I was looking for a Nintendo 64 controller on craigslist and found a misplaced ad for teaching English in China.
Completely changed the course of my life, I've been traveling ever since.
this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2025
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bitofarambler
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Q&A for any and all questions you might have about traveling.
FAQ
are there requirements to be an ESL teacher other than being a fluent English speaker?
nope.
some countries and schools require a TEFL certificate or prefer candidates with an associate's degree depending on the position, but if you want to teach English, all you need is to be a fluent English speaker.
how can you afford to travel long-term?
The cost of living in most countries is around $500 USD a month for transportation, rent, utilities and food altogether; teaching English pays $2000 USD a month with zero qualifications or experience.
every month I taught English, I had a few extra months of my cost of living.
I taught English for about 7 years.
as long as you're making more than 500 USD a month remotely in any job, you can travel long-term.
What's the best country?
Pffft get outta here.
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I assume you travelled to China due to that ad. What other places have your travels taken you.
What, also, were the requirements for the job? Were you certified to teach English already, or did they really just need a native speaker?
I did start teaching in China through that ad without any certifications or experience, which is fairly common.
A lot of countries, China included, just require a native or fluent English speaker for a teaching job.
I've been to about 30 countries so far; most of Asia, western Europe, india, morocco, I'm in Panama right now.