To share firstly where we currently stand. We are very stable with kids and wife integrated fairly well into German society. Have decent jobs with no over time, so there is enough time to spent with kids. We are close to our parents as well. But my siblings live far away. No other relatives.
I still sometimes plan with idea to move to Taiwan once kids are bigger. Like when older one is like 9. Is it too late to adjust for school?
Lived in Taiwan for a year and it was a mix bag for me. Working culture is weird, whole system behaves weird towards foreigners. Have lived in dozen countries before.
What is the most appealing to me is give kids exposure to another culture and let em become literature in Mandarin. I don’t like a lot of things in Taiwan, but my kids might feel differently. So far my oldest (5) speaks good Chinese and he feels comfortable in Taiwan. We take kids for 2 months holidays one time per year. Her family helps a lot and wife has 3 siblings being childfree and they love to spent time with kids.
Another plus is I could get a mortgage deal, either take part of equity out from in laws properties or getting invested in apartment.
How are like afternoon actives for kids? I am big on sports and would not like kids study tone of hours for tests. Is family life expensive with 3 kids outside of Taipei?
My wife would love it, and I think kids would be fine. I could do a lot of hiking, motorcycle rides and since wife is more comfortable in Taiwan, I would have more time for myself. I am primary parent now. Have to always join kindergarten activities, deal with government, organise weekends activities and I think it will get worse and worse once kids are in school.
Currently I work as senior programmer and spouse is project manager in electronics for a middle size local company. We should be in position to get decent jobs in Taiwan? What salaries can be expected?
Would love to read your thoughts about it, either it makes sense. For now is just one of options.
If you want to have your kids grow in an environment where education is less important than sports, move to a place close to indigenous areas. I teach a lot of kids from an area where they play sports more than study. They seem a hell of a lot more happy.
Depending on your exact setup, your living expenses could be higher here than they are in Germany. Expats with a middle class background are often surprised when they see prices for sports classes outside of school, because they are used to the subsidized prices from their local Gemeinde back home. Think 20 EUR each time you go to gymnastics class instead of the EUR 20 per month back home.
As long as you are aware of the downsides and have a realistic look of things, this can be can be a good move.
For kids:they are young, so shouldnt be a problem to integrate. if you plan to send them to local education system, they will be ok, whether or not it is the right system for them is up to you and your wife to decide.
For you: without Chinese your ability to find high paying professional work is limited, not impossible, but can take a long time. Pension, days off, social security : all those are better in Germany. coming here can out a big dent in your savings and retirement.
Costs :contrary to what people say, TW, and especially Taipei, is not cheap for a family with kids. If you plan to also visit germany every year, plan an extra 200K a year for that vacation…
personally, im happy i came here, i like the life style. Financially : all my peers back home have a much better financial base than me.
You’ve come 180 degrees (or maybe 90 degrees) on Taiwan, @The It’s fine. Priorities always changing when kids involved.
Why wait 4 more years when oldest is 9? Much easier to acclimate to local public school earlier instead of 3rd grade and later when most other classmates get forced into afternoon bushibans by parents.
Plenty of afternoon activities for kids if you go the non-bushiban route, either offered by school or easy to find sports lessons at clubs or local colleges. Wife can Google away (like mine does). they are out there. Sometimes NT$100/hr if done with a group of kids, or NT$500-1000 if done one on one. Just dig and dig, and wife will find inexpensive activities.
As for jobs, you’ll have to do some legwork. once you get ARC with spousal work visa, it’ll be somewhat easier for companies to hire you without needing to apply for work permit.
What cities you like?
To save money, think anything south of Miaoli or east coast. Like someone above noted, if you live around aborigines, the kids’ classmates will definitely be more active outdoors after school. This doesn’t mean you have to live at 1000m or higher elevation.
The big unknown in Taiwan is the job. There are lots of shitty ones but there are good ones too. I personally wouldn’t trade my job for anything in Europe. Pay is better, company culture and coworkers are great, hitech products and lots of freedom. But as I mentioned before in other threads, I know my situation is the exception. Find those exceptions and you will love it here, accept any rando job and you are better off in hell.
Another solution would be to work for a European company in Taiwan. As a programmer you could also try working remotely.
True… One doesnt have to move to Taiwan to work hard for low pay, you can do it anywhere in the world.
its worth it to move only if you make better money than staying in home country.
If they’re good at sports, they can be put in the sports class too. At least in high school, there’s a specific class for students who are good at sports where they spread a lot more time training than studying
I know what you mean. My limited experience is that the kids that are sent to those classes arent expected to become the backbone of Taiwanese sports, they are sent there since no one expects them to become doctor/lawyer/engineer…
I think my school must be different. The principal is really invested in sports and it seems to be something of a tradition. Last year I helped a senior from the class apply for and get accepted to NYU
If your wife is Taiwanese and your kids half-Taiwanese with grandparents and other relatives like cousins or so in Taiwan, their life will be just fine. I think the decision is more about you, whether you feel that you can integrate in an environment, even family environment, where you are inevitably going to be THE ousider.
You nailed it. Better find a remote position like someone else wrote here and earn a living without dealing with Taiwanese office politics and face issues. If you meet the requirements for a Gold Card, you should apply for it. It would separate your status in Taiwan (and subsequent APRC) from your marriage. Of course I wish you guys eternal happiness, but why not carving out your own space.
With your employment situation in Germany, and the various forms of state support for education there; and with your already-scheduled regular two month visits to Taiwan, I would say relocating here makes little sense.
It’s fine. Priorities always changing when kids involved.
