Alternatives to Taiwan for expats who love Taiwan (but don't love the pay)

I have a good corporate job in Taiwan (if you call corporate jobs good …Pays well enough anyway) , but the complaints listed above are mostly genuine with regards Taiwan.

A regional level job can be really hard to find here and there aren’t many new job openings or companies opening offices. Mostly they are CLOSING offices or cutting costs with local management .

In fact FDI stats say that Taiwan has amongst the lowest foreign investment in Asia. Again I am one of the few here who actually checks these things instead of random assumptions.

There are some big local companies that have lots of managerial positions but I mostly haven’t had a good experience interacting with their HR or management, they get tricky with contracts and they don’t want to pay average rates in other Asian tigers , US etc .

Canada and Britain and Spain I am told by you lot you have long waits and cannot go to a specialist directly, yet costs are reasonable.

US gives me the hibbie jibbies, won’t touch the subject. You guys of course know better.

Can’t have it all, can we?

Yeah pretty spot on. Most people here probably don’t come with the expectation they’ll be furthering their careers

I know loads of so-so Singaporeans who walk into big jobs, well paid positions,…It’s just a fact that they are in the right place at the right time.

Actually thought of moving there too since the currency is basically on parity with Australian dollars and the tax rates are pretty low, but a lot of my friends who moved from Aus to SG are telling me the work hours are definitely longer than back home.

If you are successful and married there is the chance your spouse will cash their investment by divorce and leave atoga on the street without a dime.

I am seriously getting sick of that.

Without nationality or at least APRC, those on marriage visas are sitting ducks. You can’t convince me otherwise.

Got an acquaintance, 50 years in Taiwan, came here very young and pretty, married to this man- boy who was studying to become a doctor. She worked to pay his studies, support the household, and buy the house they lived in. Nothing in her name as was customary back then. Didn’t want to give up her nationality, loved her country. 50 years later she gets sick, becomes a liability, too much trouble. One fateful day she becomes aggressive, hits hubby. Cops are called. Husband gives her a choice, she signs divorce papers. One week later she is deported with a single piece of luggage.

…And work hours can be relatively long in Australia I believe. It does depend on the job though.

It’s quite industry specific, but overall the general consensus would be there’s better work-life balance compared to Asian work hours.

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38 hours a week, after is over time.

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Thems aren’t long work hours at all!

But there’s a culture of putting in the extra work off hours I feel…Certainly with some of my colleagues there.

Harsh . Real story? When did it happen.
Folks -Never sign the divorce papers if not in a good position.

Yep. Long term buxiban work will turn a man bitter even if he isn’t already. It’s also not suitable for having a family due to the working hours and general lack of paid vacation. With decent teaching qualifications everything is much more agreeable, although the pay still isn’t great. Of course, the pay isn’t generally great in education as a whole.

The biggest whiners I avoid are the guys who have been in TW for ages and are still doing buxiban or kindy work. I feel sorry for them, but the silly sods really should have sorted themselves out.

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Exactly. Not the first gal I know who makes that mistake.

«But in my country?! » yep, and here they even can weasel out of child support.

Sigh.

So do not rely too much on your partner. At best, you ruin the relationship by coming a dependent child. At worse…the sky is the limit. OTOH, do not let yourself become a piggie bank and a slave. Wish there was a way to protect people that are used like that by their partners, as the only way out is to lose kids, house and soul.

Only problem is MOI apparently cracked down and has said that only people with registered teaching degrees from overseas can teach English at Universities and High Schools. So that would mean to get those plum jobs most people would have to go back to school for a few years to get that paper to get those decent jobs. I’ve been considering it but it’s a big step especially for us not so young people.

And private Universities all want Masters degrees at a minimum and most want a PhD now as they supposedly get more funding from the government if the teacher has more letters after their name.

I believe this story, but do you have any happy ending ones? just one? half of one? a made-up one?

I fear if I call them happy, I’ll jinx them. TBH, the most successful mixed couples so far in both business and life are two gay couples I know. Machala!!!Machala!

Most of the Latinas I know are housewives, maybe that is the reason they get walked all over. We are taught to nurture and follow hubby, not to fight for ourselves.

As a man I was not comfortable marrying Taiwanese. When things go south, you know you will face almost entire country against you. I knew that. But she didn’t know she will face it too. Bad for ex.

Now you being a girl marrying Taiwanese, and girl from poor country, from poor family marrying taiwanese man? Well run as fast you can, before is too late

I don’t really know what is this heaven, once you make it in Taiwan? After you put tone of hours in, tone of money, and you learn mandarin and weird Taiwanese customs…

Are we talking about easy dumb girls for fast sex, are we talking about paying next to zero taxes, about hot humid weather, about KTV, about taiwanese food? Nothing really impress me

That is the thing: you guys assume it is all girls from poor families. You guys forget the ones whose families own half their countries or went to Harvard. Yep, they marry Taiwanese, both rich and poor, and it still it is a train wreck.

And it is not poor countries. The countries are rich in resources. They are in the hands of a few who do not allow them to be used, that is something else. Last news I heard from the old country is some state bank executives drained the employees pension funds. Like 8 billion NTD … each one. That is no poor country. Only the employees will be poorer.

Back to Taiwan, one more bit to add: one of my coworkers was beaten up by her hubby. She went to the police, asked for a restraining order. It took over a month for the court to hear her case… while the guy is out free. At least in the old country wife beaters go to jail immediately. May be released too soon, but a month for a restraining order is a death sentence.

No offense, but your writing about wealth is funny. Poor country is a poor country. No wonder whole Latin America ( except Chile ?) is poor

Plum jobs require qualifications. The aversion to distance education is a real problem, but it’s understandable given the way the MOE has been burnt in the past.

I don’t really know what to say. Rightly or wrongly if you want a plum job you’re going to have to get the qualifications.

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