Job Discussion Forums

[jum]

hi everyone,
I'm still new to all this. Say if ONE of my goals of going to TW to teach english, on average... how much $US can i expect to save (after all expenses) ?? Bearing in mind that i am able to save as well as have a social life. I would appreciate any comments that you have.
thanks

[Okami]

I'm sorry your question is too vague, but I'll still try to give you an idea.

What do you want to do here as far as travel, household possessions, and social life? Will you be working for a chain school or a smaller organization? How many hours week will you work? What do you like to do for fun?

Let me give you some examples of my situation:

Now I work 18 hours a week and still easily save $200US a month and still have a respectable social life without going to bars except maybe once a month.

When I worked 30-35 hours week, I could save $1000US a month, but I had less free time and was tired from teaching that much. I had a social life, but now it is much better annd after getting rid of my ex, I now have a deeper pool of friends. I try to keep a good mix between teachers and non-teachers amongst my friends.

When I worked 45 hours a week, I could save $1500US, but all down time was spent sleeping or just getting mundane things done. I also spent a lot of money eating out, because grocery shopping and cooking were inconvenient. I could only keep this schedule up for 3 months and saw no reason to make it a habit.

A lot of expenses will disappear for you when you move here(namely car insurance and vehicle expenses). Find out how much it costs for you to live back home(including rent and utilities for a place) and then just deduct $500US from that amount and that should be about what it costs you to live here. Most people live on $25-35,000NT a month. You can get your student loans deferred(economic hardship) which is a godsend. Not having to pay them every month has allowed me to save enough to pay them off. You'll need to open your Roth IRA in the US. Seems they don't like to open those for Americans who live overseas at least for Vanguard.

Give more info and we can work from there.
Okami

[taiwan boy]

I posted this in another thread.

[canadiangirl99]

I had a lot of trouble saving any money in the first 6 months of living here. The inital outlay for deposits on apartment, furniture, motorcycle, etc drained my funds each month. After the 6th month I started to be in the black again, so to speak. I didn't bring very much money with me to Taiwan so perhaps that was part of my problem.

I think how much you save is directly preportional to your nightlife/social life and how many hours you plan to work at your school. I think you should give some thought to what you want to accomplish before you get here.

Also it depends what area you plan to live in, my rent is high since I live in an expensive area of Taipei.

Any thoughts on loan defering for canadians? I have only heard americans mentioning it on this forum.

[Sunpower]

How many hours do you want to work?

You can work 9 hours a day or 3 hours a day?

7 days a week or 5 days a week?

Legally or illegally?

Do you like to drink and smoke?

Eat out in Western style restuarants and pubs/bars?

Do you spend a lot of money on clothes/travel?

As posted by, Okami, I think - Your question is too vague.

I work part time hours - 30 hours/7 days a week.
I sent home $1,600 a few days ago from my April earnings.

[jum]

thanks heaps for your replies....
no i don't drink or smoke...
i don't mind the long hours or the amount of days .... so roughly i'm looking at about 30-40 hours per week.
i would only eat out if i have to. but i'm ok with cooking for myself and packing my own lunches everyday....
i do like to shop.... but only for things that i really "need".... things i "want" are usually set aside for those extra ocasions when i feel the need to.
Travelling??? what do you mean by that?
of course i would like to do some cultural activities... and sightseeing... but i'm still not too sure whether i would need to travel around to do that...
or do you mean travel back to home country for a wee holiday?