I’m wondering if anyone here can give me some guidance. My husband is coming to Taiwan for 3 months this year to continue his Mandarin studies, and we are contemplating whether we can / should stay on for up to a year. We have a baby (currently 10 months) and have been living for the past few months in South Western China.
My questions are:
Do you think it’s possible to support our family (2 adults and a baby) on one person’s income teaching English? - I have done some research into cost of living and particular items, but I’d really like to get a sense from people who are in country.
I know the answers to this might be variable, so here’s some further info:
We are tend to live fairly simply, meaning we would eat local food with Western meals just occasionally, catch public transport and refrain from buying clothes and household goods unless they’re really needed. We would want a flat that is basically hygienic and accessible but not flashy. In an ideal world we’d have 1 or 2 bedrooms - but if a studio or share accommodation is what it takes we’ll consider it.
My husband (who would be the one working) has a bachelor’s degree (communications, humanities) and masters (international studies) but no teaching background. I think he would probably teach at a cram school, maybe 20 - 25 hours a week? His main priority is to improve his Mandarin (he’s at upper beginner / lower intermediate) so he wouldn’t be able to work long hours.
I’ll be continuing my study from home and also looking after our son so I wouldn’t really be available to work. (I could do a few hours part time I guess, but then I don’t think you can get a permit for part time work only, is that right?)
My husband’s study is in Taipei, but would it be worth looking for work in other cities - ie are there other places with more jobs and / or a lower cost of living? Do you think you could still learn Mandarin effectively there? (He would probably be learning with a tutor one on one).
I hope someone can help us with some advice - even if it’s to say that this is totally unrealistic Further ideas to make it workable are welcome too.
If he was earning a top end cram school salary and you were located outside of Taipei, then perhaps you could barely scrape by. I can’t see it happening anywhere near Taipei though. If both of you were teaching, you could live comfortably in most places, but scrape by in Taipei.
There is little or no English teaching work to be had for a period of 3 months in the first place. No one is going to hire a teacher for 3 months with the possible exception of even shorter contracts for summer school.
Of course you can scrape by on one teacher’s salary. I have a friend with 4 kids and a stay at home foreign wife on a teacher’s salary. Taiwanese find ways to live on 30000NT/mo and he could be making 50-60,000NT/mo. It won’t be a glamorous lifestyle but you will make it. One of the biggest problems is the initial setup cost of moving and buying all of the living essentials. This would be quite a bit higher for you since you have a baby. The other issue is that it might take a month+ to get a job and even that job might only be 12-16 hrs/wk at the beginning.
Other things you could do to save money would be to do language exchanges for part of his Chinese learning and some private 1 on 1 tutoring. Living in Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan or a different mid size city would save you quite a bit of money on the rental (or buy you more). Your part time job could be babysitter for foreigners. One of my friends has started doing this part time. It’s not a lot of money or regular but there are definitely foreigners with babies that have busy schedules.
Working a lot and studying a lot (of Chinese) isn’t compatible. So he’s going to have to work a bit and study a bit. Best to not move to Taipei in my opinion , but it’s still possible if you can live in a smaller place. I would suggest he gets a job with a Taiwanese company but they won’t necessarily speak a lot of Chinese to him (depending on colleagues/industry/location), so studying a bit more and teaching might be a better choice right now. You can also live in country towns where it’s easy to find an English teaching job with decent pay/hours but then there are very few language schools, but if you are outgoing you might be able to hang out with locals and learn Chinese there too.
Thank you everyone! Please keep the suggestions coming
Just a brief clarification in response to a previous post - he wouldn’t be looking for a 3 month job, he would look for a job for a year or so. During the initial 3 months of initial study he wouldn’t be working (he has a scholarship and we can cover the rest financially). Our decision is whether we should aim to stay on after for a year or so with him teaching.
Thanks everyone!
Pay attention to visas. If you wanted to study for 3 months and then switch to a teaching job, you could come in visa-free for the first part (depending on your nationality), but you’d have to leave the country to apply for a visitor/tourist visa before you can get a work permit and residency.
I’m not sure if you can be issued an ARC (alien residence card) based on your husband’s residency, so you may need to make a visa run every few months as well. Fortunately, tickets to HK are around US$200 and all you have to do basically is land and then hop on a plane back.
Yes, you kind of have to pick one (teaching or studying) but he’s planning on doing private 1 on 1’s which is far more efficient than signing up for the university classes. The university classes make it very difficult to work a lot.
I’m not sure I agree with finding a job at a Taiwanese company. Pay is lower and hours are more. He shouldn’t have a problem teaching 20 hrs/wk (45-50k/mo) and studying outside of that.
[quote=“Abacus”]Of course you can scrape by on one teacher’s salary. I have a friend with 4 kids and a stay at home foreign wife on a teacher’s salary. Taiwanese find ways to live on 30000NT/mo and he could be making 50-60,000NT/mo. It won’t be a glamorous lifestyle but you will make it. One of the biggest problems is the initial setup cost of moving and buying all of the living essentials. This would be quite a bit higher for you since you have a baby. The other issue is that it might take a month+ to get a job and even that job might only be 12-16 hrs/wk at the beginning.
Other things you could do to save money would be to do language exchanges for part of his Chinese learning and some private 1 on 1 tutoring. Living in Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan or a different mid size city would save you quite a bit of money on the rental (or buy you more). Your part time job could be babysitter for foreigners. One of my friends has started doing this part time. It’s not a lot of money or regular but there are definitely foreigners with babies that have busy schedules.[/quote]
Second Abacus suggestion. Taipei does not have the monopoly in Mandarin teaching. Universities like Sun Yat-sen or Cheng Kung have reputable programs, and anyways, they are all using the same books. Life outside of Taipei will be cheaper and of better quality. Plus, as said, there are opportunities for alternative income in more relaxed situations.
Perhaps you could both work part time instead of your husband working full time, assuming you yourself meet the qualifications to work in Taiwan. He goes to school, works and takes care of the baby when he can and you take care of the baby and work too. Between the two of you, you could easily pull in at least a full time income, perhaps even a little more. But perhaps it could be tricky if some of his work or study time overlaps with your work time and you need to find a sitter.
As you have no background in teaching, you don’t realise that 25 cramschool hours is actually a heavy contact load. I guess nothing’s impossible, but it won’t be a fun existence, especially over summer. Look outside Taipei: housing will be cheaper and so you can get somewhere cleaner, for the baby.
As I understand it, the worker bee of the family has some education ability a and wife too (with her own family). Husband is trying and swimming hard. Other income? Probably not. It will be a tough road. Others may suggest a more rosy picture but if it were my family, I would have a better plan. You need some start up funds, at least 3,000 U.S. You need to set back enough beyond that, to get a ticket home. You can’t do a studio or homestay or sofa surfing, like young travelers. You have to be realistic. I would like to be encouraging but I need to tell you my real opinion. Go home, get a job, sock away some funds and do it right. We both know you won’t sock away funds because you will barely get by at home. I am not being demeaning. It’s just the way things are.
Don’t put yourself and family into a bad situation unless you have an exit plan.
Experience talking with 6 kids and itchy feet.
You asked for an honest opinion and, without hesitation, go get the credentials and funds to treat your family right when they make the move.
Try traveling through Mexico, Central America and South America in a VW camper van, 2 tents and 6 kids. Adventures are adventures but with age, I am much more realistic and would whack my kids for such a crazy idea.On second thought, go for it. Full steam ahead! BE CAREFUL!
Great advice here and I agree with most of it. Getting by on a 20-25 hour teaching salary (40-45,000 per month) will be tough in Taipei. That salary will go a lot further outside of Taipei. If your husband took on private lessons that would help - but if he is studying and has a baby to spend time with, I am guessing that won’t be possible. To give you an idea, A two bedroom apartment is around $20,000 - $23,000 per month in Taipei. So $45,000 is not going to go very far with a family after you have paid your rent. There is no question that it will be tight.
As an earlier poster said, Some Taiwanese people live on $30k a month with a family - but some also live with their parents to save money.
Further ideas to make it workable are welcome too.