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...
James
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Back to Canada in 2023.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Four years at the beginning of the 21st century and three years from 2021 to 2023.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Thailand changed. Children are the best reference foreign teachers can get in Thailand. After the first four years, I moved to Canada with my wife. We had an incredible life but left Canada and returned to Thailand when the Covid years arrived. I began to teach because I could, not because of any money shortage. The first year was fantastic, but then I got an increase in my salary, and the other foreign teachers got nothing. They created a plot against me that I eventually had to report to the police. Nobody will ever make me teach in Thailand's schools ever again. Just one month before my contract ended, my room teacher offered her students home tutoring in my place. I was teaching those students until the day before my departure. Despite the lies and reputation, my student's parents and the one class teacher trusted me. Soon after returning to Canada, I began teaching them online.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I don't teach in Canada. I am a physiotherapist who took early retirement.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Only the fruit and endless beaches.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
As I said, Thailand changed. I advise everyone to stay out of Thailand because 'other foreign teacher elements'. Thai ESL teachers are better than many of those foreign teachers combined, but the foreign teachers present themselves as superior to everyone. My brother-in-law is a retired governor. Thanks to him and proper investigations, I did not end up in jail or deported.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Yes, certainly. Soon after my 65th birthday. I don't mind supporting the Thai economy in my retirement years.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
There is an unbelievable shortage of native English-speaking teachers. Unfortunately, that's because our experiences drive us out of Thailand. Certain foreign teachers make money and send it back to their home country. Native speakers make money and spend it travelling "Unseen Thailand," supporting the Thai home economy. Think about it.
Chris
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I returned to my home city of Sydney, Australia in March 2024.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I was there just under two years at a large private school on the outskirts of Phuket City.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I think there were three main reasons. Firstly, my parents are getting on a bit and aren't in the greatest of health. I'd been travelling around in Asia for about six years (working in some places and just bumming around in others) and it was probably time for me to come home for a while. Secondly, it was difficult to earn enough money to survive in Phuket (I earned 40K a month in my first year and 45K in my second) I suppose I was the classic TEFLer, looking to make a dramatic change of career in his late 40s. Finally, I just got a little bored of the day-to-day school routine, teaching the same half a dozen lessons to low-level learners.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
It's nice to have real conversations with real people again, rather than stilted conversations with Thai staff and talking about the same old shit with teaching colleagues and listening to the same old moans. Although the job market isn't that great in Australia at the moment, I've had the chance to try new things career-wise and actually been given some decent opportunities. Most of all, I want to find hope and a sense of purpose again, to feel like life is worth living and there’s room to grow.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Although I complained about lack of money earlier on, one thing I do like about Thailand is how you can seriously downgrade your lifestyle and live much more cheaply if you fall on hard times, or money is running a bit short at the end of the month. That isn't always easy to do outside of Asia. I had days when I lived on a couple of hundred baht and managed OK.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I haven't heard anyone say this in these cost of living surveys but if you're a lowly TEFLer (like me) and you're looking at earning in the ball-park of 40K a month, don't go and live in the big cities or the tourist places like Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok. You either won't survive or you'll be full of regret and bitterness about what you can't afford. Choose somewhere like a quiet town in the north east where you don't have the temptations and your money will go further. OK, you might get bored easier but that's better than having no money. On 40K a month, be absolutely sure what you are signing up for by teaching in Thailand and where you stand in the grand scheme of things. Those big cities can be expensive!
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Certainly not to work, but as a holiday destination with plenty of spending money in your pocket, Thailand is hard to beat. I would never rule out coming back for a holiday.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
There are rarely yes or no straight answers in Thailand. Every answer has strings attached or perhaps an element of doubt and uncertainty. Nothing is black and white. If you're a planner-type person who craves a semblance of order and predictability, Thailand will push you to your limits. Of course, others will see that as part of some great adventure.
Elspeth
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to work at a language school in South Korea at the end of 2023.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I was there for just under a year at a school in Bangkok. Not long I know, but long enough to realise that although life in Thailand was fun (most days), my teaching career, supported by a degree and a 120-hour TEFL certificate, was never really going to go anywhere.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I never felt that the school valued the foreign teachers enough. We were never observed and no one really cared if we did a good job in the classroom. As long as we turned up for work each day and the paying parents liked the look of us, then that was good enough. On top of that, there were the pointless staff meetings where most of the items on the agenda were discussed in Thai. There was an admin department that could never give you a straight answer on a visa or work permit related question. Many of the usual frustrations I know. But this wasn't some village school which you would half expect to flying by the seat of its pants; far from it - this was a large institute with relatively expensive term fees.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
The school is very professionally run and its mantra seems to be 'look after the teachers and everything will be fine'. I have far fewer contact hours than I did in Thailand (for more money) There are regular professional development meetings and there is always a member of the management staff to go to if you have a problem in the classroom (very rare though). There are no extra curricular activities to attend like school marching band competitions. We get a generous housing allowance and end of term bonus. Finally - and this is the one thing I really appreciate - we have an admin department that are always on the ball when it comes to paperwork issues.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I miss the ease of travelling to some of the beautiful islands and I miss the foreign teacher friends I made there. We had some wild Friday and Saturday nights on Silom Road!
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
If you are looking to gain some experience as a teacher while enjoying a relatively stress-free life (outside of school) then Thailand could be worth a year or two of your time. If you are serious about being a teacher and looking to move up the TEFL ladder, I would personally look elsewhere.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Not at this point.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I think most teachers in the 30-50K salary band know what they might be letting themselves in for as regards things that can go wrong at any particular school. Do as much research as you can and try and speak to other teachers before accepting a job offer. I didn't end up at the best school but it probably wasn't the worst either. I just wish I had taken more time over the decision to accept the job when it was offered to me. Perhaps I should've looked around a bit more. Anyway, that's all in the past and I'm looking forward to the future. Whether I'll stay in Korea, I don't know, but that's the joy of being a TEFLer. Don't like a particular city or country, just move on.
Thomas
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to England in April of this year.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I was there for six years, mainly at large Thai government schools or wherever the agents sent me. I did a year in Chiang Mai but couldn't really settle there (it didn't feel like the Thailand I was looking for) I did a couple of years in Chonburi (liked it at first but got bored) followed by 12 months in Ayutthaya (nice place to live but horrible school) and finished with two years in Bangkok.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I'm in my late 50s and have started to suffer from ill health. I made the decision to go back to England and chance my luck with the good old NHS rather than start long and protracted courses of treatment at a Thai hospital and stressing over whether my modest Thai health insurance will cover it or not.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I'm not working so can't really answer this. I've moved in with my younger sister and have spent most of the last three months pottering around in the garden, doing odd jobs around the bungalow for her, and lying on the sofa watching sport. And of course I've been setting up doctor and hospital appointments, etc.
It's not an ideal situation because my sister and I have never really got along (we argued about which way the toilet roll should go a couple of days ago) however credit where it's due, she came to the rescue in my hour of need. There was no way I could afford the £800+ monthly rents they are asking in these parts of leafy Middle England. I'm hoping to get back into working as soon as I feel fit enough, and even get my own place, but the vast majority of jobs seem to be caring for the elderly.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Provided you meet the visa requirements, it's a country that's relatively easy to survive in, even when funds are low. When you are TEFLer in his fifties, with no real formal qualifications other than a well-creased TEFL certificate, you're under no illusions that you are constantly at the bottom of the pecking order. You're the bloke that the school employs when there is absolutely no other option. So you put up with agents paying salaries late and schools taking advantage and messing you about on a daily basis.
And of course you're up against schools who insist their foreign teachers be no older than 35 or 40 or whatever they decide is the age when a teacher becomes old and decrepit and incapable of teaching. Your marketability plummets with each passing year. But as I said, you can survive here on just a modest income. Survival in England is going to be a real slog, at least for the forseeable future.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Teaching in Thailand is a young person's game unless you're qualified enough to work at one of the better schools and build a career. At least when you're young, if things don't work out and your Thailand adventure goes pear-shaped, it's not to late to start again. Every young person I met in Thailand seems to be working online anyway.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
No, I think that ship has well and truly sailed. I need to sort my life and health out here first.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Not really, other than make sure you have a decent health insurance policy, because you never know what's around the corner.
Brendan
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to England in late 2021.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked in Thailand for about five years. Prior to that, I did a one-year stint in Japan. That was a total disaster but I'll save the details for another time.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
This is a strange one to explain but I got up one morning and I was overwhelmed with a feeling of 'homesickness'. You wouldn't expect to have such emotions after being away from home for six years, but my mother had suddenly become very ill, my nieces and nephews were all growing up. I just felt like I didn't want to be away from 'home' any longer. I carried on through the day think that perhaps the homesickness would go away - but it didn't. If anything, the urge to get on the next flight home just got stronger and stronger.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I was very lucky inasmuch as a relative had passed away and been very generous to me in her will. Add to that a bit of money I had stashed away during my time as a teacher, and I returned to the UK with a fairly nice financial buffer. I was able to use that cash to set up my own small software business and it's now doing quite well in just a few short months. I would have hated the thought of returning to the UK with no money and a five-year gap in my CV and kipping on someone's sofa until I get myself sorted out. Fortunately that was never going to be the case so I was lucky in that respect.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Thailand was a great adventure. There is so much I miss about the place but mainly the warm weather I suppose. Standing at bus stops in February with an icy wind howling around your eyes brought me sharply down to earth I can tell you. I go out for a couple of Thai meals every month at various Thai restaurants and I suppose I'm trying to recapture some of the old Land of Smiles magic or at least keep some kind of connection. Alas, the Thais who run these places are all very westernized. They never want to chat about home. It's surprising how quickly Thais turn their backs on Thailand once they are settled in a new land. It's quite comical in a way.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Oh, absolutely! You'll have the time of your life. But I would give serious thought to doing it for more than one or two years. I never met that many people who had made a career out of teaching in Thailand but I did meet many folks in their 40s and 50s who just seemed to survive from paycheck to paycheck. I didn't want to end up like that.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Hopefully I'll come back for holidays. In fact I've already pencilled in a trip for next January.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Thailand has its downsides for the foreign teacher (and we all know what they are by now) but it's very easy to get complacent and stuck in a rut. Looking back - and hindsight is a wonderful thing - I would have liked to have done two or possibly three years and left it at that. Five years was a bit too long. I'm glad I pushed myself and got on the plane home. If I hadn't made the effort on the day that homesickness kicked in, who knows how long I would have stayed.
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