Experiences moving back to the US after teaching in Taiwan?

Discussion Greater Forumosa
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Anyone here with recent experience returning to the US after years teaching English in Taiwan? I’ve been in Taiwan teaching for nearly ten years. Got married and had a kid. I want to return to the US and do something different for a change. Also want cleaner air. Plus I’m tired of teaching and have never been passionate about it anyway. My wife and kid will be going with me but I want to go first make things easier. She would need a green card but my son already has his US citizenship, so he is good to go. I want to go somewhere low-cost and family-friendly but not back to my home state. My feeling is that a new state and region would make the reverse homesickness better.

I know I will need savings to live off of for a while. I have saved up 700000 NT in my Taiwan bank account and have 9000 US in my US account. Would that be enough? As for jobs, how did you get back into the job market and find a decent job? What are some jobs former English teachers are doing now? I assume that teaching is not much of a benefit in terms of work experience back home. I have a master’s in Information Science, but since I moved to Taiwan in 2008, I obviously didn’t put this to use other than doing a short-term web project for AU Optronics. Also did done some technical writing work and proofreading/editing for individuals. What experiences do others who already returned home have? Thanks!

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with a family id consider getting a job set up first before moving. youd be surprised how quickly youd go through those savings. id only move if i had a job on the other side. when i moved to taiwan with the family and straight into a job, the move still knocked us 400,000 nt

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It’s hard to find a job in the USA living outside it. Ideally it would be nice to have a job before moving , but most employers prefer local candidates unless they are exploiting the h1b visas.

OP, you might consider applying for some jobs now and see what the results are. I doubt you’ll find much with just teaching English. If you plan to use your degree, you’ll likely have to update your skills in that area somehow.

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I moved back 2.5 years ago after 7 years in Taiwan. Luckily I got to take my editing and writing work with me - it’s all location independent so I haven’t had to try to get a job in the US. I can confirm that relocation will burn through your savings like crazy, and I don’t have a spouse/greencard/kid to worry about.

I would say start applying, plan a 3-month trip back to the states, and stack as many interviews as you can into that time.
I wonder if there are opportunities to teach English to immigrants here? It might be something to tide you over for a while til you find something you’re more interested in.

Again, I haven’t had to look for jobs, but from what I can tell the market isn’t great unless you’ve got a specific skill that’s in demand.

But moving back has been glorious :wink: I’m really glad I did.

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Bay area having a lot of asian influence may make reverse culture shock better. Lots of tech companies here too. You should apply online if possible. Apply direct to tech companies through their website.

Spousal visas are very tedious and take a long time now. So start your application post haste for your wife. It may take 18 months.

Bay area living is also not cheap but you can live in East Bay and work in SF?

Tech jobs start at 100,000/annum . You will need that kind of salary to just keep your head above water in the bay area. That is just slightly above the poverty line here.

Otherwise go to Oregon and join the rest of the “real” Californians. They hate Californians there now though.

I may have to defect from CAlifornia too.

Just fyi, your mileage may vary. But taxes, federal, calif, and social security tax and medicare tax, etc, eat up (wife and one kid deductions helping here) about 25 to 30pct of your annual. Rent here is about 2500 to 4000 per month for a two bedroom. I know (holy h> mAKERO). Eating out ? Wife and you and kid, expect 40 to 80 at most nice places (not SUPER NICE ,just places you will want to go). A cheap meal would be 40 for the three of u.

Mac is double Taiwan prices. Only things cheap(ish) , you can get a car for a reasonable payment. OH and healthcare is super expensive. If you have yourself paid by company, it will cost you about 800/month for wife and kid. If you don’t have any healthcare, think 1200/month !!!

And you better have it. Emergency visit to Doc sets you back 17,000 dollars for two aspirins and a doc just looking at you !!!

You best get your ass in gear before you move the clan back !!

I left Taiwan with 1000 in the pocket and gobs of debt and two cats. Had my dad to live with for six months till i found a job.

Still just keeping head above water , just juggling debt. But living large (ish).

It ain’t easy here bro. Maybe you best pick another state. LIke the midWest where life is cheaper and probably boring.

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Is this only for the US or is Canada included?

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Thanks for the feedback! Yes, losing all of my savings is a big worry. My hope is to get a temp or pt job soon after getting back and then try to look for something better. Also plan to live simple and share an apartment. Live like a student and to not be comfortable.

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Yes, I doubt I could find anything substantial while still here in Taiwan. The only thing I can think of that would find my English teaching experience useful would be working for online tutoring companies located here in Taiwan. But that is far from ideal. I also could teach private classes to foreign students. I did this back in the states many years ago, so that is something else to turn to. As for my degree and very limited career from it, I honestly don’t feel to thrilled to go back into that. Sitting at a desk doesn’t sound so great and maybe I should find something that keeps me on my feet more. Thanks for the feedback!

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Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I am expecting it to not be easy - especially the financial aspect - but it is something I need to do or I will be stuck in Taiwan forever. A former coworker who made the move back to Canada with his wife and son told me how the “Taiwan inertia” gets gets harder to resist the more you are here. I also am afraid of ending up stuck here in middle-age and becoming constantly grumpy about everything. That has been my observation of those foreigner ESLers who have been here for that long.

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Thanks for the reply. Although California is the best choice for overall quality of life and best environment for an asian wife, it is like you said crazy expensive. I am from the midwest but have never missed the place (except for the cleaner air) and have found it depressing thinking about living there again. So I think the best overall options are Texas or the southeast. Also, I have never lived down there, so it will be somewhere new and should help a bit with the reverse homesickness. The wife says she has some friends in Texas and the cost of living there is decent.

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No, just for the US. But I think Canadians here looking to move back home have the same issues to deal with. Except for healthcare I assume. I would also guess that bringing over the wife and kid would be easier for Canadians?