I heard that Australia is moving towards a policy of if you’re out, you’re out and figured the UK might follow suit. A government doesn’t necessarily act in its own best interest. 
I think that’s rubbish, there’s tonnes of decent food in Taiwan. You ain’t looking if you can’t find it.
Just got back from the UK and can’t say it was a culinary delight, far from it. Went through some airports there and it was pure misery. Grotty buildings, smelly overcrowded toilets, fees for everything, grumpy staff and over zealous security. Lack of any cute stuff to lighten things up (never thought I was would miss Taiwanese ‘cute’ design). It was also COLLDDDDD.
I get it though…the call of the homeland can be strong.
I’d also like to say that sending kids to school in Taiwan isn’t a black and white thing. First of all there are different choices of public and private school. There are choices. Second there are a couple of significant benefits of kids attending school in Taiwan namely Chinese and Maths. These are not small things! I am very happy with my sons Chinese progress it would take many years longer overseas.
Also they don’t spend all their time in the classroom the first few grades either. In first grade it’s just four mornings and one full day. There are loads of extra curricular activities available. My son is learning inline skating, ukelele, soccer to name but a few and it’s all heavily subsidized. There are a massive range of activities available. My daughter who has yet to start school does arts and crafts classes in the local kindergarten and also dance class and swimming class. Most of the classes run around 100 ntd a class. Plenty to do.
Interestingly there are quite a number of biracial kids or foreign kids in the local public school (not always obvious as they are Asian mix too).
Access to public schools is dependent on your huji so there are major differences there (e.g Taipei city schools almost all have swimming pools…new Taipei city tend not to) and there is quite a variation between schools within districts and also between countryside and cities. Countryside schools aren’t all bad some are very nice indeed but the quality of teachers varies.
The public education system is a bit outdated in terms of its regular testing approach in class but it’s not all bad. It’s rigorous. There’s also no religious instruction which I like. It’s later on when they go towards the junior high school years that I think things go pear shaped. That’s Asia and not just Taiwan though.
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I’m a bit surprised to hear that primary schools have more to just staying in the classroom these days. When I was a primary school student (like 10-16 years ago) we didn’t have those. Ok there was a bit but barely. It didn’t bother me though as I was really lazy.
Still things get ugly once you hit middle school, then REAL ugly in high school.
650/h X 8h X 22 days X 12 months sums up like USD48,000 per year.
Do they not pay for 8 hours per day?
Eh, who teaches 8 hours a day? The Taiwanese pay by the hour in front of the board, not the preparation time/homework review/etc.
The OP only listed the per hour rate, so I assumed they would pay for the working hours.
Considering the OP’s satisfaction to his daily life is important for his family too, moving to UK AU NZ etc and starting the new job might be better for his family, when netting the pros and cons of living in Taiwan for him.
To make matters worse, mayny buxibans now barely fill the 16 hour weekly minumum. Hene, the low salaries… and getting lower.
I returned to Canada in 2008 and stayed there for seven years. We sold the family`s place in Taipei, bought a place in Canada, and stayed long enough for my step kids and wife to get citizenship.
In retrospect, I wish we did not sell the place in Taiwan. The prices have risen significantly.
I worked for the government in Canada for seven years and accumulated a nice little pension with just seven years of contributions in Canada (about 30,000 NT per month after age 55 for the rest of my life). We had a nice little house on Vancouver Island, a decent job, etc., and our kids, who left Taiwan in junior high and late elementary, are now in medical and engineering universities in Canada.
Still we decided to leave after seven years. Why? It is kind of boring. Once you lived expatriate life, you might find rural, semi rural or small city (e.g. Victoria) life pretty boring. The political correctness is stifling (way more PC than Europe) and it can be quite dull. My wife summed it up quite well saying it is like people are waiting to die.
We`ve left our adult kids in Canada and now work in the EU. Slightly less pay but way better lifestyle. Over 30 days vacation, three pension systems, and very strong labor law (pretty much impossible to get fired in France).
My advice to you is go…education is better outside Taiwan and opportunities are too. My question would be this. Why put your kids in a pressure cooker system so they can make a very low salary upon graduation?
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I suspect the problem is the low pay for many rather than the education.
I make and save a lot more in Taiwan than I would in my homeland due to much lower taxes and expenses.
But that’s unfortunately kind of unusual these days.
Taiwan isn’t even a good option for English teachers now.
Now if the OP was a qualified teacher he would have a possibility of sending his kids to an international school that he worked at.
Education is not always better outside Taiwan, I’ve seen French colleges a lot of them are rubbish too. And public schools vary tremendously in quality in the West (as I know from my own school days). I certainly did not enjoy the range of sports and music and clubs that my son has access to at school. There is also a very well developed childcare/after school education system in Taiwan compared to many places. It’s not like most countries take care of your kids for free while you are working!
Taiwan’s schools are also safe…generally.
If you want your kids to learn Chinese Taiwan is one of the best choices in the world. If my kids have great Chinese that could stand to them massively in future careers and it allows them to explore their Taiwanese identity. Yes we all know the issues about the stressful test taking. It may not be a picnic always elsewhere. So i would say the answer varies really according to a lot of factors.
Your second sentence is certainly true! I think that in contrast to Australia the UK has a lot of retirees living out of the country – estimates reckon 1.5 million already, and the trend towards emigration is accelerating. If the UK government changed the rules so you couldn’t claim your pension abroad there would be a deluge of elderly, infirm, angry people returning, crashing the social welfare and healthcare systems. It would be a suicidal move on the part of the government.
Yes I mean they would never do something stupid like that :). With the UK exiting the EU what happens to the pensioners in Spain for instance if their healthcare costs rocket?
Actually a lot of countries don’t provide the pension overseas…you have to be in country…so I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to do this.
That’s true. My kids are in Grade 3 and Grade 1. They don’t go all day and do go on trips and spend time outside. They still get an hour or so of homework a day but it’s not that bad.
I’m looking at staying until my son reaches Grade 7 and then look at leaving.
That’s the main reason why we’re thinking of going. We were thinking of just sending our kids to university in Canada but I think they will be a lot better prepared to deal with Canadian university if they spend a number of years in high school in Canada.
This is actually a bit of my concern about moving. I work online so that money I make will be the same. The money I earn is very good for Taiwan and I have a fair amount of disposable income.
Once we move to Canada, I will lose a fair amount of this to taxes etc. but I will still make enough to have a decent life.
Sorry, I mean to say £18000 is not a very high salary.
In Taiwan, because the tax is so low, and most schools falsely declare their teachers’ earnings, the net pay is pretty decent here.
In the UK the gross looks a lot better but after tax and student loan, buying petrol etc, you end up with a lot less than you think. However, on the plus side you do have much better public services and a cleaner environment. Paid leave (that you actually get), pension, free schools etc.
I know it’s not a wonderland, which is why I started this thread. I know a few guys who have been and come back.
It’s good to read about others’ experiences though.
Regarding Chinese, my wife wants the kids to learn it. I personally don’t care. I don’t really see how it’s going to benefit my kids in later life. Maybe if they want to get a sales job doing business with mainland China, but who wants to do that? Taiwan is going nowhere but down so I can’t see many business opportunities coming out of that in 20 years. I could be wrong. For me, speaking ability is enough. (my kids, not me).
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My family is leaving Taiwan this summer to move to the US. I’ve been here since 2001, and the main reason we’re leaving is because of my kids’ education. My kids will both be finishing 5th grade here in Taiwan before we leave. Most of all, I want my kids to learn better English and to have a chance to at least partially grow up in the US.
My wife and I both have good jobs for Taiwan, and we’re reluctant to have to change our employment situation for either one of us, but hopefully things will work out well. It’s hard to pull up roots and move across the world, but I think it will turn out for the best in the long run. We wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t feel that way.
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Have you already got jobs set up over there?
Are you going to stay with your parents short term?
We’ll be heading back to the UK in a few months. No children at the moment, but hope to start a family soon, so educations, jobs, etc. as the others have posted are driving factors in our decision.
Meeting the financial spouse visa requirements is not an issue for us, so we’re hoping for no issues, but I will update you in the future.
Seems like your biggest concern is whether your wife will like the UK or not, but I guess you’re in a better position than anyone posting here to assess that.
Are you seriously comparing the French and Taiwan systems?
While there is a focus on engineering and sciences in both, I think the French system, especially for the grand schools, is clearly superior! France has some of the highest productivity in the world because of its superior education system, especially for leaders. Every country has piss poor schools but comparing France and Taiwan is not right!