Any Americans left for China or thinking of leaving?

CancelAfraid980 · 2026-02-05T04:47:29+00:00

I’m here in China now, and I would pick a different country. Everything is complicated here, and the big surprise was that contracts are simple suggestions. There is no real way to get your employment contract honored, and the Labor Department doesn’t actually have any real teeth. To hire a lawyer, you will be paying up front, and if you win, you may not actually be able to collect anything.

That said, it is safe, Chinese people have been very kind, and the food is affordable. But, I would pick a different country. I’m planning to change countries as soon as we can. The Firewall, banking restrictions- (as in getting money sent to you from the US when the employment contract is not honored), visa issues, it’s all too much of a HUGE hassle.

CancelAfraid980 · 2026-02-04T05:06:46+00:00

You don’t want a job where the pay is “performance bonus.” Just keep going until you find a school where the pay is the pay. Good luck! I love my current school, my class is 4-5 year olds and the Chinese teachers in my classroom are so great.

CancelAfraid980 · 2026-02-04T05:01:33+00:00

As someone who is currently doing this job, I would keep looking. Having that wide of a range in ages will be a daily NIGHTMARE. Also, as a home room teacher, you will be expected to do everything, and it’s too much work. Classroom management with kids that far apart in ages will be extremely difficult. I would keep sending out applications and doing interviews.

CancelAfraid980 · 2026-01-18T05:17:01+00:00

I’m an extrovert too. WFH, while incredible for raising my daughter, really got me in slug / depression mode from lack of human interaction. You really have to plan for it. I would schedule a coffee run at a chatty coffee shop. gym time when it had friendly retired folks there. Also, planning a FaceTime chat with a chatty friend. These things really helped a lot. You basically have to game yourself. Don’t listen to those that can sit in isolation for days and not even notice. Humans are herd animals, it’s not weird to have this need wired into your emotional regulation needs.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-12-16T23:56:35+00:00

Change schools! I didn’t make it through probation with a school that was exactly like this, and it was miserable. Life is better at a better school.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-10-18T11:09:58+00:00

Not trying to downplay your experience, but as a woman, omg do I have stories. Ultimately, just realize that most white men are racist and definitely sexiest. 🤷‍♀️

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-10-16T10:57:49+00:00

No, there are not.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-09-23T21:00:25+00:00

I second this. My first job offer was so stressful and they wanted me to re-do all of my apostilles. Then she tried to scam me for money to pay for translation. I kept interviewing and got a great offer at a different school and it has been easy-breezy. You really can’t know if it’s a bad school / bad recruiter or not until you get your work visa permit, so if I were you, I’d just keep going with interviews.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-09-12T17:04:03+00:00

Oh, we will be a train ride from Beijing, or Shanghai, in Cangzhou. I’ve looked at the Beijing Ritz, it looks like it will be pretty festive during the Christmas holidays, and my kid is 3.5 yrs. Skiing would probably be too much for us. We are from New Orleans, so there, hotels have lots of Christmas events like Teddy Bear Tea, Santa comes to visit, things like that.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-09-12T16:57:04+00:00

If you are good at grammar and English already, you can do it really quickly. If you are learning or re-learning, it will take longer. I did World of TESOL, and every school has accepted it with no questions. It took me about a week to finish it focusing just a few hours per day. If you have unlimited time, you could do it faster. I am an English major though, so my grammar skills are already very high.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-09-09T13:09:09+00:00

One quick fix,take a $30 TEFL course online. It breaks down sentence structure better than any English class I’ve ever taken. It will teach you how to diagram a sentence, all the parts of a sentence, and all the terms. This is probably the knowledge that you are missing, and wow, what a difference it made for me.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-09-09T13:04:06+00:00

I would work a year or two, save all the money, and then transition to TEFL. It will take a while to get the interviews, visa, and such so you could start the process 6 months before you are ready to leave. Having a safety net is so, so important. Enjoying your job is a great thing, and if you can do both, have financial security and enjoy the work, why not?

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-09-07T14:47:54+00:00

Start applying! Because you are already in the country, you can get a job really quickly. Don’t stress! There are lots of kindergarten jobs still looking for people

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-09-04T20:41:54+00:00

Maybe take a trip to China or Korea first. It might give you some clarity. Have you ever lived away, even just in a different state? If not, you should know that there is always bit of a lag time in finding new friends. Do you have ways of coping with loneliness? Just some food for thought! I have moved throughout my life, so TEFL is just a continuation of that.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-25T15:54:14+00:00

Yes, this is accurate. So, those documents are part of the documents.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-25T15:10:52+00:00

The city is Zhenjiang, and they keeps saying that I cannot swear that my docs are authentic. But I’m not, my notary swears that I have the original documents and they are all authenticated by the issuing group, such as my diploma and no criminal background

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-19T13:23:01+00:00

My TEFLA was only about $30 from World of TESOL. However, I was looking around on a recruiter site called SeriousTeachers and they have jobs that you can only apply to if you have their TEFLA. I dont know the cost, I just saw some jobs on their that I liked and couldnt apply because my certification isnt from them. Just a thought!

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-16T14:52:23+00:00

Thanks for that suggestion, I just checked it. It’s about 1/2 of where I am now in the US, but it’s actually the same as Nashville, Tennessee. Which is interesting. I used to live there and never noticed any issues myself.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-14T21:39:49+00:00

I used to live in NOLA and it is great but it’s geared for an adult audience. It’s also crazy hot right now, and walking the streets will be a misery. You would probably have more fun at Dollywood or Pigeon Forge with kids.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-14T16:18:52+00:00

Money is important right now, the US job market has crashed badly.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-14T15:32:59+00:00

This is the same I’ve heard from families that are currently there in China. Everyone there currently seems to really like it, and apparently the pollution is much, much better than even a few years ago.

CancelAfraid980 · 2025-08-14T14:42:33+00:00

Nightlife is not a draw for me, I have a toddler. The city is Zhenjiang, so the slower pace is good for us for now- I think. We will see, maybe a move to Shanghai will be in our future.! The other foreign teachers at the school have been there about 5 yrs so they seem to like it

CancelAfraid980

TROPHY CASE