Leaving for Taiwan in less 2weeks

i have finally saved up enough money to start my adventure to Taiwan, and i’m kinda rushing to get things ready, i have traveled far places within my own country with nothing more then a backpack, but what do people suggest for places to stay and what i should do about a computer,
i know lots about computers, repairing and troubleshooting, but i fear that i wont be able to get a computer / laptop over in Taiwan for cheap enough, or it wont be in english. I have 8000$ canadian to spend over the next 6 months, should that be enough considering i should be working within a month at least.

I will be checking back soon to see if anyone has some quick links or helpful storys to get me ready for the big move over… and the social events im reading about … sound great too.

thank you

Sean Dean

also i have 2 lip rings, are piercings frowned apon in taiwan, i havent seen much topics on this. so if anyone knows, :smiley: it might be helpful,

and what all do i need before i even enter the country… just so i can check list it…

sorry if i sound like a noob :stuck_out_tongue:

but we were all here once

OK…who’s going to be the 1st to tell him to buy a laptop before he gets here?

very much thought about it … but that would come out of my funds of 8000$ canadian… does this leave me with enough still?

I bought my PC here and was able to get an English O/S. I paid about 30,000 NT for it, brand new.

Make sure you can show the TECO how much money you have. An up-dated bankbook or statement should do fine.

YOu are gonna be fine. Take your time, ask around. You are right. We were all there once. It is a very user-friendly (government red-tape aside) country.

what kind’ of specs are on that computer for 30,000 NT?
I heard of being able to get Windows Xp pro in english version over there.

also when i go over, if i have music cds that are burnt… do they care about that stuff through customs? as in downloaded music :stuck_out_tongue:

iunno some places might be stiffer then others

[quote=“g0mer”]what kind’ of specs are on that computer for 30,000 NT?
I heard of being able to get Windows Xp pro in English version over there.

also when I go over, if I have music cds that are burnt… do they care about that stuff through customs? as in downloaded music :stuck_out_tongue:

iunno some places might be stiffer then others[/quote]

80gig HD
Windows XP (home)
Top End Athlon Processor (?)
17’ Monitor

You should find Taiwan Customs the easiest of all borders to cross. They have hardly even given me a glance, never mind anything in my bags in the 6 ot 7 times I’ve entered this country.

Just don’t bring drugs or weapons.

Some say you need an outbound ticket. Better to be safe than sorry, but I have never had one. I met a woman in BKK who didn’t have one and was getting hassled by the China Scare staff. I told her to tell them she was planning on taking the Star Cruise out of Keelung and that pacified them. She was allowed on the plane. Naturally, I didn’t have one either, but no one asked me about it…so…go figure…

I know it can be daunting, but in 3 months, you’ll be shaking your head at how much you are worrying now. Relax…don’t think to much…come and have a great time.

If you buy a laptop here, you may well save a ton of money. The vendors will install an English OS for you.

Besides, with only 8,000 Canadian, you’re best off keeping your cash reserves as high as possible until you have steady cash flow. Then you can start thinking about things like a new computer.

Finally, it sounds like you want to live on the cheap, which means you’ll be staying at a hostel for several weeks. Thefts at those places are common, so there’s no way I’d want to bring a laptop and worry about it 24/7.

Just some advice from a fellow who’s backpacked here and around the world a few times. :wink:

weird i thought 8000$ would be lots of money to start :S

It is.

But he is right about theft.

You’ll have a job within 2 weeks and steady income within a month.

You may want to keep your stake for first and last, fridge, stove, gas cannisters, etc…unless you are a short-timer, then a shared accom. would be more to your liking.

But you do have the luxury of time on your side…visa runs…things are starting to get tricky again at the ol’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs…rumor has it that you can’t convert visitor to resident while remaining in-country anymore. I am about to find out. In a way, that’s good news for you as you can take your time finding the right employment match for yourself, given that you will have to do a visa run anyway…you are in no hurry to start.

I’d find an apartment first.

Lip-rings…well…you get stared at enough here…just more reason for locals to point and laugh at you. If you work with adults, they’re apt to take you less than seriously…but it’ll also act as a weedout of skanky, manipulative Ge Roons. Up to you.

Peace

You may have a very difficult time getting a teaching job with lip rings.

Also, if you need to fly to HK for a visa run, pay first and last month’s rent, eat, etc. then your cash will quickly wither. It’s enough to get you started and settled, but not enough to start buying luxury items.

[quote=“Gubo”]You may have a very difficult time getting a teaching job with lip rings.

Also, if you need to fly to HK for a visa run, pay first and last month’s rent, eat, etc. then your cash will quickly wither. It’s enough to get you started and settled, but not enough to start buying luxury items.[/quote]

I agree. But we don’t know enough about him. If he is a short-timer, he can get set up for less.

He should be able to find a second hand laptop and still be fine. He’s got over 200K NTD.

$8000 is way more than enough. i came with $5000 and never ever had to worry… you will be fine!

buy at a laptop at home. if you decide to wait, you can get one here and have them install english windows. there will be chinese on the key board though along with the abc’s

as a favour for another forumosan, i recently went out with him and got him a high-end pc built for only 17k. 30k is way over the top. if you know enough aboput computers, you simply biuy all the parts seperately and either put it together yourself or have the shop do it.

well maybe i will have to get in touch with some of you when i step foot on :P…

but yes i would buy most parts on there own, laptops i know less about but would be my primary choice.

and the lip rings are easily removable… just wasn’t sure if i would get hassled for having them in some places … eg: customs :S

what kind of visa should i have too ?

i’m still gathering info… but leave very soon

I arrived with less than 10% the cash you have. I was fine.

You could get a job with the piercings, but you want to keep your options open. Very few people would hire you (with piercings) if they had another option.

Brian

[quote=“bushibanned”]$8000 is way more than enough. I came with $5000 and never ever had to worry… you will be fine!

buy at a laptop at home. if you decide to wait, you can get one here and have them install English windows. there will be Chinese on the key board though along with the abc’s[/quote]

I came with US$500 the first time I came to Taiwan. Granted, I did stay for free at a friend’s place for a couple weeks until I had a steady job. Then I lived on the cheap, which is actually relatively easy to do in Taiwan. I know a couple people who spend less than NT$6000/month for rent here, for a tiny taofang.