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...
Katy
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to England in November 2015.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I was there for two school terms working at a large government school about an hour outside Bangkok (I got the job through an agency)
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Truth is I was tired of getting ill. I don't know if it was the Thai food that didn't agree with me or perhaps the weather but I lost count the number of times I woke up with bad stomachaches or other aches and pains. Eventually I came to the conclusion that Thailand or possibly even Asia itself just wasn't for me.
There were the other usual things as well I suppose. I missed my family and friends back in the UK and a good old Sunday roast and a Friday night down the local pub.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
At the moment I'm doing temping work back in the UK and really enjoying it. The hours are flexible and I seem to have plenty of free time, even though the pay isn't great. I'm back home living under my parents' roof so that isn't an ideal situation either but hopefully I'll get my own place in the next year or so.
It could be just me but England seems so much more 'crowded' now than when I left to go and work in Thailand. I live in Leominster, near Hereford. It's only a smallish town with a smallish population but there seems to be so many people going after the same jobs - many of them out of sheer desperation.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
On the days when I felt fit and healthy, I loved the life in Thailand. Every day was an adventure. I enjoyed the teaching. I loved the school that I worked at and got on well with all the Thai staff. Even the agency I worked for were fairly professional and always paid on time.
There were twelve foreign teachers at the school, supplied by three different agencies. There were some real horror stories from teachers working for the other two agencies.
When I look back on my time there, I wish I had spent more time traveling. You get into a routine (well I did) and you get so tired from teaching Monday to Friday that at the weekends, all you want to do is chill out and relax in your apartment. I should have had a few more weekends away. That is certainly a big regret now.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Definitely! But if I did the same again, I would try and cut out the agency and work for a school directly. It's not that difficult to find 30-40K a month jobs if you have a degree. I was one of those who arranged a job before I even arrived in the country but only because I had little in the way of savings and needed to start work right away.
I would advise new teachers to go to Thailand with enough money to tide them over for about a month. Find some cheap accommodation, live frugally and focus all your efforts on finding a job. Don't waste the time partying. You're not on holiday!
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I might go back for a holiday one day but not to work. Certainly not to teach English.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I came to Thailand with my best friend (at least she was at the time) We were both in the same boat - bored with life in a small town and eager to travel the world. Thailand just seemed like the ideal place to start.
After a month or so, we were almost at the point of killing each other. It's amazing how quickly you fall out with travel companions when you have the stresses of dealing with a new country and a strange culture and trying to do well at a new job at the same time. There's an awful lot of pressure there! We decided to go our separate ways in the end and it turned out to be the right decision.
So if you are thinking of embarking on some great Asian adventure with a friend in toe, make sure you get on well. And I mean get on really well.
Jay
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to Còrdoba, Spain in December 2015.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Just over 2 and a half years. I arrived in May 2013.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I simply grew tired and jaded towards all things Thai and I thought it was better to leave than grow into one of old Thai-bashing expats on Thaivisa.com.
I was sick of the extreme culture differences, the food, the pollution, hygiene standards, the noise, the bad infrastructure and organisation, the political situation and simply being "farang" every day was mentally and physically draining.
I just wanted to be somewhere where I would feel truly welcomed and could assimilate and not just be "the farang" for the rest of my life. Its a good place to stay for a while to learn the ropes as a teacher but not a place to settle down long term
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
The culture is incredible, the food is far more diverse and suited to my western tastes. Còrdoba has an incredible mix of Spanish, Arabic and European influences making it a multicultural place.
Spain has a warm and sunny climate but is still seasonal that it isn't a humid sweatbox all year long. Theres are so many amazing places to see with Sevilla, Granada, Malaga and Madrid not far away.
Being an EU citizen, theres no need for visas or work permits, border runs or 90 day check ins. Being only 2 hours flight from my home in the UK is a bonus too!
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Spain is not as laid back or relaxed as Thailand. I miss the sabai sabai attitude of Thai people, the beautiful beaches and islands, the cheap cost of living and easiness of getting things done (getting my motorbike fixed on the spot for 200 baht and not having to bring all my documents to a licensed mechanic and schedule an appointment).
I miss 24 hour 7/11s (especially on sundays) and I miss the year round heat and sunshine (even Andalucia can get chilly in winter!). Documents can be bought in 10 minutes with 500 baht while in Spain the same thing can take weeks to arrive in the mail.
And I miss my girlfriend more than anything. I have plans to bring her here to Spain as soon as we can sort out visas and paperwork.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Definitely Thailand. Most Spanish schools ask for at least 1 years experience and a TEFL/CELTA while Thailand will take on pretty much take on any native speaker with a degree under their belt.
Thailand's relaxed approach and mai pen rai attitude will mean new teachers can easily adjust. But the lack of organisation in Thai schools can definitely be frustrating!
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Definitely. My contract in Spain ends in July and unless I can bring my girlfriend to Spain before then, I will go back so we can sort out the necessary paperwork and then come back together.
All I do know is neither of us think Thailand is a good place to settle down and we dont want to stay long term
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
If you are young, free and keen to have a great experience and adventure while taking a career break, backpacking or are looking to start a career in teaching English then definitely come to Thailand but don't stay long term.
And if you are a serious teacher by profession, thin-skinned or someone who values organisation, efficiency and personal space, certainly look elsewhere!
Alistair
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to my hometown Luton in the UK in June 2015.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked for exactly one year at a government school about an hour outside Bangkok.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I only intended to work for one year in Thailand and see a bit of the world while I was still young (I'm in my mid-twenties) and when that initial 12-month contract came to an end, I wasn't sorry to be heading back home. I had some fabulous experiences and managed to travel extensively throughout Thailand and see a lot of the country - but one year was enough. I wanted to return to the UK and get back into the job market. I also missed my family and friends.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I've only been back a few months so I've been mainly doing driving / delivery / courier jobs to tide me over until something a bit more permanent comes along. There is plenty of work here but companies seem to be battling it out to see who can pay the lowest hourly wage. There are an awful lot of folks here 'just surviving' at the moment. The UK certainly hasn't improved any in the time I've been away.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
As strange as it sounds, the one thing I really miss is the strange assortment of foreigners who somehow find themselves in Thailand's teaching profession. You meet the most amazing characters doing that job and I often wondered to myself if teaching English was their last throw of the dice because they'd exhausted every other possibility.
At our school, we employed the usual drunks and drug addicts (most of them didn't last very long) but there were also those going through some sort of mid-life crisis. There were guys who could start an argument in an empty graveyard and just couldn't get on with anybody. I also remember one term we employed a young female teacher who would burst into tears in the middle of the staffroom - often over the slightest thing.
I'm laughing now at some of the oddballs who went through that teachers' room. I just hope I wasn't viewed as one of them.
I also miss the usual stuff like the food, the friendly Thais, the well-behaved students, the weather and the opportunity to travel cheaply.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Oh for sure. If you don't take life too seriously and become frustrated with the way that Thais do things differently, you'll have a terrific time. "Just go with the flow" is the best advice I could give anyone. I saw far too many teachers losing their rag over things they had no control over and just needed to let go.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
It's far too early to say. I would love to travel out to that part of the world again because there's nowhere like Asia, especially when the sun goes down. But I need to get my life back on track here in England.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I often felt it was a great shame that it seemed like teaching English was the only job foreigners could do in order to prolong their stay in Thailand - certainly in the small town that I lived and worked in.
There was a group of about a dozen foreign teachers and we would meet up in the same bar at the weekend and trade war stories because we worked at different schools and private language institutions. Most of those teachers were always looking for ways to make money on the side (bit of on-line teaching, bit of import / export, etc) but it's difficult to devote time to a side-business when you have to work full-time at your school job in order to pay the rent. Most decided that the extra effort wasn't worth it and you made the best of life on a 30k salary.
You can do it for a year (just as I did) but I shudder at the thought of setting yourself long-term goals on that kind of income.
Martin
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Guangzhou, China. I moved here in August 2015.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked in a private school in north-eastern Thailand for 2 years and 2 months.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Myself and my Thai girlfriend had a baby in 2014 and I felt working in Thailand was never going to provide the life that I want for my child. Teaching in Thailand isn't very financially rewarding and salaries seem to have stagnated, even though the cost of living is rising steadily.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Well the salary is much better for a start. I am making double of what I was making in Thailand and that isn't taking private tuition into account, where I could be making 4 or 5 times as much.
The working conditions are also much better. I have my own air conditioned classroom (a luxury I was without in Thailand, my school had fans) and I have a computer and projector (in Thailand I had a photocopied book and a chalkboard). I have smaller class sizes (23) although this is uncommon in China.
There is also a lot less red tape regarding visas and work permits. I get a work permit and working visa. I transfer this to a one year residence permit, and that's it. No 90 day reporting. My students in China seem to be much more able, even though the material they use is on a lesser level than the school I taught at in Thailand.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I miss a lot about life in Thailand but at the same time I am enjoying adjusting to my new life in China. I started to get bored of Thai food when I was there but now that I haven't had any in a couple of months I'm starting to miss that (although Chinese food is fantastic). I miss being able to converse with the locals. I have only been in China for 2 months and I haven't really learned much of the language yet. Luckily I work with someone who speaks some Thai and I can talk to him.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
It depends. If you are a 20 something single guy or girl, or even a couple, looking for some excitement then Thailand is the place to go. If you are an experienced teacher then good opportunities are few and far between in Thailand and I would definitely recommend China. If you are thinking of starting a career as a TEFL teacher then by all means, go to Thailand for a couple of years and get the experience before moving on to bigger and better things.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Of course. My girlfriend and my son are Thai and I plan on building a house in Thailand in the future when I am finished teaching in China. I also plan on spending a lot of my holidays there. Guangzhou is only 2.5 hours from Bangkok so I could even go for some long weekends.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Thailand is a fantastic place full of fantastic people and I would recommend anyone to go there and see it for themselves. While teaching in Thailand probably isn't the best career option, it's a good place to spend a year or 2 getting the experience needed to go and teach in more developed countries.
Prasad Bhat
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to India in 2013 after living in Bangkok and working in an International school there.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked in Bangkok, Thailand for 4 years.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Several. I wanted to take a fresh guard in life as i was running out of ideas and started to develop 'a sense of loss'. I chose to come back to India as life for me and my family became 'routine'. I felt my work was becoming very predictable and boring. The initial excitement of living in Bangkok started to fade and teaching became economically unrewarding and the school management was very regressive and lacked vision. Also I wanted to switch from Cambridge board (CIE) to IB world to improve my market value.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Currently, I live in India working for an IB school. I am working in my own country, closer to my home city. Economically slightly more rewarding and the school is growing. I would like to describe this as a change in ambiance.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I really miss a lot about that great country...especially that truly secular and cosmopolitan city. I miss the smiling ...stunningly 'beautiful' people and the travel opportunities and intellectual enrichment. Visits to markets and countryside to buy exotic fruits & fresh vegetables and the calm of Buddhist temples are all sorely missed.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Certainly. It is a great baptism to life for a young teacher. A country for both-young and old. A teacher must spend at least a few years there. The city provides plenty of chances to age 'excitingly'. It is a place to lose oneself and learn when one is in the heat of life. A teacher in the early 20s need not become a philosopher but can easily dedicate a decade to Thailand.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I am not averse to the idea of another innings in the distant future as i have fond memories of the country. Will visit as a tourist next year.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Living in Bangkok is a great privilege as it is a happening city. But the people are becoming greedy and Thai way of life is disappearing. Everyone wants to kill the golden egg-laying goose. Things will get worse if people don't think about the bigger picture.
Thai kids deserve a better quality of education. Thai people have to spend time introspecting and move in the right direction. I am sure things will improve as many have started understanding the need of the hour...
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