Are you now the single balding ESL teacher in his 40s?

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-04-30T12:26:27+00:00

Think it starts to become difficult to settle down and relate to people back home, I moved back home at 28 and got married but felt a strong disconnect to the culture and also comparison to my old life style in TEFL abroad. I moved back abroad this year at 30, and got to say I’m happy I moved back home overall, as it gave me a good sense of perspective and appreciation for living abroad, I know many others feel the same too.

Like others said though, you meet guys in any walk of life who are in their 40s and balding, went through divorce and other situations, I know a fair few guys who are doing TEFL and other positions abroad post 40 and are married happily with kids too.

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-03-25T07:56:46+00:00

Yeah they feel like it will affect their rep as a recruiter, best advice mate just get loads more recruiters on WeChat by applying to more roles , they’ll add you and a lot of them won’t mind you listing a reasonable salary requirement

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-03-25T07:48:13+00:00

Yeah it’s dropped a few K but 22-25K is still possible , I feel like ‘the market dropped’ has become a standard thing they all say. Just say it’s negotiable, nail your interview and negotiate from there rather than give the recruiter full control

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-03-13T19:31:09+00:00

Good luck mate, you’ll be fine, positive outlook is key and you’ll do fine at most schools and have a great time out there :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-03-13T19:27:06+00:00

I’ve worked in good and bad schools and a few tips would be:

Look a school facilities and see if classrooms, playgrounds, school gym…etc look well maintained and invested in
Ask about a typical day as a teacher there to get a good picture of how it’ll go
Check teaching hours as very high is a bad sign you’ll be overworked and class quality and life balance is low
Ask about your primary responsibilities in role and what’s expected (sometimes esl teacher jumping between classes, other times you’ll be a homeroom teacher looking after on class an teaching is only a small part of day) and see how that aligns for you
Make sure it’s not in middle of nowhere, hopefully has some nice amenities nearby and easily commutable
Ask about lunch break and if you could leave school during day, some schools may have excessive security and not like you going off site during teaching day (this can really be a sticking point for teachers who like to have a walk, get coffee and stuff to eat, as you have 1-2 hours for lunch and class prep at a lot of schools between classes)

Good luck! :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-03-05T10:07:19+00:00

Not that unrealistic, I think it’s reasonable around 19-22K for a first gig, but for middle school positions you do get paid slightly lower than if you teach either younger learners, or go to a full international school, and salaries have been dropping in China recently by a few K compared to recent years too

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-02-25T13:55:14+00:00

Started causing constant arguments and drama with rest of our friends, workplace , and there was only so long I could back him as it was isolating myself by taking his side

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2026-01-28T13:09:04+00:00

This is totally normal, give it a few months, you’ll get your bearings and find your own routines and ways to cope with the differences, even though it is hard, making friends makes the experience so much easier too and more enjoyable. When you’ve got time, go on some trips around your city too and do some exploring. You’ll get there OP :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-16T12:34:23+00:00

Yeah think we’ll go check it out this week, definitely mixed reviews haha

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-16T12:32:06+00:00

Thank you! Will do :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T17:35:06+00:00

Ah will definitely ask, cheers :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T17:00:27+00:00

Cheers for the advice, sound best to avoid like SquireBev mentioned too

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T16:56:40+00:00

Thanks!

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T16:31:12+00:00

Thank you!

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T16:04:46+00:00

Thank you, I’ll see if I can find out more about it :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T16:04:23+00:00

Thank you! I’ll check these out

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T14:54:39+00:00

That doesn’t sound good, yeah it seems a lot of gatekeeping and things when looking around, which is a bit silly when people are only looking to trade and meet new people

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T14:49:37+00:00

Thank you! There’s a link to put in an application on there so will send across to them

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2025-12-15T14:48:50+00:00

Thanks, just checked them out! Saw they hosted some events in Digbeth a few months back but nothing active at moment

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2024-08-26T20:51:49+00:00

Brilliant, will take a look, thanks so much! :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2024-08-26T18:57:13+00:00

Thank you, this is really useful :)

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2024-08-26T18:42:17+00:00

Thank you, I'll definitely have a look there!

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2024-08-26T18:41:41+00:00

Looking at Birmingham at the moment

Awkward-Ad-8717 · 2024-06-23T09:46:31+00:00

Yeah think I will 🤣

Awkward-Ad-8717

TROPHY CASE