No Swedish bikini team for me:( - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**ChasinJason1313** · 06-25-2008, 10:10 AM

Unfortunately I couldn't get my visa shit together in time even though I got accepted to that masters program at the Uni of Stockholm I posted about awhile ago.

Anywho, I'm gonna have to wait till next year and have thought about going back to one of the other ideas I was thinking about a few years ago, teaching English. I have heard that although it may not be as cool as teaching in Europe, Korea pays the best so I've been looking into it and I was wondering if anyone had heard anything about asknow.com. It's a Canadian "head-hunter" type company. It all looks cool to me. Living in Korea for a year doesn't bother me in the least so I was really just wondering if anyone has taught abroad and if they liked it.

So please, soak me with your information and intuitiveness oh my fellow travellers.

**TheJake** · 06-25-2008, 12:35 PM

major bummer bro. Major bummer. Come down to the valley and we'll get drunk....

that web link goes to a tarot card reader site?

**LiveFreeorDie** · 06-25-2008, 01:06 PM

Hey dude - everything I have heard about teaching in Asia is that Korea is the pits. Take a look at Taiwan. Thailand would be the best but they pay the least. Good luck!!

**travelpunk** · 06-25-2008, 03:41 PM

Didn't IDDQD do this in Taiwan? It was him or someone else on here that taught there.

Who was that.....

toby c · 06-25-2008, 04:30 PM

My mom did it in taiwan for maybe a week, she couldnt take the place they set her up in, said they promised her some things and didn't deliver, but that was her experience. i have friends that are teaching in thailand and china and parts of south america atm, they all have no complaints really, i had a professor that taught in china for three years and loved it the whole time, i have my tesol cert. but haven't used it yet, most of it is hit or miss from what i hear, but they say theres no attachments, you can just pick up and leave whenever, ive been told to keep an eye on the sites that post job openings and keep going till you find one that works for you.

**TheJake** · 06-25-2008, 05:23 PM

yeah Bo... aka IDDQD is still in taiwan. Look him up on here and find his msn, he's on almost all the time

**travelpunk** · 06-25-2008, 07:46 PM

Daves ESL Cafe has been around forever and is known as the place for ESL and EFL teachers.

Here is his Korean Job Forum

**IDDQD** · 07-10-2008, 06:44 PM

Whats happenin folks!

I've been in Taiwan for alost 2 years now and its been a great experience despite some major catastrophies that aren't exclusive to Taiwan. Could've happened no matter where I was.

I can't comment with certainty on Korea. I just hear things from people going to teach there and the ones that arleady have. Fromwhat I understand, yeah Korea is your best bet to save the most amount of cash. The vast majority of schools will pay for your rent for an apartment that is truely Asian (tiny) and outside of Seoul the cost of living is pretty low. The small cram schools in S. Korea, however, does have a certain reputation for not paying their teachers. It's not happening everywhere but definitely a lot more than in Taiwan.

I think the biggest difference between Korea and Taiwan is that in Taiwan you can build a life here quite easily. There are a lot of Westerners here on the "Taiwan Forever Plan" and I'm really not sure that's the same case in Korea. Depending on what you're looking for, you may prefer one over the other.

Oh, also, Taiwanese weather is awesome. If I want to, I can go to the beach any day I want all year round. And S. Korea can go down to 2 degrees! No Thanks!

Thats all I got. Any questions, I'd be glad to help.

**Majestic58** · 06-19-2009, 02:19 PM

Ok, So I'm a little slow on the reply... But out of curiosity... what is the "Taiwan Forever Plan"?

**mooloo** · 06-19-2009, 06:52 PM

^ i'm guessing to stay in taiwan for the rest of their lives??

**The Monsignor** · 06-20-2009, 05:50 AM

I'm sure that's what it is.

This is something I've thought about as well. There are several good places where you can get your certification, and a few of them provide job placement, as well (really important if you wish to teach in Japan, for example)

Korea can be hit or miss, from what I hear. It does pay well, I've heard.

I have about 5 or 6 more years till I can retire from the military. I thought long and hard about taking my pension where it will stretch, and teaching English as a way to be able to get the visas required to stay in an area for a while. (Along with buying my sailboat and using it to sail the world, also a reasonable possibility, in conjunction with teaching English)

Since I'm sitting in Romania right now, it's looking like a good place to put on the 'short list' as well, though it's not somewhere you'd want to try to survive on what they pay teachers here.