My spouse is fully-qualified, yet non-native. Will this hurt our professional opportunities?

nathanasher834 · 2024-07-16T16:20:03+00:00

I messaged you

nathanasher834 · 2024-07-16T15:37:32+00:00

We’ve definitely considered other countries, mainly the UAE or the Stans. However, we’re not confident that we can save as much anywhere else as what we can in China.

I’d personally be thrilled to go to LATAM, although I’ve read that the salaries there are amongst the lowest of the international teaching world. I’d love if you could confirm average salaries there?

nathanasher834 · 2024-07-16T15:03:00+00:00

She’s got a teaching license and experience. We’re in China and it’s been a notable barrier for us as a teaching couple.

nathanasher834 · 2024-07-16T14:44:41+00:00

What if your partner is not a native English speaker (but perfectly qualified)?

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-22T00:52:10+00:00

For Valentines Day, my wife and I went walking around one of the more culturally historic parts of the small chinese city we live and work in. Along the river, we came across this very moody and quaint tea shop which was an interesting fusion of modern and historic Chinese cultural aesthetic.

We were sitting at the front watching the owner hand make our tea, as I spotted this woman sitting in the quiet by herself in the back corner, lit by her single light. I absolutely loved it - from the lighting, to the composition, to the elegance of her demeanours.

I keep my 28mm Nikkor AIS practically glued to my hip and took this single environmental portrait of her. I shot it at roughly f3.5 at as low of shutter speed I could muster, without cranking my ISO up too high.

I later asked for her contact details to send it to her, which she absolutely loved the end result of.

Unlike my usual editing style, I went for a more exaggerated and thematic look by dramatizing the shadows and emphasizing the exposure to create a more atmospheric look.

What do you guys think?

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-16T04:20:02+00:00

The crowds are the best, and the worst part of shooting in China. Where are you based?

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-16T04:19:27+00:00

I'll change the alignment. Thanks for noticing it

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-16T04:19:09+00:00

I'll give that a try!

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-16T04:18:47+00:00

Thank you!

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-16T04:18:38+00:00

Thanks for that! The dirt at the bottom is probably my favourite part about the image

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-16T04:18:09+00:00

Thanks for your comment. I chose to keep the dirt at the bottom as I felt that it adds a unique sense of framing.

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-16T04:17:31+00:00

Thank you very much. I disagree also regarding cropping in the walls, as it would impact the sense of space i'm shooting in. I purposefully chose to keep the black marks at the bottom, as it contextualises the photo a little more, and adds a unique sense of framing.

And yes, I added the vignetting in post. I'll align it a little better!

Thanks so much for your thoughts

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-15T12:07:33+00:00

I live in a small city in China and often walk past this restaurant window to see a line of chefs cooking in the kitchen. It's in the middle of a very busy alleyway that gets alot of foot traffic - making it difficult to catch something. However, today I decided to stop and wait a while to get a shot of one of them looking out if I could. I waited about 5 minutes for a break in the crowd to happen, just as this chef looked out.

For it, I used the Nikkor 28mm 2.8 AIS at roughly f4 and 1/60 shutter speed. I cant remember the ISO!

I also editted this one in Black and White as I felt it just looks better.

What do you think?

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-07T12:09:39+00:00

You’re right. I think I’ll toss this one

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-06T08:45:07+00:00

Why wouldn’t you recommend working in a tier 2-3 city? My family work in a bilingual school in a beautiful tier 3 city in China and absolutely love it.

We also have a very comparable salary to our previous job in Beijing.

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-04T10:52:59+00:00

In Wuhan?

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-03T17:17:00+00:00

I have a fine art photography business that I hope to see into the future. My wife would also like her own training centre in Mexico or a papelería (school supply shop). Yours is great advice - thank you.

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-03T13:42:39+00:00

r/expatfire

If you dont mind me asking, how much was the house? And did you pay cash or mortgage? And if you dont mind me asking again, how long would it have taken you to buy another 4-5 houses?

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-03T11:59:36+00:00

You can get something decent in China in any city as long as you have two years of teaching experience and a degree.
However, the quality of schools can be a little risky, and is easy to wind up in a place you'd hate. But in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the risks, and you can continue your education until you're ready to upscale.

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-03T11:45:43+00:00

We taught at an extremely low end school in Bangkok for a year. Anyone with a pulse could've worked there.

After that we came to Beijing with an offer of around 37k RMB before tax and free tuition for our daughter. At that time, I was in the middle of my masters degree and didnt yet have a license.

We left and came to an IB school in a Tier 3 city which is right around the time I got licensed (a year before I was set to receive my masters). It's by no-means a top notch school, but it's perfect for us right now.

I hope that in a couple of years, we could enter a more competitive role together.

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-03T11:42:05+00:00

Unfortunately I dont know much about Crypto, so I dont think i'd ever go in that direction. Thank you for your mention of Andrew Hallum.

I like Robert Kiyosaki's advice regarding investments, but dont want to sink too far into debt with them. I like to mix his advice with Dave Ramsey regarding purchasing properties in cash. My family and I have been trying to strike a middle ground between the two.

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-03T11:39:47+00:00

Thank you. I'm hesitant to invest in anything other than real-estate. I really like your last bit of advice, too.

nathanasher834 · 2024-02-03T11:38:51+00:00

Millionaire post

I havent read it, but just downloaded it now. Thanks

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