Food is also inexpensive. We use cookies to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. Yum! A little more research found some interesting facts. Our favorite restaurant in Banqiao was Ba Fang Yun Ji Dumpling. It’s not easy. Just Landed helps you manage everyday life. They can afford to buy nice things, dine out often, and save a little more than they could back home. Most importantly, have fun! It's also known for having one of the largest collections of violins in the world, as well as a noteworthy collection of ancient weapons, and Western art. Background — What is Taiwan? But the humidity was our main foe, making the outdoors a sticky mess. This healthy and delicious breakfast is also cheap! The most common form of substance abuse is chewing betel nut seeds (檳榔,.bing lang). And our taste buds were too. Bear in mind that Taiwanese trekking is on the one hand very easy—with carefully-maintained cobblestone paths and staircases—and on the other hand, involves going up steep staircases that can last hundreds (sometimes thousands) of steps. Our friendly Taiwanese stranger was our lifeboat. You can change your cookie settings at any time. . On the upside, the coffee in Taiwan is fantastic, not just by Asian standards but by international. Once you sign up for iTaiwan, which you can ONLY do in the airport on their wifi, you can use Wifi at thousands of hotspots around the country – including in convenience stores. Parents really want their kids to learn English from a native speaker, so you will feel right at home if you decide to teach in Taiwan. We searched for the cheap and tasty food, affordable groceries, and comfy but very economical living. Taiwan is very casually dressed. Complete the online application form for importing medication for personal use (個人自用藥品專案進口申請) and provide any supporting documents requested. Signs everywhere say to hold the handrails. The challenge is when you go to a dynamic food district like a night market. Taiwan is a heavily populated island nation off the southeast coast of mainland China, and it has some of the best teaching opportunities in Asia. Shaobing is a flaky sesame flat bread stuffed with goodies.
Drones: Drones are not heavily regulated. According to policy, you have to have an exit trip booked to be granted the visa. For the casual traveller, it’s not terribly easy to find great places to eat in Taiwan. Don’t know? A quick (but complete) guide to living in Colombia (mostly Cali and Medellin) for digital nomads who can work from anywhere. People in Taiwan talk to us until we understand each other, no matter how long that takes. Taiwan is not the same as China… unless you ask China, in which case it definitely is.
In large stations with multiple connections you can find which platform you need by following the colored line for your train or by knowing the name of the two end destinations. The neighboring countries are also easy to get to, and Taiwan itself has everything from beaches, to mountains, to beautiful temples for you to explore! This is fine if you have an Asian metabolism that flies along at 100km/h at all times, but if you don’t, you might want to find a way to take it easy. Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and the Mainland are the one entity — despite the objections of Taiwanese and Hong Kongers for decades (much more vocal in Hong Kong since 2019). In Taiwan, people tend to pronounce “shi” as more of a “si” sound. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. This makes understanding numbers like 44 quite difficult (it sounds like “si si si”, but tones and context help). Everything else works everywhere. Many expats find that they can have a much better standard of living here in Taiwan than they can in their home nation. In New Taipei City we got a shared apartment, much larger than a studio, for NT$11,918 ($388 USD) per month. Every night you can see people setting up carts along the streets selling their plethora of mouthwatering foods. Please note that the website is only available in Chinese. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous you can have beef and tendon noodles. This is one of the most wonderful things about Taiwan. Sometimes the MRT stations have free umbrellas for you to take near the exits. The best advantage they have over Uber is that they’re always just one minute away, whereas Uber’s ETAs are often 5-10 minutes. For us, oddly enough, only our toothbrush chargers are not compatible internationally. There are other things you can do while living in Taiwan that we didn’t explore—like casinos, fancy restaurants, clubs—but they weren’t as abundant as they are in other major metropolitan cities around the world.
You can do as low as $7 a day if you keep to very basic local fare, but I wouldn’t advise a diet of entirely beef noodles. After this, the document can be presented to the Household Registration Bureau in Taiwan. 釋: to explain; 14. They can afford to buy nice things, dine out often, and save a little more than they could back home. In the north (Taipei), it’s warm but can get cool around the end of the year. Get a metro card (“EasyCard”): While these are regional, they’re highly interchangeable. Just be ready to take out the trash and meet your neighbors! It was around NT$120 for a 5 to 10 minute ride. So much variety. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone. But after a few months, they soon realize just how incredibly handy it is to have these stores everywhere. The temperature would reach the low 90s Fahrenheit (32-34°C) just about everyday, high 80s Fahrenheit (around 31°C) if we were lucky.
I do think it’s inevitable that characters will go towards a simpler writing system, but it’s a long way further off than people think—possibly not in my lifetime—because of the degree of entrenchment of Chinese language into identity and culture. The reviews and ratings give us critical info and great peace of mind. Living in Taiwan is easy with an EasyCard! If you have any further questions regarding marriage in Taiwan you should contact the Household Registration Department. This is nearly as widely spoken as Mandarin. And it comes in 2.2 Liter bottles. British nationals wishing to obtain any further information must contact the relevant local authority. It’s confusing, sometimes even to the Chinese. How cool is that?! It is definitely not loud, like Hong Kong; nor even like Mainland China. It’s not quite a tropical island, but it’s getting close. The Liwu River runs directly through the gorge, and there are multiple tours that you can take to enjoy the entire experience with a guide. See also UK help and services in Taiwan. Love River is a peaceful and stunning attraction that locals, tourists, and new residents can enjoy. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. We first arrived with the mindset of settling in and finding a home in Taipei, so we weren’t super cognizant of a strict budget. Each of those places, Taiwan included, has a separate currency, legal system, and system of local governance, even if it all boils up to the same head honchos in Beijing… much further up than you and I will ever reach (unless you’re really good… or really bad). Our guide to living in Taiwan as language learners and culture nerds — after months of living there. Teaching in Taiwan in a very rewarding career, and people that have done it usually emphasize the travel and adventure opportunities that they had while living and teaching in Taiwan. Almost every morning was a sunny morning, and we mean sunny! In other words, like Mainland China but with fast and uncensored internet, clean air, reliable public transport, beautiful (accessible) nature and warm weather. The bus services in Taiwan are pretty good, as are the train services between cities, but it’s the MRT services in Taipei and Kaohsiung (with Taichung coming soon) that are a big hit with expats. (NT$100). Most meals would run you about $5 USD or less for 1 person. Living in Taiwan is an incredible experience and one we hope you get to enjoy. We’ve witnessed too many people skip the sink after using the restroom (mainly in the men’s room). Electricity and wall sockets/power points: Taiwan operates on 100/110V, using a US-style connection but usually without the earth pin. There are nine major national parks. Beggars can’t be choosers. Also, I never had to show anyone anything. Sigh). If you rent a scooter, don’t go above 30-40km/h to keep you and your passenger reasonably safe. Added link to Post Office for applying for International Driving Permit (IDP). Once we were settled we discovered that you can buy most items for even less at grocery stores like PXmart. Oh, there has been a huge proliferation of “claw” arcades. To our great surprise, they spoke English and even had an English menu! A good friend of mine, Louis, learned Chinese in Taiwan and is now constantly made fun of for his effeminate way of speaking despite being shockingly colloquially fluent. Firstly, there are far fewer resources available. Our only taxi experience was in Yilan, a smaller city on the northeast coast. Even at the night markets, we saw no alcohol. So in many scenarios, you can expect Taiwanes… Not really, especially when a friendly Taiwanese guy sees that look of desperation on your perspiring face and kindly offers help.
He was a life saver. What was this mythical place, I wondered? It was HOT! Don’t let simplified or traditional fool you into thinking one is easier or one is more authentic or something, for us foreigners it’s all just an impossible wall of strokes to never master over a lifetime of trying to learn. The same can also be said for dining at local restaurants and even going out for a drink. Unless the document has been both legalised by the FCDO and then authenticated by the TRO, it will not be valid for use in Taiwan. The foods above can be found in “Soy Milk” restaurants and the reason they are called soy milk restaurants is because they sell soy milk! Westerners would probably refer to Taiwan as being “Taiwan”. When we don’t have a common language, we gesture to explain things. How to Plan a Budget USA Road Trip: The Complete Guide, 6 Budget Headsets with Mic for Online Teaching in 2020, 7 Insider Tips to Teach English Online While Traveling Abroad, How to Have an Amazing 3 Days in Taipei: Full Itinerary, Taipei Museums: Some Must-see Attractions, Taipei, Taiwan: A Food Lover's Destination, Parks in Taipei: Quiet Nature in the Big City, Best Food in Taipei: Soy Milk Restaurants. Don’t worry; your neighbor will probably insist that you join them outside for a barbecue. In fact, it’s often at the night market that expats find their favorite Taiwanese street foods.
A one-bedroom apartment in the city center of Taipei costs about 3,000 TWD to rent.
The staff will be able to provide you with a complete list of requirements you will need to meet, including a public notice period, before the document can be issued. Lastly, give up seats to the elderly, pregnant women, others in need, etc…. Although swimming is not typically permitted, there is a 3-km race that's held every year. Life in Taiwan is cheap, with low rent (even in AirBnBs), meals costing usually US$3-5 (depending on how big), and easily available to the point where you don’t have to cook. We take a lot of pride in connecting teachers with great teaching opportunities. Like Hong Kong and China, Taiwan is extremely safe. Our first two weeks took place in the Zhongshan District of Taipei and it was pretty cheap but didn’t match our expectations from our research.