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...
Neil
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Back to the UK in July 2014. I now teach ESL at a university here.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
All in all, over 5 years. Most of it happy, but all of it biting my tongue.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I got sick of the general dishonesty of the country; lack of career opportunities; the Thai education 'system' is a complete joke.... there are other reasons, also.
Unlike many other people, I never found the visa situation a problem, but I got out just before things went crazy. Having said that, the visa situation does seem to 'trap' you in one job for a year.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Better pay, better motivated students, better working systems, students who know they CAN fail and respond accordingly.
I can run a car and save a similar amount of money that I did in Thailand, but also have the security of the health service, and some sort of a pension in the future, as well as building career credibility with every month I work here.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
My friends and loved ones, the weather, my condo/gym/swimming pool, also there are many aspects of Thailand and Thai people that I DO like.
I also miss living in the great city that is Bangkok.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
You would have to have experience to get my current job, so Thai experience would be better than nothing. If you are trying to get into teaching seriously, Thailand is probably the last place you should start in. You simply cannot stay there for multiple years and NOT become contaminated with bad working practices, no matter how much you try.
If you are just passing through, for whatever reason, it can't do too much harm. But working for less than 40k a month in Bangkok is just survival, whilst harming your long-term prospects. And that assumes no large medical bills...
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Only for visiting. Working there is just too demoralising / career damaging.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Thailand's future seems pretty uncertain at the moment. There will be some 'inevitable' shocks to come in the future. I can see things getting even worse than they are now.
Jay
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to the UK in 2006.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
3.5 Years
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Well, at that time I felt I had gone as far as I could go within the Thailand TEFL circuit. I was also missing family and decided to return to the UK and resume my old career as an engineer.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
You can never compare the life style and weather in the UK to that in Thailand, but the main advantage here is that I am now working as my own limited company on a freelance basis. I'm currently earning over 55K per annum, which allows for a very decent standard of living. I also take two whole months in every year to visit Thailand, where I still have a property. My work allows me to take one month off in every 6 months - so I get the best of both worlds.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I actually miss the madness of it all, the amazing beaches in the south, and also the feeling of complete and utter freedom.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Definitely but maybe take a look around you after two years and if you're not heading in the right direction - think about moving on.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Well, two months in Thailand every year isn't bad I suppose.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Thailand is a great place when you're someone in your twenties and thirties but I think it could get more difficult as you get older and then perhaps it becomes easier to get 'trapped'.
Kim
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Moved back to the UK in 2012
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I lived in Thailand for 8 years. I worked for 7 years in a private school and language school at weekends.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
My daughter was 2 years old at the time. I wanted to put her in nursery and send her to primary school.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Working here in England has better salary increases and benefits. You also have a chance to progress in your career.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The cost of living is so much cheaper then living in England. My salary pretty much goes out on bills every month leaving little to save. I was on a good salary before I left Thailand and could easily save between 20,000-30,000 baht a month!
I also miss the great weather and the amount of school holidays we used to get. I could set off to an island,or if I fancied visiting another country I could do it.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Yes I would definitely advise people to go and work in Thailand. I would recommend they try to get a job in an international school though if they were looking to teach and had the right qualifications. These places would have much higher salaries,great benefits and a school which would support and look after their teachers.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Sure,I've been back on holiday a few times. My wife is Thai and we have a little girl who has dual nationality. It's nice for them to go back and visit family and for my daughter to pick up some Thai! I'm hoping to complete my PGCE,once I have finished it would be nice to return and live there again.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
A beautiful country and had an amazing time there! If you plan to move there and you are thinking of working in Thailand, then go for it! Just don't get sucked in! You might end up staying too long!!
Simon
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to South Korea, Seoul on the 11th Jan 2015, so just over two weeks now.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked in Bangkok for about two years at a private language school. I started off working full time and then moved to part time so I could focus on studying Thai and my hobbies.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I finished my Delta in Bangkok and felt if I wanted to progress my teaching I should try to get a couple of other countries on my resume. I also found that a lot of my friends had recently moved on or got girlfriends and it seemed like a good time to leave.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
The money is better here and the students are definitely quite a bit more advanced. I think Korean culture is more similar to English than Thai so it is easy to get a good debate going in the classroom with students expressing well thought out opinions and arguments.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Currently I am missing the weather but that will probably change once Korea warms up. I am missing my condo gym and swimming pool and playing tennis outside. The accommodation here although clean is not of the same standard as Bangkok. I am also missing the relaxed nature of Thailand. Most people in Korea are quite serious and seem to complain about their jobs a lot.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I would advise anyone to go to Thailand. It is an amazing place and your first year will be unforgettable. After you have worked for 1 or 2 years I think you need to consider what your life goals are. If you want to make money or take teaching seriously then your probably best to leave Thailand in your 20s with a view to coming back later.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I will definitely be returning to Thailand. I have already planned to return in January next year for a month or so to join a Muay Thai camp. After that I will probably head to The Middle East to save some decent money. I have met quite a few teachers who are on crazy money in Saudi so I will try that for a couple of years before reconsidering a move back to Thailand.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
I think it is important to remember that Thailand will always be here and although things will change, you can always return. I have been in Korea for two weeks and have a new job, friends, bank account, condo. If you are on the fence about leaving I would recommend just going. You can always come back.
Chris
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved back to Wales in October 2014.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I taught in Thailand for five years. Well, to be accurate, I taught at a high school in Thailand for two years. Then I got itchy feet and moved to China for nine months. Then I returned to Thailand for another two years - at the same high school!
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
That's not an easy question to answer. I think that perhaps I fell out of love with both teaching and also living in Asia. I started to miss my family as well. I thought I would have got over that feeling of homesickness after five years away, but I never did. I still loved Thailand and the Thai people though.
I knew though that moving back to a small village in Wales was going to be a huge gamble for someone who was now 27 years of age. The job situation back home wasn't great. But I didn't have a wife or partner here to worry about. I was still a free spirit. It just seemed like the right decision to return home and spend some quality time with family and friends - at least for a short while.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Absolutely none whatsoever! Getting back into full-time customer service work has proved impossible. I could definitely find something full-time but it would mean relocating to a large city or town.
I'm living under my parents roof again (not an ideal situation for a man in his late twenties) and to keep the money coming in, I've taken on a couple of part-time jobs. I do four evenings a week behind the bar at a local pub and I'm doing some driving work for a car rental company during the day. The bar work is guaranteed income (albeit not a fantastic hourly rate) but the driving work is a few hours here and there (whenever the company needs me)
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Having answered the above question as honestly as I could, I would have to say that I miss the independence :) Your own apartment, your own job with enough money coming in to pay your bills and to go out whenever you want.
And of course now we're in the depths of winter in the UK, I would give my right arm for some of that Bangkok sunshine. You'll never hear me complain about 30 degree humidity again. Try walking home from your bar shift at almost midnight with that icy wind coming up from the valleys. I'd forgotten what it was like to be so cold, you could almost break down and cry.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
We all know that the teacher salaries are generally crap in Thailand, but you would be hard pushed to find a nicer country in Asia to live in. As I said in an earlier answer, I did nine months of teaching in China - and hated every minute! It just made me realise how much I loved Thailand and how much I was missing it.
In my second spell of teaching in Thailand, I noticed far fewer teachers sticking around for as long as I did. The teachers room became a revolving door. No sooner had you made friends with a teaching colleague, the end of term would come and they would be gone. It seemed to be the way teaching in Thailand was going. Not exactly what I would call backpackers (although the school had its fair share of those) but young guys only interested in doing a year of teaching at most.
So if you're thinking of coming to teach here for a short period, you couldn't choose a better country in my opinion.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I'm missing the Thailand lifestyle. I really am. But something is telling me to give the UK just one more try.
Ideally I would love to have one of those jobs here where I could earn enough money to come to Thailand for three or four weeks every year. Now wouldn't that be fantastic?
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Perhaps I should do another one of these 'great escapes' in six month's time. Hopefully by then I'll be making a better fist of life in the UK and Thailand will be a distant memory. Only joking! Thailand will never be just a distant memory.
Showing 5 Great Escapes out of 329 total
Page 36 of 66
