Job Discussion Forums

[aretheregods]

This is my first post here in the cafe but I have been cruising the forum for about 4 months now.
I have a bachelor's degree and I have been set up with a job with Kojen English school through Reach to Teach. That particular process has gone well so far.
I will be leaving to go to Taiwan later on this month - i.e on the 25th of June. And all is well except the fact that when I get to Taiwan I think I might only have about a 1000 dollars U.S. They say that you need maybe 1500-2000 to survive but I more than likely will only have, as I said, about 1000 to start off. I live pretty frugally and generally walk pretty much everywhere - even here in the states - and eat simply - I'm pretty thin and don't need a lot.
I don't drink and don't actually enjoy going to clubs or bars.
My question is, is it possible to get by on just 1000 in the first month? Will it be hard to find a good apartment or flat? I take it food is not that expensive since I actually look forward to finding the cheaper local cuisine.
I have a job with Kojen and from what I've heard they pay okay so if I can save maybe 750 U.S. a month that would be good for me. I am just worried about that first month.
Will 1000 U.S. be enough to get by?

[Ferfichkin]

I would have starved to death for sure, but maybe you can do it. You will definately need to live with other people, and you will have to eat Chinese food almost every meal for the entire month, but I think it might be doable. If you get a shared apartment for 5000nt per month, plus two months deposit, that will run you 15,000nt, or around $500US. That's totally possible; I rented a room for 5000nt per month when I first moved here. For food, you can definately eat for 300nt per day, or around $10.00US. You can eat for less it you wanted to, it's possible, but I think to eat for much less than that, for an entire month, could start to get unhealthy. So, that's $500US for rent and $300US for food. That brings you to $800US. Now you've got to think about transportation. It could be zero, or it could cost you $60US or more, depending where your home and your branch are located. Then you need to get your health check (Kojen doesn't pay for that), which will cost you another $30US or so; I can't remember. And.....I don't know, but all those other little expenses that you didn't think about or didn't know about. Basically, I think it might be possible to survive until your first pay check, but it's not going to be pretty. If I were you, I would definately look into the Kojen housing offer. I think they only give you one free week, but who knows, maybe they could help you out and take your rent out of a future pay check or something. You never know. Anyhow, good luck.

fich

[forest1979]

You can get by....just...but it wont be pretty.

I would say that your greatest expense, housing, is what you need to be most careful with and given you (very) limited starting budget you shall need an element of luck in finding a decent place to live (shared), and at a cost that is affordable. Don't forget other factors. Whether you eat a lot or not, you still need to eat, plus you might need to travel back and forth from home to work. While Taiwan is cheap in this regards add it up over a month, and it could be a fair chunk of your non-housing budget. The cheaper housing is in suburban Taipei - great - but then you need to add on extra travel costs.

As the previous poster said, you have health costs to consider, so I would beg for an extra US$200 to bring, just as a back up. If you can get more then you'll be, of course, much more confortable. The first month can be expensive, so be as prepared as you can. I remember spending US$1500 on getting by (excluding housing).

[BJ]

As everyone has said, accommodation will be your biggest problem. Unless you can find someone willing to share with you, and accept the basic.
You can live on 500 nt a day reasonably easily if you eat chines breakfast food, and lunch boxes, but you will have little at the end and no fall back money.
It will be an experience for sure. perhaps ask Kojan if they know of any accommodation, Groups like HESS have starter housing packages.

Check out the hostels in the bigger cities or the cheaper hotels, for 500 US you should be able to get hotel accommodation whilst looking for a room, the other will cover food and transport.

[Miyazaki]

as a footnote to this discussion, i've had friends blow into taipei from bangkok and stay in 'gaijin' houses / guest houses (near taipei main staion - happy family ????) but arrange to pay a month after they arrived. they needed their 1st paycheck to pay for accomm. the onwers let them stay and agreed to be paid a month later. worth a try.

eat a lot of noodles.

[Taylor]

Hello OP (Original Poster),

Congratulations as you make 'the big move' to Asia.

Your timing is pretty good. June is a good time to arrive in Taiwan. You should qualify for the lower tax rate, and the language schools have new classes opening for the kids who are on summer break as of July 1.

Which city will you be located in? I have 10 years of experience in Kaohsiung, so I know that city quite well.

Do you have online banking? I have a Bank of America account which was great to have. It is really rewarding to get a stack of 1000 New Taiwan notes from your hard work teaching. Then you take the cash to a local bank. After a few hours and a few small fees, the cash shows up in your US account as US dollars!

While you may not technically need a Taiwanese bank account to do this, you might as well get one established. You will probably need an ARC (Alien Resident Certificate) to do this, but you can wait a few weeks--especially since you will need to keep most of your cash & income to cover expenses.

Feel free to e-mail me at taylorclint 'at' gmail 'dot' com. (The Private message system on this board is a bit clunky....)

I am back in Texas now, but my wife is from Taiwan--so it will always be our second home (if not first!)

Best wishes,

Taylor

[steve_c]