Teaching english with 2 children in tow

Hi,

My wife is looking to teach in Taiwan and we have a 6 year old and 7 month old joining us.

Does anyone know how much schooling would be for the 6 year old?

Is it possible to do this on one teaching wage and my wages of $1700 (these are from rental income so no work is needed or a visa I assume)

Any information would be appreciated,

Also I half read somewhere that some place offer a children’s place in school? Sounded a bit to ideal

Which kind of schooling are you thinking of?

TAS or TES would be hard for your budget, unless your wife will get a position at either of the two schools. They may cost something around 60k NTD per month.

The other international schools should be slightly cheaper.

Some local bilingual schools are around 15~40k / month.

Public local schools are less than 10k per YEAR. Their school hour is shorter than private schools, till 12:00 for most days for the 1st grade, but they offer after school care and programs in school with reasonable cost.

Hi,

We aren’t sure yet which school she would be working with.

With regards to the local bilingual schools, would the be suitable for a
non mandarin speaking 6 year old?

Thanks for the help

Local bilingual schools have native English speaking classroom teachers and many of kids are somehow familiar with English, coming from English or bilingual kindergarten. That would provide a soft landing for a non-mandarin speaking 6 yr old.

In many cases, 6 yr old is young enough to get used to mandarin even at a local public school too.

The thing that worries me is daughter would be 8 by the time we move but she’s a bright kid so hopefully a bilingual school would work.

Thanks for the help,

Also just to check, is it possible to live outside Taipei with 100k TWD… School would be the worry for me really as I’m not sure the cost

As for the cost, if you live in outer part of taipei, or in New taipei city, 100k income should be ok with one kid at a private bilingual school, which costs most probably 40k at the most. If you send the younger one to a kinder, it would cost another 15kor more, but would be ok with a cost wise life style.

In this forum, there are threads on (older) non-mandarin kids entering to local schools. Here are 2 examples.
You may contact the posters and could get first hand info.

This is a bilingual school in new taipei.
Yu-Tsai bilingual elementary school
http://www.ytes.ntpc.edu.tw/index.asp

Again thank you, this is very helpful

I have been looking at a school called Morrison academy in taichung and the cost of living there seemed lower and the school only around 20k a month.

We can get money up to between 100 and 120k a month so hoping in taichung that would be sufficient

The tuition and fee for Morrison is here.

http://www.mca.org.tw/admissions/tuition-and-fees/

It will be around 35k per month, but should be no problem with your budget in taichung. 20k is maybe for their employee?

35k school then maybe 45 on a apartment and 100-120k hopefully be fine in taichung

Thanks

Why on earth would you spend that much on an apartment? You can get a very nice, very new, very modern apartment in Taichung for 20 to 25k and that includes parking. Check 591 for apartment listings.

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One other thing, about speaking Chinese in school…
I teach at a private bilingual school and I’ve taught in public schools. Your children will need to have an understanding of the BPMF system of learning Chinese. That is how it is taught here in all schools and they expect 1st graders to have already mastered it.

In a private bilingual school, their day will be split up into Chinese classes and English classes. I would be worried about the Chinese classes if your children have no understanding of Chinese. In a public school it would be near impossible for them to keep up. Some schools offer remedial Chinese classes for struggling students. It would be first on my list to ask about when looking for schools.

Thanks that’s what I was worried about. I can probably afford to send them to international school so thatight be the option.

The apartment figure was just looking up 3 bed apartments on I think 21st century. Com or something… Just what I assumed it would be.

Thanks for the information

Go here to find apartments.

https://m.591.com.tw/show/

It is in Chinese. But way better than going through Century 21 or other agencies.

Thanks. I’ll try and navigate it

Here’s a nice one for you.
Taichung.
3 bedroom 2 bath.
Furnished.
Newer.
Nice community.
26k + 2k community fee (get the landlord to pay it)
https://m.591.com.tw/show/rent/R5361898

That is nice and a lot less that I was imagining.

Makes me more comfortable that 100k a month might get international school and a decent flat, bills and other expenses for the 4 of us.

Sorry for more questions.

Would 20 - 30k a month be enough to feed, transport, mobiles, internet, bills be a reasonable amount for 2 adults, 1 child and a baby? We don’t live to excess.

Again thanks for the replies they are massively appreciated

Just be cautious.
35k tuition
25-30k rent
3 to 5k Utilities (water, electricity, gas, cable TV, internet, cellphones)
5k food (for 4 people, that is pushing it)
Transportation costs, health insurance, car or scooter insurance, entertainment money, clothes, school supplies, etc…all add up fast. Not much will be left for any decent savings.

The big dent is the tuition. Try to get a teaching job at a private school and your kids could go for free or half cost.

Depends on how you eat (dine out or cook? Willing to eat local food or need western?)

Also depends on car, scooter or public transportation.

Roughly, I would say 30k is barely enough for a family of 4 if both parents are working and a sitter/nanny or daycare is needed

Here is what I pay:
Family of 3. Both parents work.

30k Mortgage
16k Nanny
8k Food
2k Gas (car)
2k Public Transport (MRT)
2k Cellphones (unlimited data for 2 phones)
3k Utilities (water, gas, electricity, internet, home phone)
3k Community Fee (because we own)
Our yearly expenses are insurance and taxes.
We set aside 10% of our income every month for an emergency fund + 10% of the remainder for fun. The rest goes into savings.