You can't leave Taiwan, struggles or happy moments

Tonto, jump on it!

Tonto, jump on it![/quote]
Well … quite. Kudos to you for starting your own business, but if you’re not going to market yourself, you’re not going to make any money. And that’s not Taiwan’s fault.

It might be worthwhile to hire someone to do this for you, at least on a part-time basis. It’s a rare person who can do everything that needs doing in a startup.

Tonto, jump on it![/quote]
Well … quite. Kudos to you for starting your own business, but if you’re not going to market yourself, you’re not going to make any money. And that’s not Taiwan’s fault.

It might be worthwhile to hire someone to do this for you, at least on a part-time basis. It’s a rare person who can do everything that needs doing in a startup.[/quote]

Do you know anyone who is good at marketing? I sure dont

TL,I am not saying that Taiwan is easy, and goodness knows I thought it sucked on several different levels when I was living there, but: I do agree with what others have been saying here that you would benefit from adopting a more positive approach:

  1. You’re not really stuck in Taiwan, you have a passport (are you a Taiwanese citizen or do you hold a foreign passport ?), so you can physically leave. Depending on your passport, whether you are actually allowed to settle anywhere else is a different matter.

  2. Maybe it would be a good idea to take a break abroad, anywhere, just to get your mind clear and get a perspective on things. A foreign holiday does not require a lot of money. Get a cheap flight to the Philippines (e.g. with Cebu Pacific) and chill out in a wooden cabana in a beach resort for a week or two.

  3. Social opportunities in Taiwan ? I never cracked that when I was living there, but again I had the wrong attitude. You are not going to make friends with Taiwanese people in the street/ in the elevator/ in 7-11/ random people in Starbucks or even a pub because that’s what most Asian societies are like, people are not outgoing to strangers (no difference here in Malaysia, although they are much more relaxed and easy-going here). In hindsight, when I was in Taiwan I should have tried something like hashing , I am sure I would have made friends that way.

  4. Business- well yes, you are going to have to be more aggressive; you said yourself that other luthiers have more business than they can deal with- so what are you waiting for ? Drop a note through their letterbox if you are shy !

Good luck to you, TL, I empathise with you and hope that you will find your happiness.

If you’re good enough word should spread but it will take time. However you need to get off your butt and make it happen. Off the top of my head I would suggest engaging with facebook groups devoted to playing guitar in taiwan, leaving cards in music shops and music schools and connecting with guitar players via open mic sessions etc. the key though is to actually engage people don’t just spam them.

If you want some more advice/ideas I’ll happily swap you for a set-up on my acoustic.

Get an image of your icon playing a guitar + your business info and hand out free tissue. Or better yet, dress up like a frog playing the guitar and wander around in traffic bothering motorists, sooner or later the news channels will advertise for you :laughing:

you would need to figure out how to do the colour-flashy background thing, though.

It’s all about your frame of mind and habits. I’ve had some things fail the last few years. It’s been hard and disappointing but I’m still happy most the time. I could dwell on why or and how bad it is, but that won’t get many anywhere. Having a plan in order to achieve some goal is very important, I think. It gives focus and meaning to the day to day boring stuff. It can also bring you somewhere better. In addition to that, exercise has done wonders for me. I feel refreshed and happy every time. Another thing I do is avoid the shit – night markets, bars, in-law’s house…

I checked your www first before replying. I just feel that your rant about Taiwan is a similar one from others whom did not see (yet) the light at the end of the tunnel.
Most humans dislike a place before anything / anybody else if the going gets though.
Yet, you seem to know the solution but you put a barrier for yourself. If you think that making your name and fame within the luthiers world is “begging” you will have to reconsider your strategy.
If i’d be you, i would visiting any single music instrument store in the North as to deliver an A4 with your expertise. If one on 10 reacts and it creates increased business / income, Taiwan will look an sound better. Good luck !

Give Taiwan Luthiers a break people. I know you mean well but he’s asking for people who feel trapped here to share their stories. He wasn’t asking for a lecture on the powers of positivity. His situation is quite particular, and not one most of us would like to be in. We have the likes of superking jumping in with the Pollyanna pep talk, and then asking “Um, yeah, what is it you do?”

Although Taiwan Luthiers’ posts tend to the negative, he has his reasons, it’s obviously not the whole picture; no pessimist would try to make a go of his craft in the way that T.L. is doing.

The “feeling trapped in Taiwan” topic is a worthy one. There are some interesting historical Cold War cases, too, from Tibetans brought here by the CIA for training to Lisu tribesmen from the Golden Triangle brought here as part of a fake withdrawal of KMT soldiers from the area.

[quote=“almas john”]Give Taiwan Luthiers a break people. I know you mean well but he’s asking for people who feel trapped here to share their stories. He wasn’t asking for a lecture on the powers of positivity. His situation is quite particular, and not one most of us would like to be in. We have the likes of superking jumping in with the Pollyanna pep talk, and then asking “Um, yeah, what is it you do?”

Although Taiwan Luthiers’ posts tend to the negative, he has his reasons, it’s obviously not the whole picture; no pessimist would try to make a go of his craft in the way that T.L. is doing.

The “feeling trapped in Taiwan” topic is a worthy one. There are some interesting historical Cold War cases, too, from Tibetans brought here by the CIA for training to Lisu tribesmen from the Golden Triangle brought here as part of a fake withdrawal of KMT soldiers from the area.[/quote]

Nice twist of the words there AJ, going from ‘rant, stuck here through marriage, employment, hate it, ANY struggle trying to adjust to life in Taiwan,’ to your version of events, ‘asking for people who feel trapped to share their stories.’ :smiley: This thread had got ‘bitch about Taiwan,’ written all over the subtext. Is that what people really need to do, hate on Taiwan? Again? Doesn’t it grow weary seeing these same threads pop up again and again and again? I asked a question about teaching the other day and got TWO replies. Some guy sticks a four pound bottle of scotch in his pocket and the server goes into meltdown with people who can’t WAIT to jump on him or blame the locals for something. For example, the ‘ridiculous convos with locals,’ thread is essentially the, ‘I am superior to the Taiwanese because…’ and actually makes me wonder why these people who post these conversations don’t have the sense to walk away from them and persist in seeing them through to their grizzly end. My posts were an attempt to stop the whole thing descending into a 20 page diatribe about why everything from the length of the number 3 highway to the growth of fingernails on bears are annoying and frustrating to someone who has moved to Taiwan and wants to blame Taiwan for it. I asked about his job later as it had seemed to be coincidental at the start and only became more pertinent later on.

‘Feeling trapped by your situation,’ IS a worthy topic of discussion. I am not so sure this thread was going to be about that. I sensed more along the lines of, ‘gripe about people from Taiwan.’ Maybe I am wrong and have no idea which way is up or down, but it looked very much like that to me.

But anyway, in every thread where someone moans about some aspect of their life somebody else tells them to be more positive and to wise up and then someone else pipes up with ‘just let him blow off some steam.’ THAT is the game. The game of FLOB. Until next time, my darling, until next time…

[quote=“superking”][quote=“almas john”]Give Taiwan Luthiers a break people. I know you mean well but he’s asking for people who feel trapped here to share their stories. He wasn’t asking for a lecture on the powers of positivity. His situation is quite particular, and not one most of us would like to be in. We have the likes of superking jumping in with the Pollyanna pep talk, and then asking “Um, yeah, what is it you do?”

Although Taiwan Luthiers’ posts tend to the negative, he has his reasons, it’s obviously not the whole picture; no pessimist would try to make a go of his craft in the way that T.L. is doing.

The “feeling trapped in Taiwan” topic is a worthy one. There are some interesting historical Cold War cases, too, from Tibetans brought here by the CIA for training to Lisu tribesmen from the Golden Triangle brought here as part of a fake withdrawal of KMT soldiers from the area.[/quote]

Nice twist of the words there AJ, going from ‘rant, stuck here through marriage, employment, hate it, ANY struggle trying to adjust to life in Taiwan,’ to your version of events, ‘asking for people who feel trapped to share their stories.’ :smiley: This thread had got ‘bitch about Taiwan,’ written all over the subtext. Is that what people really need to do, hate on Taiwan? Again? Doesn’t it grow weary seeing these same threads pop up again and again and again? I asked a question about teaching the other day and got TWO replies. Some guy sticks a four pound bottle of scotch in his pocket and the server goes into meltdown with people who can’t WAIT to jump on him or blame the locals for something. Fpr example, the ‘ridiculous convos with locals,’ thread is essentially the, ‘I am superior to the Taiwanese because…’ and actually makes me wonder why these people who post these conversations don’t have the sense to walk away from them and persist in seeing them through to their gizzly end. My posts were an attempt to stop the whole thing descending into a 20 page diatribe about why everything from the length of the number 3 highway to the growth of fingernails on bears are annoying and frustrating to someone who has moved to Taiwan and wants to blame Taiwan for it. I asked about his job later as it had seemed to be coincidental at the start and only became more pertinent later on.

‘Feeling trapped by your situation,’ IS a worthy topic of discussion. I am not so sure this thread was going to be about that. I sensed more along the lines of, ‘gripe about people from Taiwan.’ Maybe I am wrong and have no idea which way is up or down, but it looked very much like that to me.

But anyway, in every thread where someone moans about some aspect of their life somebody else tells them to be more positive and to wise up and then someone else pipes up with ‘just let him blow off some steam.’ THAT is the game. The game of FLOB. Until next time, my darling, until next time…[/quote]

It’s much easier for us who are now living outside Taiwan to urge positivity in others though isn’t it ? My attitude towards Taiwan has changed from “hate” to “understand and cope” and even “appreciate” gradually since I left, although this could be because my personal situation with my two boys in Taiwan has improved.

But I understand why TL feels the need to both rant and encourage ranting in others. It’s the only way he can cope in an environment where he feels alien and unable to express his emotions and frustrations to anyone around him. I would say that the majority of foreigners living in Taiwan go through this but those who stay find their own way to cope with it (such as becoming part of a family, finding a social/ sports scene , or alternatively going into isolation or alcoholism …).

I don’t think that the “bizarre conversation I had with a local” thread is a mask for arrogance or feelings of superiority over Taiwanese people, Superking. I mean some expats (especially us Brits) like to whinge about anything and make no effort to immerse themselves in the local culture or learn the local language- and I try to stay well away from such people- BUT that thread is really not meaningless whingeing, it’s a meaningful chronicle of the common frustrations that Westerners face in Taiwan when interacting with the locals, and often this is when we are just going about our own life, not bothering anyone else and it’s the local person that initiates the interaction- don’t tell me this kind of thing never drove you crazy when you were on The Rock ?

And these frustrations are specific to Taiwan, which is why I don’t consider it as aimless whingeing. You are going to get a different set of frustrations living in other Asian countries although there are overlaps.

I think that this forum exhibits a great balance of the positive and negative about Taiwan. If anyone is considering moving to Taiwan, then there is no better place to look than Forumosa. Trust the instinct of those that post here and don’t try to suppress the negative, they will say positive things when they are ready.

Well said, pgdaddy1. It’s easy to be positive when u can leave. And TL stated in his op he wants this thead to be about bitching and venting, not think puppies and butterflies.

TL’s sitch is very different from all of us posting in here. If i remember correctly, he has only a tw passport. He grew up in the usa, but due to visa issues his parents didnt sort out for him, he returned. He finished his military service, worked minimum wage jobs because he didnt have a college degree. He feels the usa is his home, but is banned from there for the time being. Tw is foreign to him though his parents and family are here. Wouldnt most of us be pissed if we were pulled from the only place we know and put somewhere we dont know and told that is where we will live and make a living even though the language, culture, food, way of life are so different?

TL, i think after being pissed, you gotta turn the frown upside down. But this thread aint about loving yourself, taiwan number one, so i’ll stop now and let you continue your bitching. Im glad you can use forumosa as therapy for you! And think at least you have something familiar here in tw on this forum where u can share hour thoughts and feelings.

It must be tough to feel lost and neither belonging here nor there. I hope u find peace soon.

Truth is everywhere sucks. I see it all the time, friend gets antsy in Taiwan, talks about going home and setting up shop, ‘will look into it on my next trip home’ but then when they come back from their trip, they are pretty fuckin happy to be R-O-C-K’n back in the R-O-C.

Grass is always green on the other side. IMHO (and maybe you don’t want to hear this), not making money is what has you down, you want to travel, but can’t, you feel limited. Living in fuckin Kandahar could be awesome if you were raking in the dough and contemplating your next jaunt to some sunny island where you will go get drunk and get fucked.

I know it is a popular to do something you love and you should love your job and all that bullshit but I like to quote the great philosopher Jeleestone who once quipped:

Money can’t buy me happiness
But I’m not pissed when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
Japan to Amsterdam, mic in my hand

Its simple, make more money and work out that work/life balance shit. ya heard?

Just thinking, don’t like wearing suits, 9-5 jobs, crappy weather, sound a lot like my own experience. Maybe you don’t like living in Taipei. There are other places in Taiwan.

[quote=“Deuce Dropper”]Truth is everywhere sucks. I see it all the time, friend gets antsy in Taiwan, talks about going home and setting up shop, ‘will look into it on my next trip home’ but then when they come back from their trip, they are pretty fuckin happy to be R-O-C-K’n back in the R-O-C.

Grass is always green on the other side. IMHO (and maybe you don’t want to hear this), not making money is what has you down, you want to travel, but can’t, you feel limited. Living in fuckin Kandahar could be awesome if you were raking in the dough and contemplating your next jaunt to some sunny island where you will go get drunk and get fucked.

I know it is a popular to do something you love and you should love your job and all that bullshit but I like to quote the great philosopher Jeleestone who once quipped:

Money can’t buy me happiness
But I’m not pissed when I can buy what I want, anytime that I want
Get high when I want
Japan to Amsterdam, mic in my hand

Its simple, make more money and work out that work/life balance shit. ya heard?[/quote]

Come on now DD, we have to get with the programme. The guy, according to others, doesn’t want to hear advice about how to cheer himself up, he wants to vent and have others pile in with their misery. I used to feel that Taiwan sucked when I was there, and now I am not there I realise that it was my situation and not Taiwan that sucked… but I left, so apparently I am in the wrong for having any sort of opinion based on my experiences. It is normal to rant ands want others to join in, but apparently it is not normal to tell someone, “I went through the same things and it wasn’t helpful to me at all.” Make yer own damned mistakes, people. :smiley:

I’ll bite :slight_smile:

I’d say my number one problem in Taiwan that drives me mad is that fact that banks and government agencies (and quite a number of people) treat foreigners as nothings that exist in their realm but serve no purpose. It is almost like being a non person to these types of people.
The veneer can seem polite but in reality they want you out of their face sooner than later.

Now I always preface this with the fact that my local friends are not like that and it is the only thing that keeps me sane.

Just as an aside to pgdaddy. YES< you can meet Taiwanese people in the street, in the elevator, in cafes, at bus stops. Because that is where i met most of my friends. So you absolutely can !

[quote=“dan2006”]I’ll bite :slight_smile:

I’d say my number one problem in Taiwan that drives me mad is that fact that banks and government agencies (and quite a number of people) treat foreigners as nothings that exist in their realm but serve no purpose. It is almost like being a non person to these types of people.
The veneer can seem polite but in reality they want you out of their face sooner than later.

Now I always preface this with the fact that my local friends are not like that and it is the only thing that keeps me sane.[/quote]

Don’t banks and government agencies do this to everyone everywhere?

I am sorry if this sounded like a bitch and rant thread… it often comes out like that… I guess I was kinda following the spirit of those other threads like “interesting conversation with locals…” “weather sucks”, etc… I initially was hoping that other people would bitch and rant too and I guess it was kind of a share your experience thing. I should change the thread name to better reflect the sharing of experience rather than bitch and rant (although there’s a fine line between them and both can easily be the same thing.

A little clarification about my situation, my parents are not here, my dad is still in the US and my mom passed away in Houston, and her grave is there too. To think that I am not even allowed to go there to pay my respect doesn’t make me like the situation any better, and my dad’s response towards the whole thing is basically “head in the sand”. I know of many ways to do stuff in America and I am familiar with all the advise some of you guys gave, but the problem is they do not work in Taiwan. Industries in Taiwan are really closed off until they know you, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a professional or not. There are only a handful of music shops in Taipei (probably about 4 or 5) that carries anything serious, the rest is just mom and pop “learn an instrument so you don’t go out and do drugs” kind of shop that have no interest in luthiers (they would find my services too expensive). The few shops that carries anything serious have no need of my service because they have their own people to do the work for minimum wage (and their quality is minimum wage too). I tried advertising through modernmusician.com.tw but the problem is my chinese writing skill is limited (no Taiwanese wife to help with this) and they want 4000nt a month… I can’t afford that.

Let’s hear about what your situation is like… I know none of you are truly stuck here but some people are, maybe you love it, maybe you hate it. It could be commitment, legal or otherwise…