After 3 months full of research and weighing… I think we decided not to move to Taiwan.
At first we considered the move so that we can be close to Asia and have our children learn Chinese and the asian culture. We went back and forth between TW, SG and HK.
We got scared… As I read the post here, I learned that taiwanese are weird people. Stalker? Bad-driver? Rude? Jobs are not easy to get for a foreigner and the pay cut is too deep. Teaching english seems to be tough as well. Education? Hm… i dunno. Considering SG and HK, the living costs were high even though your pay might increase. If you are not local and you don’t live with your parents, housing is the biggest money pit. Getting work permit gets tougher in these 2 countries. They had enough of foreign inflow. Anyway, I chickened out! I admit that I gave up… too early… maybe. But I have 2 kids! I don’t have the luxury of making mistake(s).
Anyway, it was fun reading the posts here. I wish you all the best! We are back to our original plan… moving to Plano, Texas… from LA, CA.
Taiwanese aren’t weird people, but they do have bad behaviors along with the friendly aspects. Very safe country Taiwan.
But not ideal as a place to move to if you have good options and want some decent income and a cleaner environment.
Just live in the US send your kids to Chinese class or summer school.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]Taiwanese aren’t weird people, but they do have bad behaviors along with the friendly aspects. Very safe country Taiwan.
But not ideal as a place to move to if you have good options and want some decent income and a cleaner environment.
Just live in the US send your kids to Chinese class or summer school.[/quote]
These forums could be one of the worst places to get an opinion about how the locals are here. You get a lot of people coming here studying mandarin and expecting that the people here should act the way that they do in “my country”. Some people cannot get it through their minds that Taiwan is not “my country”. It’s Taiwan.
hhII, once again nails it, the locals have their bad behaviors and have good aspects as well, but please tell me what country in the world is problem free?
I have to disagree about sending your kids to summer school or Chinese school on Sundays, in the states. I went through 11 years of Chinese school on Sundays and it did nothing for me. It was just a time to meet new friends. If you want your kids to learn Chinese (and not forget it), here’s a few suggestions that have worked (on me):
If you and your wife are fluent enough in Mandarin, I’d suggest having you and your kids communicate in mandarin whenever they’re in the house. Make them practice it from an early age and the later years will be much easier. Do not give in and communicate with them in English because it’s just easier for you and them. Whenever they speak English to you give them the, “Huh? What did you say, I don’t understand English” (said in Chinese of course). They’ll hate you for it, but it’ll get them thinking.
During summer, let them spend half of their vacation here in Asia with their relatives. It’ll put their skills to the test. Once they are old enough, they can take summer classes at universities.
All in all, environment is very key in your kids learning Chinese. I have friends at home that are pretty fluent in Chinese just because their parents talk to them with it when they were young, even though they really never got the chance to visit Asia often. The majority of my friends are the ones that understand Chinese, but can only respond in English, these are the friends that went to Chinese school Sundays with me for 11 years.
Though Taiwan has purchased a veneer of modernity, attitudes toward safety are as third world as it’s possible to get.
Here’s a handy list of danger zones:
Within 1 meter of Taiwanese standing or walking
Within 10 meters of a Taiwanese operating a vehicle or other machine
Within 100 meters of a Taiwanese working with fire or chemicals
[quote=“headhonchoII”]I just meant in the crime and security aspects, agreed on other stuff.
Ranlee talking sense about Chinese. I speak English to my kids at home, no Chinese from me![/quote]
It is recommended in bilingual households to have one parent speak L1 and the other L2. And stick to it. Hence the child can make the differences out and acquire both.
To OP: it is your choice and any way you see it, it is OK. You know what is best for your family. This place can be very pleasant… or not. Yes, it depends on attitude, but also luck. You may give it all you got, and it may not work. You just come for a year and stay forever. Some people come with a plan and it works out for them, some people -like me- just got lucky and had more opportunities. Truly, it is harder to find a job now, both for locals and foreigners. Sure, there are lots of jerks and driving is scary. But as HH says, there are good things, too. Personal safety is a must, so I am glad to be here in a place where I am not on guard 24/7. As to drivers… I was run over 3 times in the early days, then I learned to adjust, and no more close encounters since.
Good luck wherever you choose to be. Be happy knowing you are the captain of your heart and designer of your fate.
I think a foreigner living in Taiwan for a long time has to be hard core. Its not an easy place to live long term unless you are at least part Taiwanese I think.
Moving to Plano TEXAS from California…? I must have missed your original thread but that is a head scratch’er. No offense of the people of Plano, though. California/Texas/Taiwan/HK/SG those choices have some pretty stark differences (sounds like someone throwing a dart at a spinning globe. Even between HK/Taiwan/SG these are very,very different places to live. You certainly picked the cheapest of them all to buy a home which is a good thing.
I’ve lived in taipei and hk off and on for 9yrs and wouldn’t really recommend Taiwan (i live here now). I’d only recommend it if you had a nice job (salary within 10% of what you would get in California) or you had family here that you really missed. I think you made the right decision. You say you wanted your kids to learn about Asian culture but sounds to me the move would be a huge, huge learning curve for you and your wife (not your kids). Your kids would adjust pretty well i think. Put your extra money into hiring a Chinese tutor if you want your kids to learn Mandarin.
To best_intentions: The countries were chosen based on our experience in each of them. I have studied and lived in Singapore for 8 years (Elementary to High School), we have families in both HK and TW and we have been there either for vacation/study/business. We are invested around Dallas, Texas. Been there plenty of times and narrowed down that Plano is the best community to be in. North-West Plano to be exact. Sorry for not giving the background on why we chose them.
To ranlee: Totally agree… but hey, all those times spent in Chinese community made you return to your roots, I assumed. I honestly think that if money is not a factor, I would live in Taiwan of all the places I mentioned. It makes us happy whenever we go to Chinese community… like Alhambra or Monterey Park in CA. And we like to eat… me and my wife.
I agree that nowhere is perfect, most event occurred because of our “luck”, and I am probably just making excuses. What I really want to focus now is for my 2 children. For Taiwan, someone said it, it can be easy-living, but not much money in it. Which makes me think how I can finance my children education if I want them to study in the US eventually.
