Eddy
Working in: Chonburi
Monthly Earnings: 100.000
Q. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
A. about 100,000bt give or take - when school's out from March to June I hope to be working my knackers off!
Q. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
A. Now that I have all my toys (about 6 guitars, 4 amps, effects etc, mountain bike and weight training machine and the love of a good woman) about 60 - 70,000bt
Q. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
A. We live right on the ocean with just a stretch of two lane road and restaurants between my balconies and the oggin. It's a three story house with four bedrooms and a roof garden going at a steal - 6000bt per month (including sunrises from my bedroom window and sunsets over the sea from my balcony
Q. What do you spend a month on the following things?
| a) Transportation | 3000bt - cost of diesel for my pick-up |
|---|---|
| b) Utility bills | Arrrrhh - 800bt for my house and 23,000bt for the rent, telephones, internet, accountant, electricity/air-con for my school. |
| c) Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping | 8,000bt - woman like to eat while we like to get our lips around a brace or two of Britneys a night |
| d) Nightlife and drinking | 5000bt - I think a couple of hundred baht on beer a night at home is actually self-vindication of my life choices - I couldn't fund that kind of habit back in England - so I owe it to the boys stuck back there! |
| e) Books, computers | about 700bt - just bought a new one for 10,000bt after using my last desk top for 8 years. Got boxes of good books - anyone like to swop? |
Q. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
A. This is the life!!
Q. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
A. Gotta be my ocean view from my massive house - where else can you live like this in the world? Damm lucky I ran into a young lady who was given it by her Mum and needed quick rent money!
Q. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
A. Well, I arrived here from Cambodia in 1997 with 500bt - after a year of traveling around India. It's all in your head and where its at! I lived like a king compared to my backpacking times on 20,000bt a month - I walked everywhere (Samsen Rd to Victory monument/ Taksin bridge to teach in Lumpini tower/Asoke to Samsen soi 1 - where I lived). It took me three weeks to justify plunging my hand in my wallet for a bacon (50bt) baguette
Phil's analysis and comment
Interesting stuff. What you have to infer from the above - and what Eddy doesn't state directly - is that he obviously has some sort of private school / freelance teaching sideline going on as well as his regular teaching gig. I'm looking at the reference to the utility bills of course. All in all, I'm not sure how the 100,000 baht income is broken down exactly but it's probably none of my business anyway.
So what have we got? 100,000 baht a month coming in. 70,000 baht of that getting stashed away for a rainy day. He's got a four-bedroom mickey overlooking the ocean with spectacular views of the sunset from his balcony. All this he rents for a steal. He runs a motor. He's walking distance from beachside restaurants. Folks, I think we've met Thailand's happiest foreign teacher!
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Ajarn Guests
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In Thailand the government has set 2012 as English Speaking Year with a goal of encouraging students to converse in English every Monday. Such policies are useful but the major leap of enacting legislation to make English an official language for Thailand is also needed
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The integration of internet and computers with education and English learning is something students find normal, and classrooms without some access to educational software may seem quaint. Some students may even feel they can get more ‘professional' teaching from the numerous online ELT sites if a school is behind in IT.
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They are the shopping mall English teachers - gliding like pale, undernourished phantoms amid the hordes of weekend Thai shoppers. The main reason I empathize with the shopping mall teacher is because I was once one myself. I know how desperate and soul-destroying it can be.
About Ajarn.com
Ajarn.com was started as a small hobby website in 1999 by Ian McNamara. It was a simple way for one Bangkok teacher to share his Thailand experiences and pass on advice. The website developed a loyal and enthusiastic following. In 2004, Ian handed over the reins to Phil Williams and 'Bangkok Phil' has run the ajarn website ever since.
Ajarn.com has grown enormously and is now the most popular TEFL site in Thailand - possibly even South East Asia. Although best-known for its vibrant jobs page, Ajarn has a wealth of articles, blogs, features and help and advice. But one principle has always remained at Ajarn's core - to tell things like they are and to do it with a sense of humor. Thailand can be Heaven or Hell for an English teacher. It's always been Ajarn.com's duty to present both sides of the equation. Thanks for stopping by.
