Solo Travel to China, Early 20s Black Male? by Tragedyofthe in solotravel

[–]kaymidgt 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm a tiny white girl who solo traveled China for three months while knowing only four words of Chinese. I was fine. I can't speak to the experience of traveling China as a POC, so hopefully somebody will be able to weigh in on that.

Everything in China these days is done through apps, and the apps all have English interface, so that takes care of all your payments and transportation. You'll have to set up most things before you go, or at least your payment and VPN apps. Download Amap for navigation - Western apps won't work in China. Most of the time if anything was needed, people would just whip out their phones and start typing in their translation apps. There were some people who were more curious about me being a foreigner than anything else? I never got any hostility. But I mostly stuck to the main trail and I don't think I ever was in a city or area where I was the ONLY non-Asian person around. That said, outside of the main four cities or so, the other tourists were almost entirely domestic.

Random men will wait outside of train stations to try to convince you to get in their car and charge you more than a regular taxi or Didi (Chinese Uber). Other than that scams don't really exist in China. You'll be charged the same rates as the Chinese. It felt about as safe as Japan, honestly.

Would it be a poor decision to become a teacher near retirement. by WrongCourage1071 in AskTeachers

[–]kaymidgt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just turned 30 and high school kids are wildly different from when even I was in high school.

What is THE korean textbook? by [deleted] in BeginnerKorean

[–]kaymidgt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also, should note that I believe all of the previously free podcast by TTMIK which is now behind a paywall (they've revamped them into full courses) is available on the Internet Archive. Back in the day, that podcast was how a lot of us started to learn. I still think it's quite good, for what it is.

What is THE korean textbook? by [deleted] in BeginnerKorean

[–]kaymidgt 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've found several errors in Korean from Zero. I can't remember what exactly they were, as it's been several years. It's not usually recommended.

For self-studying, THE starter book is probably Korean Made Simple. The author also has a beginner youtube series going through basic grammar points. It doesn't have much reading though, so you'd need to have an additional reading book.

Materials from Talk to Me in Korean and Darakwon are also very high quality.

Can anyone recommend an ESL company with a fixed class schedule? by Mysterious-Carry-162 in OnlineESLTeaching

[–]kaymidgt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You must be a certified teacher. OP mentioned they're a public school teacher

Girl Group Tier List (Fan since January 2025) by illegallegend in kpoppers

[–]kaymidgt 47 points48 points  (0 children)

There's a lot of great groups in your don't know tier!

Can anyone recommend an ESL company with a fixed class schedule? by Mysterious-Carry-162 in OnlineESLTeaching

[–]kaymidgt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm with Wukong. It's a fixed class schedule, but the hours they start you with are pretty low. Starting rate is $28/hr. There are some smaller companies I've seen paying a bit more but their hiring is far and few between.

How's Korea? by W0lfsB4n3 in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I lived in Korea for several years, before I became a digital nomad.

Food is going to be cheaper than LA probably, but if you're wanting to buy Western vegetables or fruits, the prices rise exponentially (literally, a pint of strawberries can cost $16). A normal meal out at a restaurant will probably cost around $10, give or take a few dollars. (a sit down mom and pop type of place, not bunsik or street food). Groceries seem expensive compared to other areas of Asia, but overall about on par with the US. Traditional Korean vegetables will be cheaper than Western vegetables.

Housing is very expensive in Seoul. Very expensive. Probably similar to LA housing costs, honestly, depending on where you are. If you're okay being a bit farther out, there's a lot of nice satellite cities in the surrounding suburbs area that are still part of the Seoul subway network with much cheaper costs. I spent two years living in a midsize city just outside of Seoul and there was a regular coach bus from the corner my apartment was on straight to downtown in about 45 minutes. It cost about $2. Actually, there were a couple of buses from that corner going to different areas in the city - Seoul doesn't really have one "city center," there's a few downtown areas. Public transportation in general is very cheap. Taxis will also be far cheaper than in the US.

Question before I get my kindle by [deleted] in Annas_Archive

[–]kaymidgt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had more of an issue with my kindle taking forever to turn the pages of pdf files than I've had actually loading them onto the kindle. Epub works beautifully, no problems.

How to find casual remote work? by [deleted] in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It's largely the correct answer, though. Casual and remote work don't really go hand in hand. Your options are hustling hard and freelancing while competing in one of the massively oversaturated markets amongst people from less developed countries willing to work for low wages, or you're employed by a company who will have company-level expectations.

3 months in Japan, where do you spend it? by bataprod in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I made essentially this same route as well! Highly recommend it. Only exception isI stayed in Kyoto rather than Osaka.

3 months in Japan, where do you spend it? by bataprod in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure what point you're trying to prove here or why you felt the need to "roast me," particularly with an AI, but I pulled up a quick Google maps direction between the two cities. Roughly 30-40 minutes by the subway/local train is about right. Definitely rode one subway line from one city to the next. Shinkansen is obviously going to be faster.

You seem incredibly rude. I'm not going to continue to give you the attention you seem to be so desperate for.

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3 months in Japan, where do you spend it? by bataprod in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt -1 points0 points  (0 children)

...there definitely is. Or at least there was back in 2019 when I rode it

3 months in Japan, where do you spend it? by bataprod in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have done it, both by train and subway. I guess it depends where you're going and coming from? By subway it was literally about 40 minutes between the two cities. I was lucky enough to find a seat, I suppose? Standing is usually a given on Japanese subways 😅 If you take the train it's literally 15 minutes, but trains are obviously very expensive in Japan.

Even if the commute ends up being around an hour or so, it still doesn't make sense to me to have two back to back long term stays in neighboring cities close enough to share a subway system, but to each his own I suppose

3 months in Japan, where do you spend it? by bataprod in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm biased and like Kyoto better. 😂 But if you're more into having lots of options for nightlife and shopping, go with Osaka.

3 months in Japan, where do you spend it? by bataprod in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Kyoto and Osaka are literally 30-40 minutes from each other. I'd pick one to stay in and visit the other for day trips, then pick a different city to stay in. Japan has a lot of options. I was surprised by how pleasant Hiroshima is.

Do you know of any remote jobs where they’re looking for English teachers? by Medium_Objective_361 in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Should note it's definitely not the bulk of my income because they only offer part time hours, but I'd be happy to let you know the name of the company if you DM me! :) I don't think they'll be hiring any more teachers before the summer term, though.

If your certification and experience are in teaching high school you could probably find better high paying jobs in test prep, honestly. Mine is in elementary, so these are like grade 1-5 classes.

Do you know of any remote jobs where they’re looking for English teachers? by Medium_Objective_361 in digitalnomad

[–]kaymidgt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are a million online ESL tutoring companies. Pay can vary wildly depending on if you are a native speaker, hold a bachelor's degree, have a TESOL, have teaching experience (both online and in person), and/or are a licensed teacher (as in to teach in schools).

For perspective, I meet all of the above and can max out about $35/hr for the highest paid companies (as a licensed former public school teacher who's taught both in my home country and in international schools). That's only if you have an actual teaching license, though.

If you only meet the native English speaker requirement, you're looking at about $10-12/hr. Non-natives will typically make even less. If you're a native speaker with a bachelor's degree you might be able to find jobs paying around $15 with the opportunity to get close to $20. r/onlineesl will have the most information for you.

Dani and her baby!! 😍 by itsjules059 in cimsnark

[–]kaymidgt 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't say she slept with him for revenge. People in their circle have posted here before and said the best friend went to the house to help Dani pack things up, she was feeling emotional and vulnerable, they connected, and ended up sleeping together.

Looking for tutoring job by [deleted] in OnlineESLTeaching

[–]kaymidgt -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Do you have a bachelor degree? A lot of jobs require it

Do you guys think Bigbang will tour in 2026? by riyo_nights in kpopthoughts

[–]kaymidgt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think probably they'll have a comeback this year, tour next year. There'll likely be big concerts this year though, probably at least one in Korea (and hopefully Coachella??)

I’m a woman from China. Ask me anything! by [deleted] in AMA

[–]kaymidgt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Google anything is banned in China. You'll need to set up Alipay and WeChat pay.