Teaching English in Prague
May 22, 2004 3:58 PM Subscribe
I'm thinking about moving to Prague and teaching English for a while. Google says this. Any recommendations?
Context: all my other friends who don't know what to do with themselves are going to law school. Depressing as hell. I'm thinking leaving my country / friend group for a while will give me some perspective.
Context: all my other friends who don't know what to do with themselves are going to law school. Depressing as hell. I'm thinking leaving my country / friend group for a while will give me some perspective.
Buddy of mine taught english in Prague for a couple of years. Email me at signal at altamira dot cl and I'll put you in touch.
posted by signal at 5:31 PM on May 22, 2004
posted by signal at 5:31 PM on May 22, 2004
If what you want to do is to escape your country/friend group for a while, I would strongly suggest going to Brno to teach, rather than Prague. Brno is much less touristy, and because of the relative dearth of obnoxious expats, you will be more likely to become acquainted with a different culture. Brno is only a couple of hours away from Prague, so you can go to the "hlavni mesto" whenever you feel like a visit.
If you want to go overseas and hang out with obnoxious partying expats, by all means teach English in Prague.
posted by stonerose at 7:02 PM on May 22, 2004
If you want to go overseas and hang out with obnoxious partying expats, by all means teach English in Prague.
posted by stonerose at 7:02 PM on May 22, 2004
First of all, as a current law student I think that you're absolutely making the right decision. Whatever you wind up doing, you'll be well rewarded for the extra experience and maturity that you'll gain living abroad for a while.
That said, my understanding (never having been there) is that Prague is becoming more expensive. You might consider teaching English in a modern Asian city, like Beijing or Seoul. Not only will you learn a lot from living in a completely distinct culture, but you'll get paid more, you'll be in greater demand, (both in-country and when you return to your home country) and you'll have lower living expenses. Plus, I don't know if you're white or American, but white Americans are still kind of "exotic" in China, so it's easy to make friends with the locals.
Email me if you're interested in learning about Beijing (my email address is now temporarily in my profile). You might try talking to stavrosthewonderchicken if you're interested in Seoul. (From what I understand, Beijing is slightly easier to live in than Seoul, because many things in Beijing are written in both English and Chinese, whereas the Koreans stick with Korean signs only).
posted by gd779 at 10:14 AM on May 23, 2004
That said, my understanding (never having been there) is that Prague is becoming more expensive. You might consider teaching English in a modern Asian city, like Beijing or Seoul. Not only will you learn a lot from living in a completely distinct culture, but you'll get paid more, you'll be in greater demand, (both in-country and when you return to your home country) and you'll have lower living expenses. Plus, I don't know if you're white or American, but white Americans are still kind of "exotic" in China, so it's easy to make friends with the locals.
Email me if you're interested in learning about Beijing (my email address is now temporarily in my profile). You might try talking to stavrosthewonderchicken if you're interested in Seoul. (From what I understand, Beijing is slightly easier to live in than Seoul, because many things in Beijing are written in both English and Chinese, whereas the Koreans stick with Korean signs only).
posted by gd779 at 10:14 AM on May 23, 2004
If you're not stone-cold set on Prague, I would definitely consider another city for the reasons hinted at above. Prague is saturated with English teachers, while many other cities are desperate for them. I would second the recommendations for Brno and Budapest or even an Asian city. (I would also add Bratislava, Zagreb and Ljubljana to the list. Actually, I would consider any of the eastern European capitals -- except Minsk.)
I suppose the most important thing is what city you'd feel comfortable in, and what kind of culture and environment you want to spend your time in when you're not working...
posted by Ljubljana at 3:55 PM on May 23, 2004
I suppose the most important thing is what city you'd feel comfortable in, and what kind of culture and environment you want to spend your time in when you're not working...
posted by Ljubljana at 3:55 PM on May 23, 2004
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And if it doesn't work out, there's always Budapest is also an awesome city to live in, but with far less of the Tourist Center vibe. Though there are correspondingly fewer English speakers about...
posted by kaibutsu at 5:15 PM on May 22, 2004