Job Discussion Forums

[stavrogin2001]

It is all hard to say. I have been living in China and I think that you could start here with 200 US, but if you ask most people here they will say at least 500. I guess we all spend differently and need different things.
I have been living in Chinese culture for several years and find that box food and street food offers really cheap living if one must. In this way I think that Taiwan cannot be much different. They are still Han.

Do most schools pay for the paperwork getting an ARC and such?

[Wonder]

Don't rely too much on the school because they will want all of their money back eventually....it happened to me and when you feel indebted to the school it really sucks!

Bring as much as you can, stay in a hostel and go on the cheap for a few months. Eat nothing but Chinese food and buy beer at 7-11.

[stavrogin2001]

Thanks Wonder.

Did you find your job on your own or through a recruiter?

[Big John Stud]

stavrogin2001 wrote:

It is all hard to say. I have been living in China and I think that you could start here with 200 US, but if you ask most people here they will say at least 500. I guess we all spend differently and need different things. I have been living in Chinese culture for several years and find that box food and street food offers really cheap living if one must. In this way I think that Taiwan cannot be much different. They are still Han. Do most schools pay for the paperwork getting an ARC and such?

I didn't know you have been living in China for so long! If you are used to hard core then you don't need so much money. Is that true you can get started in China with only $200? Wow is china cheap! However can you make enough money to save?

Anyway I take back my previous statements. I thought you were coming from the states and used to an easy life. My fault for assuming. Anyway from this post, I think you probably only need $1,500 Australian dollars worth of Taiwan NT.
Like the above post wrote: You don't want to owe the school anything or feel obligated to them.

[Aristotle]

1000 to 2000 CD$ should suffice until you find work.

[TaoyuanSteve]

Not sure where the 1.3 million or 800000nt dollar figures are coming from, really. Those are ridiculous figures. I'm sure very, very few English teachers ever came here with so much cash. You don't need anywhere near that much to start here. Perhaps if you want to buy your first appartment here... I think if you trust where you are going and have accomodations pre-arranged, then you can definitely start here with what you have. You are also correct that small cafeterias and street vendors are cheap. Likely not as cheap as the mainland, but still cheap. I just had a bowl of pai gu mian for 50nt. If you know how to live in a Chinese place, much of that experience will be applicable here. Still, as I said earlier, the more money the better.

[stavrogin2001]

Thanks again.

Yes the mainland is cheap! I guess it depends where you are. If you are in Shanghai, Beijing, or Guangzhou it is a little more expensive, but even the paigu mian and nuirou mian is about 2 yuan a bowl in most of the places I have lived. Life is cheap if you can live like a local. The problem with most honkies, is we like to have the things from home and that costs money. Here a TGI Fridays dinner or Outback Steakhouse dinner is anywhere from 50 Yuan to 150 yuan a person. This is high living. I can live 2 weeks on what some spend on one meal.

The average Northern Chinese family, not in Beijing or Dalian, can live on 500 to 1000 Yuan a month. So if you can live like this you can save about 200 US a month, still not too much.

This is why I have no money to move with.