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...
John Fowler
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I went to China In 2009. 30th of October to be exact.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I taught in Thailand for about 3 years.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
I got fed up. Burnt out. Too many hours. Large noisy classes and I just had enough of the lifestyle. Oh, and it all went downhill after the split with my girlfriend. haha.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I've got a nice 3-bedroom house with a kitchen. I also work fewer hours for a similar salary. And I get a teaching assistant.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
I miss the lifestyle and the Thai smiles. I miss the fun students (but not the large classes) I miss the food and I miss the buzz of Chiang Mai. If I could have the Chinese working conditions and the Thai lifestyle. WOW! that would be a great combination.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Do your homework and ask as many questions as possible. Check the exact position of where you are working. Maybe I'm stupid, but I just trust what people say. I've had employers tell me I would be working in a city, only to drop me off in some tiny village in the middle of nowhere.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Yes. If I can get suitable employment. I have gained more expereience in China now. I even make songs and sing for the younger ones (I never did that in Thailand) Also I have gained experience at college and university level.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
China is better for the working conditions (from my experience). The culture and Chinese habits take some getting used to though. It's not Thailand! but it's getting there.
Ronald
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
I moved to UAE about 6 years ago for the salary and stayed there one year. I then moved to China for two years, Afghanistan and then back to China. I have been here in China (Same university as I was at four years ago) and love it.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
I worked in Surat, Bangkok, Khon Kaen and Chiang Rai for a total of about 7 years.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
All the main problems people list i.e., salary, the Thai BS that you have to put up with and the low quality of education. I must say that trying to save money in Thailand is difficult and owning a car and home is difficult with the red tape and low salaries. I also think that a salary of 40,000 baht/ month along with Thai teacher jealousy is a big pain.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Quality of education, salary, housing, flights, paid holidays (Three months) the RMB and the freedom from Thai bosses. Thailand is a great place to go if you want to start out and work for peanuts and accomplish nothing. It is for losers. The only step down is Cambodia. I have worked in 11 different countries and Thailand is the worst. I love the country and own a home there with a wife and kids but would have to see some big changes in order to come back to work.
I love Thailand as a place to live and I speak/read/write Thai but I am an educator and the skools just don't do it for me. I have worked at small countryside MEP's to universities but the quality is just not there and the incompetent/corrupt school admin/faculty/staff are hard to put up with.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
Everything including the food, lifestyle, weather, beauty and corruption. Where else can you pay 10$ for a seeding ticket and have the co say "Thanks" after you bribe him? What other country can you have a student bring you gifts when they break up for a holiday?
I do not miss mandatory summer camps, meeting parents so they see my "white" face or the "class" system of Thailand. Thais are totally incapable of accepting the idea of human equality - as with most places - but they are some of the worst in the world. I also dislike the gender inequality in the Thailand workplace.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
I advise everyone to stop working and show that if Thailand wants real educators, then they need to pay for them or hire non-native speakers for 20,000 baht /month. Let them suffer for a while and see how fast salaries and benefits go up. Any native speaker who works there supports their ability to take advantage of young or desperate teachers.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I go home twice a year for two months at a time - June 26 to Sept 1 and Dec 29 to March 1. Love my time there! I love driving by the old schools and seeing the new farangs standing outside at 8 a.m. getting rained on or baked in the sun!
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Thailand is terrible and as long as you support the Thai system they are going to do what they want. Lets all have a general strike for one term and show them what native speakers require to come and STAY there.
Garry Brown
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Went to S.W.U.F.E. University Mianyang China in February 2008
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Three years at various schools and towns
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Tired of the B.S.associated with working, but loved the country. China offered all permits etc. and better facilities. Salary was about the same.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Not a relevant question for me now as I am in Australia. I needed surgery and wanted it performed at home just in case. But the deal was better in China, mainly in the attitude of the students. As mentioned before, the salary was similar, however the package included accommodation, some meals, air fares, permits etc. all paid for you. The disadvantage was the freedom.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The lifestyle is far better than China, the comradeship and 'sanuk' is unmatched elsewhere.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Thailand is great for the younger teachers who can adapt to everything better. I am getting older now and seek the comfort of proper lodgings and not a one room flat. China provided a great apartment at no cost.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Yes Sir, I am counting the days, I love Thailand and will be there soon.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Although I once swore that I would never teach in Thailand again, I now feel more at ease and hope that I can get a part time job 'up country' somewhere.
Monica-O
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Initially Shanghai, China, then Hong Kong, Canton and every other place Lonely Planet has never heard of in China. I was working in Bangkok for an international school and a part time university gig back when they were still importing the parts for the Skytrain, circa 2003.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
Almost three years but played much longer than that.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
Opportunity and the BBD ( bigger better deal). Initially for me, Thailand was to break away from a Sydney Arts job which went sideways with budget cuts, had the quals experience in an Australian uni so I looked at an international setting which I got. A chance encounter with an old friend who was a head honcho with the HK NET scheme and his Chinese partners/gov mob opening up a new international school. I needed the challenge, he needed a PYP co-ordinator/manager so my China history was born. Always had a fascination for China and did two years of high school in HK when my father was working there.
The money was never the motivating factor and the new school, which now has three campuses in Shanghai and became one of the best there, burn out was an issue for me and the professional development which I never got in BKK. A case of you have wings and you want to fly scenario. Never looked back.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
Every experience in teaching is a learning curve and I certainly won't put mine in Thailand down but there is not enough space for a thousand words on here. The opportunities, the solace, the resourcefulness of the people, the certain je ne sais quoi that draws people to certain places and seduces them into a long term stay.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The wonderful Thais, the climate, the tuk-tuks, the motocys, the food which can't be copied, the guard in Ekamai where I lived who introduced me to all his chess mates and showed me how to ride a motocy like a Thai with all my flowing skirts and heels intact, the cobras in the South when going for a pee, many things.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
In Thailand think of it as the next step to a long term plan, unless you meet someone and build a life there. In HK the sky's the limit, be aware of your needs and wants. Are you a career orientated person? Forget Thailand. Money? Go to HK. The frustrations and indescrepancies in Thailand and the red tape will drive you nutters one day.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
I go back yearly, working there - wouldn't consider it, on an international scale for me doesn't match up with what I have here. Love visiting but......there are the always the buts.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Find the crack, meaning, what makes you content about a place, situation or people - then go with it.
Louis Minson
Q1. Where did you move to and when?
Back to the UK in 2008. I currently work within the financial services industry.
Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?
6 1/2 years.
Q3. What was your main reason for moving?
While I appreciate it may sound strange for somebody who worked quite happily within the Thai education system, I just didn't think that for my daughter it was a substitute for the kind of education I'd had, plus we had itchy feet, and my wife is an ambitious lady that wanted to try her luck in the West.
Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?
I can own property, I can save for retirement, I do not feel at the mercy of ever-changing immigration/labour department/MOE/TCT paperwork requirements.
Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?
The weather, the lifestyle, the food, the prices, the beach....and of course, my old school, colleagues, and students.
Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?
Of course I would say do Thailand if you feel it's right, just be aware that the longer you stay the harder it becomes to return to your country of origin. Don't come penniless expecting to make your fortune, and don't expect life delivered to you on a plate. Were I to advise otherwise, to stay planted firmly in the rat-race forever, I would consider myself a hypocrite. Do what you need to do.
Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?
Maybe, I feel that I've only just got back home really, and have really only got to the stage where buying a house in the UK has become feasible.
Realistically, I can't see myself coming for anything more than family holidays for my wife and daughter's benefit, until such time that my daughter has gone to university, and can afford to retire at which point, we may take advantage of a substantial amount of land my wife owns and build a little lakeside villa in Songkhla province....and maybe become a chilli farmer. Pipedreams at present.
Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?
Don't be suprised when you return, if your long experience in Thailand is not regarded as that valuable by prospective employers from outside the TEFL industry, perhaps no more than how a gap-year may be regarded. Don't burn your bridges, and try to maintain as many contacts from your old life as possible. Facebook is a very useful tool, that can help you do this...something I only had for the final year of my time in Thailand.
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