I first visited Thailand on holiday in 1988, the experience was amazing and I  fell in love with the place and promised myself that I would come back for an extended holiday.  In late 1992 Armed with a TEFL certificate and suitcase I set about finding work as an ESL teacher in Bangkok, 12 years later I was still there.

Having taught in Thailand and now China I will attempt to highlight some of the differences however please bear in mind that China is a huge and diverse Country so it is somewhat difficult to generalize also things may have changed since I left Thailand in 2004.

In their daily life Thai people certainly seem more fun-loving and are definitely gentler in their approach than the Chinese. Within the esl classroom I have found Chinese students a little easier to teach however I only have experience with adult students.

Salary wise I think I must give the heads-up to Teaching in China; of course we will find arguments but let’s take a direct comparison between Bangkok and Shanghai.

Best deal in Bangkok in a normal ESL setting will be about 40,000 Baht (1,000 USD) for 25-30 teaching hours and being tied to the school 40 hours a week take out your apartment cost 8,000 Baht (200 USD) and your left with 800 USD.

Best single deal in Shanghai in a similar capacity will net you around 12,000 RMB (1,500 USD) less apartment cost (300 USD) and Bingo you got 1,200 USD around $USD 400 better off.

We can argue other living costs however assuming you stay out of the bars and away from other temptation you will get a bigger teaching buck in your back pocket in China.

Accommodation, Internet Connectivity and work ethic is also in my opinion a little better in China; Thailand wins on the travel and food front also on English TV and getting around too.

I remember when I arrived in Wuxi, East China from Bangkok I initially thought I had arrived on another Planet not in a different Country

I could write more but for now I will pause, if you have any specific questions on Teaching in Thailand, please email Me and I will do my best to answer your question in an accurate and timely manner.

I have extremely fond memories of my time as an ESL Teacher in Thailand and I am sure you would too, Enjoy…