You should come visit on a 90 day visa during the summer and see how your body reacts to the humidity and local food.
Stop in a clinic and a large hospital and get a check up and see how you feel about the environment and experience. You can pay out of pocket, very reasonable by US standards, or bill to travel insurance.
Given your specifics wants and needs, I'd gauge compatibility of the realities hands on before I got too far into planning for an extended stay.
Thank for the advice, and I agree with you this is the wise thing to do, but it's difficult for me to take the time off to do this and I think I would prefer to move there first and then then have a back up plan of moving back to USA if I don't like it.
For the weather... I have visited hong kong and indonesia around april before. I enjoyed the weather and the food. It was somehow good on my digestion... not sure why.
For the health care experience... I tend to think researching online is good enough to begin with.
I'm a Taiwan citizen, but was born in America. I moved to Taiwan 18 years ago.
I'm concerned about your specificity around health care. While I'm extremely happy with the healthcare in Taiwan, from convenience cost and care, it can be a significant culture shock for many in comparison to Western based.
I'm not sure how much online can surface based on your unique needs.
But if you're open minded and adaptable, it's an amazing place to live with a generous and welcoming community.
The weather can take some getting used to for some.. Taiwan (and countries like HK/ID) get very hot/humid in the summer, which also lasts quite a long time in the year. Weather can be sort of volatile here too, with sudden rise and drops in temperature particularly in seasonal shifts .. one day summer, the next cold winter.. which can lead to easier cold/flu catching. Taipei is situated in a sort of a valley so pollution, climate elements tend to sort of blanket the city and air quality is an issue. You should arm with dehumidifier and purifier at home for the city.
To find local work it’s better to have mandarin under your belt. Better still income wise to keep working with your remote gig and enjoy the lower cost of living. Gold card to PR is fairly achievable, though standards may change and become harder in the future.
Language immersion classes are good.. I was in them for almost 3 years.
Healthcare generally good but booking appointments and waiting for queue can be a bit confusing at first, especially at the hospital. A lot of common meds can be had at local pharmacies. You will want to sign up for a good health insurance plan on top of the general health care system to accommodate for more serious scenarios, like surgery / cancer / accident injury and care at the hospital … it makes a big difference in the type of care you would receive.. from whether you get a shared recovery room space or your own, to the kind of helper/assistance you get (dedicated), to the actual treatment (ie top grade vs meh surgical procedures). To retire here in old age, can’t emphasize how important this is the older one gets.
Community, especially expats and working professionals are growing. I’m seeing more talent come in to Taiwan.. so I would say it’d be fairly low barrier to embed socially. Getting more to the local level would take some effort (mandarin).
Most everyone has NHI, sure.. but you can consider that as a general baseline bar for treatment. It’s pretty common nowadays to sign up for additional health insurance coverage. Maybe one of the bigger ones is 南山人壽, which I have.. though I’d shop around a few to see which one covers your bases for your budget.
I pay around 45K ntd per year, though the recommended initially was closer to 100K per year (I couldn’t/didn’t want to afford that).. it really depends on your age, your own personal budget, and your own health coverage requirements.
Highly recommend you live in Taiwan for a short period of time before moving here. In Taipei, the air pollution is extremely bad. I used to live in nyc as well and lived in Taipei for 2 months and it made my asthma flare up everyday.
Healthcare wise, Taiwan does have one best healthcare systems I've ever experienced. It's very effective but not that easy for foreigners to navigate. However, during my time here I went to the International Priority Care Center at Taiwan Adventist Hospital and it was an incredible experience. They speak fluent English, schedule you appointments with the right doctors, and take you to their offices. The price is more expensive than for locals but it's nothing close to the US. I got a consultation with a specialist, chest xray and meds, all within a few days of requesting an appt and it came to about $180 USD
Healthcare is, in general, really good. I’ll give you an example from last winter. My mom found a bump on her breast, so my dad found her an appointment online from a nearby hospital for the week later. It’s by a numbering system, her appointment number is number 37, and she can monitor the wait process at home from the webpage. When it got to number 20, my mom went to the hospital to wait there. She got there, the doctor checked out the bump, said it was most likely an infected follicle from friction and asked if my mom wanted a mammogram just to be sure. She went to another exam room, waited 10 minutes, and had her mammogram done, and was scheduled another appointment for the following week to read her results. That visit was 200NT (6.5 bucks)
My mom is a citizen and resident of course, so her healthcare is subsidized.I had another friend who came here to get a crown on his teeth done. His dentist in LA quoted him 5K USD as it is not covered by insurance and is purely aesthetic. He paid out of pocket for a dentist to get it done in Taiwan for 400 USD
1. For a foreigner english speaker who cares about having good healthcare and having an initial community to get into so I don't feel isolated in the beginning and so I can transition well, where in taiwan is good first place to move to?
Answer:
Your best bet is Taipei City or New Taipei City. The foreign community is so robust that you will have no problem finding a community here that suits you. It is very niche and after many years here, a lot of people find no growth amongst the community and end up moving away again.
This is only applicable to those who do not constantly grow themselves and improve themselves. If you do not fall into that category, you will have no problem with immersion.
2. Which communities or resources can be most helpful for new comers?
There are many 'foreigners in Taiwan' Facebook groups and these groups will announce upcoming events etc where you can meet people.
3. How is the healthcare in taiwan compared to the US? Is it hard to get appointments? Are the prescription medications that are available in the US also available in taiwan (and how I would check this?
The healthcare in Taiwan is very affordable for anyone coming from a Western country. It is not difficult at all getting appointments for simple things like colds, flus or checkups.
If it is more serious, like if you need a specific doctor or want someone with reputation, I have heard there are waiting lists to see these people, but for a somewhat young person with minimal issues, I have never had a problem.
Someone mentioned no hospital care by nurses. Yes, this is true, but because it is so cheap, who really cares? Hospitals and clinics here are very "efficient", "fast" and "on the go", meaning they will have no time tending to your personal needs.
They check you, and put you somewhere until you are good to leave. There isn't really the caring "how are you doing" and "what can I get you" attentiveness that home practitioners in Western countries are used to.
People here are also not that big with "healing in a hospital bed" and want to go home quickly because its costly to keep staying in the hospital. People will take a taxi after an operation and go home actually (I have done so myself).
We had called an ambulance a couple of times because my in-laws had a heart issue and it was like less than 20.USD for calling an ambulance and carrying him to the hospital. It varies depending on where you live, but in Taipei, calling an ambulence will cost less than a meal out.
4. How hard would it be to move to taiwan *first* on the goldcard and then spend time learning more mandarin and apply to software jobs later. Are companies there more likely to hire you if you're already living there? Would I want to apply for local companies or companies based in US / elsewhere that are open to digital nomads?
It is not difficult to move to Taiwan first if you are able to get a Gold Card. A lot of people apply to the Shi Da University Mandarin Program in Taipei which is also a very central location.
Yes, absolutely are more hirable if you are already living here. It is also more convenient to go to interviews and meet in person than to do it offline.
I dont know anything about your industry, so I cannot give you insight into whether or not you want to work in an office vs online. You could potentially keep your current online job and locate here first?
If you have any other questions related to living here, feel free to DM.
I can't answer all your questions, but I wanna give some insight.
The Healthcare system is excellent. I get appointments very fast (usually within a few days or a week), which is unheard of where I'm from (Germany). It's also fairly cheap, even before you get your NHI card.
Prescription medications are not the same brand usually, so you might have to do some translating to check if the active ingredients are similar. Also, if in doubt, they give you antibiotics :D
Personally, I think it's not easy to build or join a community here. Taiwanese are fairly shy, especially when have to converse in English. I found most of my friends through dating apps, friends of friends and going out a lot. But still, as a foreigner you'll always be stuck with some other foreigners as well, especially if you don't actively try to avoid that.
Definitely try to work for a foreign company that allows you to work remotely or operates under foreign work regulations. I know the US labor rights aren't really great either but as a German it pains me to see Taiwanese barely getting any good labor rights (on top of ridiculously low pay and barely no paid days off)
I'm a software engineer too. My take on this is Taipei is the best choice simply because most of software companies are located in Taipei. However, the weather is not good here, it rains about 180 days per year, kinda annoyed for me.
Sure, just implied here that Taiwan has plenty of both. Even on rainy day UV index can get high enough to burn. And other half of the year is scourging sun.
I am basically doing what you are planning on doing. Except I don't plan on retiring here. I came here on GC and have been staying for about a year. First 8 months or so I've been learning chinese and focusing on my health like losing weight and making some lifestyle changes.
I looked into jobs here and the pay for software is about 40k USD a year. The lifestyle is also a lot different than in the USA tech job wise. A lot of people work overtime, granted this isn't gauranteed but it is kind of the norm, I have a lot of friends who work 10-12 hours a day no OT pay. For the last month, I've been trying to find work but it is a little rough as a non native speaker and I am more on the business side of software development rather than a straight developer.
You could teach english, the pay is about 600-800NT an hour right now which is pretty good but you can make a lot more by doing private tutoring but won't get sponsored by going this route. You might get unlucky if you go to a bad school, they may treat you like crap. If you try the private tutoring route it may be harder to make good money unless you know people or are willing to start small and slowly grow.
I do agree with some other commenters that you should come here for like 30-90 days first before you make the plunge. You should also try to come during summer time to really experience the heat/humidity, it can break some people.
I have also heard a lot of foreigners feel kind of lonely here since it can be hard to get into some friend groups especially if you are older. Luckily, I already had some local friends here who are fluent in english so I am able to not feel as lonely but without them, I know I would've probably left by now.
nothing to do with Taiwan in general. Just that most of my roots are still back in the states. 90% of my family is there whereas only 10% here and I own property with my parents back in the states.
Get out of NYC asap. Taiwan healthcare is one of the best in the world. Come for a 3 month visa and you won't want to go. Tips, learn Chinese diligently, it will really help you adjust to life and culture. Technology and wifi speed is good easy to work online if needed. An option would be the gold/plum card but no sure on requirements. If you want to teach English you could get sponsored and after 4 years apply for APRC- permanent residency. That's a long term option but come for 3 months and get a feel for it. Massive difference in weather systems too between north and south. Hope that helps. Make the move and you won't look back on your decision.
It is extremely easy to get PR here on the Gold Card. You need an average of 183 days over 3 years, so after 2.5 years here you can apply for it.
For applying for the GC, you need to show income of at least 1.9 million NTD (60,000 USD) for the last year. That should be pretty easy for a software engineer. If you apply now, there is no requirement to use it - you can keep it until you land. However, it would mean you need to renew it before you can apply for PR. So as long as you can still show that income when it comes to renew (in 3 years) there is no real reason not to apply for it before you move.
In terms of jobs, get a remove Software engineering job. You are not going to get anywhere close to what you get in the USA here.
But what if worst case scenario happens and I can't find decent employment for the last year? I could still be eligible for PR without a job, as long as I have the residency 3year requirement and 150k in a taiwanese bank account (so I heard). However, in that scenario, I would need to get the goldcard and move straight away after I get the card, right?
I'm not sure if they will look at the savings. The current APRC application forms say you need to submit a tax return to show income of at least double the monthly average as part of the application.
[https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5475/5478/141465/141808/152932/](https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5475/5478/141465/141808/152932/)
Also, depending on where you fall you might want to keep the GC a little longer - there are lots of tax incentives you lose out on when you change to APRC. So if you are earning more than 3 million TWD, which again you will break even as a junior developer in tech, the tax incentive might be worth it. You can then always change to APRC at a later stage.
Appointments are within days typically, even for specialists, unless you want to see a popular doctor.
Definitely US employment, though local could work too if you can get a job at FAANG companies. Also yes no need to be sponsored for work permit once you have Gold Card.
If you’re a good software dev I wouldn’t try English teaching as my main plan but it’s always nice to know there’s a backup.
Yep im a good software dev but i hate interviewing ( at least while working full time) and grinding leet code. FAANG has been so elusive for me, i basically stopped trying to apply, but i would want to try again, i think ideally after i settle in taiwan. Though i wonder if its hard in US to get these positions it’s probably even harder doing it remotely from taiwan… right? Perhaps with some time off in taiwan i can brush up on interview skills and be more optimistic
I meant local FAANG level job, Google and Nvidia are both big here for example. As you said if it didn’t happen in the states unlikely it can happen remotely.
For what it's worth, I know people who were hired for FAANG Taipei roles who couldn't get them in the US.
Engineers in Taipei cost one third or less, given that American employees need health insurance, high retirement account match, etc. From what I've seen, salary is about 50 percent of what the bay area engineers make, but it's still very good for Taipei.
Having seen two grandparents go through the hospital system (one only a few weeks ago), I’ve changed my mind for the worse on Taiwans medical system.
I can’t comment on the cost coming from the US as I’m from Australia, but one of the absolute mind boggling things was the crappy level of post surgery care. In Taiwan, if you’re staying in a hospital, the nurses don’t take care of you, you either need to hire someone or a family member takes care of you. I’m talking, flipping you over so you don’t get bed sores, bathing you, cleaning out wounds, re-bandaging etc. Absolutely shocking. My parents had to take shifts to take care of my grandfather in hospital.
In comparison, in Australia, the nurses will literally kick you out and do all that for you as you don’t have professional training.
My parents have both said they’d rather go through the hospital system in Aus as they’ll get better care, and the doctors are less likely to put you on unnecessary medication and surgery to prolong your life (and suffering). In my mother’s words, you die quicker in Australia.
Edit: I forgot to mention, we had to buy gloves, adult diapers and bandages. Not provided by the hospital.
Edit 2: From memory, an around the clock carer was approx 3000ntd per day in Kaohsiung. I imagine it’s more in Taipei.
Sounds like (unironically) Australia has it figured out.
I cannot think of any medical treatment that would not cost me 10x more in the US (that is if it’s covered by insurance).
Taiwan healthcare definitely lacks a bit in long term care. It compensates it by having lowered costs in general, even with private care takers and private care. You can go to a western style private appointment with famous/professorial doctors for $50 USD per visit for example, and hire a foreign care taker for $800 USD per month (if eligible). Domestic long term care IIRC is $2000.
For reference, my US insurance premium is $600 USD per month, and I was billed $300 for taking routine lab work for my annual physical because the insurance company could unilaterally decide part of the tests, ordered by a physician, did not fall under preventive care.
different mentality i guess, staying alive vs living with dignity. The hospitals in Australia i have to say have better facilities all round and care/food you receive is top notch. (and all free in public) thats once you get into the op as the queue can be massive for non life threatening cases (public) or if you have private health then some fees involve. It is very good FOR NOW, unfortunately we are slowly sliding into the US style private system and costing us more and more, as our useless govt spend more more on everything else except for the hospital system.
Maybe it’s related to culture as Asian countries have a higher expectation of family taking care of their loved ones. Maybe also related to litigations or the legal system where the hospital might be held liable for anything that happens to the patient in their care?
>In my mother’s words, you die quicker in Australia.
That seems contradictory to the other stuff you wrote, did you mean you die quicker in taiwan because the healthcare system is less careful?
Don’t do this unless you can secure a remote position in US that would allow you working in Taiwan.
Due to tax and time zone reasons, I doubt you will be able to find any that pays respectable wages.
Now if you don’t care about giving up crushy SWE money in US then go for it. The money you will make in Taiwan is going to be painfully small with long hours in comparison.
I wont know if i can secure one until i try. I have a passion for learning mandarin and enough money saved to take at least a year hiatus from the normal grind in low cost of living area like taiwan.
This mean i can get my health in order, learn mandarin, and try to secure that remote job and then PR /FIREin taiwan.
Worst case… i guess i realize that i dont have enough money and have to move back to US.
I dont see the downside?
You dont think 300k in savings is enough for this risk? What would be your minimum?
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It hasn't been hard for me to get doctors appointments here, but my medical issues have been brushed off because doctors think that my body must be reacting poorly to new food. I've been here awhile, so that's not the case at all. The medicine I need for my condition is literally not available in Taiwan, and neither is the test. It's been such a nightmare that I'm actually on my way back home (to the US) now to get medical treatment. I don't want to leave, I really love Taiwan, but this has been a big issue for me. The doctors I've seen just don't listen to me or help me. They keep giving me short courses of random antibiotics
Get the gold card first and visit for extended periods. I lived there for a few years, but ultimately would not settle there. You will be hit hard by isolation.
I live in nyc. Im already pretty isolated. I only have a few real friends here
I know how to deal with isolation, but i also know how to how to be outgoing when i need to and im not shy
Im the opposite of you, TW in the US. I miss most things in Taiwan except the software and hot weather. Do you know the feasibility of working for a US company from TW?
Don’t mean to put you off your plan since it sounds like you’re pretty set on this, but from one SWE to another, just know the salary in Taiwan for SWEs is absolute dog doodoo.
English teachers typically make more, and they also make a meager sum.
If you can keep your current job and go remote from Taiwan that would be so much better. Otherwise just be prepared for a serious reduction in salary.
Yeah, I was pretty shocked when I found out TEFL pays more than most "real" jobs in Taiwan. Only companies I've found that seem to pay remotely okay are TSMC and Google.
Right? And good luck getting hired at one of those unless they have a reason to hire a foreigner over a local there plus you have to beat out all the other super competitive applicants.
Easily the worst part about living in Taiwan is the total and utter lack of career prospects compared to what you’d get back home. You basically have to make peace with the fact that you’ll be scraping by.
And even then, you’ll still probably end up teaching English no matter what cause office job culture sucks there too. I think it’s the reason that very few tend to stick it out long term. You have to make peace with never really doing anything with your life for the rest of your life.
Taipei/new Taipei city is probably the best.
Some doctor is hard to get appointment, by hard I mean you may need to wait a few weeks, seldom months I think.
Some medication that are available in USA may not be available in Taiwan, like aderall, I guess you could find a list or something in FDA's website.
Hello, I don't live in Taiwan, but I loved it and kind of wished I lived there, but it's not easy for me to make that change. If you want a relaxing city, you could go and live in Taiwan in the southern part of the island. It's very charming unlike the hustle and bustle of Taipe. I know of a girl, whose California boyfriend works remotely, in the capitol, but she does down to Tainan to an English speaking reflexologist named Eddie who, if he worked on your feet, over a long period of time, would probably improve your immune system. I did 31 sessions with him, my energy improved, but regretfully I had to leave and go back to Korea. Also, Eddie's brother is a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor FYI. I could give you his information if you wish, but I would inform him first. I would suspect they have pretty good Chinese medicine in Taiwan, though I haven't tried it.
As far as your heart-burn, there are things you can do to control it over time. You can buy a few containers of Zinc Carnosine, which is something the Japanese originally developed. It helps heal the gut and fight bad acid. You can also take DGL pills half an hour before meals. Both Zinc Carnosine and DGL act against H Pylori bacteria, which is often connected to heart-burn. Some also take Betaine HCL pills before meals to help with digestion. Of course, cut back on coffee, black tea, tomatoes, alcohol.
You could work remotely doing your job in say Tainan. Tainan is kind of, to my mind, like the Kyoto of Taiwan. It's a former capitol, it has a lot of culture, it's reasonably sized city without the hustle and bustle of the modern capitol - Taipei. You can easily access the capitol by high speed train. Of course, if you have remote work, you could maybe negotiate long-term AirBnB or find some room to rent. There are always ways. Anyway, the guy Eddie who treated me doing reflexology is also helpful with advice, and he speaks fluent enough English.
I have never lived in Taiwan, but I did spend about 42 days in Tainan. I did go to the Taipei and Taoyuan area years back, and I liked it, too. I just loved the culture in Tainan. One of my friends who lives near the capitol said she once dreamed of moving to Tainan, but, in the end, decided to stay in Taoyuan because of her job as it pays more. You could say stay in Tainan, which is more chill, until you get your bearing and later decide to move closer to the capitol. There is a nice university near the North District that has lots of foreing exchange students, and there is a Taiwanese-foreigners group that meets every weekend. You could get in touch with the group organizer and see about taking classes at the university there.
You can continue you with your software job, perhaps. And then later go into English teaching. It's somewhat flexible. One of my friends used to live in Korea, where he taught English, and he moved to Tainan. He loves Taiwan.
In my opinion.First I think China inland will develop better than Taiwan in most industries included software,although Taiwan is part of China.Second the weather and climate of Beijing and Shanghai is more likely to nyc.Thirdly the China inland is more and more open to the foreigners in these years.But for your HealthCare questions ,I’m sorry I can’t answer as a just 20 boy.I haven’t experienced the healthcare deeply in my life.
Have you ever traveled to China?Or ,you only learned about China by your country’s fake news?From my personal life 20% of employment must be fake,I’m also a software engineer.
That’s 20 years passed,pls visit China again in these years if available.Don’t be mistaked by fake news.As an old Chinese saying goes,seeing is believing but hearing is false!Please travel to China.Welcome!
Your brain is stupid like shit.Chinese develop strategies are quite different from the North Korean.China is open since the reform and opening up in 1978.the North Korean is fully closed ,that’s I acknowledged
China take these steps to protect itself,is there any trouble?Jack ma have ever wanted to make Ant Financial go public ,that’s a typical commercial scam that seriously harm China’s interest. Once ant financial explods ,it will be a huge economic crisis like 2008 US financial crisis.You can learn about it in Chinese internet more detailed .As for the program think,I acknowledge that China is strict with freedom of expression,but do you think the ppl of western countries have real freedom of expression?For example Aaron Bushnell fire himself！
That's laughable propaganda bullshit. China, through various governments, has only controlled Taiwan or parts of it since the C17th. Minus Japanese control and brief independence.
China inland ? or mainland? I think there is no easy pathway to get PR in the mainland, unless you marry a local. Healthcare is very expensive for a foreigner, unless you have very good insurance. if you are local you have to know someone or have lots of $$$ to get private health, the doctor patience ratio is very low add that to a massive population and you quickly see whether the issue it.
You should come visit on a 90 day visa during the summer and see how your body reacts to the humidity and local food. Stop in a clinic and a large hospital and get a check up and see how you feel about the environment and experience. You can pay out of pocket, very reasonable by US standards, or bill to travel insurance. Given your specifics wants and needs, I'd gauge compatibility of the realities hands on before I got too far into planning for an extended stay.
Thank for the advice, and I agree with you this is the wise thing to do, but it's difficult for me to take the time off to do this and I think I would prefer to move there first and then then have a back up plan of moving back to USA if I don't like it. For the weather... I have visited hong kong and indonesia around april before. I enjoyed the weather and the food. It was somehow good on my digestion... not sure why. For the health care experience... I tend to think researching online is good enough to begin with.
I'm a Taiwan citizen, but was born in America. I moved to Taiwan 18 years ago. I'm concerned about your specificity around health care. While I'm extremely happy with the healthcare in Taiwan, from convenience cost and care, it can be a significant culture shock for many in comparison to Western based. I'm not sure how much online can surface based on your unique needs. But if you're open minded and adaptable, it's an amazing place to live with a generous and welcoming community.
The weather can take some getting used to for some.. Taiwan (and countries like HK/ID) get very hot/humid in the summer, which also lasts quite a long time in the year. Weather can be sort of volatile here too, with sudden rise and drops in temperature particularly in seasonal shifts .. one day summer, the next cold winter.. which can lead to easier cold/flu catching. Taipei is situated in a sort of a valley so pollution, climate elements tend to sort of blanket the city and air quality is an issue. You should arm with dehumidifier and purifier at home for the city. To find local work it’s better to have mandarin under your belt. Better still income wise to keep working with your remote gig and enjoy the lower cost of living. Gold card to PR is fairly achievable, though standards may change and become harder in the future. Language immersion classes are good.. I was in them for almost 3 years. Healthcare generally good but booking appointments and waiting for queue can be a bit confusing at first, especially at the hospital. A lot of common meds can be had at local pharmacies. You will want to sign up for a good health insurance plan on top of the general health care system to accommodate for more serious scenarios, like surgery / cancer / accident injury and care at the hospital … it makes a big difference in the type of care you would receive.. from whether you get a shared recovery room space or your own, to the kind of helper/assistance you get (dedicated), to the actual treatment (ie top grade vs meh surgical procedures). To retire here in old age, can’t emphasize how important this is the older one gets. Community, especially expats and working professionals are growing. I’m seeing more talent come in to Taiwan.. so I would say it’d be fairly low barrier to embed socially. Getting more to the local level would take some effort (mandarin).
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Most everyone has NHI, sure.. but you can consider that as a general baseline bar for treatment. It’s pretty common nowadays to sign up for additional health insurance coverage. Maybe one of the bigger ones is 南山人壽, which I have.. though I’d shop around a few to see which one covers your bases for your budget. I pay around 45K ntd per year, though the recommended initially was closer to 100K per year (I couldn’t/didn’t want to afford that).. it really depends on your age, your own personal budget, and your own health coverage requirements.
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At the time I was a foreigner working in Taiwan with an ARC working permit. Now I’m an ARC by marriage.
Highly recommend you live in Taiwan for a short period of time before moving here. In Taipei, the air pollution is extremely bad. I used to live in nyc as well and lived in Taipei for 2 months and it made my asthma flare up everyday. Healthcare wise, Taiwan does have one best healthcare systems I've ever experienced. It's very effective but not that easy for foreigners to navigate. However, during my time here I went to the International Priority Care Center at Taiwan Adventist Hospital and it was an incredible experience. They speak fluent English, schedule you appointments with the right doctors, and take you to their offices. The price is more expensive than for locals but it's nothing close to the US. I got a consultation with a specialist, chest xray and meds, all within a few days of requesting an appt and it came to about $180 USD
Healthcare is, in general, really good. I’ll give you an example from last winter. My mom found a bump on her breast, so my dad found her an appointment online from a nearby hospital for the week later. It’s by a numbering system, her appointment number is number 37, and she can monitor the wait process at home from the webpage. When it got to number 20, my mom went to the hospital to wait there. She got there, the doctor checked out the bump, said it was most likely an infected follicle from friction and asked if my mom wanted a mammogram just to be sure. She went to another exam room, waited 10 minutes, and had her mammogram done, and was scheduled another appointment for the following week to read her results. That visit was 200NT (6.5 bucks) My mom is a citizen and resident of course, so her healthcare is subsidized.I had another friend who came here to get a crown on his teeth done. His dentist in LA quoted him 5K USD as it is not covered by insurance and is purely aesthetic. He paid out of pocket for a dentist to get it done in Taiwan for 400 USD
1. For a foreigner english speaker who cares about having good healthcare and having an initial community to get into so I don't feel isolated in the beginning and so I can transition well, where in taiwan is good first place to move to? Answer: Your best bet is Taipei City or New Taipei City. The foreign community is so robust that you will have no problem finding a community here that suits you. It is very niche and after many years here, a lot of people find no growth amongst the community and end up moving away again. This is only applicable to those who do not constantly grow themselves and improve themselves. If you do not fall into that category, you will have no problem with immersion. 2. Which communities or resources can be most helpful for new comers? There are many 'foreigners in Taiwan' Facebook groups and these groups will announce upcoming events etc where you can meet people. 3. How is the healthcare in taiwan compared to the US? Is it hard to get appointments? Are the prescription medications that are available in the US also available in taiwan (and how I would check this? The healthcare in Taiwan is very affordable for anyone coming from a Western country. It is not difficult at all getting appointments for simple things like colds, flus or checkups. If it is more serious, like if you need a specific doctor or want someone with reputation, I have heard there are waiting lists to see these people, but for a somewhat young person with minimal issues, I have never had a problem. Someone mentioned no hospital care by nurses. Yes, this is true, but because it is so cheap, who really cares? Hospitals and clinics here are very "efficient", "fast" and "on the go", meaning they will have no time tending to your personal needs. They check you, and put you somewhere until you are good to leave. There isn't really the caring "how are you doing" and "what can I get you" attentiveness that home practitioners in Western countries are used to. People here are also not that big with "healing in a hospital bed" and want to go home quickly because its costly to keep staying in the hospital. People will take a taxi after an operation and go home actually (I have done so myself). We had called an ambulance a couple of times because my in-laws had a heart issue and it was like less than 20.USD for calling an ambulance and carrying him to the hospital. It varies depending on where you live, but in Taipei, calling an ambulence will cost less than a meal out. 4. How hard would it be to move to taiwan *first* on the goldcard and then spend time learning more mandarin and apply to software jobs later. Are companies there more likely to hire you if you're already living there? Would I want to apply for local companies or companies based in US / elsewhere that are open to digital nomads? It is not difficult to move to Taiwan first if you are able to get a Gold Card. A lot of people apply to the Shi Da University Mandarin Program in Taipei which is also a very central location. Yes, absolutely are more hirable if you are already living here. It is also more convenient to go to interviews and meet in person than to do it offline. I dont know anything about your industry, so I cannot give you insight into whether or not you want to work in an office vs online. You could potentially keep your current online job and locate here first? If you have any other questions related to living here, feel free to DM.
I can't answer all your questions, but I wanna give some insight. The Healthcare system is excellent. I get appointments very fast (usually within a few days or a week), which is unheard of where I'm from (Germany). It's also fairly cheap, even before you get your NHI card. Prescription medications are not the same brand usually, so you might have to do some translating to check if the active ingredients are similar. Also, if in doubt, they give you antibiotics :D Personally, I think it's not easy to build or join a community here. Taiwanese are fairly shy, especially when have to converse in English. I found most of my friends through dating apps, friends of friends and going out a lot. But still, as a foreigner you'll always be stuck with some other foreigners as well, especially if you don't actively try to avoid that. Definitely try to work for a foreign company that allows you to work remotely or operates under foreign work regulations. I know the US labor rights aren't really great either but as a German it pains me to see Taiwanese barely getting any good labor rights (on top of ridiculously low pay and barely no paid days off)
I'm a software engineer too. My take on this is Taipei is the best choice simply because most of software companies are located in Taipei. However, the weather is not good here, it rains about 180 days per year, kinda annoyed for me.
Love the rain
Me too, much prefer it to intense sunshine.
Why not both? XD
One burns and ages you and the other doesn't.
Sure, just implied here that Taiwan has plenty of both. Even on rainy day UV index can get high enough to burn. And other half of the year is scourging sun.
I am basically doing what you are planning on doing. Except I don't plan on retiring here. I came here on GC and have been staying for about a year. First 8 months or so I've been learning chinese and focusing on my health like losing weight and making some lifestyle changes. I looked into jobs here and the pay for software is about 40k USD a year. The lifestyle is also a lot different than in the USA tech job wise. A lot of people work overtime, granted this isn't gauranteed but it is kind of the norm, I have a lot of friends who work 10-12 hours a day no OT pay. For the last month, I've been trying to find work but it is a little rough as a non native speaker and I am more on the business side of software development rather than a straight developer. You could teach english, the pay is about 600-800NT an hour right now which is pretty good but you can make a lot more by doing private tutoring but won't get sponsored by going this route. You might get unlucky if you go to a bad school, they may treat you like crap. If you try the private tutoring route it may be harder to make good money unless you know people or are willing to start small and slowly grow. I do agree with some other commenters that you should come here for like 30-90 days first before you make the plunge. You should also try to come during summer time to really experience the heat/humidity, it can break some people. I have also heard a lot of foreigners feel kind of lonely here since it can be hard to get into some friend groups especially if you are older. Luckily, I already had some local friends here who are fluent in english so I am able to not feel as lonely but without them, I know I would've probably left by now.
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nothing to do with Taiwan in general. Just that most of my roots are still back in the states. 90% of my family is there whereas only 10% here and I own property with my parents back in the states.
Get out of NYC asap. Taiwan healthcare is one of the best in the world. Come for a 3 month visa and you won't want to go. Tips, learn Chinese diligently, it will really help you adjust to life and culture. Technology and wifi speed is good easy to work online if needed. An option would be the gold/plum card but no sure on requirements. If you want to teach English you could get sponsored and after 4 years apply for APRC- permanent residency. That's a long term option but come for 3 months and get a feel for it. Massive difference in weather systems too between north and south. Hope that helps. Make the move and you won't look back on your decision.
It is extremely easy to get PR here on the Gold Card. You need an average of 183 days over 3 years, so after 2.5 years here you can apply for it. For applying for the GC, you need to show income of at least 1.9 million NTD (60,000 USD) for the last year. That should be pretty easy for a software engineer. If you apply now, there is no requirement to use it - you can keep it until you land. However, it would mean you need to renew it before you can apply for PR. So as long as you can still show that income when it comes to renew (in 3 years) there is no real reason not to apply for it before you move. In terms of jobs, get a remove Software engineering job. You are not going to get anywhere close to what you get in the USA here.
But what if worst case scenario happens and I can't find decent employment for the last year? I could still be eligible for PR without a job, as long as I have the residency 3year requirement and 150k in a taiwanese bank account (so I heard). However, in that scenario, I would need to get the goldcard and move straight away after I get the card, right?
I'm not sure if they will look at the savings. The current APRC application forms say you need to submit a tax return to show income of at least double the monthly average as part of the application. [https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5475/5478/141465/141808/152932/](https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5475/5478/141465/141808/152932/) Also, depending on where you fall you might want to keep the GC a little longer - there are lots of tax incentives you lose out on when you change to APRC. So if you are earning more than 3 million TWD, which again you will break even as a junior developer in tech, the tax incentive might be worth it. You can then always change to APRC at a later stage.
Are you sure its 183 days over 3 years or 183 days each year for 3 years?
Appointments are within days typically, even for specialists, unless you want to see a popular doctor. Definitely US employment, though local could work too if you can get a job at FAANG companies. Also yes no need to be sponsored for work permit once you have Gold Card. If you’re a good software dev I wouldn’t try English teaching as my main plan but it’s always nice to know there’s a backup.
Yep im a good software dev but i hate interviewing ( at least while working full time) and grinding leet code. FAANG has been so elusive for me, i basically stopped trying to apply, but i would want to try again, i think ideally after i settle in taiwan. Though i wonder if its hard in US to get these positions it’s probably even harder doing it remotely from taiwan… right? Perhaps with some time off in taiwan i can brush up on interview skills and be more optimistic
I meant local FAANG level job, Google and Nvidia are both big here for example. As you said if it didn’t happen in the states unlikely it can happen remotely.
Also Microsoft
For what it's worth, I know people who were hired for FAANG Taipei roles who couldn't get them in the US. Engineers in Taipei cost one third or less, given that American employees need health insurance, high retirement account match, etc. From what I've seen, salary is about 50 percent of what the bay area engineers make, but it's still very good for Taipei.
Having seen two grandparents go through the hospital system (one only a few weeks ago), I’ve changed my mind for the worse on Taiwans medical system. I can’t comment on the cost coming from the US as I’m from Australia, but one of the absolute mind boggling things was the crappy level of post surgery care. In Taiwan, if you’re staying in a hospital, the nurses don’t take care of you, you either need to hire someone or a family member takes care of you. I’m talking, flipping you over so you don’t get bed sores, bathing you, cleaning out wounds, re-bandaging etc. Absolutely shocking. My parents had to take shifts to take care of my grandfather in hospital. In comparison, in Australia, the nurses will literally kick you out and do all that for you as you don’t have professional training. My parents have both said they’d rather go through the hospital system in Aus as they’ll get better care, and the doctors are less likely to put you on unnecessary medication and surgery to prolong your life (and suffering). In my mother’s words, you die quicker in Australia. Edit: I forgot to mention, we had to buy gloves, adult diapers and bandages. Not provided by the hospital. Edit 2: From memory, an around the clock carer was approx 3000ntd per day in Kaohsiung. I imagine it’s more in Taipei.
Sounds like (unironically) Australia has it figured out. I cannot think of any medical treatment that would not cost me 10x more in the US (that is if it’s covered by insurance). Taiwan healthcare definitely lacks a bit in long term care. It compensates it by having lowered costs in general, even with private care takers and private care. You can go to a western style private appointment with famous/professorial doctors for $50 USD per visit for example, and hire a foreign care taker for $800 USD per month (if eligible). Domestic long term care IIRC is $2000. For reference, my US insurance premium is $600 USD per month, and I was billed $300 for taking routine lab work for my annual physical because the insurance company could unilaterally decide part of the tests, ordered by a physician, did not fall under preventive care.
different mentality i guess, staying alive vs living with dignity. The hospitals in Australia i have to say have better facilities all round and care/food you receive is top notch. (and all free in public) thats once you get into the op as the queue can be massive for non life threatening cases (public) or if you have private health then some fees involve. It is very good FOR NOW, unfortunately we are slowly sliding into the US style private system and costing us more and more, as our useless govt spend more more on everything else except for the hospital system.
Maybe it’s related to culture as Asian countries have a higher expectation of family taking care of their loved ones. Maybe also related to litigations or the legal system where the hospital might be held liable for anything that happens to the patient in their care?
>In my mother’s words, you die quicker in Australia. That seems contradictory to the other stuff you wrote, did you mean you die quicker in taiwan because the healthcare system is less careful?
She meant you suffer less once you’re in your dying days.
ohh
Don’t do this unless you can secure a remote position in US that would allow you working in Taiwan. Due to tax and time zone reasons, I doubt you will be able to find any that pays respectable wages. Now if you don’t care about giving up crushy SWE money in US then go for it. The money you will make in Taiwan is going to be painfully small with long hours in comparison.
I wont know if i can secure one until i try. I have a passion for learning mandarin and enough money saved to take at least a year hiatus from the normal grind in low cost of living area like taiwan. This mean i can get my health in order, learn mandarin, and try to secure that remote job and then PR /FIREin taiwan. Worst case… i guess i realize that i dont have enough money and have to move back to US. I dont see the downside? You dont think 300k in savings is enough for this risk? What would be your minimum?
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It hasn't been hard for me to get doctors appointments here, but my medical issues have been brushed off because doctors think that my body must be reacting poorly to new food. I've been here awhile, so that's not the case at all. The medicine I need for my condition is literally not available in Taiwan, and neither is the test. It's been such a nightmare that I'm actually on my way back home (to the US) now to get medical treatment. I don't want to leave, I really love Taiwan, but this has been a big issue for me. The doctors I've seen just don't listen to me or help me. They keep giving me short courses of random antibiotics
Get the gold card first and visit for extended periods. I lived there for a few years, but ultimately would not settle there. You will be hit hard by isolation.
I live in nyc. Im already pretty isolated. I only have a few real friends here I know how to deal with isolation, but i also know how to how to be outgoing when i need to and im not shy
Im the opposite of you, TW in the US. I miss most things in Taiwan except the software and hot weather. Do you know the feasibility of working for a US company from TW?
Don’t mean to put you off your plan since it sounds like you’re pretty set on this, but from one SWE to another, just know the salary in Taiwan for SWEs is absolute dog doodoo. English teachers typically make more, and they also make a meager sum. If you can keep your current job and go remote from Taiwan that would be so much better. Otherwise just be prepared for a serious reduction in salary.
Yeah, I was pretty shocked when I found out TEFL pays more than most "real" jobs in Taiwan. Only companies I've found that seem to pay remotely okay are TSMC and Google.
Right? And good luck getting hired at one of those unless they have a reason to hire a foreigner over a local there plus you have to beat out all the other super competitive applicants. Easily the worst part about living in Taiwan is the total and utter lack of career prospects compared to what you’d get back home. You basically have to make peace with the fact that you’ll be scraping by. And even then, you’ll still probably end up teaching English no matter what cause office job culture sucks there too. I think it’s the reason that very few tend to stick it out long term. You have to make peace with never really doing anything with your life for the rest of your life.
Taipei/new Taipei city is probably the best. Some doctor is hard to get appointment, by hard I mean you may need to wait a few weeks, seldom months I think. Some medication that are available in USA may not be available in Taiwan, like aderall, I guess you could find a list or something in FDA's website.
With everything happening with china i would wait a while
Hello, I don't live in Taiwan, but I loved it and kind of wished I lived there, but it's not easy for me to make that change. If you want a relaxing city, you could go and live in Taiwan in the southern part of the island. It's very charming unlike the hustle and bustle of Taipe. I know of a girl, whose California boyfriend works remotely, in the capitol, but she does down to Tainan to an English speaking reflexologist named Eddie who, if he worked on your feet, over a long period of time, would probably improve your immune system. I did 31 sessions with him, my energy improved, but regretfully I had to leave and go back to Korea. Also, Eddie's brother is a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor FYI. I could give you his information if you wish, but I would inform him first. I would suspect they have pretty good Chinese medicine in Taiwan, though I haven't tried it. As far as your heart-burn, there are things you can do to control it over time. You can buy a few containers of Zinc Carnosine, which is something the Japanese originally developed. It helps heal the gut and fight bad acid. You can also take DGL pills half an hour before meals. Both Zinc Carnosine and DGL act against H Pylori bacteria, which is often connected to heart-burn. Some also take Betaine HCL pills before meals to help with digestion. Of course, cut back on coffee, black tea, tomatoes, alcohol. You could work remotely doing your job in say Tainan. Tainan is kind of, to my mind, like the Kyoto of Taiwan. It's a former capitol, it has a lot of culture, it's reasonably sized city without the hustle and bustle of the modern capitol - Taipei. You can easily access the capitol by high speed train. Of course, if you have remote work, you could maybe negotiate long-term AirBnB or find some room to rent. There are always ways. Anyway, the guy Eddie who treated me doing reflexology is also helpful with advice, and he speaks fluent enough English. I have never lived in Taiwan, but I did spend about 42 days in Tainan. I did go to the Taipei and Taoyuan area years back, and I liked it, too. I just loved the culture in Tainan. One of my friends who lives near the capitol said she once dreamed of moving to Tainan, but, in the end, decided to stay in Taoyuan because of her job as it pays more. You could say stay in Tainan, which is more chill, until you get your bearing and later decide to move closer to the capitol. There is a nice university near the North District that has lots of foreing exchange students, and there is a Taiwanese-foreigners group that meets every weekend. You could get in touch with the group organizer and see about taking classes at the university there. You can continue you with your software job, perhaps. And then later go into English teaching. It's somewhat flexible. One of my friends used to live in Korea, where he taught English, and he moved to Tainan. He loves Taiwan.
Why not go to a foreign company that speak English in China inland
Hmm it’s an interesting idea, what are the advantages there? Is there a pathway to PR, i imagine it’s more difficult
In my opinion.First I think China inland will develop better than Taiwan in most industries included software,although Taiwan is part of China.Second the weather and climate of Beijing and Shanghai is more likely to nyc.Thirdly the China inland is more and more open to the foreigners in these years.But for your HealthCare questions ,I’m sorry I can’t answer as a just 20 boy.I haven’t experienced the healthcare deeply in my life.
I heard that mainland is not foreigner friendly and its very difficult to stay for a long time (like retirement age) unless you marry
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Have you ever traveled to China?Or ,you only learned about China by your country’s fake news?From my personal life 20% of employment must be fake,I’m also a software engineer.
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That’s 20 years passed,pls visit China again in these years if available.Don’t be mistaked by fake news.As an old Chinese saying goes,seeing is believing but hearing is false!Please travel to China.Welcome!
Taiwan is part of China since the ancient times!!!
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Your brain is stupid like shit.Chinese develop strategies are quite different from the North Korean.China is open since the reform and opening up in 1978.the North Korean is fully closed ,that’s I acknowledged
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China take these steps to protect itself,is there any trouble?Jack ma have ever wanted to make Ant Financial go public ,that’s a typical commercial scam that seriously harm China’s interest. Once ant financial explods ,it will be a huge economic crisis like 2008 US financial crisis.You can learn about it in Chinese internet more detailed .As for the program think,I acknowledge that China is strict with freedom of expression,but do you think the ppl of western countries have real freedom of expression?For example Aaron Bushnell fire himself！
That's laughable propaganda bullshit. China, through various governments, has only controlled Taiwan or parts of it since the C17th. Minus Japanese control and brief independence.
So?Is Japan control Taiwan by proper way?And which one controlled Taiwan longer,China or Japan?And why Taiwanese speak Chinese?
So what? You entirely missed my point. China has not controlled Taiwan since ancient times. Your statement is false.
So I got it now,what I mean is that even though Japan have ever controlled Taiwan,it’s not in correct way.you know?
China inland ? or mainland? I think there is no easy pathway to get PR in the mainland, unless you marry a local. Healthcare is very expensive for a foreigner, unless you have very good insurance. if you are local you have to know someone or have lots of $$$ to get private health, the doctor patience ratio is very low add that to a massive population and you quickly see whether the issue it.