I must’ve been because I have an intense breast fixation. You’d know it if you saw the girl in question.
Come on XinBeDe, you are just bursting to make a disclosure!
(I’m kidding.)
If I were to start a business in Taiwan it almost certainly would have nothing to do with my current profession.
I would be looking to start an import/export based business, there are a lot of NZ made products that the Taiwanese go nuts for and seem to be willing to spend money on.
I am currently a consultant and contract engineer to a number of organisations in New Zealand in the enterprise and internet service provider space, I work with them on network security and routing platforms. Generally this is Juniper, Fortinet and Mikrotik.
I have worked as a sales engineer as well as a trainer for Fortinet in the past, so there is a possibility I could try and weasel my way into working for their Taiwanese office…
But really, I would much rather take a break from working in such a stressful role with long yet random hours. I can almost certainly pick up enough work that I can do remotely to make a living while I get some sort of import/export business off the ground.
Thanks for all the feedback, even the negative stuff was useful and I had a few good laughs at some of the comments.
[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]pgdaddy: I worked in the junior high school system for two years. It’s pretty draining on the kids. The kids were meant to get there at 7:30am to do all the cleaning or tests, and would get out around 5:00pm or so. Some would have buxiban to go to, or music lessons. All would have a fair bit of study to do at home. They also had weekly tests in most, if not all of their classes, and big monthly tests that lasted for days. It’s all basically to make sure that everyone is keeping up so they won’t do badly on the really big tests.
Year nine in particular is hellish as that’s what counts towards senior high school. The year sevens were a fairly happy, energetic bunch in the main, but you could see them gradually get worn down over the next two years and by year nine, many had really retreated into themselves. Many of the kids were still really nice kids, but you could see all the time that they were really tired. Every day, there would be a parade of kids lined up outside the offices for being late (i.e. sleeping in too late), and at almost any time of the day, a walk past the classrooms (especially the year nine classrooms) would reveal usually one kid, and often several kids, asleep or drifting off in class. I asked one of my year eight classes one day how many hours of sleep they got per night. The most was seven. The least was five. The reason they collectively offered was because they have so much study to do. It’s pretty intense.[/quote]
Yep, without having any experience of the secondary education system in Taiwan I kind of guessed that there was something basically very wrong with it by looking at the characters of the people it turns out. But my fears don’t relate to that so much as to the mixed race kid being bullied or victimised. If I had contact with my son, I could teach him to fight back if he was bullied, but I don’t. Anyway, it’s good to hear that those posting here who actually have children inside the Taiwan education system don’t have stories of such victimisation. Sorry to interrupt this thread, anyway.
Not so sure about the “importing NZ goods that TW go nuts for” sounds fishily like “peddling crap to make a quick buck”, which is good if it works, but nothing worse than having a house full of worthless junk
I vote for risking it all, great job, family security and house/income with understood culture and language on a gamble in a foreign land trying something you’ve never done before with laws and regulations you know nothing about and written in a language that is unreadable for the bounty, if you happen to be succesful, that you will not attain the same level of income or standard of living in NZ and with the added pain of a MiL …
[quote=“MadeInNewZealand”]If I were to start a business in Taiwan it almost certainly would have nothing to do with my current profession.
I would be looking to start an import/export based business, there are a lot of NZ made products that the Taiwanese go nuts for and seem to be willing to spend money on.
I am currently a consultant and contract engineer to a number of organisations in New Zealand in the enterprise and internet service provider space, I work with them on network security and routing platforms. Generally this is Juniper, Fortinet and Mikrotik.
I have worked as a sales engineer as well as a trainer for Fortinet in the past, so there is a possibility I could try and weasel my way into working for their Taiwanese office…[/quote]
I think you should really elaborate more before doing such thing.
As someone mentioned, taiwanese salaries are pretty low compared to countries such as NZ, except mainly for english teachers, as they have to attract the furiners. But for other positions they consider taiwanese can do (such as import/export), bear in mind you will be competing with people who work a lot for little money. And also that those people will have little money to spend on your products.
Again, if you think you have hard working conditions in NZ, don’t expect them to be any better in taiwan…
Taiwanese are willing to spend money on NZ products, but the importers buy in bulk and they want a LOW price. I know as my wife helped a company import stuff to sell on the TV commercials here, deer antler skins etc., they always cut the price about 5 times, even after signing contracts! You of course could try the same thing but it will be a steep learning curve.
Haven’t read all of the posts but thought I’d add what we’ve ended up doing. My wife and I lived in the UK since (and before) marrying and had a daughter who is now just over two. We were both keen for her to learn Chinese and it was evident that with just Mum speaking it it may be hard with everyone else speaking English at home. We decided that at least a year in Taiwan may be a good option. We arrived back here in November, with our daughter at 20 months old. It worked out rather well as we have a second baby due any day now and after a difficult pregnancy in England, being in Taiwan is a good idea for my wife’s peace of mind.
What’s happened so far:
We enrolled our daughter in a nursery type school - I was shocked that there were pretty much no part-time options available so we’re paying full time but pull her in an out as we want - still cheap compared to the UK despite the poor exchange rate at the moment. We usually have a couple of day trips out in the week and usually collect her at 4.30ish rather than the what seems to be usual 6.30. It’s worked out really well, school is mainly just playing and no English lessons (bonus). When we arrived she spoke mainly English but over 4 months her Chinese has become really good - whilst at the expense of her English I’m not bothered as I’m sure she’ll catch up when we return. She can say even quite complex sentences like; ‘who’s outside coughing, is it the neighbour?’. ‘Don’t look at me, I’m doing a puzzle’. ‘Daddy gave me the milk yesterday so today it must be Mummy’s turn’. Whilst there’s still some way to go it will hopefully be a basis for continuing her Chinese in England.
We had in our mind anyway that we could never stand the school system here but seeing family member’s children who are 5 and 7 and the constant extra lessons, tests and homework has only reinforced this.
We’ve visited Taiwan a lot in the past, sometimes for a few months at a time. However, nothing prepares you for being here with a child. Things I’d never considered a problem before became one; no walks to the local park, going anywhere with a pushchair is impossible due to the traffic, lack of pavements etc. Lack of outside space, pollution, mosquito bites, the heat. All things that have had quite a big impact. Not to mention the difficulty of trying to keep a routine of early to bed - family can’t believe it’s possible for a baby to sleep from 7pm to 7.30am and somehow think we’re cruel we’d want to sleep in a separate room or not take them to a night market at 10pm!
Anyway, a combination of the above and the fact that our daughter has really made much better progress than expected means we’ve decided to go back after only eight months - in June when the new arrival will be three months or so. Whilst the UK has many problems, we’re lucky to live in a nice area, with great family and friends around and a good lifestyle. Our eight months will have been just right for me and perhaps something you could consider - maybe saving in NZ now would allow an 8 month ‘break’. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to work remotely and run a few businesses as projects that provide reasonable income whilst I’m here.
Our daughter will be starting at the local nursery for a couple of days a week soon after we return and really there is no comparison to anything in Taiwan:
thefarmyardnursery.co.uk/3_p … llery.html
We’re lucky, we had options and my wife and I agree about most things childcare related, particularly the education system (the word system used very loosely) here, but I can imagine things being very different and complicated if she felt that in fact things were better here. My wife has put a few articles and has had quite a lot of feedback about comparing childcare and the education systems on her blog (in Chinese) that hopefully someone may fine useful, especially if prodding a wife about a return ‘west’!:
In particular:
emily.docutoaster.com/%E4%B8 … %E6%AF%8D/
emily.docutoaster.com/%E6%84 … %EF%BC%9F/
emily.docutoaster.com/%E8%83 … %E8%A6%81/
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide in the future!
Steve
Tobie is a friend of mine. Very genuine guy - if you ever get the chance to meet him, do so.
Tobie is a friend of mine. Very genuine guy - if you ever get the chance to meet him, do so.[/quote]
Totally agree, which is why I posted the links to the articles he and his son wrote on education in Taiwan. I would be inclined to believe his take on the matter. Solid bloke. 
I have a very happy and relatively easy life in Taiwan running a manufacturing and export company. Without a doubt the happiest people I know here have their own business or a specialist high-end position.
Taiwan happens to be one of the easiest places for foreigners to start a company and there are lots of opportunities here for anyone who can spot them. Exporting from Taiwan is much easier than importing foreign goods.
I’m not worried at all about my little boy living in Taiwan but it’s much easier to say that because I lived here a long time before I even met my wife, let alone had a kid.
Welcome to The Island, hope you have a good time here :discodance:
I’m inclined to agree with you completely on that!
I don’t think you will be able to make much with IT skills in Taiwan even apart from the language barrier.
You could definitely look at the export route as Taiwan is well setup for that (but it also requires some expertise in product and capital risk). Then there’s always the idea of opening a coffeeshop/restaurant.
I would have thought the racism from other kids towards hapa kids would be worse in places like NZ than in Taiwan?? anyone know what’s it like for a mixed kids growing up in NZ?
I’m very late to this thread…
A) Pay/living standards/living costs, etc. are 1/3 to 1/4 the west. If I were to pick up a job here in the same industry as back in the USA (heavy electrical construction), I’d make 1/3-1/4 of my USA pay.
B) If you want a job with a western standard of pay, you have to find a western company in the west willing to send you to Taiwan as an expatriate with hardship pay. If you are hired locally, you will be paid at local standards.
C) Because of the non-linear nature of Chinese grammar, they can’t write code here. All the heavy programming is done by imported east-Indian labor. If you are involved in IT and can’t speak Chinese, this is your competition. The pay scale is great by east-Indian standards. Miserable by western standards.
D) The original poster stated that he wanted to pick up a little Chinese in 3 years. In 3 years of full-time, devoted studying, a westerner with no background in Chinese might (and it’s a big might) be able to read a newspaper. With a dictionary. And a local sitting next to him who can answer questions. Maybe. You will be able to speak Chinese (poorly) much earlier, but you will not be able to read it without a massive investment of time.
Around 10% of the population in NZ is Asian, racism does occur but it is not at all common.
I have already found a way to have a steady income in Taiwan, now we just have to find one for my partner!
[quote=“MadeInNewZealand”]Around 10% of the population in NZ is Asian, racism does occur but it is not at all common.
I have already found a way to have a steady income in Taiwan, now we just have to find one for my partner![/quote]
That’s great news, you’re half-way there.