Hello Forumosers!

Taiwan Moving to Taiwan
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Hello everyone,
I just moved to Taiwan last week for a new job! I moved from India and the whole process has been so smooth. I’ll write more in detail later but for someone checking this forum for help, all these things have already been done:

  1. Got my Employment Gold Card in India itself (3 years validity). Took only 20 days. (But a big consultancy company was helping me with the process. Maybe it’ll take longer for you
    if you’re applying alone.) It is best to apply for the gold card for high skilled individuals - all processing is done online, with just 1 trip to the Taiwan consulate (in Chennai for me) after being approved.

  2. Opened my bank account with Standard Chartered and got a new phone sim with Chunghwa Telecom - both went very smoothly. Again it was easy for me only because my company has tied me up with a local relocation agent who speaks English and Chinese and helps me with all these things.
    info: minimum balance for SC savings account is just $1000. Got my debit card activated for international usage as well

People from India: the mobile plans in Taiwan seem to be way behind India operators - even in 2020, they still nickel and dime you for voice calls and SMSs. It’s ridiculous but that’s how it is. On the bright side, real high-speed 4g LTE (> 50mbps) is uniformly available “everywhere” - even inside metro stations.

  1. Exploring Taipei neighborhoods now to find a suitable apartment. People with families from India: If you’re looking for a typical 3-bed 2 bath apartment, it’s difficult to find that such a place in the heart of the city, esp. one that is newly refurbished and modern. Try to look for it slightly outside like NTC area.

  2. Food - well one of the big problems :slight_smile: Not used to the food here so need to learn and adapt. Will get there slowly. There are ofcourse a few Indian restaurants around but I’d rather have some good Mexican, Italian, Thai which are also hard to come by.

  3. Anyone moving with pets - Taiwan being an island country has strict regulations. I’m importing 2 cats and the whole process will take around 6 months. Please use a local pet transport agency in India who can help you with all the paperwork there as well as in Taiwan. Some things that need to be taken care of:
    a. vaccinations, micro-chipping, blood serum testing from a lab in UK, local doctor certificate
    b. 6 month waiting period, 1 week quarantine upon arrival in Taiwan

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Welcome to the forum!

I’ve got nothing to add, but this post will definitely be useful for anyone else moving from India (and indeed from other countries).

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There are hundreds of Indian, Thai, Mexican and Italian restaurants in Taipei. :roll_eyes:

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He said “good”, of which there’s only a few.

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FTFY

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Come on jimi, the OP has been here a week!

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Welcome to Taiwan!

Indian software prowess + Taiwanese hardware prowess = no limits.

I hope more Indians will emigrate.

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I keep misreading the title as “Forumlosers” and feeling ashamed of myself.

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Welcome.

I’m glad you added this comment because the majority of people moving here and looking for answers don’t have much help.

What things are you having challenges with or haven’t been easy?

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Welcome!

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I thought Forumosers was a Canadian Formosan like a hoser.

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Not in Xindian! We got plenty of Indian engineers and their families, closest Indian restaurant is in Gongguan.

We ain’t got Mexican restaurant, only Tacos Luca pop up store.

Second the «Italian», let’s call them Italian inspired and uninspired.

Now Thai,yeah, we’re good but we need more. Also more Vietnamese. At least we have enough, varied, excellent Japanese.

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Is Japanese the only foreign cuisine in Taiwan made with non-bastardized ingredients?

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I take it you’ve never had pork floss sushi… :wink:

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For some reason. I was reading Forumoserai like caravanserai

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KFC is pretty legit :ok_hand:

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KFC is bastardized. No original recipe. WTF

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I guess it depends on what you mean by non bastardized.

The ingredients mostly come from the same unhygenic wholesale markets as most any other Taiwan shop.

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Yeah. KFC in the Philippines is closer to the original recipe, but the chickens there are so small :frowning::chicken:

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That may be a good thing. When things are over hygienic, there seems to be a link to increased colon cancer.