I don’t know if others feel this way, but I do think Taiwanese I know are much more welcoming of foreigners than Japanese or Hong Kongers or other Asians.
I can’t imagine anyplace else in the region where a street laoban I just met tells me he thinks I should find a nice local girl and settle down there!
i have mates that are expats on packages, expats, ABC[s etc. Some hate it, some love and some are so-so about it… VERY similar to people back home.
i have just returned after being in Oz for a while… i am prepared for all the things i hated and looking forward to all the things i loved.
sancho… just keep visiting. moving a partner here and n ot having any connections other than a few lusty trips would make it tough. it is a great place, but luckily i have family here as well.
[quote=“AWOL”]I have mates that are expats on packages, expats, ABC[s etc. Some hate it, some love and some are so-so about it… VERY similar to people back home.
I have just returned after being in Oz for a while… I am prepared for all the things i hated and looking forward to all the things i loved.
sancho… just keep visiting. moving a partner here and n ot having any connections other than a few lusty trips would make it tough. it is a great place, but luckily I have family here as well.[/quote]
who says i would move a partner there? 
…haha…i am not planning on moving there, but i really do like it and miss it. i am going to visit as much as i can. i may not have a partner anyways when i go back to visit and have to break the news to her that she can’t come! 
dear sancho,
i hear you loud and clear!!
i visited taipei for 3 weeks in feb. and mar. of this year. i went both to see another part of the world, and to visit with friends from taipei that i met in montana.
this was my first trip overseas. i too fell in love with the place. regardless of what most responses have said, i know what you are feeling and i know it is real. it is not an illusion. i feel for you man!
when i came back to america all i could think about was taiwan.
as a recreation management major i learned that once a vacation ends, thats when the true impact of your experience reveals itself. we return to the place in our minds. i return to taipei every day.
also, related to this and your post: my current job changed from full time to part time. i was in shock. my first instinct was to move to taipei to teach english. i thought about it for a while. then things calmed down and i realized this is not feasible right now. then, after realizing this i was sad. i was sad because i really wanted to escape to taiwan. then every day i felt anxiety. i felt a pull to come back to taiwan. if not to work then at least to visit again.
then it hit me…buy a ticket. so i decided i was going to go back to visit again and the anxiety gave way to excitement for my next trip. i will be in taipei the entire month of march. i cant wait.
so dont let all the other responses turn you off. your feelings are real.
i love taiwan too and thats ok.
jm
hey john…i think you hit the nail on the head! you and i couldn’t be more on the same page! so you are going back for a month huh? that is really funny because that is the exact same thing that i am planning on doing, but probally in may or june. i have to work it out with my boss man…and then there will come the big fight with my woman…haha…but i think it will work out. how are you getting the time off? are you staying in a hotel or with friends? also…how old are you and do you think you will eventually try to move there?
hey sancho,
well i will be between jobs. the full time job ive had for 9 years is now only 27 hrs per week. so i am quitting in february. i am starting my own job. by then i hope to have 2 side businesses up and running. so its a perfect time to take a month off.
i stay in a hostel when i go to taipei. its only 13 bucks a night! and its next to taipei main station.
by the way i am now 40. but as they say, 40 is the new 25. i dont know who came up with that, but i feel the same as i did when i was 25.
i dont think i will move to taiwan. maybe in 10 years, after my dogs live out their golden years at home here in montana. it would be hard to move their now, as both my dogs are very active and i dont think they would take to the crowded city.
best regards,
jm
hey john…sounds like you have a good plan! hey how is the hostel? i know some have private rooms…i’m guessing the one in taipei does not??haha…i think you and i will be on the same page for a while at least. can’t move there, but visit as much as possible! i think i will give it a couple of years and then maybe be one of those crazy guys that just hits a mid life crisis and does some irrational stuff…like dump woman…sell everything…move to taiwan…haha…for now i’ll just continue to miss it and look forward to the vacation time 