The story about that guy who paid off all his debts in a year overseas...

While yes, it is possible to come here, scrimp and save every penny (or won) and then go home debt-free (and I have seen plenty of people do it), the reality is that the story that we all heard about making tons of money ESL teaching is reaching its end. You know, it was generally a friend of a friend who went to [insert country name here], and lived in a great house, and made, like, $100,000 and, like, came back to, you know, Canada having paid off all his student loans and then bought a house and a car, all paid for in cash.

Right.

I have paid off a credit card and a student loan. I have paid down my other student loan, other (active) credit card ~ meaning I still use it to buy things, and no, it's not in the freezer yet ~ and my line of credit. I've been to China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Canada, Taiwan, Indonesia, Cambodia, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and France, and I'm on my way to South Africa. I've bought a scooter and a motorcycle (uhh, for a month!), and lived very well (going out to eat, not always having to check prices in the grocery store before putting something in my cart ~ thankfully, I don't fit into the majority of clothes and shoes here, or I'd look like Carrie from S&TC). And yes, I can recognize that I have made certain lifestyle choices (like not working illegal extra classes for extra money, or choosing to take a taxi instead of a bus, or not eating ramyeon every day)...

But...

When I first arrived, I was making 2.1 million won a month (It's no big secret how much we are paid here: We all make pretty much the same wage and it is advertised everywhere on the internet and such). After deductions, I brought home about 1.9 million won. According to XE.com, I was bringing home roughly $2,300 CDN a month in 2006. Two years later, and with a contractual raise (after deductions, I am now bringing home just over 2.1 million won), as of today's really crappy exchange rates, my monthly salary is now worth a paltry $1,800 CDN.

Ouch. That's a $500 difference over 2 years.

Of course, the reasoning behind it all was that the cost-of-living and the taxation were a lot less than in Canada (and it is!!!!). But even that is no longer holding true, with even kimbap (the ever-popular rice and seaweed roll) showing a price increase of 20%!! Yes, Alex, I know that's a difference of $1 to $1.20, but it looks more shocking when it's a percentage....

I'm still fairly comfortable by average Korean standards (especially in my neighbourhood). And I'm still living well within my means here. It's just something of a shock to watch your salary dive because of banks in the US or the price of oil or whatever CNN says.

I guess this is just something to keep in mind if you're thinking that, you know, like, teaching English overseas is, you know, like a totally way-cool easy way to pay off your debts...