For a while I've been planning on doing the TEFL thing in

>>1167213
Bumping out of interest

>>1167213
>Recently I found out that's gonna be a no-go, not gonna get into the reasons why
Then why mention it?
Tell us what's up or you will receive 0 (zero) replies

Also, just get a proper job.

It's relatively easy to find work here; I only needed to apply for one job here and I had the interview that week and was then offered the job. Could be a little harder, but there's always a need for teachers (you might even want to consider the larger cram schools as they have a lot of support and more opportunities for pay). If you have all your documents with you, a degree, and a TEFL, you'll be fine. My TEFL isn't completed and I was fine.

I'm assuming that you'd get 90 day visa-free entry, which you're 'technically' not allowed to use for the purpose of looking for work, but can do it. In that case, just have a plan and enough money to support yourself. Typically speaking, the price of renting a room in Taipei is quite high, and for the same price you can have a flat in another town. Anyway three months is ample time to find a job, if you apply yourself you can get one quickly.

I came here with about £1,000 and managed to make it work, although it involved living and working in a hostel for nearly two months and was less than ideal. But I chose to base myself in Taipei, if I based myself elsewhere it would have been easier.

The average pay should be around 580NTD an hour, which is very good. I work 16 hours a week, most of the other living costs are cheap, but because I can't get more hours I'm a little capped with money (I draw and paint so I don't really mind). If you can do 20 hours a week you'll be fine, if you did 30 hours a week you'll be excellent. You get taxed quite a bit for your first 6 months though, but it works out alright.

Honestly, my life is really good here and I'm really happy. While I don't have a huge amount of money, I live comfortably enough and am slowly getting more hours. Before this, I lived in London, I've gone from working 50+ hours a week just for a room to eat and sleep in, to working 16 hours a week to have a room, and time to walk, draw, paint, learn Chinese, eat, meditate, exercise, all sorts of shit.

>>1168735
What's your rent cost, and what part of Taipei do you live in, if you don't mind me asking?

I hear some people say Taipei rent is "really high", but from what I've seen, it's nowhere near the prices of Toronto where I live.

>>1169014

It's the Vancouver or London of Taiwan. Of course the prices are going to be high. It's all relative. That being said, Taipei is way fucking cheaper than any major city in the western world.

A lot of people who live in Taiwan think Taipei is too expensive for what you get in comparison to the rest of the country/don't like living in the city. It's just personal preference, and whether or not your salary adjusts enough for the higher cost of living.

Teaching in Taiwan is a bit more serious than it is in China.

>>1169014

My rent is 10,000 dollars a month, for a medium sized double room in Daan. I share with two people, we have two bathrooms and a kitchen. The people are great and I was quite lucky, although some Taiwanese people think it's expensive. Daan is right in the centre of Taipei and it's the one of the most expensive areas, but it's still like 1/4 of my salary. In London I paid over half of my salary so I'm quite happy. I'm about 5 minutes walk to my MRT station.

You could find cheaper rooms near Shida or elsewhere, I've seen as low as 6,000. The only thing is, you'll need to use English unless you're reasonable at reading and speaking Chinese. There's a FB group called "Looking for Roommates or Apartments in Taipei and Taiwan." which can give you an idea. One of the troubles is that everything is a little Taipei-centred.

The reason people say it's really high is because for the price I pay for my room, I could get a two bedroom flat for myself in somewhere like Taichung or Kaohsiung.

>>1169043 is right, basically. For anyone coming here to earn and save, I'd say live outside of Taipei. I would also say that teaching in Taiwan is a bit more serious, I think it's harder to get a shady job here too. But cram schools are a strange thing, I've worked at a few different ones now and they really vary.

>>1169100
>you're reasonable at reading and speaking Chinese
Does Taiwanese Chinese use er'hua?

As in 'yi dianr'?

>>1169572
Nope. They understand it though

>>1169100
>>1169043

Thanks for the info. I don't mind getting a room in a shared place, having an apartment to myself gets lonely.

What region of Taipei would you recommend for me?
I'm male 23 years old, Da'an sounds more like a family environment, should I try to get a place near the University to meet people my age group?

>>1169789

I wouldn't worry about location too much, Da'an is a little quiet but it's kind of sandwiched between all the good places, and it's really easy to get around. Shida & 101 are about 10 minutes cycle away, and I'm like 5 minutes walk from the 'main' street in Taipei. Basically, it's really easy to get around the centre. Also, I notice that I don't spend a huge amount of time in any one area. Meeting people is pretty easy too. Anyway you should probably look to Shida/Gongguan, but most central places are fine- I just ought to emphasise that it's really really easy to get around.

If you can come and look around before hand is ideal. I stayed in a hostel for a month and a half looking all over so I had a good idea of what I did and didn't want.

>>1169950
Thanks for the advice man. I'm flying to Taipei tomorrow. Where is a good location to meet people? Any specific bars or places?

>>1171107

To be honest, I haven't been out that much, but it's quite easy to meet people. On Tap is supposedly an English pub but it's rather more American, anyway it's kind of easy to meet people there. Check out FUCKING PLACE too. If you want you can go to Brass Monkey, there's one near Taipei 101, but this is kind of like, halfway between a meatmarket and a, I don't know. It's just the sort of place where you don't feel like you're anywhere. Ximen is a really nice place too.

I haven't been to nightclubs here but check out nightmarkets, it's nice to hang around and get some food and drink a beer or two. Taipei has quite a lot of facebook groups that are helpful, you can use meetup too.

If you haven't before try MOS BURGER when you get here.

>>1171648
>Brass Monkey
Don't eat the food there. I used to work across from it; the first time, the fish in their "fish and chips" was rotten, the second time, they didn't cook the fucking hamburger and I was sick for two days. And when I write "didn't cook", I mean the inside was fucking raw. I didn't notice it until after a few bites because they keep the lights too fucking dim to see.

>>1169789
Near Gongguan/Guting is probably nice for the younger crowd.

If you want clean air, move to Danshui.

Anyone know about Changchun, Hefei, and Urumqi? I have to put my preference between these three cities for my second round of interviewing. Urumqi seems interesting but I heard they're a little strict on Muslims there (I am Muslim). I tried making my own thread but am not getting a response so I'm trying here as well.