@Dazzer - my point exactly. Well said. Totally agree.

@Anonymous Coward - good ponts. The choice to move/not move to the East coast comes after balancing quality of life with financial considerations.

@Vicar - who exactly shuld I be grateful to?

Grateful to anyone that's taken the risk, time and money to set up a business and in turn able to offer you work with a decent salary minus the comparatively heavy tax burden with the visa to be able to reside in the country of YOUR choice.

If enough expat english teachers could band together, y'all could start your own english school and then pay yourselves more.

gratitude,, Brits and their deference. Yes sir,, no sir.

@Michael2015 - I know quite a few who have tried this. None have been successful and ALL have blamed the prohibitive 'rules and regulations' that make it almost impossible for an outsider, especially one with a white face, to get anywhere in the education business here. it's hard enough for the big franchises and even the locals, what hope do we mere mortals have? haha. :)

Vicar - I have always been grateful to some school owners as I trust that they are grateful to their employees for their service. It is a reciprocal arrangement. I am not grateful to anyone who has taken the risk BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...
Many of these training centers avoid taxes and keep teacher pay to a minimum in order to maximise profits. THEY ARE BUSINESSES LIKE ANY OTHER. Don't be fooled into thinking that they all care about education and deserve any gratitude just because they claim to be a school. Yes, being here is MY CHOICE - doesn't mean I should bend over or be grateful for being asked to do so. The OP's original questionis a valid one and to ansewr it, I think they must be joking or stupid. It's wishful thinking at best. Even 150 an hour is a bad joke these days.

If you know they are a business like any other all the more reason not to scoff at their salaries is there. That'd be like learning the cooking trade, searching for a job at a McDonald's somewhere you fancy and THEN moaning about the salary.

who's 'moaning'? ...certainly not me. I reserve the right to scoff at these laughable offers. How can any of them claim to care about education or even to be a school when all they can do is make these silly 'offers'. Pay peanuts, get monkeys. To be honest, some of these offers are generous when I think of some who call themselves teachers here.

Maybe they should all go on strike. Lol!

lol
but seriously, I wouldn't teach for 150 an hour and I doubt any real teacher would.

150 for a solitary hour may be low, but if you have, say, a guaranteed 18 hours a week with a reputable school (plus benefits such as paid holiday), it seems a reasonable hourly wage to me.