Views on leaving Taiwan from those who have done it!

Discussion Greater Forumosa
21

[quote=“steelersman”]
Namahottie, if I return to the US it is because I already have a job. If things work out I may have a government job in the next six months.

The question is whether I can stand living in the US. I believe working with mainly white Americans in the government will lend me to hear many racist views about foreigners. Can I handle that?[/quote]

Yea you can stand living in the US. If you make you mind up to, then you will. :wink: You’re going to hear racist views from everyone here, not just from Da Man. :laughing: Nobody can stand each other now. Seriously. I don’t know if you can handle it but if you don’t want to be unemployed, I suspect you’ll tolerate it. :smiley:

22

It’s a known fact that people get more racist in tough economic times, we can see it happening in a lot of countries right now. It probably differs a lot depending where you are in America. But Taiwan ain’t no paradise of non-racialism either.

23

I suppose that it may depend on where you are and what you are doing for the government and the backgrounds of the people that you are working with. I can’t say that I have encountered too much of this, but maybe that has something to do with where I am and who I am around.

That said, I have known a few people who worked at the INS and I can tell you that it just seemed as though that job just sucked the life and spirit right out of them. As strange as it sounds, it felt as though they became critical and cynical drones. (even when Clinton was president, just seems as though it is something about that job). I would think very carefully about the type of job you might take and whether it will help you along the road of who you want to become and what you want to achieve.

Of course, it has been said that where ever you go there you are… And…People are Idiots (doesn’t matter too much where you are).

Ignoring much of the cost-of-living stuff (which is probably advantage Taiwan for some things but not TOOO bad), I would generally agree that Taiwan has an easier life. I am not sure that I can put my finger on it, but it does have a more laid back feel if that makes sense. Yes, there is a bunch of hustle and bustle and more than its share of stress but at the end of the day it is a whole lot easier to do things and find a friendly face.

24

[quote=“DODO”]I suppose that it may depend on where you are and what you are doing for the government and the backgrounds of the people that you are working with. I can’t say that I have encountered too much of this, but maybe that has something to do with where I am and who I am around.

That said, I have known a few people who worked at the INS and I can tell you that it just seemed as though that job just sucked the life and spirit right out of them. As strange as it sounds, it felt as though they became critical and cynical drones. (even when Clinton was president, just seems as though it is something about that job). I would think very carefully about the type of job you might take and whether it will help you along the road of who you want to become and what you want to achieve.

Of course, it has been said that where ever you go there you are… And…People are Idiots (doesn’t matter too much where you are).

Ignoring much of the cost-of-living stuff (which is probably advantage Taiwan for some things but not TOOO bad), I would generally agree that Taiwan has an easier life. I am not sure that I can put my finger on it, but it does have a more laid back feel if that makes sense. Yes, there is a bunch of hustle and bustle and more than its share of stress but at the end of the day it is a whole lot easier to do things and find a friendly face.[/quote]

I first want to say that I like Taiwan but I don’t know how you can say it is an easier life when my boss can cancel my visa any day she would like. Then I have to waste money and fly to another country and back.

In my opinion teaching in Taiwan is just too inconsistent. Maybe I suck as a teacher and that is why things are inconsistent. I am interested in honest feedback.

25

YOU have to have an “anchor wife” And preferably do your own biz of some sort.

26

I guess even teaching English would be ok if I had a wife with a regular paycheck but since I do not, I feel like my work life is always up and down. Actually I have never been forced to leave Taiwan but it seems like I am continuously looking for new hours to replace old ones. Even I have two buxiban jobs that I have worked at both for over a year.

27

Maybe, if you’re working for a county government in the middle of nowhere. If you’re working for the federal government you’ll find both an ethnically diverse workforce and zero tolerance for racist remarks.

28

[quote=“steelersman”]

I first want to say that I like Taiwan but I don’t know how you can say it is an easier life when my boss can cancel my visa any day she would like. Then I have to waste money and fly to another country and back.

In my opinion teaching in Taiwan is just too inconsistent. Maybe I suck as a teacher and that is why things are inconsistent. I am interested in honest feedback.[/quote]

Perhaps I am naturally a bit jaded, cynical, or pessimistic, but life is pretty inconsistent where ever you go. While someone here might not be able to cancel your visa, they can (and do) lay people off in a poor economy. Not always with a whole lot of notice (though sometimes this is not a malicious act) - just a bit more than in Taiwan. Gone are the days of yore when you could count on stable employment outside of the public sector (and even within it nowadays). Generally, people have to rely on improving their own skills and dealing with people that they trust (to the extent possible) in order to build a life. Even then, you are subject to the broader environment and the possibility of moving thousands of miles away. Granted, with one exception I have had pretty good bosses (even in Taiwan) and really didn’t have to worry too much about a boss acting rashly (or on a whim).

When I was referring to life being easier, I think I was talking about the day to day stuff. Food is easier to get. Restaurants are easier to get to. There is a bit more give and take. It is easier to be social when you want to be social. Taiwan can certainly be a Kafka-esque bureaucratic nightmare, and it certainly does stink that you have to fly to another country to submit paperwork for a new job. That said, when you have to deal with the government here, you will often run into similar things (with sometimes a bit more rigidity). I suppose that the big difference being that you generally don’t have to deal directly as frequently with the government here.

I don’t wish to be overly negative one way or the other. There are advantages and disadvantages to both places. In general, life is a struggle (or as Hobbes put it it is “nasty, brutish, and short”) wherever you go. Sometimes it is a matter of picking the battles that are more suited to you.

I suppose if it were me, I would look carefully at what was going to make me happy and try to move myself in that direction. What sort of person do I want to be, what sort of lifestyle do I want, what sort of things do I want to accomplish in life, and what trade-offs I am willing to make. Of course it is always a work in progress, but after all life is about the journey.

29

[quote=“DODO”][quote=“steelersman”]

I first want to say that I like Taiwan but I don’t know how you can say it is an easier life when my boss can cancel my visa any day she would like. Then I have to waste money and fly to another country and back.

In my opinion teaching in Taiwan is just too inconsistent. Maybe I suck as a teacher and that is why things are inconsistent. I am interested in honest feedback.[/quote]

Perhaps I am naturally a bit jaded, cynical, or pessimistic, but life is pretty inconsistent where ever you go. While someone here might not be able to cancel your visa, they can (and do) lay people off in a poor economy. Not always with a whole lot of notice (though sometimes this is not a malicious act) - just a bit more than in Taiwan. Gone are the days of yore when you could count on stable employment outside of the public sector (and even within it nowadays). Generally, people have to rely on improving their own skills and dealing with people that they trust (to the extent possible) in order to build a life. Even then, you are subject to the broader environment and the possibility of moving thousands of miles away. Granted, with one exception I have had pretty good bosses (even in Taiwan) and really didn’t have to worry too much about a boss acting rashly (or on a whim).

When I was referring to life being easier, I think I was talking about the day to day stuff. Food is easier to get. Restaurants are easier to get to. There is a bit more give and take. It is easier to be social when you want to be social. Taiwan can certainly be a Kafka-esque bureaucratic nightmare, and it certainly does stink that you have to fly to another country to submit paperwork for a new job. That said, when you have to deal with the government here, you will often run into similar things (with sometimes a bit more rigidity). I suppose that the big difference being that you generally don’t have to deal directly as frequently with the government here.

I don’t wish to be overly negative one way or the other. There are advantages and disadvantages to both places. In general, life is a struggle (or as Hobbes put it it is “nasty, brutish, and short”) wherever you go. Sometimes it is a matter of picking the battles that are more suited to you.

I suppose if it were me, I would look carefully at what was going to make me happy and try to move myself in that direction. What sort of person do I want to be, what sort of lifestyle do I want, what sort of things do I want to accomplish in life, and what trade-offs I am willing to make. Of course it is always a work in progress, but after all life is about the journey.[/quote]

Dodo, for the most part I agree. I view life as an adventure. I want to experience things even if it leads me to being broke on the street like some famous authors.

Thus I would really like to go to flight school in the US. I actually think I will be back to Taiwan some day.

30

go to flight school , get a couple thousand hours on a regional jet and apply at EVA Air and you are back to the rock. Get yrself a Tw wife and thats your anchor to Asia.

31

If I get offered the political job, I will try to go to law school at night and maybe head back to Asia in 10 years and try to find some work as a legal consultant. Not to mention that partial pension from working in the government 10 to 15 years.

32

probably better. copilot on RJ these days pays only bout 17,000 a year. So its not good money. EVA only offering bout 4000 to 5000us/month (free room) for co pilot candidates. People going there only to build hours in a widebody and move up in a few years.

33

My friend lost her job last night when the school she was working for closed. She said she’d seen it comming because she wasn’t paid for August, but said that she didn’t see the owner just walking in last night and saying, sorry folks, this is it.

He said a partner had run off at the end of July and taken a bunch of money, and he hasn’t been able to keep up with things financially. But he has still been collecting fees from parents, who are now pissed.

Anyway, my friend’s chances of being paid seem very slim, she’s out of a job, and still she trusts him not to cancel her ARC right away, but to wait until she can find a new job and transfer it. Hopefully, she can find one quick, but I wouldn’t be trusting anything anymore.

So, yes, OP, life here can be complicated and not exactly easy in some ways. But you will take chances in the States, too, with job stability. The government job may be a treat, but government workers get laid off, too–starting with the newest guys.

In a situation like this, what can you do but close your eyes to the potholes and run flat out for the hurdles? Sometimes, with enough momentum, you fly right over the potholes before you’ve had a chance to worry about them, anyway. Just decide what you want out of life and go for it straight on.

In my firend’s case, I sort of see this as a good thing dressd up as a bad thing. She needs to get on with some things and has been very reluctant to do anytihng that she needs to do. She’s afraid to moving forward–for very understandable reasons. She’s been staring at her potholes for too long. But now she’s going to have to do something.

34

There’s supposed to be a big demand in pilots coming in over the next 10 years so it’s not a bad choice.

35

Becoming a pilot is a long road. You have to work a year or two as a flight instructor for low wages until you get enough hours to get a job flying for an airline.

36

But it’s a long-term career with good benefits, these days most jobs are unstable, being a pilot is not easy to jump into but probably a good lifetime job, at least until they have pilotless planes which are a ways off yet!

37

Well, I am very keen to give flying a shot if the government job does not work out.

38

“You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave.”

39

I remember posting this thread. It is interesting to read it again, almost 8 years later. Funny, I left Taiwan to work for the United States government. Finally, I am back traveling again.