They told me anything with Bluetooth technology must have a permit after many calls. I have already deposited money for import tax.
No I am transferring the credits I have. I technically have over a hundred credits finished. Still on course but the lost time between transfer.
Looking at Italy. My girl misses it so I think it would be good for her. Like me, I left Taiwan when I was a kind and I wanted to eventually live back for at least a while. Same for her.
Food situation sucks, I don’t have a car. Unlike Taiwan where there’s a market, street markets and good public transport. Takes like 15-20 min to a market by their version of Uber. And it’s not the best place to get everything you need.
It’s depressing to go to the best Chinese, Korean, Japanese, western restaurant and know it’s completely mediocre. I do like one Indian restaurant, and ding tai Fung lol. I rather eat at 711 than many of the places here.
Not in Singapore yet. I do have things to do. It can take 30min to a few hours depending on how busy it is. I’m still doing stuff like school and setting up a bank account! Because I use an American passport to come, the US had made it hard to open banks and transfer money now. And because I haven’t lived in the US for many years I don’t have much of the things they require like tax reports. And the banks question where my money is coming from.
JB has for a long time been kind of bottom of the Malaysian barrel so to speak and now the huge construction projects trying to create something that isn’t real and foreigners and now it’s very different from the true heart of Malaysia.
I believe my experience would have been different in at least KL. But so far JB isn’t want people have sold me as. The health problems is really what’s pushing me over the edge.
I disagree with others who say you should stick it out. By now you probably know whether you’ll like it or not, and I doubt at this stage things are going to turn around for you. I say get out of dodge.
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If you can live in Italy vs Malaysia. I think it’s a clear choice.
I would study in Taiwan but unfortunately I have to take the national entrance exam in Chinese and go in as a local student and then transfer to international program.
Actually I had several people like you in our program. They enter with US passports as international students, with GMAT or GRE scores. That was for master but they also have the English taught BA. Not all courses but 1. You’d be in and 2. I do not think Chinese would be much of a problem.
I never really truly miss much taiwan. Yea maybe some parts i do for sure. I mean i was young loaded with decent dollars. Crazy in love and all that. I miss my 20s. I miss driving around with motorbikes, eating sea food, drinking coffee. Hop on high speed train, taking cheap taxi. Girls with too short skirts. Hell yea i do miss my parents in law, i miss my ex (when she was still normal) Their food and drinking with uncles.
But on the real am happy to live without chinese primitive calture, taiwanese nationalism, racism, xenophobic, and their shitty TV channels, news media. I have been working in foreign EU country and within a year i got a loan for nice apartment. No deposit put down. Count this. 000 euros. Absolutely nothing. They even gave me maternity welfare for my kiddo. Air is clean, Alps are near by. And i get paid kindergarten by government just for sake being single father. Son will get good education and a lot of free time to do sport or whatever he wants. And i keep her family, as well my family out (mostly). No wonders millions from shitty Muslims countries wanna come here.
I might return to taiwan, might want a son does a year there, so he will know how good he has it in europe hehe
Sure Taiwan is better than any Muslim country. But compare to a real western country… let all of us be nicely quiet and give face to Taiwan, cause Taiwan is number one.
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There are a lot of western countries that are pretty shitty compared to Taiwan imo. Even within the most developed ones, some places are not that great. Perhaps how you’re weighing this is mostly on culture, but in some places in Europe the common amenities you have in Taiwan like air conditioning, public transportation that’s clean and works, passable WiFi and phone data and technology feels like a few decades behind.
Where are you living where you feel your son has it so great? Sweden?
He says he can see the Alps.
That’s still like maybe close to 10 countries. Maybe Switzerland? I would like to live there if I can get a real nice paying job. Not raising goats in the mountains.
Taiwan does lack in artist beauty compared to pretty much any European country. Not the most aesthetically pleasing country I have to say. We get award winning interior designer to remodel a couples houses and it’s baffling how “土” they are.
I do not really know what do you understand under phrase “west countries”. Sure this can develop into long debate, a lot of is cultural, having different values and priorities . You can even come up and accuse me of colonial mentality (even my people had nothing with it).
Sure some places or most place in Europe are not digitized or convenient like asians tigers are. On another hand, not whole Taiwan is Taipei. Did you ever take city bus, public transportation in Hsinchu ?
But this does not mean Europe has no technology or being decades behind. I would say Taiwan is one being far behind, except IT and semiconductor. And this particular industry Taiwan has cause is cheap, cause their labors being cheap and prepare working long hours. Is simple as this. West outsource semiconductor business (particular America) to Taiwan. Might be hard for west to bring foundry business back, but not impossible, simple is not worthy economically.
West can produce anything what Asia/China does. And yet there are still few products Asia is not capable to produce it. But yea gap is getting smaller, we are not living in 80s anymore.
Tell me how Taiwanese environment would accept single Vietnamese father ? What chances Vietnamese son would have in taiwan for good life as young adult. Even having engineering degree he would be treated as second or third class citizenship. Look down, shown up with finger, refused loans, guy would not get even poor credit cards…
Here in Europe, my son can finish avg high school, get a job and still being able to afford family and a house (real house with land, not concrete square in overcrowded city). I can enroll him in local kindergarten, without doing heavy checking, in Taiwan a lot of public schooling just sucks. Without opening wallet what can you really get in Taiwan?
Like i said those things are cultural. We Europeans love work - life balance, nature, clean environment, spending time with neighbors. While Asians love commercial convenience, kitcy, shining things, professional service industry favoring customers over labors and so on…
One thing is being rich in asia without kids, another reality is to try to survive on avg income with a family there.
What? Where are you getting this from. There are a lot of western countries. And you think all of them are better in terms of different aspects of living quality. That’s all I’m saying.
Unemployment in even the most developed countries with France, Spain, Italy all go up to around double digits. Greece is a crazy 20%. It’s not like all Europe is fine and dandy.
I guess it depends on what you enjoy. Yes I enjoy the close community feeling and taking your time pace of many parts of Europe. But it’s hard to get used to stores that just don’t open because they don’t feel like working or are hungover last night. Nap time in the middle of the day where things close. Rather rest than earn money and rush me out the store instead of taking my money.
There are some European countries I would love to live and work at. There are plenty of places I would not. Even in the states, I probably would only move back to a few select cities if the choice was Taiwan vs US.
Asians always coming with this to my face…
This is false, unemployment rate in Europe is like 7 %. Yes, only Greece has 20 % but many countries doing great like Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Czech, Netherlands having below 4 %
We talking about different countries with 500 millions of population. Europeans are lazy and simple not mobile nations. Being so high mobile and adjustable as Americans or Asians am positive unemployment rate would fall bellow 4 % too.
Many young Europeans studied wrong majors, do not want to take harder jobs,do not re qualify, still living with parents (Mediterranean lifestyle). The market is out there. There are many good paid jobs. There is a way to build up good income. Market is better comparing to Taiwanese one. Keep in mind social pay and benefits + relax part job bring income between minimal wage and avg wage. Yea is harder to get at door in Europe, recruitment process is slow, but once being in… learning curve + salary curve are sharper up
Taiwanese people do not have this choice. Many of them must work (for sake of bringing food to table or have face). Have you ever asked yourself why productivity is still so low in Taiwan, although there is so much technology. Cause many Taiwanese doing jobs for sake of working. Having jobs which do not really bring much money like morning breakfast business, some pop & mum noddles shops, forever empty restaurants or selling stores, taxi drivers (most of them driving around empty). All those people are official unemployment in Europe
Make no mistake, Taiwan is good country, is probably top 25th, maybe top20 to 30th. But is far from being dream land for most of emigrants. It simple can not compare to the best countries. Taiwan can be probably top 5 for young people, for studying mandarin, to spent few years on the rock.
Long term most of emigrants having a lot of life opportunities cost, when settling down in Taiwan. Smart and hardworking one simple left taiwan. I was one of them.
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these sentences may be debatable, though I know I’m not one of them.
Someone maybe already said, but Andrew’s complains are very familiar. If all the inherent nouns are replaced by taiwanese ones, people read this as a thread on taiwan without any doubt, and some people from the first world countries must leave taiwan with exactly same reasons he leaves Malaysia.
Sorry but Switzerland is not representative of Europe. It’s not representative of anything. It’s the outlier of the outlier. You just need to go west or south by a few hundred miles and all these wonderful things you’re saying would be gone.
In maybe like 5 countries in Europe you can do that.
Yeah I’m sure the Hungarians and the Maltese are real happy with their economy.
Btw I think GB is amongst the worst country in Europe for young people. Especially in London. Unless you know someone well enough to get a job in the banking sector, the abhorrent rent and transportation would eat up all your income. The cost of living has absolutely zero bearing on what 90% of the residents earn. It’s the Hong Kong of Europe.
I think you don’t know many young Europeans. Young Europeans tend to have to do multiple years of internship (which they would get paid next to absolutely nothing) upon graduation, then they would get a real job that pays. Often times they would be stuck with CDD (Contrat à durée déterminée), which means weak job security. Almost no one can afford living alone until their late 20s or early 30s (or even later in the really bad cases like London) as the rent is astronomical in almost all sizeable cities in relations to real earnings. Most people make 1500-2200 euros after tax (in well-off countries like NL or Germany. In Southern Europe it’s like 1000-1500 and I’m being generous). If you make a lot more than that then you’re the outlier (like Switzerland, where people easily make 5-6k CHF).
I don’t think anyone is saying Taiwan is a “dream land” for immigrants.
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Why don’t you tell us how you really feel D-nice. It’s good to have direct opinions sometimes though , you will make a good pub debater 
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Especially that last line lol which was very trollish .
We could debate the difference between smart and clever all day. But don’t you think there are some clever people who are also smart enough to know they are better off in Taiwan for their own personal reasons?
It’s nice you are living in a well off European country now and have found a good position . Good for you and your kid. One of the reasons I didn’t move back to my homeland is it is booming and that has driven the price up for everything. Public transport is shit. Most people commute quite long distances . Driving a car is expensive. Also there is no free childcare (there is some limited coverage recently). If you moved to my country (as many of your compatriots have ) you would probably be moaning a lot :).
Also they would take 40% plus out of my pay cheque (last year I paid 7% on the same income) and I would be paying 2.5 times the rent. First I would have to battle about 50 other would be renters for the same apartment /house. Mortgage might be okay if there were any houses to buy. That’s in the EU too.
The dark and cold winters, where you have to get up in the dark, is also very unappealing. The summers I miss tremendously though . Family and friends is always a tough one.
Switzerland is not in the EU, I don’t think he’s in Switzerland.
I guess you are in Austria or south east France ? Both very nice places and highly rated places to live. Come on man tell us where you are.Then we can use negative national stereotypes to bash your choice 
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Many people use EU to refer to Europe.
I don’t think D-nice is that stupid. Remember he’s one of the smart ones. He said it himself.
I’m not really disagreeing with D-nice overall.
In general Taiwan is not the smart choice for emigrants from developed countries with good education and no Mandarin ability.
But…
You can make it work for you. If you can get a decent job , freelance situation or business going you can really make it work. Many just shrug their shoulders and get on with life. Their family and partners are here and they enjoy what they have. In the end most people aren’t exceptional, they wouldnt be super successful here or there.
For me there the big issue wirh Taiwan isn’t about myself but my kids. What kind of prospects and life would they have here 30 years down the line. Due to the geopolitical situation we really can’t be sure.
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