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Relocate to Taiwan?

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  1. #1

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    Relocate to Taiwan?

    I was reading Hemlock's post today and thinking how much I have enjoyed the last few times I have visited Taiwan. It's true that the cities and towns are not much to look at, but it is a "country", so you can get out of the town into some real mountains, countryside or coastline. But basically, it's the general vibe of the place that makes it attractive to me. Certainly something Hong Kong could have, if it was allowed to have it.

    Has anyone lived / worked in Taiwan? Anything to say good or bad? The main thing I can see is having to learn Mandarin - unlike Hong Kong I think you need to speak the local language to survive. That wouldn't be such a bad thing though.

    Thoughts?


  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by drumbrake:
    I was reading Hemlock's post today and thinking how much I have enjoyed the last few times I have visited Taiwan. It's true that the cities and towns are not much to look at, but it is a "country", so you can get out of the town into some real mountains, countryside or coastline. But basically, it's the general vibe of the place that makes it attractive to me. Certainly something Hong Kong could have, if it was allowed to have it.

    Has anyone lived / worked in Taiwan? Anything to say good or bad? The main thing I can see is having to learn Mandarin - unlike Hong Kong I think you need to speak the local language to survive. That wouldn't be such a bad thing though.

    Thoughts?
    Taiwan has a much more relaxed atmosphere. If you were planning to keep working, you would need to focus on living in Taipei if in professional services, or you could look at Kaohsiung if you were a teacher or similar. Taiwan offers an investment visa which is pretty low entry, but for sure it would be a tricky move initially if you lack the language.
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  3. #3

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    I lived there for three years and absolutely loved it. Everything about the place is pleasant. It's a "just right" country: weather, excitement, politeness etc. If you like cycling then the hills are the best in Asia. Great hiking as well.

    You will find that you will get by without Mandarin but you will need to learn to enjoy the place more.

    The one big negative is that it can be a career dead end. Most smart Taiwanese are now working in China so the talent pool that remains is not great. The economy has been stagnant for over a decade. If you work for a multinational then your senior bosses will forget you. So it's a nice place to move to if you want to relax a bit more.

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  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by greenmark:
    I lived there for three years and absolutely loved it. Everything about the place is pleasant. It's a "just right" country: weather, excitement, politeness etc. If you like cycling then the hills are the best in Asia. Great hiking as well.

    You will find that you will get by without Mandarin but you will need to learn to enjoy the place more.

    The one big negative is that it can be a career dead end. Most smart Taiwanese are now working in China so the talent pool that remains is not great. The economy has been stagnant for over a decade. If you work for a multinational then your senior bosses will forget you. So it's a nice place to move to if you want to relax a bit more.
    Pretty much sums up what my friends who lived/worked in Taiwan said. Good for life-style. Bad for career.

  5. #5

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    I have some Taiwanese friends and went there a couple of times. It is really nice city to live in and the cost of living is also way cheaper then Hong Kong. However as mentioned by greenmark the career options are just so-so.


  6. #6

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    It's not always about career and $$$$

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  7. #7

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    Re Career - depends.

    What I have seen around me is that for mid level management in HK, it was a way to get a top management position in Taiwan (small country/economy) and then after 3 years or thereabout moving on to a top management in a bigger place, ie Korea/Singapore, and then again moving up to a bigger place, ie Japan/HK as top management.

    it all depends how your firm works.


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by drumbrake:
    I was reading Hemlock's post today and thinking how much I have enjoyed the last few times I have visited Taiwan. It's true that the cities and towns are not much to look at, but it is a "country", so you can get out of the town into some real mountains, countryside or coastline. But basically, it's the general vibe of the place that makes it attractive to me. Certainly something Hong Kong could have, if it was allowed to have it.

    Has anyone lived / worked in Taiwan? Anything to say good or bad? The main thing I can see is having to learn Mandarin - unlike Hong Kong I think you need to speak the local language to survive. That wouldn't be such a bad thing though.

    Thoughts?
    I have friends who lived in Taiwan for a few years before they came to Hong Kong and they loved it. Always raving on about how great the place was. But yes, they had to learn Mandarin!

  9. #9

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    And for the opposition - I lived there for 5 years (in Taipei), and loathed it (and before someone comments on why I didn't get out earlier, I was committed to a project I Believed In).

    Upside was the ability to get up into the mountains (with private transport) and down the east coast - spectacular scenery and a relaxed pace of life.

    The downsides were corruption, bureaucracy, tolerance of violence in society generally (OK, my work meant I saw a lot of that side of things, but it's definitely worse than HK), shonky infrastructure/ building standards, the banking system, casual racism towards the aborigines. Oh, and that any beach within day-tripping distance of Taipei makes HK's beaches look like paradise.

    Cho-man likes this.

  10. #10

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    Recently, a lot of HK people are talking about migrating to Taiwan too - everything cheaper, bigger living space and also nice people. It should be an ideal place for us to retire.

    It is not good for youngster as salary there is only around 1/3 here due to lower living standard.


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