The Friendliest Cities to Study Abroad In

Collected from over 16,000 reviews on Abroad101, we looked at how many local friends our reviewers said they made in their time abroad, and if they intended to stay in touch once they returned home. Based on that, the following are what we deemed the friendliest cities!

#1)  Seoul, South Korea

With 80,000 fans at this country’s K-Pop mega-star’s concert, chances are you’d likely gain a new friend or two…or hundreds. As a former ESL teacher in Korea, I was not surprised when Seoul topped our list of the most friendliest cities to study abroad. Korea is known for both their warm hospitality…and their love of foreigners. This bodes well for the increasing number of students venturing to this dynamic and innovative country looking to befriend the locals for their up-to-date style trends and spicy taste buds, allowing them to truly get to know this Seoul-ful city. Continue reading

Lessons from Abroad: Why You Need a TEFL Certification

Written by Abroad101 All-Stars, Sarah and Tami

Having both taught English in Asia, we’ve spent many a lunch hour arguing over which country has the wildest, wackiest open-air markets.  Tami may have bargained her way to a pair of Buddha-shaped sunglasses in Korea, but Sarah haggled over smiling pig heads in Thailand.

One thing from our time abroad that we absolutely agree on though, is the advantage of having a TEFL certification.  Without one, it’s hard to be an effective ESL teacher in the classroom, and as one student put it, TEFL doesn’t mean Teaching English For Laughs.  Ok, maybe sometimes it does.  But with a TEFL certification, you’ll learn how to apply humor in a way that reaches your students, so you’re not left with a room of blank stares after making a witty pun.    Continue reading