Job Discussion Forums

[edgrimley]

My biggest obstacle to gambling on teaching ESL in Taiwan is accommodation, so it must be others too. I, for one, am not interested in the effort and expense of setting up house. In S.E. Asia, whether teaching or holidaying, I simply rent hotel rooms according to my daily or weekly needs. More than a month in one place? BORING! In Cambodia and Thailand (perhaps even Vietnam) it's more convenient and better value to *not* establish roots - more privacy too. Of course, Taipei is not Bangkok or Phnom Penh.

So here's my idea (I might do it myself, but I am suggesting others might want to do it too - maybe many already are)...

After having targeted a particular city (mine is Chiayi - 'cause I hate metropolises and like proximity to moutains) prearrange shared accommodation possibilities. No point having a headache about daily living while looking for a job.

Perhaps there are entrepreneurial foreigners renting houses or large apartments (even wharehouses - hey I'm not proud - all I need is a quiet bed, shared toilet, place to roast tofu and veggies and proximity to buses) and subdividing for pure functionality. Charge by the week or month - no hassles with electric bills, buying furniture, etc. Hook up a common phone rigged to not permit long distance calls. Pay off the local cops if that is required to run a biz tax and regulation free. A foreigner friendly slum lord! Or if that doesn't suit you be a den mother- charge more for square meals and Chinese translation guide service.

I envision various specialty flophouses or actual homes - for vegetarians, party animals, non-smokers, women only (I'll join - 'I've always felt like a lesbian trapped in a man's body', as Woody Allen once quipped). They could be not-for-profit or gouging as the market will allow, or somewhere in bteween. Must make a profit or at least cover one's ass (damage deposit but no fraud like Japanese landlords).

Why suffer the indignity and high price of a dorm when we could do it cheaper (?) and better (!) ourselves. Ah, visions of being a Mrs. Doubtfire myself!