Japan is better in terms of the environment (less pollution, cleaner buildings), money to be made, and entertainment, but it is awfully expensive.
Korea is hell - but you can make a lot of money by teaching privates. However, the Koreans have a bad attitude to foreigners, and the buxiban bosses will definitely cheat you.
China: very low standard of living, and you won’t be making much money. Horribly polluted and noisy. This is also true for Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia.
It’s harder to get a job in Malaysia and Singapore.
Taiwan has a lot of faults, but on average it seems to me that it is the best choice: less polluted than the other places (except Japan), fewer hassles with bureaucracy than in China or Korea, can make more money than anywhere other than Korea or Japan, cheaper than Japan, easier to get along with the locals than in Korea, etc. Also, most foreigners, if they want to learn a language at all, will want to study Chinese or Japanese. Not many are interested in studying the languages of the other places listed.
I’m getting used to Taiwan (2.5 years), but it’s taken me much longer than my two years in Korea. I lived in Seoul and it’s unfair to make a direct comparison because I live in one of Taiwan’s smaller, southern cities. However, I would say now that Taiwan is better in some ways.
There’s certainly much more palatable food here that is much more accesible than Korea (except the Korean kalbi–which is to die for 
). I’ve also started Mandarin lessons and that makes a huge difference.
OTOH, Korea offers more teaching opportunities for adults than Taiwan and the wages are similar to teaching kids, if not better in some cases. Taiwan’s much more teaching kids but that’s okay if you don’t mind kids.
Somebody also mentioned that if you stay in Taiwan too long, you may feel like an outsider in your home country when and if you return.
Another poster said you feel like an outsider here (in Asia), no matter how long you stay. These are very insightful comments. But I’d rather be here than in Canada, having to pay high prices for almost everything worthwhile and having to go to a place called a ‘liqour store’ for my beer and having someone tell me when and I’m allowed to buy it. 
(And I don’t really drink that much!).
Not to mention the fact that if you sneeze in traffic you get a $150 fine. Here in Taiwan pretty much anything goes as long as you mind your own business…kind of. 
And how about that nice, high Canadian/American income tax? And even higher rent?
And hey…do the garbage trucks in Canada have electronic symphony music pouring out of them as they come to collect the day’s trash? 
Working, living and playing are three different things.
I think Taiwan scores best for working and living: reasonable wages, ok opportunities, low taxes, general living environment ok.
For playing, I guess Thailand would be the best place in Asia, with its culture, beaches, stylish but cheap handicrafts, and the nightlife of course.
Every country has its positives and negatives, but on the whole, for someone who has to make a living in a normal job and doesn’t make millions, Taiwan is one of the best places to be.
Well what about HOng Kong?
Fuck HK.
HK does have it’s plusses in the sense of ease of living in regards not having the local language and the rule of law, other than that it’s expensive, the natives are surly and their food sucks. Give me my HK salary in Thailand and I’ll never scowl again.
One of the big negatives for me about Taiwan at the moment is the slide in positive changes to the law that once made it such an exciting place to be. When I first arrived in Taiwan there was a sense that things were rapidly changing for the better. I don’t get that feeling anymore.
HG
Fuck HK. … food sucks… HG[/quote]
You’re mad. Probably the best food, and the best selection of food in the world. The selection and quality of Chinese food in HK shits all over what’s available in Taipei now. You simply can’t (for example) get real Sichuan food anywhere in Taipei. I used to frequent three excellent Sichuan restaurants in Taipei back in the day. The selection of western food in HK is amazing.
Curry?
However, the availability of great Japanese food here is one of Taipei’s/Taiwan’s selling points for me. But the disappearance of Chinese restaurants and the Taiwanesification of everything into a world of bland tastelessness is very disappointing.
Yeah, well, the law here is a funny old thing. Traffic fines, speeding tickets, having your driving licence curtailed because you’re a foreigner, and all that sort of shit is not very nice, but the sort of the inevitable window-dressing the Taiwanese go in for. (As long as it looks good - it is good). But I suppose we can live with that - I’ve had a Taiwanese driving licence for 11 years, but now it’s only valid as long as my ARC because I’m foreign scum. So be it. We know the government hates us, but I would have to agree with your last point. None of all that matters - but there is a definite sense here now I think that time is running out. Sure the guys doing well here won’t give a damn as they’re already set up, but the rest of us…? Well, we’ll be in Shanghai like everybody else. Last person to leave please turn out the light. [Dons flame-proof jacket]
Ok. I have lived in a) Taiwan, c) Hong Kong, and d) Japan.
I have lived and worked in all three.
Japan is completely out of the running for me. First of all, the cost of things in proportion to what everyone’s making (I include the average Japanese person in that statement) is ridiculous. No one can afford their lives here. No one can even afford to go out for sushi or get their tatami mats professionally cleaned or travel inside of the country or anything. Everyone is just paralysed by prices except the top 7% of earners in Japan. This place is so BORING and yes there is some fancy food but no one can afford to actually eat it so who cares. Every year, there is a parent or uncle who commits suicide in my town because of unemployment issues.
The people here don’t seem to be that happy…maybe it’s because they are broke. And, yes, the air is clean. That is the smell of nothing going on…
Hong Kong rules. I am moving back to Hong Kong permanently in 5 months. THE FOOD is fantabulous (esp. the curries), the city is gorgeous, the laws are all written in English, and most importantly, after I live there continuously for 7 years in legal employment, I become a permanent resident without restrictions and can vote, open my own business, buy and sell property, even run for office…unlike Taiwan, where foreigners are always 2nd best under the law. Also, there is a tremendous amount of money to be made there…and the income tax is 1 percent.
Taiwan rules. The quality of life is extremely high, with the best food in the whole world, especially the amazing Japanese food to be found there. Great bookstores, friendly people, fun expats.
Taipei and HK are tied for first place…life in HK is more reasonable in the long-run re: laws and feeling like you are a part of the city…but life in Taipei is so good, especially with the extra friendly locals.
Important caveat If you are into Chinese girls, Taiwan is better than Hong Kong because most HK girls will not consider dating a foreigner re: income…and Tawainese girls are so lovely and helpful and friendly. Of course, the easiest girls are the Japanese girls but usually unable to provide conversation, whereas the average HK girl or TW girl will be smarter and more industrious than her expat boyfriend. Of course, I am grossly overgeneralizing here but you get my drift.
Oh I do, or I think I do. Do you not think you should read it again and then weigh up which is better, Taiwan or HK?
HG
Taipei’s chinese bookstores rule over HK’s. (of course, can’t say the same about english bookstores).
why doesn’t Eslite open up a branch in HK? HK in general does not seem like a society that cares much about the life of the mind/spirit. They’re too busy making money and struggling to meet the stupendous mortgage payments of their rabbit-hutch flats.
Nonetheless, HK is still better than taipei in many ways…
How do I get on this luxury cruise? Care to share how someone would get a job over there. I assume you are going to be a teacher. Enlighten us
I was hired as a teacher in an international school. I will be teaching full-time music. I am actually returning to this job after having ‘done time’ in Japan as a high school English teacher. Blech. My pay will actually be times 2 in HK after taxes: here I make 262 000 yen per month, there I will be pulling down about 480 000 yen per month.// Having said all of this, if you are not yet certified as a teacher, but you have a BA, experience, and a TEFL cert…PM me and I can get you a job in HK through my connections…seriously…but you must be a regular Forumosa poster.
Do you not think you should read it again and then weigh up which is better, Taiwan or HK?
HG[/quote]
Dude, sounds like you’re in heaven…but not everyone on this board is into the same thing.
I am happy for you, though:)
If you are a qualified teacher (oh shit, I feel like I entered a minefield . . umm, you know, you can teach in a high school in your home country?) the gig here is bloody amazing. I’ve met a few teachers in HK, all seem well paid. It’s something called NET . . which, I think means native English teacher.
HG
[quote=“Kick-Stand”]
Important caveat If you are into Chinese girls, Taiwan is better than Hong Kong because most HK girls will not consider dating a foreigner re: income…and Tawainese girls are so lovely and helpful and friendly. Of course, the easiest girls are the Japanese girls but usually unable to provide conversation, whereas the average HK girl or TW girl will be smarter and more industrious than her expat boyfriend. Of course, I am grossly overgeneralizing here but you get my drift.[/quote]
Don’t get your drift as to how this is an important caveat. This part of the post almost sounds like it could be apart of the 2006 Fodor’s Guide for Sailors. When are certain guys gonna stop adding these little admends? It reduces women to the level to the useful things to have when travelling as oppose to talking about the culture in general.
Its not just the teaching profession where the pay in HK is very good relative to Taiwan. In the finance industry, compensation in HK is 2-4 times that of taipei. Plus lower taxes. Sure, housing is more expensive in HK. But net net, you will likely save much more money in HK given such drastic wage differences.
In the finance and law industries, the potential for making money in HK is amazing.
It takes its toll on your body, though I have 2 Canadian friends, both teachers, and both had surgery on their lungs for different reasons while living in Hong Kong. Both people are under the age of 30 and otherwise healthy, non-smokers. One surgery was to reconstruct a collapsed lung which had become punctured with an airborn filament. The other surgery was to remove a benign tumor from a lung.// In my case, when I was living in HK in 2002/2003 (keep in mind this city is just slightly south of Shenzhen and Guanzhou by about 5 km and 30 km respectively), I remember there were days when there was a lot of ozone in the air…chemical pollutant, not just particles and smut…and I couldn’t catch a full breath.
I think Taipei’s air is pretty clean.
[quote=“Kick-Stand”]In the finance and law industries, the potential for making money in HK is amazing.
It takes its toll on your body, though I have 2 Canadian friends, both teachers, and both had surgery on their lungs for different reasons while living in Hong Kong. Both people are under the age of 30 and otherwise healthy, non-smokers. One surgery was to reconstruct a collapsed lung which had become punctured with an airborn filament. The other surgery was to remove a benign tumor from a lung.// In my case, when I was living in HK in 2002/2003 (keep in mind this city is just slightly south of Shenzhen and Guanzhou by about 5 km and 30 km respectively), I remember there were days when there was a lot of ozone in the air…chemical pollutant, not just particles and smut…and I couldn’t catch a full breath.
I think Taipei’s air is pretty clean.[/quote]
Just when you thought you had to fear falling Air Cons, now this :loco:
It is clean, relatively speaking of course. The air in HK is a toxic soup. Think about it, something like 95 million people around the Pearl River Delta and a vast chunk of global manufacturing at low cost (read limited pollution control and sod all wages). When the wind blows in from China, you can see it move.
Fortunately, earthquakes are extremely rare in HK, so peering out for falling air cons is vastly an old Taiwan habit. However, there is a scary campaign at the mo’ to get people to get windows in high rises maintained. There is also the issue of leaping maids and free-falling failing students.
HG
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]
Fortunately, earthquakes are extremely rare in HK, so peering out for falling air cons is vastly an old Taiwan habit. However, there is a scary campaign at the mo’ to get people to get windows in high rises maintained. There is also the issue of leaping maids and free-falling failing students.
HG[/quote]
HG you know that falling air cons is quite common in Hong Kong. Or used to be. Heck, I was there in the beginning of the year and read about something along that line that fell out of someone’s window. There’s always something falling from those windows. 
:s Used to be down in Tsim Ta Tsui, but now that place is so freaking clean, that I wasn’t sure I was in HK for the moment.
Hmm, I’m sure Laos has its downsides as a teaching destination but horribly polluted and noisy? Did we go to the same country?