Taiwan
I don’t originally intend to add this entry to my blog, but since I received a series of e-mails regarding information about Taiwan, I think its fair I post a response to the country of which I carry a citizen card.
Before anything, let’s take a look at the emails:
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Anthony Pena wrote:
Taiwan
She has/knows the job description, the rest of the benefits, and what you need to do. You can contact her through me.
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(email info withheld by author)
autocad.. as in autodesk?
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Anthony Pena <(info withheld by author)> wrote
I
guess so… autocad as in autodesk… yung ginamit sa mga cad subjects ng
engineering sa lasalle… I think yun yun. Interested? Let me forward
your number to my aunt. Ano number mo?
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Indrabudhi <(info withheld by author)> wrote:
is the 26T is net or gross?? and then, how much is the living expensess
in Taiwan? coz so far i know is not cheap to stay there ah..
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Darlene Li <(info withheld by author)> wrote:
everything’s quite expensive there. When i studied there for 3 months i
spend around 12500 per month (9000 for food, 3500 for rent), shopping
and entertainment stuff aside.
hope this helps
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Indrabudhi <(info withheld by author)> wrote:
Thank you for your info… 
it really help..
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NOW, OFF WITH MY REPLY:
(OT: Hello Lindsey, it’s been a long time since I last heard of you. And you too, Anthony.)
As someone who’s carrying a Taiwan citizen card, I think it’s time for me to speak.
Indeed, Taiwan has a high cost of living. This is the rough list of expense for your daily needs:
- 1 hearty meal from vendors, where it is cheapest but not necessarily awful in its taste: At least NT50. Now multiply that by 3.
- Commute: Normal Bus: NT15-30, varies with distance. Metrotrain (subway): NT20-50. Train: NT50-way up.
- Clothes: Night Market’s: NT200+. Designers: God knows how much more expensive
-
OPTIONAL: EasyCard, (sort of like MetroCard, for those who are
familiar) the card used for Metrotrain and bus: NT 500 for initial
purchase, with capabilites of being "reloaded" with optional amounts.
Unfortunately, I can’t say anything about the rent because I live with
my cousins whenever I go to Taiwan, so I don’t know. Lindsey’s info
should be pretty accurate.
Now regarding the job offer, I’m sorry to berate and derail Peña’s
offer, but there are companies that offers the same job with much
higher salary. My cousin, for instance, is an AUTOCAD engineer, and he
earns nearly twice as much. Unfortunately, I don’t have his contact
number, and his English is way mediocre, so I don’t think I’ll be able
to help much in this department (but if you really want to, I’ll try).
To be honest, the Taiwan’s general populace have poor English, and
sometimes their forced English diction are downright obnovious: you
ever see "Now Open" and "New Arrival" in Philippines? Right there, even
5-star hotels carry the grammatically incorrect sign of "New Open" and
"New Arrived"! On the plus side, if your English is decent, it’s easy
to earn money by teaching, whether by being a private tutor or by
conducting English classes.
But that’s not to say everything about Taiwan is bad. In fact, Taiwan
is one of those countries whose beauties are unsung. To be frank, I’m
sick of people recognizing Taiwan merely as where "house of congress
are like boxing stadiums". If you look past the fact that Taiwan
government’s way of dealing things are a total embarrassment to even
the most anally-retentive spectators, there is much to like about
Taiwan.
For starters, if you live in Taipei, you can almost practically go to
any places you’d be needing to go without cabs or cars, as commuting
with the Metrotrain has become really convenient (and it’s going to
expand much further two years down the line). Then, there’s the food:
you don’t need to go to the most posh restaurant or the prosaic
fastfood chains (I’m looking at McDonald’s) to have a really hearthy
meal, as many night markets have vendors selling foods that would
satisfy your gastronomic pleasure just as much (sometimes even more).
You just need to know the right places, so pay no attention to those
negative feedbacks people may give you (and I happen to know the right
places too). Then, there’s the clothes. One trip to Shihlin and you’ll
find that you absolutely WON’T EVER BE NEEDING TO BUY designers clothes
since most of the peddlers’ smuggled/imitation clothes have just the
same quality. Worthy of note too: Taiwan is recognize as one of the
world’s most progressive in terms of electronics and the like
technology, so if you’re crazy about latest gadgets, laptops, media
players and cellular phones, and want to purchase it for lower prices
than in the Philippines, Taiwan is definitely the place to go. Lastly,
if you’re willing to devote yourself to learning Chinese, you’ll be
exposing yourself to a country carrying lots of richly written
literatures, artbooks, computer books, and mangas, for cheap. Of
course, there are also a lot of english computer books and some english
translated comics sold somewhere in Taipei 101, but those are regularly
priced according to American pricings: meaning, it’s expensive.
I hope this brief rundown for what it’s like in Taiwan proved to be
helpful. In any case, if you want to know more, contact me where you
can (and start from my e-mail, thank you)
