Discussing the difference between living / working in Taiwan vs. Mainland China, I’d like to know how accurate you think this video is
Seriously interested in your opinions
You’ve never heard of any of the food scandals in Taiwan? There’s been hundreds. There are even English wikipedia articles dedicated to the food scandals in recent years. Now not that I am claiming China is any better, but Taiwan’s food security is flat out shite. FLAT. OUT. SHITE.
There are only metro systems in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taichung’s metro system is under (perpetual) construction, that piece of crap called BRT doesn’t count.
And most Taiwanese speak horrible English I’m serious. I don’t get where this ‘Taiwanese speak better English than Japanese/Koreans/Chinese’ reputation came from, it’s a nice that we’re considered to speak better English but I honestly don’t find it to be true.
Oh and I’m pretty sure that there are way more foreigners in China than in Taiwan, even if you take the difference of population size into account. Taiwan, economically speaking, is like a stage 4 cancer patient while China…let’s just say they have plenty of rooms to spare a shit storm.
Personally I think the video would work better if there’s a background music or some emojis/stickers and stuff like that. Just a person talking is kind of boring. I do think you look good with your sunglasses though. 
Just my two cents. 
Chinese food can be amazing, but people forget that there is a far bigger income disparity in China than Taiwan (what’s with the ‘mainland China’ shit? They aren’t including Putuoshan? Loosers!) so because of that, the lower end food is not good. You see this in my country, the UK too, with poorer people subsisting on low protein, highly processed sugared carbs and processed meat of an unacceptable quality. Low-end Taiwanese food is crap, but you can survive on it. Spend a decent amount on food where I live and the quality and taste is amazing. China doesn’t ‘get’ western food, or any non-Chinese food, though. That stuff’s rank, at all price-points!
Housing: it can’t really be compared because prices are very different throughout China. I rent a house for 30 000Nt, in eastern China, whereas there’s no way I’d get anything comparable in Taipei.
I didn’t make it far into the video: the kid was not very engaging or polished and didn’t seem to have much unique insight. He needs to rehearse a bit.
liked the girl who looked at the camera, and that big fluffy white dog at the end. the video didn’t compare interacting with indigenous peoples.
Great video! I think your comments are more related to Taipei than Taiwan, but still nice observations.
Some points I’d like to comment:
1- Taiwanese night market food is really great! Not clean nor safe, but delicious nevertheless.
2- Transportation is really related to the size of the country, which of course makes Taiwan better in comparison to Mainland.
3- Censorship is really a pain in the @$$. And this will always be a disadvantage for China.
4- Opportunities are also related to the size of the country. There may be fewer opportunities in Taiwan, but that doesn’t mean that are few.
5- I don’t agree that most of the people can speak English in Taiwan, however, you still can leave a decent life here without speaking Chinese. I think that’s due to the willingness of local people to help and guide foreigners (something that you probably won’t get in China).
I wish you had talked more about the working culture and how locals treat foreigners. Maybe the next video?
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No insights on working cultures in this video, not very informative to be honest.
Chinese workers don’t tend to do such long hours and many migrate from original cities or countryside across a vast nation.
Taiwanese also move but also stay at home until married quite often, Taiwan being a small island and crowded as hell in the cities.
Taiwanese often have the 24 hour finish your work everyday mentality (from Japanese), most people in China wouldn’t understand that.
However Chinese workers often seem to have more ambition,
That could simply be because many ambitious Taiwanese have already left Taiwan to go overseas.
A major difference between mainlanders and Taiwanese is nationalism. In China nationalism is beaten into kids from a young age and into adults from CCTV constant re-runs of ‘bad things Japanese did to us’ and ‘100 ways America tries to keep China down’.
Another huge difference is freedom of speech and how it permeates thru the society. In Taiwan there’s a lot more diversity of opinion, you can even go around with Chinese PRC flags hanging out of your car and not get attacked. Try doing the same with ROC flags in China!
Taiwan as a civil society is far more developed and along the curve than China, you’ve got a lot more associations and religious groups and it’s okay to be affiliated with them. It’s just a lot more easy going (you don’t see people public ally arguing and screaming much like in China, that’s seen as low class).
Taiwan is more a lower middle class society overall whereas China has a big middle class but also huge disparity between the lowest and highest echelons and also different regions, it’s just a lot more complex due to its size.
These Taiwan vs China threads will never stop showing up.
I’m mostly going to comment on the Taiwanese speaking English part. I think as a whole, Taiwanese do not speak very good English, but in Taipei, most people that I’ve met and a lot of store employees, all speak very good English.
I’ve lived in Shenzhen and have had a friend who lived in Beijing. We both agreed that English does not get you very far in China.
+1 on background music and…not 15 minutes of me looking at someone talking.
I found the guys video boring to watch and I can’t watch through the whole thing without starting to fast forward through it. He also has a 12 min video explaining why he wears a suit…
[quote=“Gain”]You’ve never heard of any of the food scandals in Taiwan? There’s been hundreds. There are even English wikipedia articles dedicated to the food scandals in recent years. Now not that I am claiming China is any better, but Taiwan’s food security is flat out shite. FLAT. OUT. SHITE.
There are only metro systems in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taichung’s metro system is under (perpetual) construction, that piece of crap called BRT doesn’t count.
And most Taiwanese speak horrible English I’m serious. I don’t get where this ‘Taiwanese speak better English than Japanese/Koreans/Chinese’ reputation came from, it’s a nice that we’re considered to speak better English but I honestly don’t find it to be true.
Oh and I’m pretty sure that there are way more foreigners in China than in Taiwan, even if you take the difference of population size into account. Taiwan, economically speaking, is like a stage 4 cancer patient while China…let’s just say they have plenty of rooms to spare a shit storm.
Personally I think the video would work better if there’s a background music or some emojis/stickers and stuff like that. Just a person talking is kind of boring. I do think you look good with your sunglasses though.
Just my two cents. [/quote]
We have a bit of a joke over here and say that Taiwan is China set on “easy mode”, yes there are food scandals (I’m aware), but compared to the severity over here, they’re pretty tame, and so that’s why I said if you ate in a restaurant (I wasn’t talking about street food or a dirty hole in the wall place), however I really could have phrased that better, you’re absolutely right.
I may have been a bit off on the foreigner saturation, since things have changed recently, when I first got to Shenzhen back in 2006 I could go walking around for a month without seeing a single foreigner, but when visiting Taiwan I’d see them on the street all the time, I’ll make an updated video in the future, thanks for pointing it out.
The English thing is true though, horrible English is still English, over here pretty much no one can speak any form of English… it’s pretty tough unless you can speak the language.
Thank you for the feedback, I seriously appreciate it!
good vid!
gain: taiwan has scandals too, but i think the hygiene level for one is worse in the mainland, so that will do most people in. in taiwan i haven’t got sick from the food and didn’t often get a bad stomach. on top of that there is the screwing over your fellow man(for short term gains) to get ahead mindset that is really rampant in china. i would have a hard time believing the food scandals are as bad in taiwan than in china.
as for food in general, i love the food in taiwan and china. i can probably find more decent stuff here and its easier to find(just walk down any street) so i would say i liked the food here more if push came to shove.
i agree with ricarte about the english.
and agree with gain that there are more foreigners in china.
another point from my own perspective -regarding adventure is that china does feel more edge of the world and unexplored, fun, chaotic ect but taiwan absolutely wins out on long term living. the adventurous side of things isn’t exactly lacking here either. the city’s here are just jammed full of interesting things.
It was especially boring filming it, then editing it for two days, even more boring is the fact that people ask me daily why I wear a suit so I have to make a video that’s then called boring too
Is that you making those vids Serpent China? I haven’t watched in years but I enjoyed watching them when I did. Did you marry “beer girl” ?
Ok, Im going to watch that particular vid now.
[quote=“tommy525”]Is that you making those vids Serpent China? I haven’t watched in years but I enjoyed watching them when I did. Did you marry “beer girl” ?
Ok, Im going to watch that particular vid now.[/quote]
Yes it’s me 
I did marry Beer Girl, but we got divorced after two years (Hong Kong girls don’t like living in Mainland China it turns out), but I’m engaged to a doctor now (the girl in the intros of my new videos). Thanks for watching my vids!
[quote=“SerpentChina”][quote=“tommy525”]Is that you making those vids Serpent China? I haven’t watched in years but I enjoyed watching them when I did. Did you marry “beer girl” ?
Ok, Im going to watch that particular vid now.[/quote]
Yes it’s me I did marry Beer Girl, but we got divorced after two years (Hong Kong girls don’t like living in Mainland China it turns out), but I’m engaged to a doctor now (the girl in the intros of my new videos). Thanks for watching my vids![/quote]
Sorry to hear but thats life ain’t it? And yeah I can imagine HK girls are not thrilled with living in China.
Good to see you posting here. Come by often ya hear?
That was a great vid. And like I said I have really enjoyed your vids (and watched heaps of them) . Just have not watched in a while. But I will keep an eye on em.
My avatar is my wife and our cat.
A Doc eh? Well that can be handy to keep yourself in good health !
I live in the Bay Area (USA) so if you are in town, will buy you a beer.
p.s. Nice lookin Doc !
had a short trip to china recently. while some things are better in china on the whole taiwan is just a better choice and a far more interesting place to live.
As someone who has lived in both China and Taiwan, and who speaks and reads (used to write, but no need now) Chinese, I would personally not consider living in China again. If it was really short term for a very high salary, and allowed us to put away some serious money, maybe, but only for a very short period of time.
For those of you who have lived in both places, what is your take on it?
I’m not sure when you left, but I’ve just come back to Taipei after being posted elsewhere. I was extremely surprised to see, in Taipei at least, how much people’s attitudes have altered in just over two short years.
At complete odds to my previous experience in Taiwan, I’ve found a marked lack of service, friendliness etc in most customer-facing roles, and a general reduction in good-manners (e.g. not holding open doors). I thought it was perhaps just my nostalgia getting a kick back to reality, but my Malaysian friend came over for a work trip last month. She had also not been back for over two years, and mentioned how much it had changed in passing.
I’m not sure what’s caused it (maybe those who can have left for the mainland, leaving only the less able remaining, or perhaps a complete lack of opportunity on the island?) but whatever it is, Taipei isn’t the same as when I left it a few years ago. Perhaps the UK is the same, I haven’t been home properly for an awfully long time. I imagine it hasn’t changed for the better in the intervening years.
I’ve lived in both the mainland and in Taiwan, as well as numerous other Asian and European countries for work. As for the mainland, I’ve been up in Northern China, Beijing and Shanghai, as well as travelling to various second and third tier-cities for various work-related reasons. Taiwan - I’ve only ever lived in Taipei. My opinions are as follows:
Concerning work-culture, both places are pretty gruelling, Taiwan more so, but nothing compared to Hong Kong. Wages are terrible in Taiwan, and they reduce with inflation for the majority. The mainland has real promotion opportunities, and is far more of a meritocracy than Taiwan, which is more first-come first-serve.
Ability-wise, I’d say mainlanders are more capable workers than their Taiwanese counterparts, especially those just leaving university. However, Taiwanese are excellent with simple tasks that do not require independent thought, as if given instructions, they will follow them to the letter. Both work equally hard, and can 吃苦. Access to English-speakers is probably easier in a mainland tier-1 city, but lower down less so.
Cost of living can be high in the mainland, but equally so for Taiwan. I’d say pound-for-pound, Taipei housing is more expensive rental-wise than mainland tier-1 cities - for a similar capital outlay, you get far more space in Shanghai or Beijing, however, access to small flats at the bottom of the market is probably better in Taipei, as there are far less workers on low wages to snap-up rental properties, and less methods to access the properties (apps etc).
Public transport: Taipei is excellent and clean, Shanghai and Beijing are clean enough, but the cities are so bloody big, it takes an age to get anywhere. Again, due to the size of the cities, you can get a lot done in one day in Taipei. Beijing or Shanghai, plan on one meeting a day if it’s across the city.
International flights from Shanghai or Beijing are a nightmare, Taoyuan and Songshan are excellent - on time, reliable. The only thing you can rely on in mainland tier-1s is a delay.
Healthcare is far better in Taiwan, mainland medical care is terrifying, and access to it is not good. Doctors are overworked in both places.
Food, I would say food safety is pretty similar, however, I would argue access to better quality ingredients is available in the mainland, as you can get what you pay for. Tier-one cities are truly international, so you get proper foreign food and ingredients. Taiwan is not international, and so choice suffers.
Air quality is improving in the mainland, and not in Taipei. I have a number of Taiwanese colleagues and friends who are based in Beijing, who get various nasal and skin allergies when they come back to Taipei for business trips, that then disappear again on return to the mainland.
Manners: improving in the mainland, regressing in Taiwan.
Can’t comment on education, but both systems seem equally hard on the children, again, nothing on Hong Kong though (e.g. kindergaarten entrance exams at 16 months).
Freedoms are, on a day-to-day basis almost exactly the same. The only thing that affected me was lack of access to the internet, and having to find ways around it. Otherwise, I’d argue the mainland is a pretty free place for most activities, unless you’re into certain activities.
Day-to-day convenience, mainland is leaps and bounds ahead: everything is available to order on your phone, paid for on your phone and 24-hours. Everything is seamless. Taipei is… not. Again, a common gripe of my mainland-based Taiwanese friends is the lack of convenience when they return home. The only thin I have found more convenient in Taipei is access to convenience stores.
Activities-wise, Taiwan is small, so its activities are more easy to get to, but less varied due to the lack of variation in climate. The mainland is so large that you can do whatever leisure activity you want, if you are willing to travel for it.
Overall, I’d rather live in Taipei than Shanghai or Beijing on the sole basis that I was sent to a boarding school in the country, thus am uncomfortable when couped in a city for too long. It is so easy to leave Taipei for the mountains or beach, and impossible to escape Shanghai or Beijing. Taiwan is essentially a sleepy village, it’s sedate and not much goes on, which may or may not be a positive, depending on your view. I think Taipei balances everything well, but that’s because I’m not a local struggling on a local-wage. If I were, I think I’d be queuing up for a job across the water too.
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Really informative post. Thank you!
