That’s an intriguing statement!! And I have no idea what that might mean. What do you mean?
BTW, my major vocations over the years (most recent to past): Healthcare IT project management & analyst, Registered Nurse (but limited clinical experience), restaurant owner, software technical writer, sales & marketing…and a long time ago ESL English teacher in Taiwan
What does that make me qualified to do? Probably a lot of nothing :loco:
[quote=“Mucha Man”]… you will need a supplemental insurance to cover these plus better care within hospitals (such as private rooms, etc)
…Oh yeah and get the Lonely Planet Taiwan
…Dongshi can be a very beautiful place. Daxueshan Forest is just up the road, a spectacular area for birding and spotting wildlife. Great bike ride up too. In fact lots of excellent bike riding in that area.[/quote]
~ The supplemental insurance is just the kind of insight I’m looking for. Thanks much.
~ Just saw your blog. Lonely Planet carried me (and I suppose millions of other travelers) through so many places - including that first trip to Taiwan. I feel like giddy conversing with a real Lonely Planet author. 
~ I got very lucky with Dongshi…well, ya, I met my wife there…but as far as location. I arrived in in Taiwan after about 24 hrs on a plane (literally a long story) with nothing but my big white nose and an address for a school in Chiayi (they didn’t know I was coming). When I showed up, they looked me up and down and said, “do you want be in the city or country?” I took a look around at Chiayi city through my VERY jet lagged eyes and said “country.” After about a year my wife bought a house way outside of town (on that main road - Hwy 8 - that used to cross over to Hualien), which had a spectacular view looking east over the river. It was about as good as it could get, and she still owns it. And yes, I spent A LOT of time on my Vespa exploring the hills around there. But, when you say “bike riding” are you referring to the self-propelled type??? Because either the roads have improved vastly or you have way bigger avocados than me. I would have been terrified of ending up as a splat on the grill of one those screeching behemoth trucks. But if things have improved for bicyclists, I’d live to do some biking.
That’s an intriguing statement!! And I have no idea what that might mean. What do you mean?
BTW, my major vocations over the years (most recent to past): Healthcare IT project management & analyst, Registered Nurse (but limited clinical experience), restaurant owner, software technical writer, sales & marketing…and a long time ago ESL English teacher in Taiwan
What does that make me qualified to do? Probably a lot of nothing :loco:[/quote]
I have always had enough work and was too busy to really look into it but it’s out there and there’s probably something for you.
The obvious one is proofreading and editing work/translations. A medical/business/technical background would be a good background if you have the English skills.
Others have actually done work online (on here and elsewhere) so they might have better tips and some websites to get started.
Understood, but just what I’m looking for; helps to start the process of getting my head around the topic. Thanks much.
You could open a Western restaurant in Taichung, but out in Dongshi would be too difficult to find customers. You could teach part-time to cover living expenses.
Am I the only one who thinks the healthcare system, as much as I like it, is unsustainable?
Good luck! I am looking at it too - but have no family connections.
That’s an intriguing statement!! And I have no idea what that might mean. What do you mean?
BTW, my major vocations over the years (most recent to past): Healthcare IT project management & analyst, Registered Nurse (but limited clinical experience), restaurant owner, software technical writer, sales & marketing…and a long time ago ESL English teacher in Taiwan
What does that make me qualified to do? Probably a lot of nothing :loco:[/quote]
You can look at the freelance job sites (Elance, oDesk, Guru, Freelancer among others) for jobs related to editing and technical writing. I often see jobs for full-time technical writers advertised but I find that I make more teaching English part-time and then working as a freelance editor. I also seem to have more time with the family doing things this way.
A lot of the jobs on the job sites don’t pay very much, but if you search through them, you can find decent paying jobs. Once you get established, you will get higher paying jobs and even a number of referrals.
I’ve been a freelance editor for about two years now and while I’m not ready to rely solely on my editing work, it is starting to look like more and more of a possibility (although, I kind of like having the guaranteed income from the part-time work)
Eric, when I read your OP, I had to look twice to make it wasn’t me that wrote it. The details of my situation are almost exactly the same as yours! Living 30 years in US with my Taiwanese wife and planning to retire soon to the family home in a rural area outside Taichung but need to know if we can afford it. So this is a very interesting thread for me.
Sorry I don’t have much to input. From what I’ve been able to gather, $2,000 US per month seems like a reasonable amount for a couple to retire on and is probably a little more than the average local couple would have in retirement. I’m hoping to pick up a part-time writing/ editorial job out there and maybe even some online freelance work. I have done work entirely by email for a couple of Asian clients in the past. Your experience as a Tech writer might be helpful. You could check out Craig’s List – Click the Asia tab, then click Taiwan. Near the bottom of the jobs tab they have writing/editing jobs. Not much but if you keep checking you could get lucky.
Hi folks, I know there is another thread about the best place to live, what about the best place to retire? Good air quality, not so bad weather, cheap housing, access to quality health care would be amongst the criteria. Residency rights and Chinese language ability not a problem. What about Jinmen? Or Taichung?
The air quality is not so good in Taichung. Places like the East Coast, Miaoli, Ilan, county areas, the islands are better obviously. There is no single best place.
The islands have terrible winters. Howling winds and fog. You often can’t even get a flight.
You could swim, or invest in a rowing boat though.
Taitung for me. I’d have a place in Taipei as well. Ideally I’d be a snowbirder, fleeing down to Taitung to escape the crappy Taipei winters.
Alishan works for me. 
Well, how about Hualien?
Generally mild weather, housing affordable last time i looked, two excellent hospitals, two universities, less than 3 hours to Taipei by rail or 40 min by air…
[quote=“yuli”]Well, how about Hualian?
Generally mild weather, housing affordable last time i looked, two excellent hospitals, two universities, less than 3 hours to Taipei by rail or 40 min by air…[/quote]
That sounds good. Hey Yuli, your GPS coordinates suggest you live in Ishigaki islands? Is that so?
Personally, I’m keen on Pingdong county, or perhaps Taidong.
Doesn’t Taitung have crappy winters too?
I don’t know what Taiwan will be like in 20-25 years when I am ready to retire but I would love to be in the Yilan/Jiaoxi area or Hualien. My wife prefers Yilan since it’s larger and easier for shopping. But I love the natural beauty around Hualien. Hopefully it’s not all ruined by being overbuilt by then but I’m afraid it will grow considerably.
Tainan in the winter, Sapporo (Hokkaido) is the summer.
In the 'wan, HSR access is important to me, because, even in dottage, the need to be in the Big Bucket won’t go away, AND… summers in the 'wan are such that I would need to be at altitude, like our Man in Alishan, to escape the sauna in the the lower 'tudes.
Hokkaido does not get the summer sauna like the rest of Japan (yet, plums still grow… go figure). For a bonus, you could stay late in Sapporo and ski before migrating back to the Kingdom of Tungning.