Job Discussion Forums

[SpedEd]

I got a job offer from somebody in Taoyuan City. Has anyone been there and have a good/bad opinion about the place? Thanks in advance.

[mangoholic]

I live in Taoyuan County, right on the divider line of Taipei County. I don't want to sound overly negative, but I think Taoyuan City is a dump. Convenient for getting to the airport, but beyond that...nothing. Maybe someone here can correct me.

[forest1979]

Taoyuan has a number of advantages: it's cheap; it's a great place to practice Chinese - there's few English speakers, you'll be able to save cash. Aside from that it's the kind of place that makes people smile when they leave. However there's plenty of other examples of these kind of places in Taiwan.

[SpedEd]

Thanks people. It's sounds like one of those rogue cities that nobody wants to teach in. Now how about some really good cities to live and work in? Thanks in advance.

[wix]

Taoyuan is not that exciting as you have gathered from above. However, it is close to Taipei, about 30-40 minutes by train. You can easily live there during the week and escape to Taipei on the weekends.

As far as places to live in Taiwan go it depends what you are looking for. Taipei City obviously has plenty going on but rents are high there and good jobs difficult to find. A good compromise can be to live somewhere on the edge of Taipei but close to the MRT. Rent is lower there and Taipei is still very easily accessible. The other cities a foreigner might plenty of life and entertainment in are Taichung, Kaohsiung, Xinzhu and Tainan.

[yamahuh]

[mangoholic]

Yamahuh,

Do you also concur with the assertions that Taoyuan is basically a trash heap? A dump? An eyesore? If you really live there, and you aren't some introverted slug, you'll admit that it is, in all seriousness, one nasty stinking dump of an excuse for human civilization.

[goodbye]

Cheap rent is the key.

I've never been to Taoyuan City, but as mentioned, it's a reasonable distance to Taipei by train.

[yamahuh]

[SEndrigo]

Yeah, some of you are making Taoyuan sound like Darfur

Never been there myself (or Taiwan for that matter) so I can't say anything good or bad about it, but I have talked to some people online who didn't think it was that bad of a place.

Let me ask you this though...is rent THAT much cheaper in Taoyuan to make it worth living over there and commuting to Taipei?

I would think that most people here are English teachers, and even if they were making the standard 55,000 to 65,000 per month, wouldn't it still be way better overall to live in Taipei, but somewhere not central?

Just wondering...

[yamahuh]

$10,000 NT a month will get you a 3 bedroomn apartment in a nice building in Taoyuan. That will get you a shoe box in Taipei.

[forest1979]

Taoyuan is not Darfur, nor for that matter is it populated by trogladytes. But it is Taiwanese provincial and that means non descript. It is the kind of environment screaming out for urban planners to rehabilitate, its built of nothing else but concrete, and generally gives an impression upon the eye of disorganisation and ugliness. However, as with other provincial places in Taiwan it's hellish cheap, particularly for housing, so for anyone on a tight budget and having bad eyesight it's a good place to start. For others wishing to engage in some kind of urbane lifestyle, and has working eyes, it's the kind of place to miss. Sadly though, it's not unique in Taiwan. The island is full of these kind of places (of varying sizes) that should, and can, be easily avoided.

[rmarqua2921]

Well, I highly recommend Hsinchu, or Xinchu as is sometimes called. I have worked there now for over a year, this is my second year and I work primarily for the Hsinchu public school system...the salary is very good and the benefits excellent. To me one of the big advantages to Taiwan, is the tax advanteages. There is no income tax for teachers teaching elementary students. If you want to save money, Taiwan is the place to come. If you have a teaching certificate, let me know I can get you many jobs...Robert

[lou_la]

I used to work in Taoyuan - I can honestly say it was one of the most soul destroying places I've ever had the misfourtune to live, and I've been to some pretty horrid places. I only managed two months living there before moving to Neili, a smaller town a few miles away and commuting. Jong Li is nice, its about 20 minutes scooter ride from Taoyuan, I know a few people who did that. Taoyuan just has far too many people trying to live in the same place. It's polluted, dirty, and horrid to get around if you don't have a scooter (which i didn't) On my old road you could barely see the sky because of all the buildings. And it rains all the time. Instant drenching kind of rain.

The east coast is beautiful - I had a friend in Ilan that I was insanely jealous of. Beautiful countryside very close, the sea, a nice quiet city. And definitely a good place if you want to learn Chinese. The foreigner community there was quite tightly knit, lots of people from different schools. Taoyuan s a bit lonely. Hualien is nice too, about the same size as Taoyuan I think, just with far fewer people. Or Taichong is very nice. Very westernised, but in a good place to explore the island, and far more spread out than towns in the north. All my friends there were very happy.

[mangoholic]

The previous poster actually was reduced to saying that Jong Li was "nice" -I will go on to assert that Jong Li is the 2nd most hideous shithole in Taiwan after Taoyuan City.

Taiwan's new name is "Taibodia" -not a new term, but one that might have been forgotten. Let's not forget it.

Taiwan is a 3rd World Country, regardless of it's GDP.

Taiwan+Cambodia= Taibodia

That's where you live