New to Taiwan: Some Questions

Taiwan Moving to Taiwan
1

Original Title: Life Changing Move UK To Taipei,Help Required
Hello there,

First of all fantastic forum!

I would really appreciate some input and advice regarding my future plans.
Alittle about myself,I am 25 and Live in the UK,I am not a well travelled person,Having only been abroad one which was Ireland 2 years ago! But I have decided that I would really love to take the step of experiencing life alittle more.

I plan on moving to Taipei in 2012 and staying for a year but there are obvious thing’s which make me quite nervous in regard to speaking the langauge and fitting in as I will be travelling by myself (more than likely) I will be self sufficient and have no need to find work whilst I am here

Will it be essential to learn Mandarin or could I get by on English alone??
I was never very good at school at learning German so I believe I could really struggle learning something as complexed as Mandarin

Do you think that moving to Taipei having very little experience in foreign countries could be a step too far??

Any suggestions in respect of finding property? I have found some property online via livingtaipei.com Does anyone else have any similar sites to recommend?

Im sure I will have a hudread more questions as this thread progresses.
Any questions/Advice are highly appreciated

Kind regards

Jon

2

And there must be hundreds of posts already related to your queries. Search and yee shall find.

3

this might be helpful: communitycenter.org.tw/

4

[quote=“Jon1985”]Hello there,

First of all fantastic forum!

I would really appreciate some input and advice regarding my future plans.
Alittle about myself,I am 25 and Live in the UK,I am not a well travelled person,Having only been abroad one which was Ireland 2 years ago! But I have decided that I would really love to take the step of experiencing life alittle more.

I plan on moving to Taipei in 2012 and staying for a year but there are obvious thing’s which make me quite nervous in regard to speaking the langauge and fitting in as I will be travelling by myself (more than likely) I will be self sufficient and have no need to find work whilst I am here

Will it be essential to learn Mandarin or could I get by on English alone??
I was never very good at school at learning German so I believe I could really struggle learning something as complexed as Mandarin

Do you think that moving to Taipei having very little experience in foreign countries could be a step too far??

Any suggestions in respect of finding property? I have found some property online via livingtaipei.com Does anyone else have any similar sites to recommend?

Im sure I will have a hudread more questions as this thread progresses.
Any questions/Advice are highly appreciated

Kind regards

Jon[/quote]

Almost all of us arrive speaking little or no Mandarin. Within Taipei signs are bilingual, and people are really friendly and good about helping lost looking foreigners. You’ll have no problem picking stuff up at a supermarket though ordering in a cheaper restaurant or food stall will require you to learn a few favorite dishes. You have a year however so even a once or twice a week class will give you more than enough to get by.

Taipei is probably one of the easiest cities in Asia to come to live outside of Hong Kong or Singapore. Other than traffic it’s a very civilized place, safe, friendly, and the way of life is not in your face bizarre. There’s almost no visible poverty, no kids begging, or people constantly spitting and pissing in the street. It’s largely a big middle class city with good food, a great MRT system, lots of mountains nearby and a wonderful riverside bike path system.

For finding an apartment keep an eye on Forumosa and Tealit. There are other resources but you’ll need to read Chinese.

In short, come to Taiwan. It’s a good place to get your feet wet in terms of travel and experience living abroad.

5

Thanks Tommy,I would Just like some advice on my personal situation not just on specifics

6

It’s good to read those other threads as they give advise on where are good places to live and what you can and cannot get easily in the city.

7

Thanks for the repsone Mucha,Very helpfull,I feel more at ease already :slight_smile:

8

Have a look at these threads:
New to Taiwan
Planning to make a move… But economy issues have me worried
Life Sentence on the Rock
Hope they’re of some help.

Edit: Some more threads of interest.
Is Learning Chinese Worth it?
Why do so many Taiwanese speak English to foreigners?
What was YOUR Reason for Moving to Taiwan
NewBees vs. Old Timers
Whereabouts in taiwan is best to live?

1 Like
9

Thank you so much Bismark will check these out now.
I must be a noob,I couldnt find anything that relevant using the search feature lol

Thanks again!

Jon

10

[quote=“Jon1985”]Thank you so much Bismark will check these out now.
I must be a noob,I couldnt find anything that relevant using the search feature lol

Thanks again!

Jon[/quote]
My pleasure. I hope it helps.
The search function can be tricky. You need to know what to look for, sadly. That’s why I changed your topic title, to make it easier for people to find in future.

11

[quote=“Jon1985”]Original Title: Life Changing Move UK To Taipei,Help Required
Hello there,

First of all fantastic forum!

I would really appreciate some input and advice regarding my future plans.
Alittle about myself,I am 25 and Live in the UK,I am not a well travelled person,Having only been abroad one which was Ireland 2 years ago! But I have decided that I would really love to take the step of experiencing life alittle more.

I plan on moving to Taipei in 2012 and staying for a year but there are obvious thing’s which make me quite nervous in regard to speaking the langauge and fitting in as I will be travelling by myself (more than likely) I will be self sufficient and have no need to find work whilst I am here

Will it be essential to learn Mandarin or could I get by on English alone??
I was never very good at school at learning German so I believe I could really struggle learning something as complexed as Mandarin

Do you think that moving to Taipei having very little experience in foreign countries could be a step too far??

Any suggestions in respect of finding property? I have found some property online via livingtaipei.com Does anyone else have any similar sites to recommend?

Im sure I will have a hudread more questions as this thread progresses.
Any questions/Advice are highly appreciated

Kind regards

Jon[/quote]

Ok , let me reread your post again here ! Some years ago i ran into another Jon in Taipei at a cafe playing on one of those games they had built in to the tables at that time (pacman is still my fav). He was cussin up a storm using the few taiwanese choice words he learned. He was here a week, decided to live in Asia for a year with the inheritance he got when his Grandpa passed. He got to Taiwan after a week or two (i forgot) in Seoul. First day in Taiwan he went to a bar, ran into a PSJ (full fledged) there and…well thats another story. But anyhow, here he is after a week, cussing up a storm in a taiwanese cafe and having a roaring good time. Jon had no trouble getting himself into a couple of years of generally good fun in Taipei. Turned out his inheritance lasted him a few more years then he thouht it would. Never had to teach english. I gave him my 50cc to run around town in. NO license to drive, no plates, no trouble. Only real trouble he ever got into was when he looked up the wrong missey in a bar and her wannabe thugs beat him up outside the place. But even so, they felt sorry for him and drove him home, cept he was so drunk (now they know better,they should never beat up a drunk fellow) he didnt know the way home. So they decided they better keep him with them to make sure he was alright. So this gang of wannabe thugs took him all round the island (they were visting their wannabe gangster friends all around the island) and they had a ripping time. He never had to pay a dime. They dropped him off back at Sogo when they got back to Taipei a week later. And now he had a telephone number to call in case he needed some muscle !

Such are the adventures on the rock !! I am sure you will be just fine !

If you like asian girls, you will find plenty of them to like in Taipei/Taiwan. If you like asian food, ditto. If you like a smallish island with lots of mountains, places to go/see. Things to do, you will be in the right place. Life in Taiwan is hectic in one sense and easy going in another. You can be in blazin heat on a HOT summer day and go into a nice chilled cafe and be in a pleasant surrounding eating some good grub and eyeing the local talent just one sliding glass door away.

Plus surrounding areas/countries are also a hoot to visit.

You have a UK passport? Therefore no visa needed. Visa exempt entry for up to 90 days (renewable for another 90 easily the FIRST TIME without leaving the rock). Just make sure to NOT overstay by even one day or you lose this privilege for some time.

Only real danger is that one year may turn into many more ! And eventually the UK may be but a memory in the gleam of a young 25 year old man’s eye.

25 and male and western in Taipei? How can THAT be a problem !

By the way ,you can start your Taiwan adventure by flying EVA from the UK (one stop in Bangkok) or China Airlines non stop. I always feel like im in Taiwan already if i fly those airlines, the moment i step onboard.

12

Thanks Tommy,2012 may turn into 2011 after reading your post! : )
It was originally planned for 2012 as I wanted to assure I came with “more” than enough financially,Guess I will have to work abit harder :wink:

Yes I do have a UK passport and to hear you mention the 90 Day stay is a GREAT relief!
Let me know if you still have that scooter going spare? :laughing:

Excellent post,A great insight

13

Actually I highly recommend you stay OFF scootering for the first six months in TAiwan before you get used to how traffic works. Riding a scooter in taiwan is like flying a f16 sortie in enemy territory. Probably MORE dangerous.

You wont need a scooter in Taipei at all. But to get to the nearby mountain hotsprings yes.

Taipei is a wonderful city. I grew up there. Soon as you get your sea legs so to speak, you will feel right at home. The weather kinda sucks in winter tho, it rains A LOT.

So in that sense if you want to get “wet” into Taiwan first, you may want to try taking a semester of chinese at the Sun Yat Sen univ at the beach in Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung is a great town close to kenting, great weather and all that. And if you stay at the dorm there that takes care of housing for a semester while you ease yourself into Taiwan life. You can do the same too in Taipei with a school there.

You will have a ready made group of friends to explore with, etc.

A semester in school wont kill ya. Although dorm living might (of boredom?)

14

Thanks Tommy,I havent studied to be perfectly honest,Even after school I did try college over here in England but it was never really for me.My main source of income comes from poker and studying has just never really appealed to me all that much since leaving school.

Obviously I am good at what I do and I have saved aside enough to live a decent life whilst over in Taipei.
I am very intrigued in these hot springs though,They look so relaxing!
I have some friends who are setting off to Australia in April and they have already said they would like to visit Taipei while on their travels so it will be nice to have some company during my stay.Although Im hoping It wont take long to convince another of my friends to travel there with me when I go.The thought of going alone is alittle too much at the moment :stuck_out_tongue:

In regard to whether…It rains all the time in the UK so I should be ok with that lol
Is it warm when it rains? Sounds funny but we have rain here in the summer which is actually not so bad,Its just the cold wet and windy which is abit of a pain :frowning: But im used to that.

On another subject,Did you frequent such places as Room18 or Luxy? I hear they are pretty good?

15

For the record I was completely hopeless at French and German in school (in England) too, but found it pretty easy to pick up workable Chinese when I got here. When you’re immersed in it and when every word you learn makes your life tangibly easier and better, it’s a very different thing.

16

One of my friends said this to me,The fact that in school I didnt really “want” to learn German etc It may well be different when you have an interest or will benefit from learning a different language.

17

Like most people replying to this thread, I love living in Taiwan and think you will do just fine. Especially since you play poker.

Here’s an account of someone who had a miserable time in Taiwan just for perspective.

I personally think she just had a bad case of culture shock that lasted longer than most. Still, she does mention things that will bother some people.

18

Bit of a sheltered bird, that one. Taizhong is like putting your face over a sewer in the heat and humidity and breathing in? She couldn’t even find a doctor’s office? She was horrified that a parent gave their naughty child a spanking? She felt helpless and out of her depth, totally miserable, even when she was with foreign friends at a lake or hot springs?

I think you’d get a much better negative account of Taiwan here than that. As much as I disagree with Touduke and GiT at times, they’d give a much better and much more valuable negative review of Taiwan, tempered with some reality and a positive or two at least.
This girl has issues much more extreme than mere culture shock (I LMAO that she was “proud” of herself for eventually completing her MA and exploring a different culture and language in the safety of Quebec! FFS, they’re still Canadians, aren’t they??? :roflmao: ).

19

Heres an incentive for ya to learn at least some mandarin. 99pct of the honeys dont speak english. So if you ONLY speak english you can only date 1pct of them ! And no i wont introduce my ex gf (she speaks english better then i do).

20

[quote=“bismarck”]
This girl has issues much more extreme than mere culture shock (I LMAO that she was “proud” of herself for eventually completing her MA and exploring a different culture and language in the safety of Quebec! FFS, they’re still Canadians, aren’t they??? :roflmao: ).[/quote]

You just had to go and say what we were all thinking… My use of polite euphemism completely wasted.