I am (not yet) a Taiwanese School Teacher
June 17, 2009 11:10 PM Subscribe
Travelfilter: Help me, oh well-traveled ones! (Taiwan, language schools, etc.)
My wife and I would like to do something interesting before we pass our thirties, and as we were recently informed that our presumed-safe-for-perpetuity jobs are, in fact, being sold out from under us, we've decided to take that as a kick in the pants.
We want to go to Taiwan and teach English. (We both have BAs in English and I have a Masters of Education and three years' teaching experience.) We've done research on the various language school programs (and are leaning towards Hess, just for the size and apparent reliability of it) and my wife has done a lot of browsing on various ex-pat sites to pick up tips. My question for the hive-mind is:
What's a good way to find apartments to sub-let and/or roommates in Taiwan? We've looked at hotels, hostels, and getting our own place, but we really think living with someone who knows the area (and the language) would really help get past some of the hurdles of moving to a completely foreign country. However, neither of us has any idea what the local version of Craigslist is, nor do we necessarily want to trust our lives and well-being solely to our Internet Crazy Filters. More specifically, we'd like to arrange this sort of thing for a short term stay, as well; we'll be going out on a fact-finding mission in October. Is there a way to find extremely temporary lodgings that aren't hotels/hostels? (If there are any Taiwanese Mefites who don't mind playing host/tour guide for two or three weeks, MeMail me!)
Any other tips for living cheaply and/or cost-effectively would be appreciated, as would tips on interesting places to try and see. We're debating between Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung as home cities, so any compare/contrast anecdotes for those would be nice. (For instance, I have chronic asthma and we've heard Taipei has an air-pollution problem, so...)
My wife and I would like to do something interesting before we pass our thirties, and as we were recently informed that our presumed-safe-for-perpetuity jobs are, in fact, being sold out from under us, we've decided to take that as a kick in the pants.
We want to go to Taiwan and teach English. (We both have BAs in English and I have a Masters of Education and three years' teaching experience.) We've done research on the various language school programs (and are leaning towards Hess, just for the size and apparent reliability of it) and my wife has done a lot of browsing on various ex-pat sites to pick up tips. My question for the hive-mind is:
What's a good way to find apartments to sub-let and/or roommates in Taiwan? We've looked at hotels, hostels, and getting our own place, but we really think living with someone who knows the area (and the language) would really help get past some of the hurdles of moving to a completely foreign country. However, neither of us has any idea what the local version of Craigslist is, nor do we necessarily want to trust our lives and well-being solely to our Internet Crazy Filters. More specifically, we'd like to arrange this sort of thing for a short term stay, as well; we'll be going out on a fact-finding mission in October. Is there a way to find extremely temporary lodgings that aren't hotels/hostels? (If there are any Taiwanese Mefites who don't mind playing host/tour guide for two or three weeks, MeMail me!)
Any other tips for living cheaply and/or cost-effectively would be appreciated, as would tips on interesting places to try and see. We're debating between Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung as home cities, so any compare/contrast anecdotes for those would be nice. (For instance, I have chronic asthma and we've heard Taipei has an air-pollution problem, so...)
Best answer: Forumosa is a pretty good expat website. Their forums have plenty of archives discussing the nitty-gritty of finding a job, apartment, etc.
Currently, the teaching market is in a bad shape now. I've chatted with people who have been here for 15-20 years and they've been saying right now it's the worst that they've ever seen. You might have better luck finding work somewhere in the sticks, like Taoyuan county.
Taipei city is indeed much more expensive than the rest of the island while the salaries for the entry-level teaching positions here are the same, but the air isn't quite as bad as Kaohsiung or Taichung.
posted by alidarbac at 12:27 AM on June 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
Currently, the teaching market is in a bad shape now. I've chatted with people who have been here for 15-20 years and they've been saying right now it's the worst that they've ever seen. You might have better luck finding work somewhere in the sticks, like Taoyuan county.
Taipei city is indeed much more expensive than the rest of the island while the salaries for the entry-level teaching positions here are the same, but the air isn't quite as bad as Kaohsiung or Taichung.
posted by alidarbac at 12:27 AM on June 18, 2009 [1 favorite]
I just want to second Forumosa even though it's been years since I used it (actually, its previous incarnation, Oriented.org). It was really useful for me, and the people were pretty friendly and helped me get hooked up with someone's old cell phone (free) and various other things.
Good luck!
posted by wintersweet at 3:56 PM on June 20, 2009
Good luck!
posted by wintersweet at 3:56 PM on June 20, 2009
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Taiwan has an awesome standard of living, yo can get an apartment and eat out on an English Teacher's wage easily.
Personally I prefer Kaohsiung.
Kaohsiung is much smaller, but in the south so the people are more Taiwanese rather than Chinese- I love the south, there is heaps to do and see, and it's much cheaper that Taipei. There is also Taidong, Kenting, Tainan nearby. The south is more relaxing and heaps more fun.
Rent is cheaper in Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung has really come a long way, and now it would be a cool place to live- Taipei has it all, but Kaohsiung is better located- more westerners in Taipei, besides the HST takes you to Taipei in 90 minutes.
Taichung is BIG and busy, and I would not live there.
Good luck- and have fun- it's an awesome place.
posted by mattoxic at 12:02 AM on June 18, 2009