How is life in Taiwan different from China or Korea?

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
22

Yes Taiwanese are making up for the dark past when the aborigines used to behead any shipwrecked on the island. Or maybe its because most taiwanese are still mostly of Chinese ethnicity and arriving on Taiwan and surviving was something back when it was an island much feared by those shipwrecked on it, thus the inherent gene was instilled that installed generosity and friendliness towards other recent arrivals??[/quote]

Still won’t let your NT$5 ass in, though, will they???
:roflmao:[/quote]

Nope .

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ORLY? What’s the US’s record against Cuba in the olympics compared to Korea’s record?

And how many baseball gold medals do the US and Korea each have since pros were allowed?

I somehow doubt you have lived in Korea and watched games on TV, let alone watched their games in person.

Korean ball is less than a step behind Japanese ball, and the Pacific League is closer to the Majors than AAA.

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I live in China and I spend lots of time in Taiwan and Korea too and the biggest negative about China is that it basically does not feel safe. That’s not a vibe that I pick up at all in Taiwan or Korea, which feel safer than US cities to me.

In Chinese cities, there are desperately poor people struggling to survive in the middle of arrogant flaunting of wealth. Violent muggings and theft, often for stupid small sums of money, is all too common.

In Korea the worst I’ve felt is a hint of aggression from groups of drunks, which I guess could turn to violence if they are provoked, and in Taiwan, really nothing at all like that, you just have to be careful of the scooters when you’re crossing the street!

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ORLY? What’s the US’s record against Cuba in the olympics compared to Korea’s record?

And how many baseball gold medals do the US and Korea each have since pros were allowed?

I somehow doubt you have lived in Korea and watched games on TV, let alone watched their games in person.

Korean ball is less than a step behind Japanese ball, and the Pacific League is closer to the Majors than AAA.[/quote]

Oh my God! Are you for real? The country’s national team’s record has NOTHING to do with the level of their domestic professional league. NOTHING. The fact that you even argue that exposes you.

Look dude, there is a simple way to do this, $$$.

The salary scale in Taiwan is double A level for foreign imports. It is at this level to draw players away from the minor leagues and their dreams of playing MLB.

Saying Korea is a half step behind Japan because their national team does well against the Japanese is preposterous. The Japanese league is better than the Korean one by a fair bit. Are you honestly going to tell me that the pitching in Korea is better than triple A. Really? You don’t want to go there.

26

China: bad for internet and news access. The Great Firewall of China restricts internet access, and the news is all filtered through the Party. And people there like to rip foreigners off, and there’s little regard for the environment.

Korea: can’t say much about it other than I hear it often goes through phases of xenophobia, with regular crackdowns on foreign teachers, etc. I visited once and liked the food and thought the women were pretty. I also saw a group of drunk businessmen staggering out of a karaoke bar. That’s about all I know.

Taiwan: Good food can be found if you look for it. There’s a lot of variety. Yes, luroufan and biandang can be greasy and nasty, but there are plenty of alternatives. Danzai noodles and sesame paste noodles are great. I like Taiwan for its relative freedom, the beauty of its wilderness areas, and the overall good nature of its people (yes, there are hot-headed, unedumacated, face-conscious a-holes here as there are anywhere, but there’s little of the “You’re a foreigner so you deserve to be cheated” attitude you find elsewhere).

Taiwan strikes a good balance between good income, economy of living, food, freedom, travel opportunities, and overall lifestyle possibilities.

27

I didn’t know that the Taiwanese Beauracracy is designed to keep the foreigners out of the country??? I thought Taiwanese people treated the Americans like God, what Happens to the Aussies… Oh well, people would just have to put with my accent.

Let me say that Taipei is over rated. I live in Taichun, and taipie is no where near as good as Taichung even thought I’ve only passed Taipie a few times in my life. Foods are much nicer and cheaper here in Taichung than Taipei. That guy was right about some of the run down restaurants do have better foods than those with modernly furnatures. You see a lot of those fancy shinny restaurant out there on the street, but the food is boring.

Don’t be afraid of trying the side street restaurants, my brother in-law is a kiwi and he loves the Taiwanese foods.

I must say that there is more food varities than what the Korean has to offer, they are very stubborn. THis goes the same for the Chinese, probably worse since they’re very traditional and tight arses. Chinese people generally are want your money first than talk business, so there is not much to offer in the end.

Anyway, Taiwan is very convient for everyday living, but I miss my sporting facilities here in taichung. No gymnastics program, no wushu, and I have to go all the way to Taipie for ice hockey.

Cheers.

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I’ve never lived in Korea so I didn’t give an opinion on it… you’ve never been to Taipei except “in passing” maybe…

As for China vs Taiwan. If you survived China and thought it was even a little interesting or “nice”, you’re going to get blown away by Taiwan. City dependant of course.

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Baseball: Taiwan’s baseball is halfway between AAA and AA ball in the US. Korean baseball is near Major League level.

taiwan baseball, such as it is, is maybe AA, probably more akin to the NY-Penn League or random independent organizations. it is really quite awful. bill pulsipher dominated the league a few years ago. that isn’t AAA or AA or anywhere close to it. it has really become quite a disgrace. i used to follow the uni-lions, but there are now, what, four teams?

korean baseball, like japanese baseball, is solid AAA. maybe the illusory “AAAA” meaning guys better than AA, but not MLB quality. So you are pretty right on there, but i lean more towards the AAA side of things.

30

I’ve lived in all three, too, so maybe I can chime in here.

Korea:

Like others have already mentioned, the food is pretty much all the same, smothered in gochu jang, dull or just really weird. As for the people, I’ve never met a more miserable and xenophobic lot - seriously, the uber-nationalism one has to endure there on a daily basis is just too much. And for a city the size of Seoul, finding decent western/ethnic food there is difficult and way over-priced.

China:

Well, it depends where in China you are. I’m currently in Nanjing, which is a great city - it’s safe, the people are generally friendly, there are great food options, both western and local, it’s close to Suzhou and Shanghai (although why anyone would like Shanghai is beyond me). If, however, you find yourself in small town China, or crappy cities like Changzhou or Taiyuan, you’re in for a world of hurt. Endless hellos, peasants bugging you for cash - I think you get the picture.

Good second-tier cities for living in China are Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Kunming and Hangzhou. Not too sure about places like Shenzhen or Guangzhou as I have yet to check out Guangdong Province.

Taiwan:

I liked Taiwan. I think the mainland has better Chinese food options though. Also, the Mandarin in China is better - Taiwanese use more tones, for example peng(2)you(3) in Taiwan becomes peng(2)you in China, dou(4)fu(3) - dou(4)fu, xie(4)xie(4) - xie(4)xie, and so on. Simplified characters are a heck of a lot easier to learn/read/write, so that’s an added bonus, too. Expect to be hot and sweaty most of the time in Taiwan, or soaking wet from the rain. Taiwanese people are friendly and laid-back I found.

Overall, after 2.5 years in Taiwan, 3 years in Korea, and 1.5 years in China, I’d say China is my favorite as the country is absolutely amazing to travel in, Taiwan is second, and Korea is last (and rightfully so).

With regards to money, making money in China is easier than you might think, and the cost of living is very affordable. The money was good in Korea and Taiwan, but in the case of Korea most of it was spent on alcohol just to try and remain sane in that place, in Taiwan a lot was spent on ladeeez.

OP, I’d definitely choose Taiwan over Korea, and the won is sucking monkey balls now next to the dollah.

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Oh, and why has no one been arguing about/comparing the girls in all 3 countries? What are we, men no more?

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because its been done to death and about as exciting as watching a plank warp.

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:bow: Thanks again for your replies.

Seems my dilemma comes down to this. Naturally, Korea offers free accommodation and flights on one hand, but the won has gone to hell on the other. I didn’t mind living in Korea, but then at that time I was a kid, so I was probably treated a little better on that basis than adult foreigners.

I know a few people in Korea (and don’t know anyone in Taiwan), so that would give me an instant social network. On the other hand, day-to-day work bullshit in Korea might wear me down, and every few months a foreign teacher/GI does something stupid that foreigners ending up paying for in terms of hostility from the general public. It’ll be my first time living independently period, so I don’t know if I can or want to jump head-first into that kind of crap.
so…

POSITIVES OF TAIWAN+

-Friendlier people, less xenophobia
-Warmer weather
-A chance to learn a more useful language
-Less polluted air

NEGATIVES OF TAIWAN-

-Not as clean as Korea
-Not as developed as Korea
-More dangerous traffic than Korea
-Opinion seems divided, but most people think the food options are not as good in Taiwan
-Ugliness in general

I think I’m leaning towards Taiwan, particularly since after posting this on Daves’ forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=2004923 only one person favoured Korea. It’s a pretty short thread, but still, when you consider the fact that it’s the biggest board for English teachers now in Korea and most people didn’t favour it, that really tells you something.

Also, in general, it’s pretty clear that on Daves, about 66% at least of all posts are by people who hate Korea, whereas here on Forumosa, relatively few posters seem to hate Taiwan, I think most of you will agree. Also, ITT I was amazed at how trivial most people’s complaints about Taiwan were (oh noez the pizza isn’t authentic, ugly buildings etc). In Korea, this sort of thing is WAAAAAAAAAAAY down the list.

For the record, I certainly don’t hate Korea, but from the sound of things, by working there (particularly as a TEFL teacher), it’s more than likely you’ll develop into someone who does.

34

I would say the driving in Taiwan is safer. Sure our Formosan brothers drive like retards, but the traffic moves much slower in Taiwan, Koreans drive insanely fast on surface streets. IF one were to get in a mash up on his or her scooter in Taipei, it would more than likely be at 50Km/h or less, a broken bone or a couple of nice strawberries. IF one were to get in a scooter mash up in the Hangook, one would get mashed up.

35

Let me break the ice:
In my opinion, Korean girls are extremely hot, however a great deal of them have undergone plastic surgery of some kind. Taiwanese girls also are open to procedures such as dying their skin a paler color through some sort of injection, as well as getting nosejobs. Girls also do procedures on their eyes to make them bigger or get some… fold or whatever so their eyes look more like a westerners… I don’t get that at all. Us Westerners LOVE Asian eyes as they are.
When it comes to fashion, both have their merits, but Taiwanese fashion can be a little strange to us Westerners at times. Korean girls tend not to be as thin as Taiwanese girls, in my experience. Neither country’s girls typically shave their armpits or legs outside of the girls from the downtown part of the capital, or the girls who are more ‘hip’ to American style, although Koreans probably do shave more often than Taiwanese. Japanese girls often shave their legs AND arms, by comparison.
Taiwanese girls and Korean girls are both infamous when it comes to nagging their boyfriends and being ridiculously jealous. In Taiwan, the “Kawaii” culture from Japan where cute=hot is in style. In Korea there is a lot more emphasis on American/Western ideas of sexiness.
Chinese girls are something else altogether. Many are very sweet but very opinionated and spoiled. Fashion in China differs from Taiwan because China tends to shun Japanese influence.

In my heart, Taiwanese babes will always be number 1. I can see an argument for Korean ladies but, to be honest, I think the street food in Taiwan is infinitely better than Korea… That really pushes me over. Culturally they’re very different so it depends on your taste. If you like a blend of “cute and sexy”, Taiwan is for you. If you’re more about “sexy”, then Korea is better. Keep in mind: the girls who look hot and know they’re hot in both Taiwan and Korea are going to be shallow and superficial. You’re better off finding a very sweet, cute girl who doesn’t know how adorable she is.

36

:face_vomiting:
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Sustainable development of the esports ecosystem?
There’s a PhD thesis in this gobbalygook somewhere.

38

Sustainable has definitions beyond environmentally sustainable.