As a newbie, I’ve been reading and enjoying the community here for a few months. I’ve finally ended my career of lurking and joined the forum here.
I’ve taught ESL for over a year now in the U.S.A. Next year I hope to teach ESL in Taiwan and pay off student loans. Is there any chance some of you could help by giving me estimates of monthly living expenses based on your area of Taiwan (north/south, urban/suburbs)?
My wife and I have 2 small children and want to live very frugally in Taiwan. We would eat local food only and MAYBE opt out of AC if we can sweat it out.
Any guesses as to low, mid, and high estimates of monthly living expenses for a family of 4 in Taiwan? How about an informal survey here?
:thanks:
Rents are from 6-11,000 in a small town to 30-40,000 in Taipei for a decent appartment.
Local food is pretty cheap, 5-6,000/ person /month could do.
Aircon you really need during summer, May-October, fan will do from October-December an March-May. January-March heating is sometimes necessary.
Transportation is pretty cheap too.
If your kids need to go to an international school, that’s very expensive,
Let’s take an estimate for living and transportation, energy, water 80,000 NT$, US$ 2,500 +
Clothing you could buy in Taiwan if you’re less than average size (American), otherwise it still can be a pain to find the right size.
A lot depends where you live. If you want to save a lot of money then I suggest you don’t live in Taipei…but I could be mistaken.
A teacher who used to work for me stayed in Taiwan for around 5 years. He and his wife were both teaching. They took care of their money but weren’t misers. After the five years they had paid off their debts and went home with around $300,000 Canadian dollars. They had a plan and stuck with it.
I had always thought that in Kaohsiung one could save 75% of your salary. But that is pushing it a bit. With a family that won’t be possible.
Say 20000 for rent and utilities if you don’t live in the center. Try the subburbs.
Say 15000 for fun and snacks
Say 10000 for odds and ends…beer…zaa…tacos…
Say 10000 for each kid monthy
So $55000 can be done… Locals do it for much less.
If you and your wife work and then put the kids in kindy to lear English or Chinese you’ll be able to live off one and save the other salary.
Stay out of the bars every weekend and eat at home or local food. You should be able to save a lot
your kids might be the biggest issue - how old? school age? if so, are you going to send them to regular schools here? can they function in mandarin? if you are planning to put them in some kind of international school, it’s gonna be hard to save. if they are not yet that old, you may need to find a caregiver … might be easier in a big city, where rents etc. are higher.
I don’t live very frugally and have little savings after 7 years here to show for it.
Our major fixed monthly expenses living in Hsinchu would be:
18k for rent
15k for child care
1k for single malt scotch
I love air conditioning far too much so our electricity bill tends to be upwards of 4k a month during the summer.
Food tends to be cheap, so cheap I can’t really put a figure on it. But I have fallen in love with an Italian restaurant across the street from my house and each family meal there is about 1k a visit. I usually eat there every week. We tend to be busy and eat out allot, if you can cook at home you will be well nourished for next to nothing.
Since having a baby here I have gone out maybe twice (in 2 years) and that was to a movie. Movies are inexpensive.
As for my kids they’re not school age yet and my wife is determined to be a homemaker primarily and also homeschool. So at least we save on school cost
Going from Kentucky to Taiwan ought to be a rude schock in living space and natural beauty, so we’ll try to stay away from the highly urban areas.
I believe another huge factor in costs has got to be healthcare. Any wild guesses on that?
Thanks ya’ll for the helpful estimates…its good to know how long it might take to knock off our student loans.
If you are working you will recieve health care. Most people pay about $200 NT a month and the company covers the rest. When you see a doctor you pay NT$100 a visit but this covers all your prescription drugs. Oh, and it also covers dental visits though many pay for private western trained dentists. So health care is a minor expense here.
I live in the southern part of Taipei City (Mucha) and can be up in the mountains in 5-10 minutes and be on a secluded trail that winds its way along a lush ridge for 20 km. In 30 minutes I can be in one of numerous remote locations with swimmable rivers, waterfalls you can shower under, quiet mountain trails, hot springs, and tea houses set in lush valleys or on the sides of mountains with panoramic views. If you live in the east or north of Taipei it is the same. This city is ringed by mountains. Don’t live in some smokestack town or backward village. Live in Taipei where you can get everything you want from an urban environment and still get away from it all in no time flat.
One of the members of my hiking group was living in Kentucky before he came to Taiwan. He seems pretty happy living in the big city and getting out to explore beautiful locations on the weekend.
Probably doesn’t hurt that he lives near a store with a great selection of Kentucky Bourbon either.
I believe another huge factor in costs has got to be healthcare. Any wild guesses on that?
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If you are working you will recieve health care. Most people pay about $200 NT a month and the company covers the rest. When you see a doctor you pay NT$100 a visit but this covers all your prescription drugs. Oh, and it also covers dental visits though many pay for private western trained dentists. So health care is a minor expense here.
This is one of the major reasons I will be sad to leave TW when I do. You can get most if not all the major brand drugs here at a cheaper cost, or at least in an affordable way.
