My Job is likely moving to Tainan, (High Speed rail) in the next few coming months…
I have to uproot the family and dog… and move to Tainan
I have a few questions for anybody who lives in Tainan… or the surrounding area.
I’ll be looking for a 4 bed apartment Minimum… what are the choices, are there many good apartments in Tainan and what it’s likely to cost. My concern is that as High speed rail testing starts (The Test track will be in the Tainan area) … that 150-200 expats will saturate the market and prices will go up.
Expat schools (Primary). My investigations have come up blank… but for anybody thinking about starting one… there may be some demand in the next 1-2 years.
Roads and general road quality… I need to buy a car… do I need a 4x4 or should a normal family saloon be OK.
This may be a dumb question, but I assume ADSL is available within Tainan city… but howabout the surrounding area.
Has anybody travelled from Tainan city to the new HSR station, any idea how long it takes ??
I’ve been living in Chiayi for the last 14 months and will soon be moving to Tainan. I know there is a community-type website for western peope living in Chiayi, but is there anything like this for Tainan?
Basically, I’m looking for listings of accomodations, clubs, sports and possibly a list of bushibans.
I could be moving to Tainan next year for a job…interested in knowing what kinds of activities are available to do out there, namely outdoor activities, nightlife, etc. I heard it’s developing rather rapidly…can anyone give me the skinny? THX
Other than that, I don’t live there but I like Tainan. Always happy to visit and spend some time. Some great old temples, lots of good restaurants and tea/coffee shops/lanes.
Good luck on the work front (I assume you’re teaching). There are more teachers than you can poke a stick at. Tainan isn’t all that big really and as a result of the over abundance of teachers hourly wages are much lower than the other major cities and hours per week average between 14 to 22. Before you make a move down here, get a job first. At least a visa school. Otherwise I can almost guarantee you’ll be running out of visa time with no visa school in sight. I recently helped an American friend (who has been looking for months) get a visa school job at my company, but they could only give him 10 hours a week (possibly three more later) at NT$550 an hour. He’s happy with that as he has some privates and isn’t looking for lots of hours because he’s studying Chinese full-time at the University.
If I didn’t get married and started a family I would have moved already. Being a family man it’s nice living here and I have made many contacts over the last five or so years, so privates and extra hours find me through word of mouth more than anything else.
The nightlife is ok. There really only are two or three places that are good. Most places are quiet and you have to keep your ear on the ground to find out where the crowds are heading. It certainly isn’t Taipei or Kaohsuing in that respect. One thing that always made me very envious on this board was reading about all the activities (outside of clubbing) that folks elsewhere on the island (especially Taipei) seemed to have at there disposal. Here I’ve often bemoaned the fact that outside of of swilling beer at the Armory there’s nothing else to do for a foreigner. And honestly, you can only visit Confucious Temple or Anping fort so many times.
I’m not trying to discourage you, but I don’t want to lie to you either. Make sure what you want out of living here and make sure you have a visa school first. If you’re looking for the quiet life, you can’t beat Tainan. Monster moved down here and he seems happy. I guess it’s also what you make of it. I have mates who own bars so it never mattered to me where the crowd went, I was always happy to sit at a mates’ bar and have a few beers and chat to some locals. That, and I love rugby. So whether I watch rugby at a pub (if and when it’s available), at home on computer or at a friends house makes no difference to me. There is a soccer team down here, if you’re interested, and we have a rugby team.
Your best bet is to check out the Tainan Bulletin for a few days and get the feel of the place. They advertise jobs, nightlife entertainment, activities and restaurants on there, but mostly the expats just bitch at each other on the bulletin. That aside, it’ll give you a good idea of what to expect. You can find Tainan Bulletin at: groups.yahoo.com/group/Tainan_bulletin/
Bismarck’s advice is solid. Unless you invest the money and get your TESOL, you’ll be competing for limited jobs with many people who already have experience. If you get your TESOL though and keep tabs on the bulletin, I think you’ll be fine. If you choose to arrive without a job (as I did), pay the extra money and arrive with a 60 day multiple entry visa (if possible from your country).
I have previously lived in Taoyuan and Taichung and prefer Tainan to both of those cities…depends on what you’re after though. Nightlife is more contained so if that’s a big selling feature you might prefer brighter lights of bigger cities. In any city it’s going to take you a couple months to get established and start making your ‘sunk’ money back.
Is it confirmed that this poster is an english teacher?
If so, the Bismarck is giving good advice. You can’t swing a cat by the tail and not hit one of them here. They seem to travel in herds/groups/gaggles/coveys, I don’t know what the correct term is, but there are always 2,3, 4 of them walking down the sidewalk together.
If the poster is moving down here for a different reason, business-wise, let me know. Tainan is starting to grow development-wise in a few areas. Harbor area and much more is taking shape.
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Is it confirmed that this poster is an English teacher?
If so, the Bismarck is giving good advice. You can’t swing a cat by the tail and not hit one of them here. They seem to travel in herds/groups/gaggles/coveys, I don’t know what the correct term is, but there are always 2,3, 4 of them walking down the sidewalk together.
If the poster is moving down here for a different reason, business-wise, let me know. Tainan is starting to grow development-wise in a few areas. Harbor area and much more is taking shape.[/quote]
Lol…Well said, TC. Another not so new phenomenon is the every-English-teacher-wanting-to-start-a-business fad. Unfortunately no one has any new ideas. It’s either a tea shop (of which, believe it or not there are more of than English teachers), a bar (which invariably folds within six months) or an export business (it’s a new idea to export Chinaware or cheap trinkets back home, right?). There are some guys with some good ideas, like one bloke (but he’s island wide) who imports foreign goodies to Taiwan for the foreigner market, one or two lads who make boerewors (farmer’s sausage) and other meaty goodies, and one mate I know of who has a flourishing T-shirt business (making unique Taiwanese T-shirts).
One or two other blokes, like TC, seem to be doing other stuff that are successful, so if you’re not an English teacher definitely take him up on his offer.
PS - I forgot the I-want-to-start-my-own-bushiban line. That was a good idea ten years ago but now we also have too many of those and not enough students to go around.
PPS - A positive may be, that being small it’s easier to network in Tainan. People (foreigners and locals) are approachable and always willing to share ideas. After a relatively short period you should feel part of a a community of sorts and the danger is that you may get too comfortable and never want to leave. Damn it! I was only supposed to be here for two years!! :fume:
[quote=“bismarck”][quote=“TainanCowboy”]Is it confirmed that this poster is an English teacher?
If so, the Bismarck is giving good advice. You can’t swing a cat by the tail and not hit one of them here. They seem to travel in herds/groups/gaggles/coveys, I don’t know what the correct term is, but there are always 2,3, 4 of them walking down the sidewalk together.
If the poster is moving down here for a different reason, business-wise, let me know. Tainan is starting to grow development-wise in a few areas. Harbor area and much more is taking shape.[/quote]
Lol…Well said, TC. Another not so new phenomenon is the every-English-teacher-wanting-to-start-a-business fad. Unfortunately no one has any new ideas. It’s either a tea shop (of which, believe it or not there are more of than English teachers), a bar (which invariably folds within six months) or an export business (it’s a new idea to export Chinaware or cheap trinkets back home, right?). There are some guys with some good ideas, like one bloke (but he’s island wide) who imports foreign goodies to Taiwan for the foreigner market, one or two lads who make boerewors (farmer’s sausage) and other meaty goodies, and one mate I know of who has a flourishing T-shirt business (making unique Taiwanese T-shirts).
[/quote]
Ooops…that is very aptly suggested that he may indeed not be a teacher. My bad and good on you for putting discussion back on the rails.
I change my previous answer to Tainan does not even exist. :raspberry:
Bismarck -
Spot on there. I’m glad to hear about the ‘foreigner’ business success…100% in favor of that!
I actually was approached by a company in Huntington Beach, Cali (where I moved from) about repping their line of ‘music’ t-shirts here on the island. At the time, 3 years ago, it just didn’t get rolling.
Glad to hear of your buddies success.
WOW…Amazing feedback… I feel very fortunate to receive your replies! I’ll definitely check out the Yahoo Bulletin. In the meantime, to answer the mystery of whether the poster is an English teacher…drumroll… … … NOPE… Our company is opening a hotel down there and I may get transferred to help with the preopening. So…exciting business opp…location? TBC…
Hi all. I’m new to Forumosa, but I was hoping you all could help me with a moving dilemma. I moved to Taiwan about 9 months ago for an English teaching position in Taoyuan. Since then, I have found that the area is pretty much a hellhole. It reminds me of my years living in Worcester, MA - commonly referred to as the “armpit of Massachusetts.” Well, Taoyuan seems like it’s at the top of the running for the title of “Armpit of Taiwan.”
Anyway, I’ve recently started working remotely for a company in the US, which means that I can live anywhere on this lovely island. Thus, it’s time to get the hell out of dodge and move somewhere a bit more tolerable. I’m looking for a place with clean(ish) air, a nice place to run, some sort of foreigner community, and somewhat close to the mountains (I’m into hiking and rock climbing). A local rock climbing wall and good night markets would be a huge plus.
I’ve heard that Tainan may fulfill these requirements, but I was hoping that the kind (if sarcastic) posters of Forumosa could provide with a bit more insight into what sort of lifestyle the city offers. Should it be at the top of my relocation list? Are there other places I should consider?
[quote=“merge”]If you don’t need to rely on Taiwan for income, and you enjoy outdoor hobbies, then you might consider the East Coast, say Hualian or maybe Yilan.
If you’ve got time, you should take a trip around the island, especially if you’ve been stuck in Taoyuan all this time.[/quote]
Huh? I thought you didn’t post in controversial topics? :no-no:
If TC would move away from Tainan it would be bloody nice …
[quote]Well, Taoyuan seems like it’s at the top of the running for the title of “Armpit of Taiwan.”[/quote] … it’s as close to the Taiwan armpit as you could go …
Look at the suburbs of Taipei. Here is Mucha we have a good climbing wall at the uni, are about an hours drive to the coast at Longdong which has the best rock climbing in Taiwan, and also we have the mountains rising up right at our back yard. I live here because I love hiking and can be on trails that are 8 hours long in a few minutes. We also have the bike paths along the river for biking or jogging and the uni grounds are great for jogging too (no traffic and a good climb if you want it), with some trails in the nearby hills that are also good for jogging.
I’m about to step out my door and go for a 2 hour bike ride. I will never be on the road or deal with a single car. If it was later I would hear owls hooting when I did the circle road on the uni grounds.
Tainan is a nice place to live too. Good weather, clean streets, lots of foreigners if you need that. With the south cross island highway gone and the area around Maolin so fucked, it doesn’t have the mountain access it once did.
I just did a quick google search and found a few that seem worthy of perusal. Thanks for the tip on the BBS.