Job Discussion Forums

[Aristotle]

I saved over 2000US$ a month my first year here and lived comfortably. Of course back then the NT$ was worth something.

[brian]

[Klamm]

I'm laughing with you, right?

K.

[oliverzhang]

[quote]I am trying to decide between teaching in Taiwan or on the Mainland in Shanghai or Guangzhou.
[/quote]

[Klamm]

It's easy to get into a dogfight. I'm generally very happy here and want to let others know about other options. The thing that does make me consider Taiwan is $. Very simple. Money is a reality. You make and save more in Taiwan from what I hear. I can make and save 500US+ no hassle and working less than 20 hours a week but saving 1000US a month is not so easy. China may move its Yuan 5 - 20 percent against the Dollar, though. That's looking more and more likely. Goldman-Sachs had a report that predicted China would move the Yuan at 2.5% every three months over the next year or two. A recent Harvard economist guru predicted a 20% rise over the next two years. The election in America may affect things. Bush will do nothing on the matter whereas John Kerry plans to push China and even Japan on currency issues. The mainland, at least in the major cities such as Guangzhou (where I live), Beijing, and certainly Shanghai could become as financially strong options as other developed countries in the world. Perhaps in a few years.

I wasn't going to knitpick through every silly thing other posters said. People are intelligent on this board; read and comprehend as best you can. It will benefit your life. Ignore generalizations and assumptions. Just to pull one, I have very nice housing provided by my school with home computer ADSL, nice shower and bath etc... . Maybe not everyone but that's why you look around and don't take a job with the first school that offers. You wouldn't do that in Taiwan would you? Plenty to pick from and you are definitely a commodity in demand here.

Enjoy your life in any case.

K.

[Aristotle]

Unfortunately money may be the primary motivation for everyone and everything on this island.
Money is what the locals worship and value more than most anything else.

[TaoyuanSteve]

[Horizontal Hero]

I've done both places, and on the whole I'd prefer Taiwan (but am currently in China). Personally I like a bit of culture, and I like to talk politics, philosophy and such stuff. In China there is no such thing as politics or philosophy, and the culture has all but been reduced to 15 minute tourist traps. The plotics/philosophy all just regurgitated Party propaganda. I haven't had an intelligent conversation with a Chinese natonal yet, and that is in two and a half years. I've given up actually. You might as well have a conversaton with a tape recorder playing a Party propaganda tape. I had a conversation with a Chinese teacher here recently. Ia sked him what he taught "Jingjixue" was his response. i had forgotten that was economics, but he calrified it for me whan he said Makesixue (basically Marxism). So, in China economics and Marxism are synonyms, at least as far as the theory goes (in practice, nothing could be further from the truth). In fact the entire population is brainwashed with nineteenth century pseudo-Darwinist/Marxist nonsense. I never heard such naive nonsense coming from the mouths of people as I've heard in this country.

The pay is also frustrating. Looking for a decent-paying job is a real pain, as most places offer peanuts. And it can be expensive here. Try living on even 10 000Y in Beijing or Shanghai. Unless you live like a tight-wad, the cash flies out the window real fast. I saved heaps in my time in Taiwan. After two and a half years here, I actually find I have lost a little money (I've got a few things to pay off back home).

The other thing is the slowness and the beaurocracy - it takes forever to get anything done. - take this computer at the school, for example. The Net connection went down two weeks ago. Despite my constant complaining, it has only just come back on today. And if you ever come to China, never, ever go near a bank...

One good tjhoing about China is that there are far more places to go during your holidays - some amazingly beautiful places amidst all the endlessly drab cities - Yangshou and Kunming/Yunnan are my favourites. You can't see that stuff in Taiwan. The people here are also more innocent. They are so indoctrinated and controlled that they know sh.t - which is actually kind of nice sometimes (at least during the times it is not annoying the hell out of me).

[Klamm]

Good points. I'm sure Taiwan has a lot to offer beyond money. China does, too. I can definitely sympathize with getting tired of having to skirt philosophical/political issues or risk getting a spew of peremptory communist drivel. Ug. I avoid the issues altogether, even if I sometimes feel the urge to discuss them.

I remember one class where someone brought up an island dispute between Japan and China. One girl calmly explained that both Japan and China feel it is their island and exactly who has actual and legal holding or rights over the island is difficult to know. She got an earful of angry students: "Are you Chinese!? It's China's island!"

So, yes, China has things that tire one. It's also a developing country and sometimes you find yourself missing the more organized developed world (then again, you'll probably miss the developing world chaos when you leave at times too...).

I guess there is a lot to consider when looking at the two countries -I mean one.

K.