Taiwan population decline

I have a sneaking suspicion the use of the courtly language might have dissociated policy makers from their own policies and constituents. Languages of diplomacy are not for getting things done; they are for papering over cracks, distancing and kicking the can down the road. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

good childcare care is expensive. kindy is easy to find outside of cities for 5k a month. itt is obviously not amazing quality. the babysitter group (“school”) with a bamboo stick still exists here.

I think this is why home schooling/learning groups are growing in popularity. there are options.

Point is, if I want to be inspired to completely change my lifestyle and bring humans to this earth, I want to make sure I can give them the best options possible for their upbringing, not toss them into some sketchy micsketchshketch childcare center where my child(ren) learn(s) that violence is the only answer and little else.

I am a woman of child-bearing age and with someone (who’s Taiwanese) who also wants to have children. This new policy will have zero bearing on that decision, as I would imagine is the case for most others in my position. So it’s quite silly to even look at.

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I 100% agree. my child having decisions have zero influence from Taiwan governments lack of meaningful anything other than some health care. which is honestly also not amazing unless going to the pay doctor that does their job decently.

but for those that are not financially setup for their kids, there are options for those willing to search and change their lifestyles.

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:point_down:

The increase of 3,786 compared to June was the result of migration

In July, 18,215 people passed away, while 10,950 births were registered, showing a natural decline of 7,265 people. There were 859 fewer births than in July 2021.

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If only the migrants could stay long term without jumping through 100 hoops.

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I tend to agree. Visited a friend in London living in WG, shared apartments. In one of the room (14m2)a Romanian family lives, with small infant. Like UK does not have cheap suburbs or small towns with affordable renting. Why to live in the center of London and doing low skill job? Or what about move somewhere else with EU passport, like Denmark or Sweden?

Outside of Taipei rent is cheap and a lot of option for kindergartens. I visited few places to check it out, in Hsinchu countryside and most expensive are like 14k twd. Really good quality

Don’t be afraid to have kids. There is always a way to adjust

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They can’t eat very much, just little things!

I have 3 kids. The way I see most people are not humble enough to raise up a family. My cousin have been waiting for accumulated savings, house with garden, high pay job and had her first at 42. She is exhausted. Unhappy.

I had first one with 5k in my pocket, without car, owning apartment. Wife was jobless for while and when it was her 4th month at office we gave a try. She turned 30 and from health perspective was not good to wait.

We have net worth close to 200k euro 5 years later. Government covers most of kindergarten cost so this really helps

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Probably because with only English spoken those countries are much more challenging to find a job in.

Wait, in Taiwan? Really?

Guy

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Not everyone wants to tie up 20 years of their life. Not always financial

Any and all social support (also known as “friends”) I have in Taiwan have migrated to Taipei. If I go elsewhere, I’d be not just a foreign woman with a small child, needing to push back against some very backwards and proven to be destructive yet very accepted and expected social practices, I wouldn’t have any friends. This matters not just because humans are social beings and we need friends just generally to live quality lives, but also because friends (when family isn’t an option) are the people you tend to call when you need emergency childcare. If you need to hire a babysitter, those are rare in this country and cost as much if not more than they do in the US. It took me at least a few months to make actual friends when I lived in rural Taiwan, and of those people, most turned out to be shallow and fake individuals after I got to know them further. If I had children, there are approximately two people I would trust to look after them in a manner consistent with what I expect from a caregiver. Don’t get me wrong, I trust others with plenty of other things, but I wouldn’t with my non-existent children. And it takes too long to build up that trust when you move to a new place.

I am quite content with my life as it is. I would have two children (only children tend to have trouble with social skills even into adulthood and three or more becomes way too expensive as they reach puberty and college age), but I would have to change pretty much everything about my life in order to make that happen — move away from everyone I know in order to be able to afford a space reasonable for raising children (at minimum, in addition to two bedrooms, you need a functioning kitchen and room for a dining table that everyone can sit around. Preferably there’s space for them to be able to have more than two toys and also a bathtub when it’s time for cleanup). It’s not remotely practical for me to upend my life because it’s our “duty” to produce the next generation. Why do you think the GOP is trying to eliminate abortion access across the US? Women in every developed country who have the choice are having less children and much later in life. It’s inevitable that population decline has followed. For the first time in known human history, we are making decisions about how we want to live our lives, rather than acting more or less based on a need to survive. For some people, having children is a blessing and that will bring them joy. But this past half century or so has meant that children are a liability instead of an asset. The only benefit to having children, besides ideally them bringing you joy, is that they will hopefully take care of you when you’re old. Otherwise they are VERY expensive to raise and you do so at the sacrifice of your career, social life, and lifestyle. For a close to home example, my parents are panicking about retirement right now, despite being low spenders and having saved well over their lives, because I have a sibling that’s still in college but they’re at retirement age. It’s a decision that plenty of people make, but it’s not going to change because the government is currently waving less than US$200/month for only the first few years under everyone’s noses

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Yes, the public kindy is mostly paid by government, but you forfeit the 5k child allowance then.

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Is there a 5 k child allowance if your kid doesn’t go to school?

It is given only until 5 y/o. By school time the child is too old.

But if you use private kindy or care by yourself, then you can claim 5k to cover part of the cost.

5 years old? You mean until elementary school or it stops when they turn 6?

I asked the wife. She Says we get 3.5k

The monthly child-rearing allowance for children aged 2 to under 5 in Taiwan was increased from NT$3,500 to NT$5,000

https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202208010019

This month you should get 5k

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Why does it stop at 5 and not 6? Elementary school starts at age 6.

Wondering the same thing…