BBC: Today's Taipei is rich and hip, 20$ billion Tainan factory, Secret sauce

[Gain]

@Brianjones

Yeah it’s not very hip , unless an abundance of expensive coffeeshops means hip. It’s mostly full of old people. Some districts are still interesting like Ximen Ding.

What is hip? And aren’t you one of the old people? Aren’t all of you old people?

[Whatevah]

@Gain

What is hip? And aren’t you one of the old people? Aren’t all of you old people?

Define “old”. Unless you’re a gen z I’m not old. IIRC BrianJones is middle aged.

[Gain]

@Whatevah

Define “old”. Unless you’re a gen z I’m not old.

Ok not all of you. Most of you.

@Whatevah

IIRC BrianJones is middle aged.

If not old definitely not hip either. No offense. Hip middle aged people are kind of like this.

[cluckin_bell]

@Gain

Lol, delusional.

I think the chart probably includes land and real estate. I’m not convinced most houses and apartments can really be sold for the amount they’re worth “on paper”, i.e. it’s paper wealth, but that’s a separate discussion.

@Gain

Maybe it’s you.

Possibly. It just feels to me like there are less (Western) foreigners and foreign shops/restaurants. I’d be interested to see the government stats for foreign population over time.

@Whatevah

The greater Hsinchu could be a nice place to live if they built a LRT route from the beach to train station to science park to HSR.

Hsinchu are building an LRT system actually - it just got approved. Doubt it will go to the beach though.

[Whatevah]

@cluckin_bell

Possibly. It just feels to me like there are less (Western) foreigners and foreign shops/restaurants. I’d be interested to see the government stats for foreign population over time.

Easily accessible here. Goes back quite a while too. Obviously doesn’t include naturalized residents but I doubt they amount to much.

Check the ones titled “foreign residents by nationality”

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5475/5478/141478/141380/

[Brianjones]

Haha I’m not that old …aren’t you also getting old .
Old but not wise.

[PeiHua-Connie]

@Gain

@PeiHua-Connie

“Compared to software engineers in thefu US, even at the best companies here, engineers are paid quite badly,” he said. “But compared to other industries in Taiwan the pay is good. So, if you work for a big electronic company after a few years, you’ll be able to get a mortgage, buy a car. You’ll be able to get married. So, people suck it up.”

Statements like this are so cking pathetic.

Why?, I will not disagree with the statement or say its pathetic even when my EU level salary is lower than USA but higher than my peers in Kao. The firm I work, I get EU wages but down side is a lot of time on the aeroplane, good is get spend 60% time in Kao (hometown). I also spend time in Dublin which is nice and quite international, but would not be nice on my salary as IE has become very costly quickly. (I now like Turin office, cheaper and nice food haha). I will say in 高市 wages are lower so may fell wages are lower tah say in north.

[PeiHua-Connie]

@PeiHua-Connie

高市

@OysterOmelet

@cluckin_bell

“Rich” - Despite the current 2nd Taiwan Miracle, everyone in Taiwan is still poor. The big money being made by these tech firms isn’t trickling down into local businesses and lower-tier workers. Instead it’s going into real estate or being moved out of the country.

In 新竹 the wealth trickles down.

Hopefully it will start doing so in Tainan as well.

What are you talking about, have you been those two cities recently or if ever since you do not reside in Taiwan. Tainan looks good to me, what is this trickles down

[Gain]

@cluckin_bell

I think the chart probably includes land and real estate. I’m not convinced most houses and apartments can really be sold for the amount they’re worth “on paper”, i.e. it’s paper wealth, but that’s a separate discussion.

Financial assets do not include real estate.

List of countries by financial assets per capita

@cluckin_bell

Possibly. It just feels to me like there are less (Western) foreigners and foreign shops/restaurants. I’d be interested to see the government stats for foreign population over time.

So you are saying that only Western foreigners and shops/restaurants can be hip? That’s not problematic at all.

@Brianjones

Haha I’m not that old …aren’t you also getting old .

I didn’t say you were a senior. It’s just a fact that no one associates middle aged people with hip.

@PeiHua-Connie

Why?, I will not disagree with the statement or say its pathetic even when my EU level salary is lower than USA but higher than my peers in Kao. The firm I work, I get EU wages but down side is a lot of time on the aeroplane, good is get spend 60% time in Kao (hometown). I also spend time in Dublin which is nice and quite international, but would not be nice on my salary as IE has become very costly quickly. (I now like Turin office, cheaper and nice food haha). I will say in 高市 wages are lower so may fell wages are lower tah say in north.

I find you very difficult to understand.

[OysterOmelet]

@PeiHua-Connie

What are you talking about, have you been those two cities recently or if ever since you do not reside in Taiwan. Tainan looks good to me, what is this trickles down

It’s in this book:

[Brianjones]

He visits Taiwan once every 10 years or something

[OysterOmelet]

Shinzu has many high-paid professionals of sectors other than tech. In that sense, tech incomes have trickled down. Taiwanese don’t have a cultural propensity to be flashy.

[Malasang88]

@OysterOmelet

Taiwanese don’t have a cultural propensity to be flashy

They don’t? Clearly you have not been to my neighborhood. Curious how renting luxury clothing, bags and cars can be a viable business here.

[OysterOmelet]

@PeiHua-Connie

“Compared to software engineers in the US, even at the best companies here, engineers are paid quite badly,” he said.

If he’s a software engineer, maybe that’s why.

[DogmaticStoic]

I believe these metrics but I just don’t understand how it’s possible given the low salaries offered. How is it possible?

[OysterOmelet]

@DogmaticStoic

I believe these metrics but I just don’t understand how it’s possible given the low salaries offered. How is it possible?

Honestly, I think they got mean and median mixed up. No way the means are lower than the medians across the board.

[PeiHua-Connie]

@tetentikov

Wholly unrelated, but never thought that I’d see the day where my apartment would appear on the accompanying photograph to an article on the front page of the BBC News site.

Nice ! Must be a big building

[Wilsonckao]

thats a pro and a con.

[PeiHua-Connie]

@Whatevah

@Gain

Zhubei only has like 200k people. What public transport is there to be built? A tram that makes the traffic worse?

Zhubei and Hsinchu should be thought of as one city separated by a river. The greater Hsinchu could be a nice place to live if they built a LRT route from the beach to train station to science park to HSR.

There is a rail line, maybe convert the rail line to a tram line with more services per hour

[PeiHua-Connie]

@Brianjones

@cluckin_bell

Hip” - Taipei has actually regressed and feels less international than when I arrived 10 years ago

It’s mostly full of old people. Some districts are still interesting like Ximen Ding.

. ENGINEERS as noted are too busy working though.

ya, mostly people working long hours or older people relaxing at home or in the parks.

Dublin has become a tech city somewhat, still feels hip (though high costs may kill off the “hip”), but key in Taiwan is long working hours