Post: #51

It was something I considered for a while but never went through with it, the generally low pay and what the job entails puts me off. Plus working with kids is not my idea of fun.

A friend of mines is flying out to Thailand next month to do a 3 week course down in Phuket, costs about $1,100 USD but he gets put up in a nice resort during the course, then a guaranteed job for at least 4 months somewhere in Thailand (a village in the sticks with little to keep you entertained), free apartment and $1000USD a month in pay. The only stipulation is that if he doesn't complete that 4 months placement he doesn't get the TEFL certificate and has to pay around $500USD for non completion. Anyone interested the name of the company is American TESOL institute Thailand.

Post: #52

Part of my professional career has been as an instructor. It's by far and away the most rewarding part of what I do. Man, I love getting in front of a class and teaching. I recommend it to anyone, you'll thank me later.

I will probably teach English down in Sao Paulo. It was mentioned here that private instructors are making $30 an hour. That's a lot of money. SP is expensive, and I'm figuring $2500 per month for operating costs. So teaching 20 hours a week should at least break me even.

I think it's a good way to network into a job.

Post: #53

Check out http://www.daveseslcafe.com for jobs and its teacher job forum.

Post: #54

(03-07-2012 09:42 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

(03-07-2012 08:42 PM)memcpy Wrote:  I'll be teaching English in Japan, leaving this weekend. I signed a contract and the pay is around 230,000 yen. I found this company through craigslist Tokyo of all places, after trying the major English schools AEON, JET, INTERAC. Basically they don't want you unless you have experience and a work visa.

The pay isn't great but also not bad. It's basically enough to save and take a few small trips, and party.

From what i've researched most Japanese English teacher's are either:
1: the gaijin clown entertainer
2: the human pronunciation machine
3: have control over entire lessons

I hope I at least am not 1 or 2, 3 would be nice.

Once I get there I want to do some private lessons on the side, even though doing so is against my contract. I'm seeing lots of opportunities to teach on the side, once the school season starts in April you will start seeing people drop out, teachers getting sick, and posts go up wanting someone to take over their class for the day/weekend.

I've got business cards made up, got friends already over there, and I'm ready to see what I can get into.

That is $2,800 a month. Pretty good wage for most places, not sure about Japan though.

Got a few questions if ya don't mind.

1. Is your housing included like in S. Korea, or do you have to pay for that yourself? If you have to pay yourself, about how much will you be paying?

2. Which city will you be living in? If in Tokyo, are you close to good nightlife and the happening spots?

3. Have you taught English before elsewhere?

4. Do you a TEFL or other similar cert?

5. Do they provide a work permit, or will you be living and working illegally?

Anything else someone interested in this should know?

Hope you have a blast in Japan, bro!

1. The housing is provided and they set it up for you since it's hard for foreigners to find apartments in Japan. (Thank you money, Key Money, Finders Fee's, Japanese Guarantor).Some company's do this and some don't. The company apartment is 66,000yen which is kind of expensive. I found several apartments going for 30,000yen -40,000yen.

2. I'll be living in Mito City which is 2 hours north of tokyo by train. It's still a large town. The best places to work are Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa which are all 20 min train ride to tokyo and have cheaper housing than tokyo. Tokyo is Expensive so it's better to live in one of those city's that are on the outskirts and just take the train there since it's not far. This info was given to me by my Japanese friend who lives in Kanagawa.

3. I haven't taught English elsewhere

4. All you need to teach in South Korea/Japan is a piece of paper that says you graduated from somewhere and did something.

5. They give you a work visa, first you get a certificate of eligibility, then you take that paper to the nearest japanese embassy in the U.S. that piece of paper gets turned into a work visa and it valid for 1year.

The Japanese school year starts in April, so the best time to look for a job is now. You can still find positions open all year long. I would recommend finding a job online vs. going to Japan and looking. You should probably check out Craigslist:Tokyo since people don't really check it out to much but it has lots of postings. http://tokyo.craigslist.jp/edu/

Post: #55

you will be a clown entertainer if you are teaching young students, but that aspect never bothered me.

Human pronunciation machine..not really.

If you have zero experience and never took a CELTA or TEFL you will probably struggle at first.

250,000 Yen is typical salary for newbies, so yours isn't too bad.

In Japan they typically find you a place and take it out of your salary.

For saving money Japan is third best place to teach behind the Middle East and Korea.

Post: #56

(03-08-2012 09:41 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  you will be a clown entertainer if you are teaching young students, but that aspect never bothered me.

Human pronunciation machine..not really.

If you have zero experience and never took a CELTA or TEFL you will probably struggle at first.

250,000 Yen is typical salary for newbies, so yours isn't too bad.

In Japan they typically find you a place and take it out of your salary.

For saving money Japan is third best place to teach behind the Middle East and Korea.

Red, in your experience, is there a way to teach English part time. I was thinking of doing it for free if it was just a couple hours for a day or two.

Mainly to get a longer term visa but I also think I would get a lot out of the experience. I don't know about the kids thing, maybe adults would be better.

I could care less about the money but don't want it taking up too much of my time.

Post: #57

It can be done but the visa is always the sticky issue.

Any language institute (for profit school that pimps you out to other schools and/or has night classes at it's own facility) is always looking for teachers and part-time is fine.

They will not pay for your visa. Depending on the country you can work around it.

In China I got an institute to sponsor my visa, i paid for the visa and agreed to do X many hours for the standard pay (less than 8 hours a week). Then I could freelance the rest of my classes cut out the middle man and pocket all the cash, or pursue other work while there.

However, I worked fulltime at that institute for 8 months, they knew me, and liked me. I used them for my visa for 2 years, and they gave me a steady stream of classes.

So it can be done but securing a visa for a newbie might be tough, but it can be done.

Post: #58

(03-08-2012 11:30 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  It can be done but the visa is always the sticky issue.

Any language institute (for profit school that pimps you out to other schools and/or has night classes at it's own facility) is always looking for teachers and part-time is fine.

They will not pay for your visa. Depending on the country you can work around it.

In China I got an institute to sponsor my visa, i paid for the visa and agreed to do X many hours for the standard pay (less than 8 hours a week). Then I could freelance the rest of my classes cut out the middle man and pocket all the cash, or pursue other work while there.

However, I worked fulltime at that institute for 8 months, they knew me, and liked me. I used them for my visa for 2 years, and they gave me a steady stream of classes.

So it can be done but securing a visa for a newbie might be tough, but it can be done.

Visa costs wouldn't be a problem. Cheers for the info, Red.

Post: #59

(03-08-2012 09:24 AM)memcpy Wrote:  1. The housing is provided and they set it up for you since it's hard for foreigners to find apartments in Japan. (Thank you money, Key Money, Finders Fee's, Japanese Guarantor).Some company's do this and some don't. The company apartment is 66,000yen which is kind of expensive. I found several apartments going for 30,000yen -40,000yen.

Thanks for the info man. So just to clarify, are they taking the 66,000yen for your rent OUT of your paycheck, or do they pay it for you completely so you still pocket the total 230,000yen monthly salary?

Post: #60

if you search on craigslist in the job section and type "abroad" in the search jobs box you should get a few teach english abroad jobs in Asia (especially China and South Korea). I have a friend who's knows someone who's teaching English in South Korea. He told me South Korea pays around $2000 a month plus a free apartment, and other countries like China (pay around $800 a month) and Latvia pay very poorly. Some middle eastern countries pay high also (oil wealth) but from what I hear South Korea is the place to be when it comes to high pay for teaching English, and I also heard the Korean girls dig Western men. The bad side is the war mongering between north korea, so thats the risk you take. good luck

Post: #61

(03-08-2012 01:03 PM)jimrogers Wrote:  if you search on craigslist in the job section and type "abroad" in the search jobs box you should get a few teach english abroad jobs in Asia (especially China and South Korea). I have a friend who's knows someone who's teaching English in South Korea. He told me South Korea pays around $2000 a month plus a free apartment, and other countries like China (pay around $800 a month) and Latvia pay very poorly. Some middle eastern countries pay high also (oil wealth) but from what I hear South Korea is the place to be when it comes to high pay for teaching English, and I also heard the Korean girls dig Western men. The bad side is the war mongering between north korea, so thats the risk you take. good luck

tell your friend's friend to do some more research.

if ur making $800 a month in China you are getting screwed. Double that amount is more typical.

Middle East pays more than Korea.

These are not my opinions they are facts.

Post: #62

(03-08-2012 12:17 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

(03-08-2012 09:24 AM)memcpy Wrote:  1. The housing is provided and they set it up for you since it's hard for foreigners to find apartments in Japan. (Thank you money, Key Money, Finders Fee's, Japanese Guarantor).Some company's do this and some don't. The company apartment is 66,000yen which is kind of expensive. I found several apartments going for 30,000yen -40,000yen.

Thanks for the info man. So just to clarify, are they taking the 66,000yen for your rent OUT of your paycheck, or do they pay it for you completely so you still pocket the total 230,000yen monthly salary?

A small percentage company's will put you up in free housing but mine doesn't, this will probably be in a small town though, but you probably wouldn't be near Tokyo. Since I have no experience, I have to take what I can get, and look for a better deal. So I get paid 230,000 yen and then pay 66,000yen in rent each month. If I found housing on my own it would be around 30,000yen - 40,000yen a month, but I don't have time to go through all those troubles once I get there. Once I get settled in, i'll definitely start looking.

Post: #63

(03-08-2012 01:52 PM)memcpy Wrote:  A small percentage company's will put you up in free housing but mine doesn't, this will probably be in a small town though, but you probably wouldn't be near Tokyo. Since I have no experience, I have to take what I can get, and look for a better deal. So I get paid 230,000 yen and then pay 66,000yen in rent each month. If I found housing on my own it would be around 30,000yen - 40,000yen a month, but I don't have time to go through all those troubles once I get there. Once I get settled in, i'll definitely start looking.

Thanks for the info. If my online business ever collapses it's nice to know I could have a place like Japan to go and work for a year while I recover, as opposed to being stuck in the US at a shit job.

Post: #64

So, for those of you in the know, why do so many people choose to teach in S. Korea as opposed to Japan? The pay seems about the same, and Japan seems like to me a much more favorable destination. What's the story here?

Post: #65

Who here has experience on teaching english WITHOUT a college degree? (I was accepted into a prestigious university and attended for a while, but never got a degree).

It seems kind of silly that many people who are less educated than I am, with less verbal/linguistic skill can get a good paying job in South Korea teaching english because they passed enough classes in Podunk Iowa State university.

Post: #66

(03-08-2012 02:43 PM)Rurik Wrote:  Who here has experience on teaching english WITHOUT a college degree? (I was accepted into a prestigious university and attended for a while, but never got a degree).

It seems kind of silly that many people who are less educated than I am, with less verbal/linguistic skill can get a good paying job in South Korea teaching english because they passed enough classes in Podunk Iowa State university.

I'm not sure, however, what about making a fake one? Pick some random, small state college and have one made online. I am sure there are people out there making them. I wouldn't think some elementary school in China or Japan will call or check on the degree. Many US companies never even check if your degree is legit or not.

Post: #67

You will save more in Korea bc housing is included (free). People go there for the money and quit bc it sucks. Japan or China/Taiwan would be better.

If you want to teach in Korea, Japan, China, and most of Asia you need a degree.

No degree south america, maybe EE, parts of SE Asia, but you will break even or lose money.

An idiot native english teacher who is white will get hired over a native english teacher with MS in English but looks asian 10 times out of 10.

Life isn't fair.

Get ur degree, go where you don't need a degree, make a fake copy of a degree, those are your 3 options.

Post: #68

(03-08-2012 03:14 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  You will save more in Korea bc housing is included (free). People go there for the money and quit bc it sucks. Japan or China/Taiwan would be better.

If you want to teach in Korea, Japan, China, and most of Asia you need a degree.

No degree south america, maybe EE, parts of SE Asia, but you will break even or lose money.

An idiot native english teacher who is white will get hired over a native english teacher with MS in English but looks asian 10 times out of 10.

Life isn't fair.

Get ur degree, go where you don't need a degree, make a fake copy of a degree, those are your 3 options.

So, what's the best place (most money per month) for someone without a degree, most likely? Brazil maybe?

I'm interested in teaching english in Belarus/Ukraine/Russia/Poland.

Post: #69

Poland and Russia will both say they want a diploma.

Almost any country you go to you can find a place that will hire you w/o the proper credentials. But you will have to look harder and will get paid less. Then Visa becomes your number 1 problem.

Before the school term starts the employers want degrees, certs, and experience. When the school year starts and they are losing money because they have students and no teacher or have angry parents, guess what? Rules change and now if you speak english that is good enough.

Just remember if you have zero teaching experience, no degree, and no TEFL or CELTA you will be getting the worst jobs and crappy pay wherever you go.

If you go to the sticks, they will hire you, but u'll probably be miserable.

Never taught in Poland or Russia but I keep tabs on most places.

In Poland TEFL salaries are going down and the cost of living is going up.

Russia- Roosh is there so he should know better, but for newbies they don't make much. After a year or more of experience you can double the newbie salary. I've heard russians are picky on who they select.

Brazil- can get by w/o degree

Ukraine- Visa law was recently changed so working under the table is becoming more difficult. Again with no experience or credentials getting hired might be tough (never been)

Belarus- no clue


getting hired you can do, staying long term and securing a visa is ALWAYS the hardest part ANYWHERE.

Post: #70

(03-08-2012 02:02 AM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  It was something I considered for a while but never went through with it, the generally low pay and what the job entails puts me off. Plus working with kids is not my idea of fun.
A friend of mines is flying out to Thailand next month to do a 3 week course down in Phuket, costs about $1,100 USD but he gets put up in a nice resort during the course, then a guaranteed job for at least 4 months somewhere in Thailand (a village in the sticks with little to keep you entertained), free apartment and $1000USD a month in pay. The only stipulation is that if he doesn't complete that 4 months placement he doesn't get the TEFL certificate and has to pay around $500USD for non completion. Anyone interested the name of the company is American TESOL institute Thailand.

Actually, if you’re looking to stay somewhere longer than 3 or 4 months, teaching can pay pretty well after you get some experience. A coworker from my school just got hired by an oil contractor to teach Physics in Equatorial Guinea. He’s going to be making $20,000 a month, working your typical 28 on, 28 off shift. That’s $120,000 a year, tax free for 6 months of work. He has no teacher’s license btw, just a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and about 4 years of teaching physics and math in a Thai public school. Obviously you’re not going to land this type of job with a TEFL paper and no experience. Like most things, you have to put in some work and do some networking.

Right now I’m teaching in Thailand (I’ve also taught in Korea) so this is something that I can lend my “expert opinion” on. If I were to advise your friend, I’d say just skip the TEFL. If you’re just starting out then the only thing it’s good for is to make connections. That 3 week course is not going to prepare you for the chaos and culture shock of a Thai classroom. If you want to stay in teaching a bit longer and head to a country that requires one for visa purposes like Vietnam or Indonesia, then do it after you have some experience. It’s unnecessary in Thailand, Japan, China, and Korea.

I don’t have a TEFL and I work at one of the better public schools in Thailand teaching English grammar and PE (yeah, it’s fucking easy). I have a pretty sweet deal here; salary that allows me to save a fair amount, excellent administrative support, 8 weeks paid vacation, health and dental insurance, accident insurance, housing allowance, and on top of that I only teach 14 periods a week. We also take 4 all expense paid school trips a year. At the end of this month we’ll be spending 4 days at a five star resort in Hua Hin. Basically, I just have to show up around noon everyday and do an hour of activities with the students, then I’m free to do whatever I please with the rest of the afternoon and night. After those four days, I have 5 weeks of paid holiday that I’m going to use to hit up some of the islands in the south and Burma.

If anyone is thinking about starting out teaching, then Korea is definitely more lucrative. I was there 15 months and saved $21,000. I worked my ass off though-- doing private lessons, not blowing money in casinos like many of my friends, cooking for myself, finding the cheapest grocery stores, taking the bus instead of taxis. At one point, I had a private lesson paying 80,000 won an hour ($75) where I’d just go in and talk about getting drunk and chasing women with Korean businessmen—no joke. Our conversations never really got past sex, money, cars, gambling, drinking, hookers, billiards, and travel. It was the easiest money I’ve ever made.

Generally speaking, I was frugal but not cheap. I do spend money but not on stupid, useless crap. Everything adds up. I just looked at it as a year to make money and have fun chasing women but I know some foreigners in Korea that can’t save a dime. They just have no idea how to manage their money.

Korea was a good year and I used the coin that I earned there along with about 35k in other savings that I had to go cash in with my brother on a duplex in a college town in Minnesota. Right now it’s looking like a wise investment as each unit nets us about $720 a month after insurance, prop mgmt, water, taxes, etc.

Anyway, I realize I’m rambling. If there’s any interest I can break down how to find a quality job in Korea and Thailand and what to expect in terms of working conditions, pay, benefits, how to find housing, women, culture, regions, etc.

Oh, one more thing I wanted to throw in: if you’re going to start out teaching you might as well just swing for the fences and try to get into an international school. You’ve gotta be licensed to do it however and one way you can do that is through taking the MTEL by the Massachusetts DOE. Look it up. It’s easy. I’m considering doing it myself when I finish here in September.

Post: #71

Quote:I don’t have a TEFL and I work at one of the better public schools in Thailand teaching English grammar and PE (yeah, it’s fucking easy). I have a pretty sweet deal here; salary that allows me to save a fair amount, excellent administrative support, 8 weeks paid vacation, health and dental insurance, accident insurance, housing allowance, and on top of that I only teach 14 periods a week. We also take 4 all expense paid school trips a year.

I don't think your experience is the norm though from what I've read on TEFL forums.

Post: #72

(03-09-2012 02:09 AM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  

Quote:I don’t have a TEFL and I work at one of the better public schools in Thailand teaching English grammar and PE (yeah, it’s fucking easy). I have a pretty sweet deal here; salary that allows me to save a fair amount, excellent administrative support, 8 weeks paid vacation, health and dental insurance, accident insurance, housing allowance, and on top of that I only teach 14 periods a week. We also take 4 all expense paid school trips a year.

I don't think your experience is the norm though from what I've read on TEFL forums.

That's because he's not normal. He's one of us. Our experiences will be different than the average Joe.

Post: #73

(03-08-2012 06:40 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  Poland and Russia will both say they want a diploma.

Almost any country you go to you can find a place that will hire you w/o the proper credentials. But you will have to look harder and will get paid less. Then Visa becomes your number 1 problem.

Before the school term starts the employers want degrees, certs, and experience. When the school year starts and they are losing money because they have students and no teacher or have angry parents, guess what? Rules change and now if you speak english that is good enough.

Just remember if you have zero teaching experience, no degree, and no TEFL or CELTA you will be getting the worst jobs and crappy pay wherever you go.

If you go to the sticks, they will hire you, but u'll probably be miserable.

Never taught in Poland or Russia but I keep tabs on most places.

In Poland TEFL salaries are going down and the cost of living is going up.

Russia- Roosh is there so he should know better, but for newbies they don't make much. After a year or more of experience you can double the newbie salary. I've heard russians are picky on who they select.

Brazil- can get by w/o degree

Ukraine- Visa law was recently changed so working under the table is becoming more difficult. Again with no experience or credentials getting hired might be tough (never been)

Belarus- no clue


getting hired you can do, staying long term and securing a visa is ALWAYS the hardest part ANYWHERE.

It sounds like faking a diploma is my best bet then.

Post: #74

(03-09-2012 02:42 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

(03-09-2012 02:09 AM)AlphaTravel Wrote:  

Quote:I don’t have a TEFL and I work at one of the better public schools in Thailand teaching English grammar and PE (yeah, it’s fucking easy). I have a pretty sweet deal here; salary that allows me to save a fair amount, excellent administrative support, 8 weeks paid vacation, health and dental insurance, accident insurance, housing allowance, and on top of that I only teach 14 periods a week. We also take 4 all expense paid school trips a year.

I don't think your experience is the norm though from what I've read on TEFL forums.

That's because he's not normal. He's one of us. Our experiences will be different than the average Joe.

Yeah, Ali's right. It's not the normal experience. That's why I'm posting here and not on eslcafe or some other tefl forum. I don't post there because I doubt any of them would want to listen and I don't feel like fielding questons from cubicle sheep looking to escape their pathetic, monotonous lives in places like Cincinnati. I'd rather discuss these things with people who have already taken the first few steps.

I've been in Asia long enough to know how things get done. A certificate is just a shiny resume enhancer--- something that would lend legitimacy to your profile back home but is significantly less useful here. Ultimately, what is most important here is appearance and presentation. Content and substance, not so much. At least, not at first.

I would suggest that instead of paying that money for a TEFL, your friend should just lie on his resume (in full disclosure I didn't do that but I don't see how they could catch you). You can claim that you have a year or a year and half teaching English in a language school in some other country. If you're afraid they'll look at your passport stamps, just google a language school in New York, Los Angeles, or Denver and write is as your work experience. It doesn't matter. They won't call.

Secondly, if you want to come to Thailand, get yourself a custom suit. You'll only need one as it's way too fucking hot here to wear those things around regularly. You can have them made cheaply in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, pretty much any city with a tourist presence and a Sikh population. Get a few nicely fitting custom shirts while you're at it and a nice tie. You going to need at least 4 or 5 good dress shirts for interviews, a few pairs of good fitting slacks, and some nice dress shoes. Don't skimp on this. If you look cheap, you won't get hired. You'll only need to wear the complete suit once--just for the resume photo. Take it in front of a nice hedge or some flowers. It'll stand out from all those passport photos they get. Make sure to take a photo that starts at about the mid-thigh and doesn't cut off the top of your head. They'll like you more if they can tell you're not fat.

If you look good, have a properly prepared resume that shows experience and extensive international travel (good jobs don't want newbs who'll get homesick and take off on them), have a Thai cell phone number (easy to get), and enough cash to last you up to 6 weeks or so while you find a good job, then you should be straight. No need to spend money on the TEFL.

You can look here for jobs in Thailand: http://www.ajarn.com/recruitment/browse_jobs/index.html

Some of them might say that they require a TEFL but like I said, presentation will trump that. My job had it listed as a requirement but I applied anyway and the rest is history.

Warning: Don't take a position in a for-profit, language school. They'll overwork you and fuck you over. At a gov't school you'll always be paid and you'll get all the benefits. I'd be wary of taking a job with a recruiter too. It's best to work directly with the school. I'd also consider Church schools. The best positions are in in international schools but they require licensing. If you want to go that route see my previous post about MTEL.

If you want to work in BKK as a teacher, don't take one baht less than 40K per month. Personally I wouldn't work there for less than 50k. It gets expensive fast and I always like being able to save some money.

In the provinces, 30k should be the minimum. I wouldn't take less than 35K unless maybe it's in Chiang Mai where I might consider 30ish. CM has lower salaries for teachers because all of the old fart whoremongers living on pensions will teach for peanuts so they can get a visa. You won't find much full-time work there for more than 25K and even then I'd doubt they'd hire someone without experience in Thailand.

I know that all of those salaries seem low ($900-1300) but you have to consider the fact that Thailand is obscenly cheap. For example, I live in a provincial city (pop. 110,000) and live very well on 11-12k baht per month. I go out 4 or 5 times a week and nightlife is so cheap that I never end up blowing much cash. I get paid 40k from my school and then do some private tutoring on the side which nets me another 5k a month. So I pull in about $1500 a month and usually end up saving $1000 or $1100 of that. Coupled with the income I make off of a rental property that I own outright back home, I feel I'm doing really well. In a couple years, I think I might have enough to buy another rental property and expand my empire haha. Until then I'm trying to figure out what to do with my savings. I'd appreciate any suggestions

I might be headed to Japan to teach next February. It'll be interesing to see how the experiences between there an Thailand vary. Man, I love J girls

Anyway, I just wanted to show that teaching can be profitable. I've been reading this forum a lot over the last year or so and lot of the talk here has helped me develop better picture of what I want out of myself and life. However, I've only feel compelled to write when I can add something concrete to the discussion. If you guys, have any specific questions, I'd be glad to help.

Post: #75

(03-08-2012 02:34 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  So, for those of you in the know, why do so many people choose to teach in S. Korea as opposed to Japan? The pay seems about the same, and Japan seems like to me a much more favorable destination. What's the story here?

I agree with redneckpunk's assessment. Korea is an easy place to get into and make some money. Japan is a more desirable country so they don't have to offer the incentives of free housing, flights, and settlement allowance, like Korea does.

If you're broke, go to Korea, save some money and get some experience. While I don't think I could live there again I found it a good experience. If you're in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Suwon, or Gwangju, there are plenty of options for night life and entertainment. The smaller cities can be alright too. I didn't think much of Asian women before I went to Korea but now I got that yellow fever Their Asian-American sisters just don't do them justice

The start-up costs in Japan are a lot higher because not only do you have to pay rent but sometimes you also have to pay "key money," which is 2 or 3000 dollars that is usually not refunded when you leave. It's like a gift to the landlord.

Also, everything is more expensive in Japan. Korea is cheaper than Western Europe and North America, while Japan is more like Scandanavia. If my memory serves me correctly, I'd say costs in Korea are similar to somewhere like Poland (I was in Poland four years ago though)