Good to read a post like this. Thanks.
What made you take the decision to leave Taiwan? Missing the family and friends?
Is it not possible to come back again?
I too am jealous. Living in Winnipeg is also not good. Frigid winters, high violent crime, small town mentality, and not much to do outside sports. Thank the Gods there is a decent music community, or I would be toast.
The problem is that Taiwan had very little for me in terms of career. Now I am making six figures and probably can retire in 5 years or so ( if I want to) - and maybe even move back to Taiwan. I am glad that I came back when I did though - I got to spend time with my dad before he passed, helped my mom through that difficult time, and my dad got to be with my son for a couple of years, all of which is good. As your parents age, there are definitely aspects involved in decision making that are greater than just the enjoyable (and deplorable) aspects of living in a place.
After all is said and done, we left Taiwan over 8 years ago, and not a day goes past that I don’t miss it - the rides in the mountains, the relaxed atmosphere, the food( I know some disagree with me on this one), the friendly people ( both local and expat), the heat ( love it!), the value of cost of living, the healthcare, and mostly, the level of “interestingness” (just something weird almost everyday!) that constantly exists in Taiwan.
Of course, there were things I didn’t like about Taiwan, but most of it related to the work conditions and traffic. For me it is a 90% like, 10% hate ratio. That is a much different ratio than here in Winnipeg. Just waiting on that 5 year countdown …
4 Likes
Jealous? Yeah, sometimes, when my wife and I talk about the choice of restaurants in Taiwan. Not so much when we compare air quality or weather to where we are now, in the U.S. Pacific NW. But we are planning to retire to Taiwan, for at least five or six years, to spend time with my wife’s family, give our finances a break (medical expenses, etc), bike the east coast and travel elsewhere in Asia. I need to first make sure that my parents are taken care of, and that my wife is ready to live in closer proximity to hers. We’re on a four-year countdown. Yeah, I’m a little nervous of not having the same amount of living space and knowing that I’m going to have to adapt to major change (taking out the garbage/recycle where I live doesn’t involve community gatherings at the nearby roadside and tongue-lashings by garbagemen when you get the type of trash bag wrong). And the local beer where I am is pretty damned good, though it looks like you all have had quite a lot of success in finding some good labels around Taiwan.
I had been there for a while and got fed up of my job. Looking at other jobs in my field, it left a bad taste in my mouth to find everyone else was paying the same rate I was getting or less. I calculated that, if I went back to England, I would be able to save up considerably more money even when factoring the higher living costs, although it would mean sacrificing a certain degree of comfort I’d gotten used to in Taiwan. I’m going to start a master’s degree in London this October. The moment I pass, I’ll start looking for a new job. Taiwan will be a priority but, as much as I love it and want to go back, I wonder if I’ll still be so willing to do so when China, Singapore and even the UK will offer me much better pay. I suppose I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I get there. I love Taiwan enough that I could accept a relatively low salary, but it’s the potential lack of upward mobility that really concerns me (although that could be incentive to get good at Mandarin, because a lot of people tell me that opportunities for upward mobility only open up when you’re Mandarin is excellent).
Among the destinations you mention, Singapore could be a solid compromise then, at least it should be much better than the sinister place you currently stay in England.
England: Brexiteers and Football Hooligans
Taiwan: Expat Brexiteer and Football Hooligan wannabes that can’t afford England.
35c? Really? thats a nice day… Never been to australia in the summer i take it ahahha
I have and Taiwan is far hotter than Australia in general (as I said before I checked the climate stats). It’s also far more humid and it doesn’t cool down at night like Oz. Australias summer heatwaves aren’t a picnic but then it depends where you are too.
Maybe I missed it, but if OP is so “bloody jealous” of everyone living in Taiwan, why doesn’t he just… move back? 
If not, then he can’t be THAT jealous.
1 Like
I lived in Sydney for 6 years as a kid.
Aussie summers are hot, but Taiwanese summers are more humid. Also, Aussie summers may have a handful of days that are real scorchers. But Taiwan will have a stretch of 2 weeks where every single day is a scorcher.
A Taipei Summer day is worse than a Saigon Summer day.
I thought you were leaving in the backwoods of somewhere up North. Berkshire? You`re pretty close to places such as Reading and 30 mins by train to London. It is not so bad!!
I left Taiwan because I wanted to further my career and realised I couldn’t do it over there. Since returning to the UK, I’ve kind of gotten myself stuck (at least for now) due to family and other things. I am, however, hoping to move back to Taiwan in a couple of years, “career” be damned! I was just there recently for a vacation and it was amazing. 
1 Like
And I’m about to start a job in London, so I’ll be moving back in December. I’ll be curious to see if I still miss Taiwan as much as I did when I created this thread or if living in Theale exacerbated my loneliness and sense of reverse-culture shock. But you’re right, Theale isn’t that bad, but it’s still too expensive to go back to London from every weekend.
Not sure what part of Australia or Taiwan you’ve been living in, but living in Australia for 25 years and Taiwan for 5, there is no way, ever, that Taiwan is hotter or even colder than Australia, not a single winter or summer has Taiwan come close to even the coolest summer in Australia.
Did I say the Summer?
Over the WHOLE year Taiwan is significantly hotter than Australia, especially nighttime temps.
Unlike you I actually checked the stats .
Yes, stats, makes a difference when you actually live in both places long enough to use your own brain and think, dam, it’s warm, not dam this wind is melting my bike tyres while in the shade.