Apparently grande école = great, université = inconsistent, mostly not very good.
Another question for guys set on leaving.
Are you planning to send your furniture back home?
We have a lot of nice furniture that is under five years old. Wooden tables and chairs, leather sofa and La Z Boy. Also I have a year old Smax scooter that I would like to take home with me.
Any idea how to go about sending that sort of stuff over, or opinions on whether it is worth doing?
I am kind of keen because all that stuff if I sell it now will be worth next to nothing second hand in Taiwan… but buying all that stuff new in the UK is going to be tens of thousands of pounds… not desirable when added to the cost of two cars, six months rent and a houseful of electrical appliances.
We have typical Taiwanese furniture: the wooden sofa, chairs etc. We also have one of those huge wooden tables made out of a tree trunk which is so big we can’t even get it out the door. It was left here by the previous owner.
We’ve decided that we’re just going to leave everything here and get new stuff. We’re hoping to rent out our place as a furnished apartment and charge a bit more for rent.
Then again, we’re not leaving for another three years so plans may change.
That policy doesn’t make sense. In retirement the money is often less and some people have to go to a country with a lower cost of living to maintain a life style they are used to.
They worked, they retired, they should be free to spend their money where they wish.
We will likely stay with my parents for at least a week or two (maybe several weeks) until we can rent our own place. We’ll have to rent for a while until we can decide where we’ll want to buy a home. We’re working on the job situation now.
There are international shippers/movers that can move your stuff for you, but it’s not cheap. Fortunately, we’re not attached to most of our furniture, so I will have no problems leaving most or all of it behind. Aside from our appliances, most of our bigger stuff is not really worth much.
Of course it doesn’t make sense, except that it does. 
Perhaps the government makes some argument about needing to stimulate the economy with local spending… 
If they really want to alienate people who retire abroad, they can also take away the right to vote. 
Dunno to England, but renting half /a whole container was reasonable and doable to Central America.
I knew a white couple who did it because they bought an apartment full of hardwood furniture, and then the girl got pregnant about a month later, They said since it was all brand new and very expensive in the UK, it made more sense for them to take it back with them.
I’ve lost contact with them now though, that was about five years ago.
We have sold most of our appliances, and the only furniture we want to keep we will move to our in-laws to be used there.
A lot of our furniture is fitted or was already in the house when we bought it, so we’ll just leave it when we sell the place.
We are shipping some stuff, but mostly small stuff that will be boxed up. I’m not sure of the cost yet, but will update you if you’re interested.
I am interested, thanks.
Although it looks like you’ve made up your mind to go back to the Uk, here’s a counterpoint. Our daughter is Grade 4, and a tree-climber too. Smart kid, but not super academic. I was originally planning to take her back home to Uk for high school, but am now thinking against it. The excessive smartphone usage, drugs, alcohol : she can get exposure to all that when she’s 16+, 18+.
The plan now is just to pull her out from Taiwan mainstream education, and start a single class of 4-6 foreign kids. Core currciulum of English, Chinese, maths and we’ll work around the rest. Mix that in with camping, hiking, beach-time, island-time, farming, trips to Thailand, Indonesia etc. Could work out.
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I think the main concern is the viability of your job in taiwan to provide for you and your kids. My gf went to the best boarding schools in the UK and public schools in Italy and also school in Taiwan. She says she got more out of school here. Your children can do just as well, and even better living here under the right circumstances vs the UK.
I guess I am 50:50 between my kids’ education and my own career.
I like the home schooling hybrid idea suggested by Nuit, however I know from my own experience that I don’t want to teach my own children. Plus, they are four years apart in age.
Another thing I thought about is, what does the future hold for them in Taiwan? Stagnated wages, no prospects, the brain drain, the economy is not going anywhere.
If they get degrees from a UK university, which is not a given, at least they will be able to come over here and make some quick money working as English teachers!
Knowing my daughter’s personality, she will never excel in school here. And frankly, I don’t see what benefit it would be of if she did. My evidence is my brother in law. He is a super smart guy, went to a “great” senior high and a “very good” university. He must have worked his nuts off at school and guess what? He still lives with his parents because he can’t afford to buy a house and food for his wife and kids. I don’t want that for my kids. I don’t own a factory or a spare house to give to my children. Anything they make, they make themselves. Taiwan isn’t a great place in that respect. Plus I’m pretty sure academic qualifications here are largely non transferrable.
I’m talking myself into leaving more just on this thread, so I guess it has served a purpose in that I am gaining clarity.
This is one of the main reasons we are looking at leaving. I just think they will have more opportunities in Canada than they will here. I see too many people working for long hours for little pay here.
I don’t think I could home-school my kid either. Neither of us would last. So we’re looking at hiring some good teachers to do the core skills, then maybe throw in some ‘remote learning’ from the UK, all leading to some iGCSE or IB qualifications. I’ve even heard of kids here who mostly ‘home-school’ here duck into high school twice a week to take science / Chinese / whatever. That might work too.
The issue here is that, unless I’m mistaken, she hasn’t gotten citizenship yet. This is also true in the US: It’s very hard to re-apply for a green card. This has been this case for decades though…
How about upgrading your education level and using that to get a better job teaching something more interesting to you? Losing your wife’s income will take you guys out of the comfort zone big time.
Or how about trying an online career?
I’ve made the choice to move back to Canada with my family (son 10 and daughter 5) after living in Taiwan for 20 years. It will be difficult for me, but as a father it’s the right choice for my kids.
Pollution levels in Kaohsiung were horrible this year and my son has asthma. Plus, I don’t want to watch him suffer through 2+ hours of homework a night and be robbed of that time with him. The quality of education, air, food, and most every other factor is just better in Canada. I’m just so tired of food scandals, purple air quality days, lack of labor rights, and stagnant wages, so I’m out.
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Bravo! good choice for your family.
You’re making the right decision for your kids. I speak from experince. I’m “stuck” in Taiwan because of my business and now my only problem is persuading my wife and kids to ever come back.