On the bright side, if you can say where in Taiwan you plan to go, people can give you specific names of schools that you can reach out to directly.
Petro states tend to be a safe bet. Have you looked into Brunei?
My mother-in-law lives in Taichung, but we would be open to anyplace that has good schooling options for my daughter.
No, I have not looked into Brunei. I just did a quick google search, and will do some more research after my classes today.
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Yes. In both scenarios, you’ll likely end up with the same amount of money at the end of each month. Rent and tax costs in the US already cut your salary by half, whereas those costs would barely make a dent in your salary in Taiwan.
But obviously this comparison doesn’t work if you’re eating overpriced imported Western food every day.
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Keep in mind my handy little salary comparison in my first post. $4,000-$6,500 USD in Taiwan is VERY different from $4,000-$6,500 USD in the US.
But I agree that Taipei American School and European School are probably the only two proper international schools IN TAIPEI. There are, however, also a couple of good schools in Taichung and Kaohsiung. Not sure which city you are considering moving to.
I don’t believe this is what your first posting states. Please re-read.
It highly depends on where in the us (and a little bit of where in Taiwan)
60k in the Midwest or the south will take you waaaay further than 60k in California or new England
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My dad’s college classmate’s kids went to school at National Experimental High School at Hsinchu Science Park or International Bilingual School at Hsinchu Science Park. I don’t remember which one or if there is a difference, but I’ve heard it’s a really great school and that it was created for the the engineers and expats working at Hsinchu Science Park to send their kids to. As a STEM-centered school, it might be more aligned with your expertise and personal passion. I can’t speak on the working environment or the compensation though.
Other than Taipei American School, there are also American schools in Hsinchu, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. Might be worth looking into the Taichung one if your MIL lives there so your daughter can see her grandma often.
I think it’s admirable that one of the reasons you’re considering this move is to give your daughter the opportunity to live in another country, especially it being her mom’s home country. I hope it results in a meaningful experience for her and your family. 
I moved to Taiwan after teaching in America for 2 years, so not anywhere as experienced as you are and I moved here by myself without dependents, but I am happy to share my experience if you are interested. Just message me!
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I specified “a comparable US city” in my first post.
I think you misunderstood. Let me rephrase:
Using the salary comparison in my first post as a guide, you can come to the conclusion that a $4,000-$6,500 USD/month salary at Taipei American School (as provided by someone else above) is very different from the same salary in, say, Chicago.
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You’ve been liked a lot. The starting salary for TES/TAS is 100k a month plus 20k housing allowance.
200k? What? That’s not happening as a new hire salary.
What are costs like in hsinchu?? Because in Milwaukee (a similarly sized city) you can make 50,000-60,000 as a public school teacher. In 2020 rent for a 1 bedroom in a nice area on water street was between 1,000 and 1,500 (for the biggest model on the top floor). Food in grocery stores was comparable to here with some items being much cheaper
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Yeah overall it seems Taiwan isn’t a good deal for this teacher. But why not a sabbatical ? Is that a common thing over there? Isn’t that supposed to be one of the benefits of being a teacher?
Take a year out?
I wouldn’t compare Hsinchu to Milwaukee. One is the ritzy tech capital of the country, and the other is, well, Milwaukee.
Seattle might be a better comparison (yes I know it’s slightly larger).
Obviously you may not find the perfect city in the US to compare a Taiwan city to, but taken as a general guide, I believe my guide can be quite helpful and more or less accurate.
I suggest to look up dedicated forums for international school teachers. there could be more relevant information there.
Not all teachers get the same pay grade. it varies by experience and position. Senior hires (with more years of experience, or deputy heads, etc.) get paid more.
Ah, well in that case you will have plenty of options. There’s the American School in Taichung (AST), Kaohsiung American School (KAS), Taipei American School (TAS), Taipei European School (TES), and perhaps others in Taichung and Kaohsiung. TAS and TES will be more top-notch schools, and will generally hire more experienced teachers such as yourself, but AST and KAS are also not bad (although most their teachers tend to be less experienced, maybe in their early 30’s).
I believe you have plenty of good options, and you’ve probably got quite a few more advantages than most applicants. I don’t think it’s every day that highly qualified teachers are itching to move to Taipei from the US. You should give it a try. Once you get yourself into an American International School system, you’d be very well taken care of for life.
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Of course.
I strong recommended against the American school in Taichung. I went there once and they had signs up everywhere reminding the students that only English is allowed. What is this, 1970s “we don’t see race, so integrate and become a white-speaking American” America? I also know a number of people who went from cram school teaching to lead teachers there, no education qualifications needed in between. Not saying every teacher is unqualified, nor do I know how strictly they enforce their “English only” rules, but I encourage any parent looking at any school here to consider what qualifications they expect of their teachers. (Same goes for Kaoshuing American school. I know someone who majored in Chinese and music, did one year of Fulbright, and was hired by KAS. 8 months of playing sticky ball games and being a walking audio recording in a public school does not qualify you to be a lead teacher in any school, let alone a “second tier” international school.
If you’re a parent, check (on Facebook, on the school hiring page, etc) what specific requirements are needed for teachers. Don’t buy the “we are a highly selective school” nonsense. If there is any wiggle room for people who are not licensed teachers with at least a few years of real school experience, the school is a clown show and they will happily take your money while the people in the classroom most likely don’t have the first clue about how to educate your child.
. You need to consider population density and quality of living. I’d take a one bedroom in a nice cream city brick apartment (that would have something resembling a kitchen too) on Water Street and a daily commute out to a school in the suburbs @60k USD a year long before I’d ever want to live in Hsinchu even at 40kUSD/yr. Cheese curds and MKE beers > anything you buy for the same price in TW. But also, seriously, you cannot compare Hsinchu to Seattle. One is a hipster paradise with an amazing variety of well thought out food and drink and bike paths galore and the other is…in Taiwan.
See what I said above. It’s not just about experienced teachers. It’s also about the kinds of people the admin sees as “qualified” from day 1.
I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but I know people making about 3x that at TAS. They have some classroom experience, but not that much. Schools like Kangchaio pay about that much. Are you saying TAS and TES are charging what they charge for tuition but paying their starting teachers Kangchaio wages? I genuinely want to know. If I’m paying US$30,000+/yr for my kid’s tuition, I would expect the teacher is getting a bit more than that per year.
I believe they get more than Kangchiao teachers, I would estimate that with the housing allowance teachers get closer to 150 a month, plus airfare, so the total package is competitive.
I did notice that TES (in the elemntary school) is hiring younger teachers (single, with 4 or 5 years teaching experience) probably to save on costs (lower salaries and of course, no need to cover tuition for staff’ children) but all of the teachers were good and qualified.
Two examples I know confirmed 100k plus housing allowance. We’ll find out for sure if the OP applies.
Could you apply to TAS and find out how much they offer? You meet the requirements. It would be interesting to find out for sure.
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