Hey everyone, I will be moving to Taiwan in January, I am going without signing a contract, and sharing the cost of living with another person. How much will it cost me to set myself up…I am going there with little money, but would like a rough estimate of how much money I will need for the first month…
Thanks
I think US$2000 (about NT$70,000) would cover everything, but you can get by with much less.
You should think of setting up costs as covering two months, not just one. Even though you may find a job and start work soon after arriving here - let’s say two weeks - you may still have to wait a month or so for that first fat paycheck. Salary is usually paid monthly, on the 5th or 10th.
Your big expense will be setting up in an apartment; about NT$10,000/month plus deposit (one or two months), though you’ll be able to share this with your friend.
You may need to do a visa run. This depends on what visa you come in on, how soon you find work, and how quickly your school processes your paperwork for a work visa. A visa run costs about 10,000-15,000.
Food, transport and other expenses will probably be about 18,000 per month. It depends what quality of life you want during those first few months.
Hope this helps. If you want more specifics, then give me some more details.
January is not a good time to arrive and look for a job. Chinese New Year is on 22 January 2004. All the schools will be closed for a week and they would be unlikely to hire someone just a few weeks before the New Year. Best to arrive at the start of February, especially if money is an issue.
Agreed, Chinese New Year will throw a real spanner in the works of getting a work permit and ARC organised on time.
I recommend you look at these pages for some information on getting started:
http://www.geocities.com/allhou/teachtai.htm
http://www.eslisland.com/guide/teachingenglish.html
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/5657/FAQ.htm
http://www.geocities.com/esl_taiwan/TaiwanFAQ.html
I arrived in Taiwan with only NT$5000! Found a school that helped me to pay rent for the first month, but I only got my first salary after a month and a half here.
I still paid for my medical too!
things are pretty cheap (reasonable) here in Taiwan so $2000 NT will do, unless you are a big spender like… ME 
Maybe you should start looking for a job before you come here, otherwise, come after the Chinese New Year.