Job Discussion Forums

renzobenzo1 · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 85

I have Korean teaching experience and that is all.
I will probably go job-hunting when i arrive there...

I don't like really heavy pollution but some is ok.

I want somewhere with good entertainment and a high-paying job....close proximity to the beach is a big plus but not essential...

Any thoughts?

Thank you.

jwbhomer · Joined: 14 Dec 2003 Posts: 876 Location: CANADA

Yes, I have a thought. I think you should learn to spell the name of the country in which you want to work.

renzobenzo1 · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 85

Okay, spelling mistakes aside....
any constructive thoughts?
Thanks

travelgoddess · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:55 pm Post subject: Tainan

I lived in Tainan about 4 years ago, so not sure how diff it is now.

Tainan is good if you have a family or a very active social life in place already. OR if you like drinking yourself silly often with the other ESL teachers that are there. I had a hard time finding activities other than this, and I lived there almost a year. I ended up writing a lot and going on long scooter rides, oh, and going to Taipei for art museums and English language bookshops about once a month.

But Tainan is still very polluted and had probably only gotten worse since i have been there. Can anyone name a city in Asia that isnt? Not sure.

The cost of living is lower in Tainan than in Taipei, so I saved more than my Taipei buddies, but like I said, there was much less variety on entertainment as well, much less. There were a movie theatre that played American blockbusters in English (the Taiwanese had to read the subtitles).

Honestly? I say go to Vietnam! haha. I just came back from there a few months ago and I really enjoyed the variety of things to do as well as the openness of the people (they are as aggressive as people say, but had such a great sense of humor!). I was in Hanoi, so if you want more info on that, drop me a line.

I am glad I lived in Taiwan, but I dont really have the urge to return. Vietnam I a trying to get back to for the summer season. We shall see.

Steph

surrealia · Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 241 Location: Taiwan

I've taught in several cities in Taiwan. I think Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei have the most in terms of teaching jobs. Kaohsiung is the most polluted of the three, but the others are pretty bad, too. There's a lot of things to do (museums, bookstores, movie theaters, pubs) in all three. Kaohsiung is not far from the beaches of Kenting.

For more information, I recommend these sites:

http://www.geocities.com/allhou/taiwan.htm

http://www.geocities.com/allhou/teachtai.htm

hunter21 · Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 8

pest2 · Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 170

OP,

I heard u are going to Hsinchu.... If you already found a job here and that job doesnt suck (as, relative to what you found in Korea, most of them do), you will be pretty happy. The town is nice. Its windy alot, but that seems to mitigate for the bad air by blowing it all south, somehow. The city has a few good shopping malls and a night market, the people are really friendly,... all in all.. again, if your job works out... its probably going to be alot better than what you had in Korea.

parrothead · Joined: 02 Nov 2003 Posts: 342 Location: Japan

I am bumping this to continue the theme.

If you could live and work anywhere in Taiwan, where would it be? Why?

Anywhere you would definitely not want to live?

MomCat · Joined: 02 Dec 2004 Posts: 297

Under 35 - Taichung - Largish city, newer, cleaner than most. Looks affluent. Good weather. Younger, but smaller, expat community. Good, central jumping off point to explore the Island.

Over 55 or to teach adults - Hsinchu - Smaller, inconvenient older city with bizarre, random attempts to modernize/beautify. Older, settled, largish expat community. Science Park provides a flow of adult learners.

mandalayroad · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 115

If I went back to Taiwan, I'd probably choose Kaohsiung with its many canals through the city and close proximity to nice breaks at Kenting resort. Tainan also has it's traditional charms. Taichung has a nice college town atmosphere but there's no big bodies of water nearby. Hualien is nice for a vacation to Taroko Gorge but too boring to live. But if you want to learn Mandarin or make the big money, then Taipei is the place to be even though the pollution will make you ill and the traffic congestion will drive you insane.

yamahuh · Joined: 23 Apr 2004 Posts: 1033 Location: Karaoke Hell

t-asia · Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 51 Location: Thailand

Hi, surrelia

''Book stores'' - does the average city book store have a broad range of titles, credible titles, and quality titles, i.e. Fitzgerald, etc, etc? Curious.

And might most book titles be less than two pounds (GBP)? Had you wondered into a bookstore by chance of course> had you>, then you might be able to offer a ball-park figure. Curious t-asia.

surrealia · Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 241 Location: Taiwan

Some of the better English language bookstores in Taiwan are Page One, Caves Books, Eslite, Bookman Books.

Page One seems to have the best selection. They're located in the Taipei 101 building:

http://www.pageonegroup.com/taiwan.html

Caves Books has been around a lot longer, and they're your best bet for finding ESL books:

http://www.cavesbooks.com.tw/caveinfo/caveinfo_englishversion.aspx

Prices vary, but are often more expensive than if you bought them in the U.S.

surrealia · Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 241 Location: Taiwan

Here are two other bookstores:

Crane
http://www.crane.com.tw/cranebook/model_index.cfm?CONSULATENO=12

Bookman
http://www.bookman.com.tw/

Both of these bookstores have lots of books on English teaching, linguistics and literature, as well as other things. They both have branches in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung.

englishmaster · Joined: 03 Sep 2004 Posts: 118

I spent over three pretty good years in Taichung, and only left because I got sick of Taiwanese students. Besides having relatively congenial weather, Taichung is small enough to be manageable, especially with its grid-like streets in the downtown area. There are many foreign restaurants, including French ones (I like French food), plus an art museum and science museum. Across the street from the latter is a large Caves Books branch that can accommodate your reading needs. The supermarkets have decent steaks and Australian wines, etc.

Being in the middle of the west coast (only a little inland from the beach), you can zip to Taipei or Gaoxiong by high-speed rail. Indeed, Taichung is nearly equidistant from all the important parts of the island.

Am even considering returning!