i was just thinking about this this morning:
sorry to talk money, but man, i used to be rich when i worked for GVC in taipei. now i’m making half what i used to down here in Dzu Shan. but there’s always that big opportunity just around the corner.
taiwan will definitely spoil you. there’s always something going on. TV show needs you, there’s 3000NT, in your hand, that day. commerical needs you, bang a lot more.english school opens up, needs teachers. over here being a foriegner can work for you. i don’t know if i could make it in america after being around all this fast cash.
a friend told me before i came here: “if you start digging in all the money to be made in taiwan, you’ll never find the bottom”. that’s what keeps me going.
when you see a guy selling whatever cakes on the street with a 100 people lined up for them, you know the potential to get rich on this island is there.finding the next big thing, the next egg tart, hello kitty, or whatever is the key.
Next big thing: Big League Chew.
I don’t know. I find the money goes further so I guess that’s nearly a yes answer. It’s a lot cheaper and more convenient to use public transport and taxis here back home taxis were usually avoided as an option by most people I know due to the price.
When I first came over 5+ years ago, I thought Taiwan was EXPENSIVE, particularly rent and fruit.
Now I think Taiwan is MUCH cheaper than my hometown, and every time I go home I annoy the daylights out of my family with my “but this only costs XXX in Taiwan. What a rip-off!” exclamations.
Think about it: utilities, dirt cheap. Heck, did any of you get that slip in with your latest Taipower bill showing how prices of electricity compare in Taiwan and other countries? An interesting read (if your Chinese is up to it).
Transport: scooters, trains, buses, even taxis (especially in TPE; they’re more elsewhere) - cheap. And of course the big issue is that you don’t need a car here, whereas in big countries with big cities, or poor public transport systems (read: most western countries), a car is an essential.
Clothing: depending on where you buy it, I guess, but my tastes are pretty simple and the prices here unbeatable (close proximity to China / SE Asia = low transport costs)
Food: filling meals that require no effort on my part for US$2.
etc etc.
all in all taiwan is a pretty good deal. i kinda miss the option of owning 100 acres north of houston with the pickup truck and little brown horse, but i guess that’s a 40 year old kevin costner wanna be pipe dream anyway. better stay here where the money is.
[quote=“rantheman”]all in all Taiwan is a pretty good deal. i kinda miss the option of owning 100 acres north of Houston with the pickup truck and little brown horse, but I guess that’s a 40 year old kevin costner wanna be pipe dream anyway. better stay here where the money is.[/quote]At the end of the day, that option’s always there. Sounds like the great Taiwanese dream. Take out Houston, and type … Take out piickup truck and type … Sounds pretty sweet after doing your 5 in Taiwan.
please tell me where you found your leprechaun cause when I get paid I wonder about where it all went? 
HA!
Look, Taiwan isn’t for the faint of heart. You need to stand the hell up and roll with the punches. The second you are knocked out then contimplate home or get off your ass. I’ve had my share of ups and down and I can say from experience that you can be way up or way down but as long as you keep truckin then it should turn out fine.
The one thing that honestly makes me wonder is how many of you made MORE money back home? There was a stint here in Taiwan I was making 100K clear and that was just above par for me and my work back home. Although I am Canadian and I am not including the government tax wink. I can honestly say that if there is a benefit to this place and assuming the general financial situation of most of ya, it has to be the cost of living. The option of being “cheap”. If ya live like a rockstar you’re going to end up on the bathroom floor , face down like the rest of’em.
I found at least 5 opportunities to become stinking rich in Taiwan. Would be driving BMW X5 in a few monts
After my assignment (not allowed to start other business) 
and having learn Chinese, iUwill give it a big think-about to start my own business here…
Exporting some items I found on the streets, and not as good in Europe are also some big money, quick wins probably…
Guess Taiwan offers indeed some nice incrementals, as long you dig and do find the golden egg as said…
I made more money in the US. I save more money in Taiwan.
Well said.
Exactly.
Definitely no, I think Canada spoiled me. In TW I find certain things cost more, and I definitely make less here than I did back home, about 50% less, if not an even larger disparity.
Electricity costs more here, u need to drink bottled water, and clean air is a premium that requires travelling outside of the city.
Clothes and shoes are about the same, but I find low-quality food is cheaper here than in Canada.
I find the cost of living difference is huge if U live in Taipei or somewhere else in Taiwan, its almost like a different contry.
Me too (except the S would be a K)
It’s cool to be able to tell people that I make more than $600 an hour. They are so impressed. I just don’t tell them that it’s not in US dollars!
tell them you had a $200 hamburger also…and it was shit.
Hmmm … I have never been so poor since coming to Taiwan. I’m cool with it but what am I doing wrong?
To me Taiwan is expensive, especially in comparision to Malaysia where I lived before. I think the standard of living in Taipei is also more expensive than back home in Germany, moving to the country side would probably relativise that to some extend (though not entirely I assume).
In the end I earn and save more money here than I would back home because of the higher salary and lower deductions (taxes and social welfare contributions etc.), not to mention that my housing here is paid for.
I haven’t calculated it exactly but I estimate that my savings now are about 25% less than in Malaysia (roughly the same income level), just to give some perspective to the idea that it’s cheap here - at least I think living in Kuala Lumpur is as good if not better than Taipei.
I don’t pay too much attention to the mores or lesses of money. It seems to pile up quite nicely in the bank accounts here, and though I would have expected to accumulate much larger amounts if I’d stayed at home, I’m happy enough with it as it is.
I started catching up to my US income about 3 years ago. Right now I make a little more but I work longer hours. The previous poster hit it dead on when he said you could save more money here. I manage to save about 70% of my income.
but…
you get what you pay for. I live in a decent ding-lo ( roof top apartment) It’s nice but it’s basically a single-wide mobile home on the top of a roof. I went to my sister’s home in North Carolina. She lives in an average single wide mobile home and I remember thinking" damn. look at this kitchen it’s so big. Wow! you actually have wood shelves and carpeting"
Transportation is cheap but do you really want to go grocery shopping for a family of 3 on a motorcycle. I don’t miss the car payment but I sure miss the car.
The reason you can save so much money here is because there is nothing to spend all your money on. The only thing I found cheaper here is IBM laptops.
I recently bought a cheap pressed wood , put together yourself, tv cabinet at holla. it cost 7,000 nt. I found it on the walmart web site for 50 us dollars.
A power bill for a small apartment in california is about 80 us dollars a month if you us the central heat and air sparingly. I pay that much here and I start to sweat as soon as a turn off the ac.
I like taiwan and the people but there is no comparison between here and america unless you are a young stud sowing wild oats.