I waver back and forth when it comes to moving back to Canada, quite possibly forever and making a life there, or living the expat life which is kind of amazing in a lot of ways. I mean, who wouldn’t be happy working at a university in Korea where you get paid an astounding amount of money for a very little amount of work. I go on exotic vacations a couple times a year, cruise around Korea on road-trips with friends on weekends, go out a few nights a week for various fun activities and have a mountain and river and ocean right outside my door to get some exercise on my bike or Stand-up paddleboard.
But, what I do know is that I am tired of Korea. Like really, really tired of it and although I generally like teaching, I’m not sure how much longer I can do it in a place that quite literally has almost no academic standards or integrity. It’s kind of a soul-destroying job in a lot of ways and I feel like I’ve hung on this long simply because of the 5 months of paid vacations and 3-4 day work weeks. And hanging on because my job is so easy and I get so much vacation really isn’t my style.
So, options. Venture out to another country, somewhere like Vietnam. But, while that does seem quite fabulous, it also seems like more of the same thing I’ve been doing in Korea.
Or, scuba diving stuff. But, I think I like money too much and can’t really picture myself working for $20 or $30/day.
Or, perhaps live the digital nomad life. But, I’m not exactly at the point yet where I could live off the money I make, especially in a first world country.
Or, Canada, which would mean going back to school so I could do something besides teaching (my career up to this point) or human services/counseling (my educational background-which is kind of a high-stress, low-pay field).
I’ve been looking at 2 year finance diplomas in Vancouver and Victoria and I actually feel more excited about that option than I have about anything else in a while. Like I’m way more excited about helping people with their personal finances than I am with teaching students the finer points of English grammar or how to write an academic essay.
I’ll be getting a significant amount of pension money ($30 000+) when I’m done in Korea, and combined with my emergency fund ($8000) and housing deposit ($10 000) and then my passive income (around $500/month) could quite easily set myself up for a couple years of school in Canada without breaking into my savings. I will definitely have to reevaluate this option after spending some time in the Great White North during this winter vacation though. I’ve become weak when it comes to the cold after my happy years in Asia.