I fully accept that
I have been researching this, and my plan is to save up enough to fly out, get a course at a school in Thailand (I'm thinking Phuket), and have enough for basic living expenses to get me up and running, and some left by (about £1000 in an account here as a startup fund) if it goes tits up.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Wed 15 Oct 2008, 17:20, 1 reply)

Do it
Hi, if your thinking about it then do it, it wont go away that easily. Ive been away for 4 years now and its a damn sight more fun than the daily grind.
here are the pros v cons as I found them...

Pro's
Weather
Food
Drinks
Beaches
Generally non violent societies
Different perspectives/cultures etc etc
Stuff to do that you can't do at home, often cheaply.
Learning other languages (when you can do it, its amazing, like opening a secret portal)

Con's
You'll miss your friends/family (initially ALOT)
Language.
Theiving gits who spot your not local and tap you)
Career progression in your old job.
British TV, culture (?)
Language.
Oh, and did I mention that learning other languages is pretty difficult? especially in a short time frame, and you may need them to get the better jobs)

I'm currently in Hong Kong, pay is good, 20 quid tax bill last year but its quite a culture shock from Europe.

Good luck!
(orangejuicejohns, Wed 15 Oct 2008, 17:45, closed)

Hmmm...
To weigh up the cons

Language- I'm a fast learner, so I should be fine
Thieving gits- I'm a tightwad, so hopefully won't be too much trouble.
Career progression- HAH!
British TV/Culture- I need a break from all of that.
Missing friends/family- Nothing I can do about that, but I can always come home if it gets too much.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Wed 15 Oct 2008, 18:32, closed)

Teaching English as a Foreign Language can be sheer exploitation
and really crap once the novelty of being abroad wears off. A lot of schools will just try and rip you off as they know foreigners don't know the local labour laws and don't have the contacts with the police to get their rights respected (and that's if they know enough of the local language to make themselves understood to the authorities, who won't necessarily fall over themselves to help foreigners). It's not beyond schhols to lie through their teeth over the phone re accommodation, workload and pay, then muck you around once you arrive and you're thousands of miles from home.

Some of the worst horror stories are here:
teflblacklist.blogspot.com/
(lolwhites, Wed 15 Oct 2008, 22:09, closed)

Thanks for that
I was wondering if there was a site around on the net that had that.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Thu 16 Oct 2008, 0:57, closed)