The realist in me says that this is a no-hoper, but my life is dedicated to the principle that if you try it’s amazing what you can achieve. Reasonable people don’t make change in the world, the people who have unreasonable expectations are the ones who change reality. And Taiwan needs positive change, so, in the name of blind optimism, here goes nothing:
Professionally and financially I’ve achieved all I could reasonably have hoped to in Taiwan so far. I landed here less than two years ago with little teaching experience and an embarassingly large credit card bill. Numerous jobs, visa runs, & ARCs later I’m in a relatively secure job paying more than the average teaching salary. I’m debt-free and have all the furniture, computers, pets, leather underwear, and motorcycles I need. I even have some modest savings, and various attractive opportunities are manifesting themselves that I can finally afford to look at.
From a purely financial perspective it doesn’t make sense to leave Taiwan in the near future. But life is not only about money, at least not for me. I’m not satisfied just to work and earn until I can afford to retire, assuming the pollution doesn’t kill me first. I want a decent quality of life.
Aside from work I need something to do for fun and I’m an outdoors kind of guy. I learned to sail some years ago and while in Taiwan I’ve been crewing/coaching on one of the few large boats here. I have this goal of buying my own boat, and it’s becoming more urgent as I am not enjoying the sailing I am doing at the moment. (Let’s keep the reasons away from public discussion boards.)
So, I’ve found a suitable boat. In fact it’s exactly what I’ve been keeping my eyes open for since I landed here. The price is right, due to a forced sale, and it’s capable of going pretty much anywhere in the world. The only problem is that I’m in bloody Taiwan.
Actually, the problem breaks down into three parts all of which are related to being here.
First, it’s quite a long way away. I’m looking at 2 weeks on the open ocean just to get it here. Oh well, hardships are there to be overcome and at least that’s the sort of problem that is solvable with standard solutions. No problem then.
Next, on arrival in Taiwan, it is theoretically impossible to keep a boat here legally. No one has ever succeeded because no one has ever tried, but after two years of research - and some evolution of attitudes - I am 90% certain it can be achieved. If not then I’ll have to keep it in the Philippines, where there is a ready charter market when I’m not using it. In fact, it’s an attractive investment simply on that basis.
And now the biggie. If I was in, say, New Zealand I could go to my bank and hold my hand out. With the same income and expenses it would be a very attractive risk for them. I have plenty of money left over every month, and the size of the loan relative to the value of the boat would secure their interests. But I’m not in New Zealand, I’m in bloody Taiwan.
NZ won’t lend money overseas, and Taiwan won’t lend money to foreigners. Collateral and adequate income are not sufficient. You have to fit a standard credit profile to be able to borrow money through standard channels. Hence this post.
I need US$30,000 and will pay reasonable interest. This represents about 60% of the value of the boat, and can be registered as a mortgage to prevent resale. Any takers?