Some remote island in the Philippines, pick coconuts on the beach, pay some family a dollar a day for a mattress in a hut, that is the sensible plan young hippie.
3 Likes
If you really need food I got some 711 stuff I can give out.
4 Likes
Wow, I had no idea they would be that interested in free english conversation 
I’d gladly do it for free even if I didn’t get food, but this whole time (after researching through this forum especially) I thought that Taiwanese people wouldn’t want to be bothered while walking to do something, and assumed they’d be busy, so I never tried it before…
I’d love to, but I’m kinda suspended on Facebook until I can add a phone number 
(I don’t have one) and I have until 11/27 until it gets deleted, so ↓
I’m going to try this instead, hopefully I can find some safe to use cardboard (I think I’ve seen some lying around in some places, don’t know if it’s okay to use or if it’s filthy or what)
you’d be surprised… I already did that before coming here in the first place, and the money I saved up (half of my salary) from $14/hr* only lasted me up to now (a little less than a year) after having worked an entire year…
*got a raise halfway in, to $15/hr
The cheapest apartments in my area at the time were $900/month, and if I went to cheaper locations, chances are I can’t get that high of a pay either. So, I’d have to spend more than half of my paycheck on rent (unless I live with my parents again, but no), then some money on food, and save up barely half of my paycheck for a year, to only be able to Asia hop for less than a year. A bad deal if you ask me… The benefit doesn’t even come close to outweighing the work put in, and that job was serious work that put my body in jeopardy just to do it quick enough… I’ve already thought about my dreams for near half a decade if not more, and I’ve been honing my skills for almost 9 years… There are some things that I can only make progress in if I’m actually in the target country. I’ve already had years to carefully research and think about all of this, and unfortunately while I do agree that it’s a bad idea, it’s still one of the only valid options that get me somewhere 
Thanks, I’ll check it out and do some research and if I can’t find anything I’ll once again rely on this forum for help finding a monastery or something 
もちろん分かります！そうでなければもう死んじゃうでしょうｗ
三年間ぐらい日本語の勉強してます。まあ、目合って話すことが苦手なんですが、自分には入力するのが簡単なことです。
Unfortunately though, while I wish I could’ve gone to a school to learn with the help of a teacher, I had to teach myself because the student visa requires a minimum amount of funds (I believe the equivalent of 3 million yen), and even if I could afford the specific language school, they would not be able to send a visa application on my behalf without proof of those funds. I was just short of the requirement by a few thousand USD so I was ineligble. Besides, in the end it turned out to be a blessing, because I wouldn’t be able to have the experience I have now, having done everything solo. I also believe I saved money overall and it would’ve been much more expensive to do everything I’ve done in the past year (with less time to do it due to school), if I enrolled in a language school.
Haha, I’m gonna assume you don’t know what California is like The cost of living is right up there with New York, and the equivalent of $20/hr might as well be bare minimum to survive, let alone save up for another year’s worth of traveling in Asia… If you make much less than that you’ll have to still pay an exorbitant amount for subpar living (most likely dilapidated housing, the cheapest low quality food containing no good ingredients, etc). Similar to what I live in now, but at least my rent is only the equivalent of $215 USD instead of $1,500 USD…
I really hope that works 
I’m not white and it seems that there’s still a culture of blatantly worshipping specifically white people in places like Taiwan, not as much other western races… but I’ll definitely try and hold up a sign or something, especially considering I have no friends or anything.
Yeah maybe, but it was the closest in lifestyle similarity to Japan (so I had heard), so I picked it this time. Last time I went to India, thinking it would be cheaper, and while the bare minimum is indeed cheaper, it resulted in potentially severe health problems that arose (became hard to breathe with asthmatic symptoms, mosquitoes biting me and giving me extremely itchy bites that turned into eczema, etc.) which luckily all subsided a day after I returned to Japan, and also, the flights were still pretty expensive (the most expensive part of my entire journey has been the flights). As to why I needed to stay 2 months, it’s to prevent a raise of suspicion from re-entering Japan too quickly. Immigration is strict, so I could potentially be denied entry if I leave and quickly come back too often, so I leave for 3 months at a time and come back for 3 months. That’s also why Thailand wouldn’t work, since their visa only lasts 30 days.
Yeah, I actually did come with enough money, but unfortunately through some unfortunate circumstances (including lending someone a fair chunk of money because they were worse off than me at the time, and my security deposit from when I was in Japan still not being returned to me after over a month) I was sort of forced into a more sub-optimal position than I had originally bargained for.
Yup, I’ve been trying and I’ve been a freelancer for the past 3 years, which has saved my butt on a few occasions, but unfortunately not getting any business lately, so it couldn’t save me this time.
I’ve heard about that as well, not sure how it works either but I’d feel weird asking (especially since I don’t know much Chinese yet). It feels like such a bad thing to do coming from a foreigner, similar to doing street performances as a foreigner, which will make one look like a “begpacker”. I’d feel less bad if I at least was really good at Chinese and had a full grasp on Taiwanese culture, but Japan’s my expertise and I only have kept up on the things Taiwan and Japan have in common, so I don’t even feel worthy. I’m curious if any stores close with unsold food remaining though, because I would love to help prevent food waste and collect some. There’s a bakery close to where I live and I’d be surprised if they sold all their bread before closing, but I don’t know what they do with it and I’m not in a fluent position to ask and understand their response 
Haha it’s not a bad idea for sure, even though the visa would last only 59 days. I’ll try and look into it but I don’t have any connections in the philippines or any clue of what goes on in there, or how typical life works there, etc. I also require wifi and electricity to work on my craft, so I don’t know if that would work outside of a case where I was carefree and not on full grind mode. I’m trying really hard to maximize my time to make big moves that will bring me closer to my goals when I come back to Japan, and I don’t know if that lifestyle would allow it
That would be very nice of you! I’d appreciate it. Also I did just buy some food with some of the money my friend returned to me, so for now I’m going to be okay but if they’re not things I have to eat quickly, then I’m totally fine with receiving it sometime soon if it’s stuff that probably should be eaten soon (within a day or two) it would probably be better for you to consume it for yourself unless you truly don’t need it, since I might eat the food I stocked up on slowly, though I might just eat what you give me first if you find that you don’t need the food, and eat the rest of the food I bought later. Thank you!
And thanks to everyone who replied of course!
Give a look on https://wwoof.net/
It’s organization to find a work on farm (part time) in exchange for food and accomodations. You can have plenty extra time to do your own thing
3 Likes
If he’s a tourist, this may not be legal. He can certainly try wwoofing, just be careful and know relevant laws on this matter. I think if he’s not paid for the work, it may be fine.
You shouldn’t have made this edit — what you wrote the first time was correct, but the added speculation isn’t AFAIK. I don’t think volunteering like this on a tourist visa/visa exemption is legal even without monetary payment. Not sure what the chances of getting caught are, but being found out and getting deported back to the U.S. is unlikely to improve OP’s situation.
Two related threads here (there are probably more):
I’m sorry, I had suspicion that even volunteering wasn’t legal unless you have specific arc, but that it had been changed at some point in time.
Wwoofing site has a page for Taiwan but it also has no real info on legality, apart from pay 800nt to register and talks about registering as mobile person to ensure safety, but it may just assume everyone has Taiwan citizenship.
2 Likes
Yeah, I first heard about wwoofing years ago but they probably have a disclaimer somewhere putting any legality/visa issues on the volunteer.
Like you said, anyone interested in doing this would be better off checking for themselves, but AFAIK volunteering (with or without some form of remuneration, monetary or otherwise) is regarded as work in Taiwan and other nearby countries I’m aware of (Thailand, for example), and doing it on a tourist visa/visa exemption is sketchy at best.
Maybe post on Taiwans couch surfing site and ask if anyone has anything you can do in exchange for a meal. If I was back in Taipei I wouldn’t have mind asking you to do some sort of errands for a meal.
2 Likes
California is a big place. Plenty of cheaper places where you can get an apartment for $1500 or less (or better yet, rent a room instead of a whole apartment to lower costs). Think Bakersfield and Fresno instead of LA and SF.
You will need a car to entertain those options, and long driving/bad traffic. The costs/wage ratio is really bad in the US now. If the wage were higher, everything else will more than match it so you end up not making more.
1 Like
Not really. Certainly makes life easier, but if one is looking to save up money for a year, totally doable.
For certain standards. Many options if the primary goal is to sock away money. Even someplace like Maui is doable, with a (imo) much higher quality of life.
Thanks, I’ve been given that site before, but it seems that it doesn’t include any destinations in Taiwan, nor Japan, so I don’t think it would work in this situation
hmm…
You literally have to pay the 800nt to get the list from them.
I’ll check it out, thank you
Yeah, doesn’t seem like quite a nice deal in this situation
It’s basically a scam. Pay 800nt for a list that may or may not be any good.
1 Like
precisely, you get it 
the only reason I even managed to escape the infinite loop of being stuck in one place in america, is because i was living with my parents and didn’t have to pay them rent (though i felt pressure and i didn’t want to leach them any longer). When I left, I was able to make my money last way longer because the cost of living is much lower in the countries I went to, and even after the flight costs ate up about 1/3 of my money, I still managed to survive a year on my own, where as if I just moved out to an apartment in a nearby city near my parents, I would’ve been broke in no more than 6 months flat, probably less… it just can’t stretch nearly as far in most parts of the US, even the most cheapest parts
1 Like
Yea… why do you think Apple’s HQ street is called “infinite loop”?
Literally most people in the world is stuck in an infinite loop of being in one place. I’m stuck in that infinite loop of being stuck in Taiwan too.
1 Like
it seems like it’s more of an entertainment kind of thing almost, like something more affluent people would do for fun to try and get a taste of what it’s like to be a blue collar worker or something so it would be nothing to those people i’m sure