out of the rat race, I want to be able to wear shorts all year round! I've never been a lover of Europe, and from what I have heard moving the Oz or USA would only increase my cost of living and I would have to work just as hard if not harder then I do here in the UK.

As for burning bridges, I'm afraid I have a bit of habit of doing this! Years ago I quit my job and moved to Australia for a year, it was great fun but work was hard to find so I came home when the visa expired. I came home with no job and a massive amount of debt but I was younger and had no commitments.

Is it all about the women? No, Thai girls aren't really my type, but saying that last time I went over I did end up having a holiday romance with a Thai native girl. This was great fun as she showed me around Chiang Mai, took me to bars (often paid which I was shocked at!), sadly she fell in love with me and would love me to go back and be with her but the feeling is not mutual, for me it was a fling and nothing more so I feel bad that she feels that way. Although last I heard from her she was down in Pattaya with friends having a great time so I'm hoping she has moved on.

My dogs are what keep me sane, but they are the major reason I have not taken the plunge already and my biggest concern in all of this.

I have always had the dream of living on a beach somewhere tropical but accepted the fact that just wasn't a viable option in life for most people, however when I visited Chiang Mai I realised how nice the people/food/weather was and thought hey this could be the middle ground!

Certainly I have a lot to think about.

[wigantojapan]

go to Japan or Korea first then if you BA.....check out gaijinpot.com for English Teaching jobs.....The students are much better behaved than the kids in Thailand,,,,,plus you can save and come to Thailand on the school holidays

.tropical beautiful beaches in Okinawa also.

[wigantojapan]

Lots of good advise has been given here.Personally if i was you for the long term i would concentrate more on Australia as you mentioned you were thinking of there.

6 months is way to short to see if you want to live long term,a minimum of 1 year to at least have an experience of the weather and how you handle that.

Cm has serious pollution problems which does effect everyone long term who stays there.

Cm is a good place for meeting people and getting up to the minute advise on other countries to live in for someone of your age.

Cambodia is a much better option for you in the short to middle term regarding work ,paid or as a volunteer

I don't think it's necessary to decide whether to live somewhere long-term at all. If you fancy living someone, you just move there and see how it goes. You stay until you want to move on. That could be a few day or 10 years. Even after a year or to you don't need to decide. I've been here 3-4 years and don't have any plans to leave, but I've never decided to stay 5 years, 10 years, forever, etc. Places and people change, so it's best just to go with the flow. No need to commit to any place.

You should know after a day or two if you like it or not though. I don't understand why someone would need 6-12 months. I know whether I like somewhere the day I arrive.

Agree with you Davy with to go with the flow and even living in the now but thats a different topic.....The reason i said 1 year was to see the weather....Its a great idea coming from mainly wet UK to sunny Thailand but it can get incredibly hot and humid here which doesnt appeal to a lot of people long term,

Air conditioning as a solution to the heat is a no go for lots of people .

[davejones23]

Lots of good advise has been given here.Personally if i was you for the long term i would concentrate more on Australia as you mentioned you were thinking of there.

6 months is way to short to see if you want to live long term,a minimum of 1 year to at least have an experience of the weather and how you handle that.

Cm has serious pollution problems which does effect everyone long term who stays there.

Cm is a good place for meeting people and getting up to the minute advise on other countries to live in for someone of your age.

Cambodia is a much better option for you in the short to middle term regarding work ,paid or as a volunteer

I don't think it's necessary to decide whether to live somewhere long-term at all. If you fancy living someone, you just move there and see how it goes. You stay until you want to move on. That could be a few day or 10 years. Even after a year or to you don't need to decide. I've been here 3-4 years and don't have any plans to leave, but I've never decided to stay 5 years, 10 years, forever, etc. Places and people change, so it's best just to go with the flow. No need to commit to any place.

You should know after a day or two if you like it or not though. I don't understand why someone would need 6-12 months. I know whether I like somewhere the day I arrive.

Agree with you Davy with to go with the flow and even living in the now but thats a different topic.....The reason i said 1 year was to see the weather....Its a great idea coming from mainly wet UK to sunny Thailand but it can get incredibly hot and humid here which doesnt appeal to a lot of people long term,

Air conditioning as a solution to the heat is a no go for lots of people .

That's what i say to my friends back home when they say how lucky I am living in 30-35C weather all year. I tell them that the novelty wears off after 3-4 years non stop. But I still prefer it to those cold and wet British winters that seem to last forever. Also much more relaxed lifestyle for me here.

[pauleddy]

All "real" TEFL courses must provide you with TP (Teaching Practice) in a live classroom. I did my CTEFL in 1992, so I have forgotten the prescribed number of hours. It used to be eight in 4 weeks, I think. Unfortunately, most people crap themselves during the first couple of sessions, so it is hard to say for sure if you "like" it (and your teacher watches you and, later, does a formal assessment).

In Thailand I have found that teaching is very different to the UK and to Spain (I taught at schools and unis in both). Thai kids are not taught to question or think logically, and so your lessons must be "fun", in order to retain their 45-second attention spans. This is why most websites will tell you that an English teacher in Thailand is something like a game-show host cross-bred with a clown and a dancer. It is very important that Mom's little darling enjoys his nasty little self, and Mom will also expect him to get 100% in his exam despite spending all his time in class playing Angry Birds on his mobile. If you have the misfortune to be on gate duty at school, you will have to meet and greet mother and son as they draw up in the Mercedes.

Some of the cowboy TEFL courses also give TP (by arrangement with the local school or monastery, who will hand-pick 5 or 6 docile and compliant kids or novice monks). If you are doing a proper TEFL at International House in the UK, or the BC, then your class will be made up of kids who are already studying English with qualified teachers but are given "free lessons" (i.e. you) for which they can volunteer in the afternoons. In some cases, these kids might pay a reduced rate if they give time to be guinea pigs.

The origins of 'international' TEFL lie partly in the spread of backpacking and the early hippy culture, which is why it is a racket in the opinion of some, and never taken seriously by many people (as opposed to 'real' English teaching)--including by some of its own practitioners. Originally, backpackers, hippies, misfits and other travelling bums started to teach English in faraway places, until it became an industry worth billions. In no other field would you be allowed to do about 24 -26 days of study, 8 hours of dodgy live TP and 4 essays... and call yourself a professional. Even to become a primary school teacher takes 2-3 years. My sister became a play assistant in a UK nursery school, and the NVQ she needed for that took 12 months. Say no more.

Eddy

[lucifer666]

Mate, I'm from Sheffield , and i came here ( after doing a TEFL and a TESOL) course. It means nothing . If you're English and you have a degree, Work as a English teacher is pretty easy to find.

[kinmaew]

I admire you and good luck there are many options, volunteering if you can afford it would be good and allow you to sus out things and people and places before committing to a job. I really want to do the same and will soon but will rent my place out as it will always give me a backup plan and if it goes really well over there will sell up. So boring here in Farang land, lots to do, but its all the same thing wish I was there.

[pauleddy]

The thing about degrees and certificates is horses for courses.

Leading universities (where you can get 4-5 months holiday or "non-teaching days", a good basic salary, big overtime doing 'international courses' and quite a lot of support and respect) require at least a TEFL and a BA, although an MA or MSc puts you at an advantage.

International Schools, the best of which pay 200,000 baht a month, require you to have QTS (i.e. be a real, trained teacher with experience teaching A levels, and a B Ed at least. Those are the plum jobs).

Schools in villages and language schools in shop houses may be less fussy. They have been known to hire anybody white with a pulse.

One of the reasons for doing (at least) a TEFL is to correct your delusions, give you a taster, and to see whether you might fit in. People who say "hey, I am English, <deleted>, of course I can teach English" are living in cuckoo land. TEFL has a methodology (or several). You need to learn basic and then advanced grammar, class management, lesson planning, testing skills, use of realia, pastoral skills and all sorts of things. After about a year teaching, you find out 20% of what works. After five years, you may feel better, altho' the burn-out rate is quite high. When I did my basic TEFL course 22 years ago, one girl failed the course and one guy dropped out. They couldn't do what was required, even though they were as English as Roast Beef.

Japanese, Korean and even Chinese kids are much better scholars. 95% of Thai kids mess about, arrive late, and play internet games in class. Thailand is a "show" society. The latest Gucci handbag or I Phone is far more important to the young Thai mind than giving respect and attention to someone who has taken two hours to prepare a lesson and is dedicated to helping you to learn.

Eddy

[expat888]

Being a Brit you would probably have a better chance at finding a teaching job, but IMO the MOE is at war with foreign teachers. They are moving the bar so schools can justify offering lower salaries so we can't qualify for a higher paying job. Look at ajarn.com now. How many jobs do you see over 30K? Very few. IMO you can't live on 30K.

Myself, I hope to leave Thailand in the next month. Much better paying jobs in other countries close to here. Been here for 6 years and I have had enough.

I think that 30K a month is OK provided the OP is not a bar hopper or heavy drinker, and as he says, if he wants to rent a cheap place to live which is very easy. I paid only about 3000 a month in including electric, for a good place when I stayed in Minburi, and the same again when I was teaching in Nakhon Sawan.

But on that salary you can rarely eat western food. I like Thai food but not every day.

[NoshowJones]

Being a Brit you would probably have a better chance at finding a teaching job, but IMO the MOE is at war with foreign teachers. They are moving the bar so schools can justify offering lower salaries so we can't qualify for a higher paying job. Look at ajarn.com now. How many jobs do you see over 30K? Very few. IMO you can't live on 30K.

Myself, I hope to leave Thailand in the next month. Much better paying jobs in other countries close to here. Been here for 6 years and I have had enough.

I think that 30K a month is OK provided the OP is not a bar hopper or heavy drinker, and as he says, if he wants to rent a cheap place to live which is very easy. I paid only about 3000 a month in including electric, for a good place when I stayed in Minburi, and the same again when I was teaching in Nakhon Sawan.

But on that salary you can rarely eat western food. I like Thai food but not every day.

Expat, I don't eat Thai food at all, I don't drink or smoke, I have my money and Mrs Possum has hers. I honestly believe that if I was by myself, I could easily live on 30.000 Baht per month in Bangkok by renting on the outskirts of the city ie Minburi, not going to the bars or using prostitutes, not that I think there is anything wrong with that, but with an appearance of no tattoos, tall and slim, no facial hair, a full head of my own hair. I would easily date shop or market girls, unpaid for sex, and I proved that a few times before I met my wife.

So, depending on your lifestyle, you could easily live in Bangkok on 30.000 Baht per month, and less up country.

[pauleddy]

Ajarn.com is probably the main website for all things TEFL in the LOS. Many of the jobs are advertised there, and there are many postings which argue about whether you can live on 30,000 in BKK or otherwise. There are many articles and postings about areas, teaching skills, permits etc etc.

DavesESLcafe is another good site which is global, but it also has forums about asian countries which give the lowdown. It has a very large global jobs page, but you have to know what you are doing, because some of the ads are for "volunteers" or "Free TEFL courses" (yes, there are some free courses but they are not real UCLES or Trinity--and you sign a contract that you will volunteer and live in a barn for 6 months after you get this, er, Cert).

The StickmanBangkok site used to have a very long and well-written article by a guy who had taught in Unis, Schools, Dumps, Fields, Beaches and Jungles in the LOS. He covered the ups and downs of everything. Stickman itself is amusing, but a lot of the stuff is about the bargirl scene. I don't know whether the TEFL article is still there.

A site about a door made of a common Thai wood used to make Lanna Houses and furniture is very amusing and prone to dishing out irreverent or cynical posts about our wonderful LOS (if it is still extant).

TEFLWatch.com used to tell you which schools to avoid, but it got smaller and smaller in content. It may have shut down some time ago.

Eddy

Edited March 13, 2014 by pauleddy

[expat888]

Being a Brit you would probably have a better chance at finding a teaching job, but IMO the MOE is at war with foreign teachers. They are moving the bar so schools can justify offering lower salaries so we can't qualify for a higher paying job. Look at ajarn.com now. How many jobs do you see over 30K? Very few. IMO you can't live on 30K.

Myself, I hope to leave Thailand in the next month. Much better paying jobs in other countries close to here. Been here for 6 years and I have had enough.

I think that 30K a month is OK provided the OP is not a bar hopper or heavy drinker, and as he says, if he wants to rent a cheap place to live which is very easy. I paid only about 3000 a month in including electric, for a good place when I stayed in Minburi, and the same again when I was teaching in Nakhon Sawan.

But on that salary you can rarely eat western food. I like Thai food but not every day.

Expat, I don't eat Thai food at all, I don't drink or smoke, I have my money and Mrs Possum has hers. I honestly believe that if I was by myself, I could easily live on 30.000 Baht per month in Bangkok by renting on the outskirts of the city ie Minburi, not going to the bars or using prostitutes, not that I think there is anything wrong with that, but with an appearance of no tattoos, tall and slim, no facial hair, a full head of my own hair. I would easily date shop or market girls, unpaid for sex, and I proved that a few times before I met my wife.

So, depending on your lifestyle, you could easily live in Bangkok on 30.000 Baht per month, and less up country.

Possum

I seldom disagree with your posts but this one I do.

I lived in Minburi when I first came to Thailand and what you say doesn't float. First, you wouldn't be able to pick up women there like you claim because it's mostly Muslim women, second you would spend more money/time getting from point A to point B because everything is so far away unless you stay at home all the time and you would have to be retired because there is little to no employment in Minburi. If you want to go somewhere the only option is taxi and bus where nothing is close to you it would be a long expensive ride. To resolve the travelling problem you would need your own vehicle which you can't afford on 30K.

So to live on 30K in Minburi you would need to be retired, stay at home, eat mostly Thai food, not drink alcohol, not have a car, and do without women unless you are married. Maybe you could consume modest amounts of western food and alcohol. The taxis were too expensive for me because of the distance to anything and the distance of travel on a bus literally made me sick. Needless to say I moved after several months.

Edited March 13, 2014 by expat888

[NoshowJones]

Hi Expat. I do agree with what you said about Minburi, apart from the buses, they are cheap, and the air con buses are comfortable. I only lived in Minburi for about four weeks when I was looking for a teaching job after graduating from my TEFL course, so you know more about it than me.

I still believe you can work as a Teacher and survive on 30.000 Baht per month, but it really does depend on your life style. I met teachers who were living and working in Minburi, and they were on 37.000 Baht per month, I could not work in Bangkok legally without a degree, but I met someone who recommended me to someone else who got me a job in Nakhon Sawan on 30.000 Baht per month.

3000 Baht for accomodation including electric which was very easy for me on that salary.

[larsjohnsson]

Being a Brit you would probably have a better chance at finding a teaching job, but IMO the MOE is at war with foreign teachers. They are moving the bar so schools can justify offering lower salaries so we can't qualify for a higher paying job. Look at ajarn.com now. How many jobs do you see over 30K? Very few. IMO you can't live on 30K.

Myself, I hope to leave Thailand in the next month. Much better paying jobs in other countries close to here. Been here for 6 years and I have had enough.

30K is above average pay in Thailand, so of course you can live on it. The majority of the population would love to earn that amount of money. People live here on 10K or less. Whether you WANT to is a different matter, but you CAN LIVE on 30K very easily. Millions of people who actually do it are the living proof.

But you need more money than a Thai to survive here also. You need money for visa and travel abroad. Healthcare/insurence and so on. Of course you can live/survive on 30k. But at his age he need to think about the feature and maybe pension/money also

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[larsjohnsson]

Question, why Thailand? What are your motivations?

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You already know the answer

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[GOLDBUGGY]

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Also most volunteer places charge you money to work there. My daughter came here to do the same and had to pay to do the free work.why not come here for 6 months and then decide, and decide with the right head . You fresh meat in this country and there are many traps here.
Kevvy

I agree with Kevvy. I think I do understand why you want to come here. To get away from all the BS and people from your Divorce and start a completely new life. I was there once, and in Thailand for sure you can find that. But are you prepared and know what you are really stepping into?

You want to start a completely new life and career here in teaching, which you have never done before So you have nothing to compare this to. It all looks simple and easy to do this, but I am sure there are many teachers here, with years of experience, who will tell you different. They will tell you that it is very difficult to teach here and give you a million reasons why.

But having said that, it is difficult enough to make a complete career change back home in your own country, let alone in one that is in many ways is very different and all strange to you. You are starting out with a small amount of cash and no job, but if you are lucky you can land a teaching job here for next term that pays you a $1,000 a month. Personally, I can't live comfortably on $1,000 a month here. That is if I had to pay rent. But then many people here say they can.

I also have a brother who could live on half that amount easily for years and perhaps you are like this to. But he also has no problem living off the food carts and sleeping on the beach for years with only 4 sticks to hold up his jacket to keep the rain off. His only luxuries, as you called them, is his Gitar and a big bag off Pot, that he would need to buy each month, but I understand is very cheap here.

I am not trying to discourage you. Like I said I have been there before. But I think I was also in a better financial position then you are now so if you can wait a couple more years, and save more money first, then it would be better in the long haul. No place on Earth is a Happy Place, if you are broke! You don't want to end up being just another member of the Pattaya Sky Diving Club here for sure!

If you can't wait then come anyway, but not with the thought of staying a life-time. Come for 3 months and enjoy yourself. Play it by ear after that. But remember those famous words which are: "Wherever you go...that is where you are!" If you have unsolved problems back home, you will bring them here and they will grow to 10 times their size. This is especially true here when it comes to money and money problems.

Good Luck.

[Chriso12]

To pretty much sum up eveything:

You make holliday in Thailand.

You work in your home country.

[davejones23]

Some of the advice above is good and some is bad. I think your best option is just to come and try to find a job. You'll know soon enough how easy or difficult that is and you'll also find out if you like it or not. You don't have anything to lose. I'd also try to find a job quite soon after you get here in order to conserve your savings. It's easy to spend money when you first arrive in a new country, so I'd set a very strict budget and stick to it. Stay in cheap accommodation to begin with, and move up when you have the money.

If you look for a job hard enough I'm sure you'll find one. Many say they want a job but don't really make much effort to find one and then say it's difficult. If you want to teach English here then I don't see any reason why you won't find a job. But it might not be in your preferred area.

For the long-term I'd definitely stick with renting the house. If it's in a good area it could become a very valuable asset in years to come. If I'd sold my condo when I moved here, the money would be dwindling. But the condo has doubled in price, so I've made a small fortune by hanging on to it. Thing long-term where property is concerned. If prices take off again and you need to move back you may never be able to afford to buy another one. Stick with this one, even if it means buying your ex out if possible. Or getting your ex to sell to an investor who doesn't mind sharing the ownership with you.

[Tayida]

Come Thailand only for holiday........

[Ojivar]

Some good advice coming through here guys, really helping me to put things in perspective.

I think it's important to get this sort of info as many places I looked at had stories of people living like kings only working 20 hours a week. If I thought that were true I would be there already!

As others have pointed out I don't want to end up over there with the same problems I have here (ie lack of funds, working long hours etc)

The more I hear from those who have taught the less appealing it sounds! Eight hour days, no air con, having to wear smart clothes, poor pay, unattentive students etc.

Keeping the house is not really an option as until it's sold I don't even have enough for a flight over there, plus it's a very old (bit naff) house in a poor area and trying to sell it even now is a nightmare.

Coming over for a short term to see how I get on is feasible (family would look after the dogs) but this would certainly be burning my bridges as I would have to quit my job so I have to be pretty certain it's what I want.

One option I have been thinking is coming over to Asia for a few weeks, visit places like Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos and see what they are like as I've not really explored that part of the world outside of Thailand yet. Problem is that all costs money and I don't want to blow the proceeds of the house sale in a few weeks!

My savings will increase once the house has sold as at the moment it's costing me a fortune in bills and I can rent someplace smaller with less bills, nearer to work so less fuel and generally be more careful with my spending. But it means staying in the same awful job just so each year I can afford 2 weeks in asia.

I will continue to do some research but I think the general consensus is I am going to struggle with what I have if I just up and move.

Thanks for all the posts so far!

[wigantojapan]

Seriously you can teach in Japan save money have time for your self ,learn about a great culture and great people.

work maybe 4-6 hours a day

wage $2500 per month

you can save money on that to travel to Thailand Cambodia Laos China etc

[davejones23]

Seriously you can teach in Japan save money have time for your self ,learn about a great culture and great people.

work maybe 4-6 hours a day

wage $2500 per month

you can save money on that to travel to Thailand Cambodia Laos China etc

Some people want to be in a certain place full-time. Working somewhere you don't want to be just so you can have a holiday in the place you want to be is no way to live your life. I could earn more money elsewhere and come to travel to Thailand. But I'd rather have less money and live here full-time. While money is important, it's not the most important thing in life.