Moving to Taiwan in a year (September 2009)

Hi all,

This is my first post of what I expect to be many. My situation is: I’m a final year product design student in London, & I’m moving to Taiwan in summer 2009 to start the beginning of the rest of my life. This is mainly; if not entirely because my girlfriend of 2 years is moving back home (Chenghuan, to work for her parents). As of yet I’ve never been to Taiwan, being a poor student… So although I’ve heard tons from my girlfriend about Taiwan… I don’t really know where to start, to prepare myself. I’ve been learning Mandarin over summer, and I’ll be working hard to learn over the year, but I won’t manage to get any qualifications. I wonder if anyone can give me checklist type information to help me prepare my situation when I arrive, like VISA info for England (just can’t find it, don’t think England recognizes Taiwan as independent). I still have tons to sort out, so I wanna get the ball; well and truly rolling :unamused: .

Cheers,

Mikee

Well congrats on making a big step, but to say it’s for life is a like plopping that frog into boiling hot water, it’s gonna jump out. Good you want to follow your girlfriend here but I have some questions for you.

1)Have you ever lived abroad?
2)Are you prepared to depend on yourself should things not work out?
3)What type of work are going to be looking for once you come to TW?
4)What will be your support system when you get to TW, other than your gf?

Those are just a few…Many of the long term posters here are lifers and can ask far and better questions to help you set up shop on “The Rock” successfully. By posting here, you’ve already started…

I see you’re a final year student, so I assume by the time you arrive in Taiwan you would have graduated. Well, with a degree you shouldn’t have a problem finding a job as an English teacher. Most newly arriveds find a teaching position within a week.

It’s a huge step for me as I’ve never lived abroad, though I have been living independently for 3 years now. When i move to Taiwan I will have graduated, but I’m also a fully fledged designer and have a number of pieces in production now, so I’m really hoping to get a job in that field to continue my career… but even in England its hard work to find a job in design and you often have to work freelance… but I’ve found that Taiwan is sort of a hub in Asia for design, the perfect scenario would be an English company based in Taiwan. This just requires lots of research before I go. Teaching is something I’ve looked at, but I will come out of my degree with no teaching qualification, I’m sure this would be a problem. :frowning:

I’ve known I’d end up moving to Taiwan for at least 6 months because my nature is to take things as they come, but thats impossible with this situation… plus its just starting to sink in… If things were not to work out, then… i guess i go back home… though I’d prefer not to think like that, though it would be easy to depend on my girlfriend and her family, and although its a different country; its still my life and i need to build it up in Taiwan myself. I’m looking forward to that, I love the change. Besides, me and my girlfriend have said we’ll live in Taiwan for 5years, as after 5years she doesn’t have to work for her parents.

I still have a few unknowns really, for example my living arrangements, possibly I could live at the in laws (they suggested it)… but thats a situation that scares me… a lot… Although my girlfriend is 22 now (will be 23) she is the eldest in the family and her parents are quite conservative so living together in an apartment (which we have done for 18months) seems difficult… they are prepared for me to live with them and my girlfriend, but I’d have to act like a monk.

I’m really starting to think clearer, lots to think about…

Thanks all :slight_smile:

My advice is don’t do it.

Having said that. You can come and teach English, if you want to do pretty much anything else you will need 2 years experience from overseas. A friend of mine found this out to his dismay after he quit his teaching job to go and work for an IT company and then had his work visa rejected.

If you’ve been with your GF for a while you will appreciate the cultural differences, the little things that are sometimes cute and at other times the cause of huge arguments? Now imagine that with her family, neighbours etc. You will be the one in the wrong all the time because they will all be working from the same frame of reference. May be it would be easier to live somewhere neutral to start with like China, Singapore or Hong Kong? Once you are “asiafied” Taiwan will not be such a problem.

Before anyone jumps on me for being a prick. I was married to a Bruneian who I met at college before my current Taiwanese wife. I had no idea of the 1st wife’s culture and had never lived abroad and its fair to say I was too young. With wife #2 I had lived in Asia for about 6 years before we got hitched including 2 years in Taiwan. I get on brilliantly with her family and we rarely if ever have a cultural clash - although I think I can forsee some when kids come along.

I wish you luck, and hope you make all your decisions with your eyes open.

You also have to remember 23 here is very very young and I’m guessing she’ll change when she hits home turf, and you’ll discover what she can truly be like. Many good friends of mine have had this experience.
Don’t live with her parents… they’ll do your head in within about half an hour.

Regards to teaching, any degree from a university will do. Literally! if you were to go the freelance route, this would actually be illegal as you would be working in places that don’t appear on your ARC. Come tax time, the chances are you will have to explain the extra revenue, which means you may not get the chance of getting a new work permit.

Anyway… there are many Brits on here if you have any Brit-specific questions.

Would you consider a duck farm?

HG

[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Would you consider a duck farm?

HG[/quote]

You have one available? :ponder:

You have one available? :ponder:[/quote]
He’s taking the piss with you. One of our members came here thinking he’d live and work with his gf and her family on their duck farm.

Context makes a difference; hopefully not too much of one. Much will depend on your gf, and whether she’s more interested in living with mom and dad, or you. You’re not coming here to live like a monk… that’ll add way too much stress to an already uncertain situation. So, do you live on your own, near her, or does she live with you? Figure that out before you come.

From my perspective I feel like; what have I got to loose?.. I’m 21 not at all routed to the UK, I’m free to roam the world, my girlfriend is going to Taiwan whatever happens… and its pretty much hell being away from her… (she has been away for 2months now)… life is too short for what ifs, and its a real life changing opportunity. But if it all crashes down, at least its something to put on the CV if it doesn’t work out. Also if I live outside the UK for a number of years, my student debts will be wiped… now there is an incentive :wink:

You have one available? :ponder:[/quote]
He’s taking the piss with you. One of our members came here thinking he’d live and work with his gf and her family on their duck farm.

Context makes a difference; hopefully not too much of one. Much will depend on your gf, and whether she’s more interested in living with mom and dad, or you. You’re not coming here to live like a monk… that’ll add way too much stress to an already uncertain situation. So, do you live on your own, near her, or does she live with you? Figure that out before you come.[/quote]

hehe, I realised that…

Yeah it is vital, I wouldn’t really fancy living alone in Taiwan, plus its gonna be more expensive, my girlfriend wants to live with me but her parents have never been tested like that, so she scared to tell them. But I just feel she needs to be more assertive, they’re not bad people, she is from a very wealthy family, and the business is no1 importance to them. Maybe she’s scared to loose their money…?

She’s back from Taiwan in a few weeks, so I’m preparing my angle, what I’m gonna ask her.

Call me cynical, but honeeeeyyyy, reality can bite. Whether you’re 21 or 41, living in Taiwan ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, and it’s not that hard. But it ain’t England. Sure, go for it while you’re young, but listen to the sage advice about coming, get grounded in reality and have a back up plan. Otherwise, when you come have a blast, most people do.

hmmm… I definitely agree what you’ve said, just feel I need to remain positive otherwise I might chicken out, then regret it all my life…

Anyone know where I should start with my VISA situation. I’ve heard its best to apply for a short term one first(like a holiday one) if I don’t have a job, then when I’m in Taiwan and have a prospective job to apply for a longer one… Is it best to try build up a relationship with the Taiwanese consulate in the UK maybe visit them a few times?

Mikee

[quote=“saxton_boy”]
hmmm… I definitely agree what you’ve said, just feel I need to remain positive otherwise I might chicken out, then regret it all my life…

Anyone know where I should start with my VISA situation. I’ve heard its best to apply for a short term one first(like a holiday one) if I don’t have a job, then when I’m in Taiwan and have a prospective job to apply for a longer one… Is it best to try build up a relationship with the Taiwanese consulate in the UK maybe visit them a few times?

Mikee[/quote]

Don’t listen to any naysayers. Even if it’s a complete fuckup, you’re only 23. Do it anyway, it’s good for you. Don’t over plan or over analyse it.

The key question is ‘what am I going to do for money?’ and ‘how am I going to get a visa?’. The rest is incidental. When you are thinking about work, you have to ask yourself; what can I do that a Taiwanese national can’t? As a graduate designer, it might be difficult to sell yourself, as you have to be paid a minimum amount to get a work visa which would be above the entry level salary for a local (correct me if I’m wrong?)

Financially, it would be better to learn to teach, while building up connections for the kind of work you really want.

You can’t ‘build a relationship’ with the consulate; they are evil droids whose purpose is to fuck up your plans.

I have another question, is appearance a big issue in Taiwan? cos I feel i may need to change a bit from what the misses says (or shes just trying to change me)… I’m a pointy shoes, skinny jeans, bright T-shirt, Noel Fielding hair, lip piercing type of guy… which is great in London as a designer as you want to make an impression… But in Taiwan, I’m not sure. Do I need to become a, loafer, suit, shirt, tie, slick back hair, clean shaven, Pierce Brosnan kinda guy…

Being kinda selfish with my posts… gonna go join in around the community. :bow:

[quote=“saxton_boy”]I have another question, is appearance a big issue in Taiwan? cos I feel i may need to change a bit from what the misses says (or shes just trying to change me)… I’m a pointy shoes, skinny jeans, bright T-shirt, Noel Fielding hair, lip piercing type of guy… which is great in London as a designer as you want to make an impression… But in Taiwan, I’m not sure. Do I need to become a, loafer, suit, shirt, tie, slick back hair, clean shaven, Pierce Brosnan kinda guy…

Being kinda selfish with my posts… gonna go join in around the community. :bow:[/quote]

Not a damn thing wrong with Pierce Brosnan! But you sound like you’d fit in pretty well with young culture in Taipei. Nothing wrong with you look, I’d immagine. Maybe your girl thinks her parents would appriciate something a bit more conservative, though?

One thing you’re going to learn sooner or later no matter where you are is the importance of being yourself and living you life to your own standards.

Go to Taiwan. You really should. But do NOT go with a five year plan! Many people get “stuck” in Taiwan and end up living there for years, or for life. But MANY guys who follow their girlfriends there find that they got on the plane with one woman and got off it with someone who only looks like her. Lots of great relationships end that way. If you go over there with nobel idea that you can, should, and will adjust to anything in any way asked of you, you’ll be in a fine mess soon enough.

First of all, while compromise is good, your girl, like any woman, is not going to like a guy who lets himself be manipulated. Plus, you likes you as you are–even if she tells you to change, once you do, she’s not likely to like the new you as much.

Second, you are who you are. It’s great to want to embrace a new culture and all, but you’ll find it’s elemental to be accepted for yourself as much as you accept everything else.

Thirdly, you’ll be teaching English. You’ll have no experience with teaching and will not likely feel very confident. Sometimes it can be wonderful, but it can also be very stressful and being dealt with, or “handled,” like “the foreigner” will soon grow old. So, you’ll quite possible have to deal with issues of resentment that you aren’t using your degree in design, wich you enjoy, and are not enjoying you only real option, at first anyway, as a bushiban whore.

Your girl, whom you naturally expect to be understanding and willing to help smooth things for you, may become frustraited with you for needing her as much as you will and will be under her own pressures from family and friends, and dealing with going “home” where no one can relate to her time spend in England, much less her new hairy monkey, bignosed, boyfriend.

I wish you all the best. I don’t mean to discourage you. It’s just that these boards so often are strewn with the sorrows and relational detrius of so many egar young men.

Oh, and if possible, you really should attempt a visit first before a move.

Wow, I feel like you know exactly who I am… haha :sunglasses:

[quote=“housecat”]I wish you all the best. I don’t mean to discourage you. It’s just that these boards so often are strewn with the sorrows and relational detrius of so many egar young men.

Oh, and if possible, you really should attempt a visit first before a move.[/quote]

Yeah, I feel that lost love vibe around… kinda unsettling… :neutral: I’m very much of my values though, so I’m not expecting to change much for anyone, but “much” being the key word, I have to leave some doors open to change. I’ve got another year of study / another year with my girlfriend, lots can happen… but I need to work hard at my immediate goals, and keep site of my long term. This year being final year, I’m not sure I can afford to visit Taiwan really, prices are sky rocketing too… but I’ll see.

Would be so much easier to stay in London alone and just lead an ordinary life… but where the fun & adventure in that. :wink:

[quote=“housecat”][quote=“saxton_boy”]I have another question, is appearance a big issue in Taiwan? cos I feel i may need to change a bit from what the misses says (or shes just trying to change me)… I’m a pointy shoes, skinny jeans, bright T-shirt, Noel Fielding hair, lip piercing type of guy… which is great in London as a designer as you want to make an impression… But in Taiwan, I’m not sure. Do I need to become a, loafer, suit, shirt, tie, slick back hair, clean shaven, Pierce Brosnan kinda guy…

Being kinda selfish with my posts… gonna go join in around the community. :bow:[/quote]

Not a damn thing wrong with Pierce Brosnan! .[/quote]

honey if he looks like Pierce Brosnan, I may move back just to find him :howyoudoin:

buttercup is right again :unamused: :laughing: don’t over plan, and don’t back out. Just come on over…life is a breeze on the rock…

Don’t listen to them - do it if you want to.

I mean look at me…I moved to Taiwan when I was 18 with nothing but a visa and the clothes on my back and look where I am now!

:doh:

Don’t let the nay sayers scare you off. However, life here is nothing like what you’d expect it to be.
I have jumped twice in my life, the first time to the UK, having been there once before and I really didn’t expect a lot of things and I didn’t think it was going to end up anything like it did.
Taiwan was a little bit different, as I’d been here three times before I decided to move and I had a little bit of an idea of what to expect and I spent a lot of time reading this forum as well.
Life here didn’t end up as I expected, but things have progressively been getting better, although I don’t even speak local, so if you know a bit of the lingo you’re off to a decent head start.
As some of the other posters have said, don’t plan too far ahead of yourself, you never know what’ll happen in life. Even if things would go awry with your current missus, there’s a big chance that there’ll be another 10, 20, 50, 100 or more girls here ready to take over her place :wink:
Just stay away from the foreigner groupies, they’re freaky…

With regards to your visa - taiwanembassy.org/UK/mp.asp?mp=132 that’s the place to look at.
You should be ok to get a 60 day visitors visa, which can in turn be made into an ARC if you’d find a job within the first 60 days you’re here.
Otherwise you’d have to leave the country and head to HK, Japan or Korea or one of the other nice countries near Taiwan to get a new one before you can get an ARC.
Yes, you might be able to find a designer job here, but I think you’re way off if you think this is design capital asia, as it’s not.
It all depends in what line of design you’re into, but start looking now and try to get some interest from some local companies, or as you said, even better a foreign company here, although I think that’ll be hard. You need to make a minimum of NT$45,000 a month to get an ARC and a work permit and I have no idea what a designer makes here, but I’d guess it’s less than that judging by the people I’ve worked with, but then again, they weren’t exactly great designers.

As you’re saying, you’re still young, so give it a go, just be prepared for the massive change, as Taiwan is nothing like the UK. First of all, I hope you’re not a fussy eater, as the food is very different and you can forget about beans on toast, fry-up, fish and chips, pie and the lot, unless you’ve got loads of cash, which it doesn’t sound like you’ve got. Much of the local food is good, but some of it is outright nasty as well, imho… :sick:
There’s seafood aplenty and the staple here seems to be tofu and chicken, then pork and in a much lesser extent beef and lamb. Rice and noodles (not pot noodles) are also part of the staple, as well as veggies, some which I don’t even know what they’re called and others I’d rather not eat, but most of which are very nicely prepared.

Finding somewhere to live here isn’t hard as long as you’re not too picky, then again, compared to some of the places I’ve seen in London, even the fairly bad places here aren’t too bad. For a place big enough for the two of you, even if she only comes around at the weekends, expect to pay around NT10-14k a month if you live slightly off the beaten track, but still near an MRT station (underground), less if you live further away, but you’ll find it hell to get around in Taipei at least if you don’t live near one, that is at least if you’re not willing to drive a scooter here and risk your life in traffic every day…

Living standards are quite good here, better than the UK imho, but then again, maybe I’m biased. Health and dental care is part of the tax deducted from your wages and you might want to know that for the first six months you pay 20% tax, but you can claim back the difference after you’ve been working here for a year. Then I think the tax is 6% up to 30 something k and 13% after that, but the health insurance and something else is deducted on top of that. There’s good health and dental care here, although you might want to pick your local clinic with care, as some are much better than other.

That’s all I can think of right now that might be of any kind of help. Oh, one thing, if you don’t want to get an open ticket when you come here and you’ve already go a job lined up, then a one way ticket should be ok, but you have to check with the local Taiwan representative office first. This might be a good place to find a cheap ticket as well - ourstravel.com/index2e.htm