When did you do conscription?
Lots of jobs here for editors, tech. writers, marketing copywriters etc. All the main tech companies have a couple of foreigner types helping write communications. But you might have to do two years on a low 50 to 60,000 wage somewhere to get the experience needed to move up the ladder.
I discovered (in another thread on this forum) that I’m eligible for a Taiwanese passport. But since I came here 6 years ago, I have just gotten used to needing visas. Plus I don’t want to do military service.
I’ve done visas for six years. In another 4 years, I can get Taiwanese citizenship without conscription and… well, I still wouldn’t work for a Taiwanese company. Pay is too low and hours are too long for local jobs.
But sometimes I think about how nice it would be to work remotely for a US company. I could get a US salary, get a good tax lawyer (I’m sure there has to be a way to avoid America’s oppressively high taxes if you live overseas), and live here in Taiwan. That’s what I would do if I didn’t need a visa to live in Taiwan.
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion makes your income tax free up to 104,000 dollars.
But the key is you were not born in the USA. So by claiming that you are, its even more confusing. I agree with Tando, just refer to yourself as “TBA” - Taiwan born American.
@twn888, your answer here?
your stories on various threads make zero sense. they contradict each other. how did you do conscription? that’s at least six months after age of 22.
and you still don’t understand Taipei girls?
most readers of your threads know your incongruent history better than you do, and you call yourself a writer.
I have been exempted. I have never lived in Taiwan past a vacation, so yes, I don’t know Taipei girls. I only hang out with my relatives when I go back.
Overweight?
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extra chromosome?
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Why don’t you just work in the US?
Still has to do 2 weeks. Not exempted.
Still doesnt make sense, why you would seek exemption if you were never living in taiwan past a vacation. It takes time to do this, you have to first say you are reporting, wait a few weeks or months to report to physical. After the physical, either the doctor or you might file for exemption. Which is signed off by your mayor or someone like that. Can take a few months.
Maybe he did alternative service, teaching his country cousins how to pick up snooty Taipei princesses.
he said he never stayed longer than vacations. He would have done 3 years in a job for that. Also see above on why it makes no sense to seek exemption in his circumstance.
They would not have even have sent him a letter to report without a home address staying over 6 months.
Either way, it’s pretty entertaining.
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It’s truly amazing that people keep calling me a troll, when I am genuinely in search of advice. Do I have to publicize every single detail on this forum, as to why I have been exempted?
I did not do any alternative service, not even for 2 weeks. There are different levels of “exemption,” depending on your health condition.
As for an address, why can’t I have household registration as a Republic of China citizen? I have plenty of relatives on the island with homes. And, I initiated the army process on my end because technically I could keep dodging it since I am a dual citizen who stays no longer than 180 days in the ROC over a year.
But because I knew I could be exempted, I just wanted to take care of it, so if I did want to go back to Taiwan permanently one day, I wouldn’t have to bother with the process.
As for taking care of the health check and implementing the exemption, it took me only 2 days. The first day: report to the household registration office and file the paperwork to get things moving. The second day: go to a hospital with your forms and get examined by the doctors from each department. Then, you wait for several weeks to get the exemption document in the mail signed by your mayor. (You don’t have to wait in Taiwan. I left the same week after I finished my physical exam).
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Another option is opening your own cram school. You could focus on writing because of your background as a writer… but I’m not sure if parents see all cram schools as alike.
How long are you willing to commit to living in Taiwan? Opening a business (or even trying to work as an editor, it sounds) will require you to commit to quite a few years for it to be worth it.
But if you just want to try a few years in Taiwan and see how it goes before committing, being a high school teacher or working remotely for a Western company seem like better options. The only thing is that “safer” options (usually) have less potential for reward. If moving to Taiwan works wonderfully and you end up spending the rest of your life here, do you want to still be chasing high school kids around when you’re old and using a walker?
Just curious, why did you decide to move back to Taiwan?
It’s not clear he ever moved here is it ?