What ugly construction is going up?
Along with tolerated money laundering.
Yes.
There is absolutely no reason not to believe the Taiwanese economy will get back on the fast track like itās 1955-2000.
Something like that. Although most multinationals have their Asian HQs there so it canāt be that bad.
I donāt think many Taiwanese who lived through the 1950s will look back on that era fondly.
Guy
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Iām talking about the rate of growth, not absolute living standards.
Yeah I guess if you strip a country down the subsequent āgrowthā rate will look positive. But thatās a bit like taking credit for climbing out of a pit you created.
Put otherwise: that was no āgolden age.ā
Guy
I donāt remember exact dates, but my uncle was named Guorong (åꦮļ¼because he was born in the year the Taiwanese economy started to boom.
You might want to get back in touch with your family and report back to us.
If itās 1955, Iāll buy you lunch the next time Iām in DC.
Cheers,
Guy
Iāll buy you lunch regardless.
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Late 1950ās was the beginning of the Taiwan Miracle. People may have not yet felt the changes but the groundwork was put in at that time. And in my opinion the groundwork for the next high growth rate phase started in 2015-2016. Not all of it centrally planned either, TSMC destroying Intel for one or the trade war, but I think itās obvious the horrible stagnant wage years are over and that the Taiwanese companies have made quite the moat for themselves.
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For rent, absolutely. You can rent huge spaces at prices that donāt exist anywhere else on Earth. When considering rent, Taipei really is amazingly cheap.
But even in a city like Chicago, with half the population density of Taipei in the same amount of space, US$400,000 can get you a 700 square foot 1 bedroom condo with massive windows overlooking the Chicago River and a fully equipped and functional kitchen. Not overlooking the river or lake (like a normal person), you can get a single family house with a yard at that price, and Iām talking about within the city itself. In Taipei you might be able to buy a 420 sqft room with a bathroom and tiny barred window overlooking your neighborās crumbling concrete wall for that much. Being away from the MRT doesnāt get you much more. Even New Taipei City doesnāt get you nearly what you can get in NYC/LA/Chicago, heck even San Fransico, for a similar price. Thereās a huge different in standard of living vs. cost when it comes to home ownership in Taipei. One million USD canāt buy a family of four a suitable living space anywhere in Taipei City. And when you look at whatās being built here, itās 200+ ping/unit or 13 ping/unit delios. Current construction is not aimed at making the city livable for the future. Any āgolden ageā is not going to benefit the masses unless real estate starts being functional
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Why not? People can just rent.
Economists understand that ugly construction is an accurate bellweather for the economy.
It started with TSMC and AMD, it was very obvious were things were going with those two. I mean nothing is 100% until it happens but I would have bet on it, which I kind of did by coming to Taiwan. Also as bad as low wages are for working class, itās great for the companies. Taiwanese were willing to accept low wages for economic competitiveness was a good sign for long term growth.
But who knows what happens from here on out? I may turn out wrong in the end. The situation is changing rapidly for example a lot of countries are realizing how dominant Taiwan has become in electronics and semiconductors and may very well respond in a way that hurts both themselves and Taiwan. But I do still think the foundations of Taiwanese economy are sound and healthy and that as long as there political will Taiwan can be among the top economic performers for the foreseeable future.
Because 99.9% of Taiwanese landlords have given no thought into what a human being needs to function in their home, making renting a pain in the butt and a lot of compromising.
Also, property ownership is the easiest way to build wealth, but you canāt do that if you canāt afford it.
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Welcome to Ghost Island where itās heaven for bosses and hell for workers.
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But you just said rents were reasonable.
Taiwanese donāt have a wealth problem. They have plenty of savings. (#4 worldwide in net financial assets per capita). They have a problem with low incomes.
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Some people.
Lots of us want to buy a decent apartment or house without taking all of our money for a concrete box.
Anyway the economy might be improving which is good but what we really need is a cleaner and better environment and also some kind of peaceful resolution of the China threat.
Also Taiwan is still a dead zone for many industries and multinationals and international organizations. So ā¦Againā¦It really depends what you are doing.
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Compared to other major cities. But the units available still all suck compared to what youād get from a slumlord in the US for double the price.
To quote my 7th grade math teacher: āyou will never be able to retire if you donāt invest your hard-earned money in the stock market, real estate, or bothā. Low income + no one trusts the stock market = no one is making gains on their savings-account-only āportfoliosā
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Obviously Taiwan has a population density about four times as high (or something). What do you expect?
The stockmarket is going gangbusters, partially due to foreign institutional investors.
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