The 'best' city in Thailand, in my opinion, is Chiang Mai. Another that's pretty cool is Udon Thani. There are lots of little towns and villages along the coast down south. Some of those have nice beaches, and you'll find at least one school in each town. Little towns out in the sticks are pretty lame. I'd avoid those. They're boring and nobody will understand you. Yeah, the language barrier will get old fast if you teach in a small Thailand town.

There's always Bangkok, but it's crowded, noisy, and polluted. I believe I read once where BKK has the world's worst infrastructure, which is no surprise to me. Organization is a big weakness in Thais. They don't have the brains for organizing something like a city. I think I read in that same article that by 2020, BKK traffic will be so bad it will be faster to walk to get where you need to go. Hell, it's nearly that bad now some days.

BKK does have a good public transport system, though. Tuk-tuks, buses, the skytrain (an El), and the new subway will take you anywhere and everywhere. Bus fares are cheap, but they are very slow and the fare collectors may have trouble understanding you. The 'new' subway is reasonable, but the skytrain is a little pricey and taxi drivers love to rip those with white faces.

Do I have an opinion of schools? Absolutely. I'll say what I've been saying all along (I'm sounding like a broken record even to me), and that is: Don't come here if you are a serious teacher. Teachers, especially those of the white persuasion, are powerless in Thailand. On top of this, Thai kids have an aversion to mental effort and won't work
--something serious guys and gals will have a big problem with all in itself.

So, saying that, I'll say this (again)--if you're serious, avoid Thailand.

However, if you are coming here to dick around for a few months then go back home, Thailand's a good place to come. The weather is great overall, and there are beaches galore here. If you're one of these guys, you can find a recruiter in BKK that will set you up with a high school someplace along the coast. Don't expect much from your students, not even the M6s (seniors). Also, don't go too far south. The Muslims in the far south are shooting people and setting off bombs because theyre angry with the Prime Minister. You don't want to be smeared all over a street because of some dumbass's selfish political agenda. You can do an online search for more gruesome details about what's going on down there.

The one big shock for me, other than the fact Thais are the biggest slackers on the planet, was the toilet situation in Thailand. I thought Thais would be cleaner in the bathroom. What a shock it was.

These people are dirtier than Mexicans. One should carry sanitizer with him or her at all times and avoid any food a Thai actually touches. If you take a peek into a typical Thai bathroom you'll understand why. No soap, no sink, no towel, no running water except for a squirter (sometimes), and no toilet paper. Thais never clip their groudy finger nails, either. Some of those Thais will be happy to prepare your pad thai, som thom, or pork salad right after coming out of the bathroom. They will, of course, NOT be wearing gloves.

I'll leave you to fill in the delicious details. USA food and health inspectors would have brain hemmorages here. Especially after watching a Thai come out of the bathroom, pick his or her nose, ears, or ass, and then handle silverware, dishes, food, ice cubes, whatever.

Yummy!

Yes, I have taught at a high school, but not a uni. I teach at a private college right now, but I chuckle when I say that. I've not seen bigger slackers. Not here. Not in the USA. Certainly not Korea. Here, as at my old high school, the students will cheat every time you give them a chance. If a teacher turns his or her back for five seconds, his or students will jump on the chance to get a freebie. There's no stopping it.

Thai kids have to cheat. They refuse to do homework or any other work teachers assign, and they damn sure won't ever study for quizzes, tests, or exams. But to them, this is fine. They know they have all the power. If they bitch to the administrators because they don't like you and your 'slave driving' ways or the (deserving) failing grades you give them, the administrators will change those grades behind your back. Yeap, they'll come out fine even if you do fail them--and they know it.

Everybody passes here. Everybody.
'They pays their monies and they gets their degrees.'

Can you live with all this?

If not, stay the hell away from Thailand.

And it gets worse. Both Thai administrators and students expect teachers to be dancing bears or bozo-the-clown characters in classes. This is because making students actually exert mental effort will get you nowhere in Thailand.

It's no surprise that Thai students have very little or even no proficiency after a decade or more of trudging to English classes day after day after day after day after day. Some of those classes (but never mine) were filled to the brim with bozo and dancing-bear routines--and they STILL don't know
jackshit.

If I ever run into a Thai back in the USA who can't speak perfect English, I'm putting my foot three inches up his ass. I know what they're getting over here--a damn good opportunity. An opportunity they are pissing away on a daily basis.

Make it five inches up his ass. I WILL remember to wash afterwards, of course.

Good luck.

I hope this helps.