Continuing this here since comments/questions went off topic
Most Western foreigners that arrive in TW come to study the language for a few years and leave right? Some stay long term. But I don’t know of any that dream of being cops, then move to Taiwan to try to enlist. I doubt that has ever happened actually. I seriously doubt anyone that is qualified for a petty civil service gig in TW was refused one.
What field of work are you in? And when was this?
Lower salary, but free health care and low living costs offset that.
I had no problem getting my kids into local schools.
I would also not consider that Taiwan necessarily has “low living costs.” Yes, you can find small studio apartments without kitchens in old buildings for cheap, eat street food every day, etc., but if you’re coming from a Western country and want to maintain a similar quality of life here, Taiwan’s COL isn’t meaningfully lower, especially if you’re in Taipei.
Ok, not free but low cost and quite affordable relative to the U.S.
I rented a very large nice 2 bedroom apartment in the south for 11k TWD in the city center. That same apartment here is 2000 a month US.
Maybe there is a bigger difference between North and South Taiwan than I thought, but even with eating in the occasional western restaurant, going out to a club etc in TW the living costs here in the U.S. way exceed anything there.
Yeah I hear people say this but I just don’t see it. Perhaps it comes down to what one considers “nice”. I’ve never seen an $11K apartment in Taiwan (even in one of the Southern cities) that comes close in quality to what even $1,000 USD gets you in many US cities.
Half-decent Western restaurants in Taiwan aren’t substantially less expensive than the average restaurant in the US, liquor in Taiwan is more expensive than in many places in the US if you go to a bar/lounge/club, coffee shops here are routinely more expensive than those in the US, etc.
No, the building is brand new. The windowpanes are new. Some of the units were nothing but but bare concrete…with the landlord hoping you’ll renovate it.
But what about their kids? If two immigrants have kids in Taiwan they are not automatically citizens so their career options are limited right off the bat.
Uh in terms of quality, I guess this is where it comes down to different strokes for different folks.
But putting that aside, this is government-subsidized social housing, so to get that price you have to meet the requirements. It’s nowhere near the MRT, and you’re already out in the boonies in Tamsui to begin with. It would probably take you at least 60-90 minutes each way to get to/from Taipei.
Unless I was head over heels in love with Taiwan, I’d rather rent an apartment for under $1,000/month in a second-tier American or European city, or move to SE Asia. But that’s just me.
What does quality mean to you? Maybe we are thinking in different terms.
Subsidised social housing it is not. It is brand new suburban private housing.
This is not true. A bus on this particular area comes within every few minutes for a maximum 10 minute ride to the MRT. The maximum time it takes me to Taipei Main is 60 minutes with 40 to 60 being recorded. I dunno about you but surrounded by high rises and shops and megastores doesn’t qualify as boonies to me.
It’s a suburb. That’s what Danhai is, a suburb. American suburbs are even more quiet and boring and far away from transportation and filled with detached houses.
Rents in Mississauga routinely exceed $2000US/m. This is adjacent to Taipei for dirt. For $1000US/m you can get in Taipei fairly easy and brand new building.
The US is a huge country. What you say does not at all apply to all suburbs.
I just don’t believe that’s true. I live in Taipei in a relatively new (under 5 years old) supposedly “luxury” building and if you’re talking about Xinyi, Da’an, Songshan, Zhongshan, etc., you’re not going to find an apartment in a brand new building for $1,000 USD/month. I looked extensively. Even apartments in new buildings in Nangang and Neihu go for more than this.