where to go and how?

[mariam2]

Hi there I'm new. I would really appreciate some advice!
Over the course of the last year or so I've been to China twice as a tesol teacher, for a total of 8 months. I had to leave because of visa problems (essentially, I overstayed my visa-- I wasn't deported, just had to leave).

So now I'm back in my home country of Australia, and wondering where to go next? I really don't have the heart to return to the PRC after all that. I have considered the following places
Korea
Taiwan
HK
Japan
then, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam

Really I would like to go somewhere I can save some cash for travelling afterwards. But obviously my only experience has been in mainland China, and I have no idea what the correct/simplest way to enter these countries and stay for the entire year+ would be. Where would you recommend me to go? What requirements do I need? I have googled for visa information, but some is outdated or unnecessary etc so I thought it'd be better to ask a tesol teacher's forum.

For the record, I have about a year's tesol experience and I'm 21. I intend to leave in November.

[ThomasTopham]

Dear mariam2,

I'd like to suggest something a little different. You say you'd like to go somewhere to make money for traveling, but if it were me I would consider my work location a form of travel itself. So why go to, for example, Korea - a place that might not be particularly appealing culturally, but where you can make good money... so that then you can travel in, say, Indonesia or Vietnam, the places you'd actually like to see? And then, as you are passing through rural villages in Indonesia or whatever, you'll be saying "Wow, what a fascinating place, I wish I could stay."

If I were you, I'd consider not where the best money is, but where you'd actually like to be. Working in a foreign location for an extended time is such a more meaningful experience that passing through as a tourist.

I'd take a poorly paid job in a small town in Vietnam over a well-paid gig in Seoul anytime. Consider it!