This is my first post in the forum so please forgive me if this isn’t in the correct catagory. I’ve only recently-two weeks ago-decided that I’ll be teaching in Taiwan(Taipe), rather than Japan, for financial reasons, and my plan for the last few months was to arrive in the country and look for a job in late December/early January. However, I’ve become pretty unsure about the latter timing of year because of the closely following Chinese Lunar New Year-which I read is essentially the peak of low-hiring.
My question is, am I better off arriving early as possible on December 26th or should I wait until the “end” of Chinese New Year to be on foot patrol for a job?
If you do come before CNY, be aware it’s one of the longer holidays here. You will likely have 1-3 weeks without pay, which can be rough just starting out in a new place.
I would come at the start of the year because if you arrive at the end of the year you will be hit with an 18% tax. You need to stay in Taiwan 184 days to qualify for the lower 6% tax.
You can arrive just about anytime and find a job. However, by arriving earlier, you’ll usually have better options. If you don’t mind waiting around for the semester to start then you’ll probably hook up with a place that is more to your liking.