Category: Living Abroad
Living Expenses for Taiwan: Rent, Utilities, Food, Transportation and Nightlife
There are a lot of places in the world where a native English speaker can choose to move in order to teach English abroad. Taiwan has the reputation for being one of the better places. One of the biggest reasons for that is the salary earned vs. living expenses. That differential is definitely a major…
Why Living in Taipei is Great for Lazy People
I admit it. I often suffer bouts of extreme laziness. I try to be proactive. I make plans to accomplish a week’s worth of work in a day. I plan and organize and strategize my butt off. But then when it’s go time, the procrastination sneaks in. I need to go to the bank, but…
Questions & Answers About Learning Chinese in Taiwan
This is a post by our friend David Joughin. David has lived in Taiwan for many years and works as the Marketing Director for a Florist in Taipei. He has extensive experience studying and learning Chinese and we asked him to write about his experience. David answers the 10 most common questions he gets about…
5 Reasons to Quit Your Boring Job and Teach English in Taiwan
Teaching English abroad has become pretty popular in recent years, so I’m always surprised that a lot of people don’t have Taiwan on their radar (this is part of the reason we started this blog). If you have read our other posts, you know Tim and I both really like Taiwan and encourage people to…
Differences Between Teaching English to Adults and Children
The vast majority of jobs available are for teaching children (usually ages 5-18). However, there are some adult teaching jobs available and if you are willing to spend the time and effort looking you may find something. I’ve taught both children and adults and I actually really like both for different reasons. Both have their…
Visa Basics for Living and Working in Taiwan
Something that becomes an important part of your life when you move to Taiwan is your residency status. In your home country you never need to worry about work and residency visas, but when living in a foreign country, it’s a topic that often takes center stage. If you are coming to Taiwan for the…
Pros & Cons of Teaching English at a Chain School
If you have decided to come teach English in Taiwan and done any research, then you have undoubtedly read about the various chain schools that are here (i.e. Hess, Kojen, Giraffe, Joy, Sesame Street, etc). Many people seem to have a negative opinion of chain schools and I think this is often in large part due…
What Exactly is a Buxiban?
A lot of our recent posts have been about teaching English in Taiwan because many people who are considering to move here make a living by teaching. If you are one of the 99% that fall into this category then you will also most likely end up being one of the majority that spend at…
5 Challenges for Those New to Teaching English in Taiwan
You’ve done your research, made all of your preparations, and have moved to Taiwan. Now you are here teaching English. It’s a new culture, new job, and new experience. Everything must be great, right? Not so fast. Don’t worry. This is a not a doom and gloom post. I’ve been here for over 9 years,…
Common Resistance Points People Have About Going to Taiwan
We’ve seen it time and again where people get excited about moving to Taiwan, do a bunch of research, plan their move, and then all of a sudden decide against going at the last second. Occasionally it’s for a good reason, like family concerns or a big job promotion, but more often than not it’s…
