I’ve never been to Taiwan, but heard it’s great, but did live in Mainland China for 6 years, and had some good times.
I’m now looking at two job offers
i) A good High School in an International Department teaching IGCSE and IELTS/ TOEFL prep in Hangzhou, China - paying 100,000 nt +
ii) A high-end buxiban in Taipei teaching American material paying 70,000 nt.
Both would be 5 days a week (I think), but the high school would have better (teachers’) holidays. I know a lof of people in Hangzhou and it’s my first choice city in PRC to live… But I think life in Taipei sounds great
Does anyone have experience of working in both countries? Any thoughts?
I’m in Ningbo and lived in Taipei for a long time.
Thoughts:
Teaching IELTS prep to high school kids (band 4.5-5 in reading, ground 0 in everything else) will make you want to cut your own head off in a fortnight.
Check if you get housing allowance and health insurance for the China job. Zhejiang just discontinued its tax-free deal, so it doesn’t sound like an amazing deal, although you’ll be not going short.
There is no such thing as a high-end buxiban in Taipei. Why are they using American materials for EFL learners in Taipei?
70000NT is shit but not bad for 2015. Taxes are lower in Taiwan and you get more for them, such as NHI.
The hols and conditions will be shit in Taipei. The housing you can afford on 70000NT will be shit, compared to Hangzhou.
Taipei is much cooler than Hangzhou.
If I were you, I’d go for the Taipei offer to have the experience of being in Taipei. Just don’t have particularly high expectations for the job - the China job sounds better.
Judging by all the 美語 buxibans and schools, demand for American English is higher here.[/quote]
Yes, but if they use materials for American kids, they won’t learn 美語, they’ll learn fuck all.
Or do you mean EFL stuff written in the US, not American ESL stuff? Or, God forbid, literacy stuff for American native speaker kids? The devil is in the detail with this stuff. Which is lucky for you because no-one in a Taiwanese buxiban has ever considered a detail in their life.
The number of holidays in Taiwan is actually not bad. The trouble is getting employers in the education industry to acknowledge and obey the law, though that can be difficult on both sides of the Strait. (You probably already know about the basic differences in how the two legal systems operate.)
I’ve heard that sometimes Chinese (PRC) will offer you one salary and then drop it when you actually get there. Can you confirm that this won’t happen?
