Living overseas can sometimes feel like paradise and yet other times feel like hell. There are many variables that cause people to have both good and bad experiences living in another country. Having been raised in Ontario Canada, I decided to teach abroad for a year after finishing university. Fast forward 6 years and I am still loving the experience living abroad.
That's not to say that there haven't been difficult and trying times. Language, culture, food, working conditions, social norms, and many other things can cause problems that only occur while living in a foreign country.
So to mark my 6 years of living and teaching in South Korea, I've written a blog post about both the good and bad that I have experienced thus far. This post will only include the good. Stay tuned in the following days for the bad. click the follow button so you don't miss out
The Good
The Geography
South Korea is a small, densely packed country, but they have managed to make the most of their limited space. I can stand on my roof top and see mountains looking in one direction and a beautiful beach looking in the other direction.
Mountains in the backyard
Cheap Transportation
Taxis are reasonably priced, the meter doesn't go up every 5 seconds like back home and the cabs are nice comfortable cars. The subway is cheap and cleanly and runs on a tight schedule. The buses are another great alternative and you can get anywhere you want to go using the bus system. However traffic congestion can definitely slow you down. For longer journeys there are several train options, the slow train, the medium paced train and the fast train. you can get from one end of the country to the other in less than 4 hours using the fast train which travels around 300km/h.
Safety and Security
South Korea is definitely the safest country I have ever been in (I've been to roughly 20 countries). Despite what the media will have you believe about the omnipresent notion of North Korea launching nuclear missiles, The Korean people are generally very respectful of others property. There are always exceptions to the rules, but in general I don't worry about my livelihood and the threat of danger.
I have never felt scared walking alone at night
The Convenience of EVERYTHING
Because South Korea is a densely packed country, they build up instead of out. It is common for most buildings to have stores and restaurants on the first several floors and then apartments higher up. To give a quick example of the convenience in Korea... my apartment has a convenience store on the first floor, there is a bus stop in front of my apartment, the subway is a 2 minute walk, there is a grocery store across the street, there are 2 movie theaters within a 5 minute walk, there are 3 Starbucks within a 10 minute walk and there is a department store for all your shopping needs within a 5 minute walk. Convenience overload.
The beach is only a 10 minute walk from my house
Cost of Living
Now depending on who you are and where you're originally from, this can be a debatable topic, but in genereal the cost of living is lower than back home (Canada). My rent is under $500 per month in a major city, I can live for roughly $1000 a month, this includes entertainment and not living too frivolously. On top of that, Korea is not a tipping culture and tax is included in your price, so when having a meal or drinks on the town, it's not gonna break the bank like it would in the West.
There are many other notables that I could include here, but I've already rambled on too much. If you have anything to add please leave a comment or find me in the chat feature. I am just starting out here on steemit and looking to netwrok with like minded people.
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South Korea is definitely the safest country I have ever been in (I've been to roughly 20 countries< -- i'm totally with you. As a korean, i didn't know that how safe my country is. but when i visited to another country ( especially Australia), i felt very scared walking alone at night many times. But i know not everyone, every korean feel the same way. Anyway i hope you write bad part. because i know some. I just wonder how many bad things we have in common! I will follow you!
Yeah, I completely understand what you're saying. Korea is really safe in my opinion, but there are definitely some bad things about living here as a foreigner. I will write more about the bad stuff later this week. also followed you. cheers
$500 for rent? For THAT view? Wow!
Nice post, beautiful scenery, combined with lots of modern technology.
Yeah, the rent prices are actually affordable. Living back home the rent would be at least triple
Was nice to meet you in chat and was happy to find a good post like this in your blog! My cousin went to SK and really enjoyed it and you touched on some of the points she really liked as well.
Its on my list of places I want to go one day.
Appreciate the kind words. Definitely a place I recommend visiting, not the most touristy country in the world but nonetheless its a great place to visit
Nice post!!
thank you
I lived in South Korea back in 1989. I was there less than a year. But I loved it. And yes, very inexpensive. Probably more expensive now than then...but it sounds like things are still very reasonable.
Yeah, when I originally arrived here I planned on staying no more than a year, but it has become a second home for me. Glad you enjoyed it
I am not an expert but If I can digest an article, I am sure other people will too. Your langguage is light and easy, you don't use high langguage to convey your message. I like it. Keep it up. Welcome to steemit. Followed n upvoted
Cheers. Appreciate the welcome and kind words.
This post received a 2.0% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @jasonshick! For more information, click here!
Yoyoyo! I saw your fresh account so I am offering you my welcome. You get an upvote and know that the steemit community awaits!
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Interesting stuff!! but we need the "bed part" of it too
Bad part coming soon
Nice post!
고맙습니다
Looks an amazing place to live, loving the photographs :)
There are definitely some real great things about living in Korea. Especially the food haha
Sounds good to me lol
Im trying to guess where u live...um...Busan? Good to read about our country through non-Korean(can i say this?)'s eyes. :)
네 부산 맞아요. 너는 어디에 살아요? 나 부산 찐자좋아 그렇지만 때때로 내가 좋아하지 않아.
R u practising speaking(writing) Korean? ^^ Im living in Seoul now bt I used to live in Busan when I was in uni. Thats why I guessed u r inBusan from the photos. Good to know u~
I used to study Korean when I first came to Korea, but now my level has gone down. Seoul and Busan are two big beautiful cities, but they are very different. Look for ward to reading more of your work and practicing my Korean
Unfortunately I dont have many posts in English....ing...But I have to try from now on ~
It's okay, English is very difficult. Do whatever makes you comfortable
Thank you for the welcome