Moving from US to Taiwan

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To be honest, the main thing you need to know, or be good at, is removing sticky tape. It’s on everything, EVERYTHING.

Funny… I was raised in Alaska and Alaskans fix everything with that gray duct tape! So I actually know a thing or two about sticky tape! Advice: Acetone and if you don’t have any try fingernail polish remover… same thing!

Haha! You’ll be right then. It’s on everything. Just got a new projector, took me longer to undue the tape than it did to mount it to the ceiling.

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Talk about frustrating, I bought a little plastic stool for NT$100, and went back to buy the sticky glue remover for NT$150.

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this may be the latest thread on this topic.

Depending on your car, shipping might be cheaper. You should look into it. Especially if you have to sale a car back home at a loss. Expect to pay 2x for the same car in Taiwan. That’s not good if you’re trying to sell your car and buying another here.

Importing a car is ok, just put on boat. Make sure the car meets import requirements and road regulations. Could end up needing modification for pollution control or something. Many cars are not sold in Taiwan and repair and/or parts are not available. Might want to check in advance.

It’s an older Lexus LS400 with very few miles on it. I can’t imagine the smog requirements here are worse than California however, you never know… I heard they have a tax on bringing in cars from abroad so tomorrow I’m going to be about getting all the docs I will. We’d do as much as I can in the states… I still have a dental practice to sell, our house needs to be rented( I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area so no problem renting and the rents there are ridiculously high… 1 bedroom, no utilities paid and no parking $4500-4900 US… stupid)

4500 USD is over 137000 NTD… With that you can rent a real house in Tianmu and live quite comfortable with the rest…

If you live in Taipei a car is not a necessity. For occasional outings you can rent or even hire a driver and car very inexpensive. You can also lease better than buy. Do bring your international license or documents necessary to get one here. I understand that living in California you will not be that used to public transportation but driving in Taiwan is insane and traffic is mind boggling, even dangerous. Let locals do the driving…and be very careful crossing the roads. Parking is complicated and expensive. Unless you will not be based in Taipei, car is not essential. Except if you have small kids.

Taiwan health insurance is very convenient. You may want a local or international extra insurance for all the frills like private room and top of the line experimental or newer meds. We have insurance you can buy in case you get cancer or disabled, at very reasonable rates. You are also required to sign in anyways for local National Health Insurance.

Taiwan taxes are done for you by kind volunteers or you can do them easily on line. You can choose to file together with your wife or separately. Separately is more advisable long term to get permanent residence instead of depending on your wife …no one knows what can happen in the future. In general, taxes here are not an issue nor a hassle.

As to US taxes done from Taiwan, you will find banks here will make you sign a lot of paperwork for Uncle Sam. You will need to contact a savvy CPA to help you file from abroad. That will be a bit …of a hassle.

Unless you own a house that comes with parking, you most likely have to also pay for a parking spot if you rent.

Thank you so very much for the kind words and wonderful words! I have been using mass transport and taxis and it’s amazing how inexpensive. My wife and I are currently looking at some flats in Tianmu next to a big park with a creek running through it… she was raised in the area when she was a child.
I’m now trying to figure out what I can do with my experiences as a dentist/dental university professor I already found out that I can’t practice here unless I take a test in Mandarin and spend a year in a government hospital

I wish I had seen this before I imported thousands of cars :wink:
It’s not too hard to ship cars and arrange the paperwork. It is from there , not quite so easy. There are very few used Lexus imported , for various reasons. One is the complexity of the ARTC test in Taiwan. Some models are impossible. Lexus , we don’t bother with …good cars , but the Main Importers here , don’t load the prices as much as BMW/Mercedes / Porsche etc. , hence the “saving” becomes too small.
You need to verify that that exact model has been passed before at ARTC and there are certain models that are slightly different, that will not pass, for silly reasons.
Manufacturers are careful to make it as hard as possible, and where they hold the information required , will not allow dealers to use it.
As mentioned , any US warranty is void and some dealers will not touch the car , some will. We even have to change headlights/ exhaust systems sometimes just to conform to tests…even though the type approval and specification passes every test in the world…except ARTC !.
If the production date ( printed on the VIN sticker ) is not the same as the Year model , the value is less in Taiwan. I could fill 10 pages with the work-arounds, but the bottom line is that there are some more desirable , easier to register and test, models to Import .
Buying here may prove better , with warranty and local service , but yes, the prices will be higher than USA. You can look at 8891 website to see price/model prices in Taiwan, to give you a better idea. Sorry to be negative , but it can be complex.

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In theory, you should be able to take the test in English…but it is a new regulation, dunno how far it goes in dentistry.

A year of practice will help improve your Taiwanese. LOL.

Thank you for the great information… I didn’t see it as being negative just factual! And I’m OK with that! I’ve heard the exact same reasons for buying here… so leaning on buying here

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Pretty sure your wife have some or more info since she was raised in Taiwan?

I second everyone regarding parking. And drivers here are crazy. Well, not really, if you came from California. lol.

My wife and I went to the Immigration dept today… looks like it’s not going to be quite as bad as I thought although, I was surprised to find that we have to get married again here because they don’t accept our marriage cert. from the states. I hope she says yes? Hahahaha

I find people here are quite friendly to be honest.

1bd apt rents for that amount of money is crazzzy, not even a parking spot.

do you know why they don’t accept it? Is it because the certificate is not authenticated by TECO, or due to other reasons?

Iirc, you need a proof of single status.