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Man if you sell good bread - none of this Taiwanese overly-sweet nonsense - I will be on the train to Taichung in a heartbeat.
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May 7, 2012 15:47
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TetsuoTW posted:Man if you sell good bread - none of this Taiwanese overly-sweet nonsense - I will be on the train to Taichung in a heartbeat. Thats basically the idea. There is only one or two places to buy western style bread in Taichung, and their selections are limited. Also the breads they do sell are nothing special. I'm hoping to be able to sell things like decent white/wheat, sourdough, multi-grain, french, etc etc etc. We'll see how it goes. For the next few months I'm going to bake a whole bunch of poo poo and see if this is something I can actually do. Then go from there.
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May 7, 2012 16:05
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HappyHelmet posted:Already found one (finally). I'm looking to start my own bakery here in Taichung next year. So I needed something a bit more heavy duty than a toaster oven
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May 7, 2012 16:07
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duckfarts posted:That oven is pretty goddamn sweet. Yeah, I can't wait to try it out. Need buy a stand, extension cord, and have a friend help me move the drat thing before I can use it though  .
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May 8, 2012 07:23
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On my way to the airport to catch a flight to Taipei for a fact-finding mission for work. I've got things scheduled from tomorrow but nothing tonight. Does anyone want to grab dinner and explain to me how the world works?
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May 14, 2012 01:14
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Looks like you're in Tokyo, so you mean the today that's already here in Asia, the 14th? If that's the case I'm busy until at least 10:00pm
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May 14, 2012 05:11
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USDA Choice posted:Looks like you're in Tokyo, so you mean the today that's already here in Asia, the 14th? If that's the case I'm busy until at least 10:00pm Yes, by today, I mean today  I should be all checked in etc by 7pm at the latest. Probably as early as 6pm. Will be boarding in about 30 minutes.
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May 14, 2012 05:25
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Do buxibans and the like drug test potential English teachers? I'm not sure if they would, but better to be on the safe side!
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May 19, 2012 19:40
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OrangeGuy posted:Do buxibans and the like drug test potential English teachers? I'm not sure if they would, but better to be on the safe side! They run a blood test before you can get a resident visa, however I'm pretty sure they just screen that for HIV and other super nasty diseases and nothing else. The schools themselves certainly don't bother to inquire. Obligatory disclaimer: Theoretically possession of a controlled drug can lead to the death penalty. Practically that never happens, but it does show how serious they are about it. Still, just like anywhere else it takes extreme stupidity or bad luck to get caught in the first place. edit- They=government, via hospital nurses. Come to think of it, it might be possible to get the bloodwork done prior to arriving and then not needing to do it here? USDA Choice fucked around with this message at 21:05 on May 19, 2012 |
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May 19, 2012 21:01
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Without going into too much detail, no the ARC test does not test for THC or amphetamines.
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May 19, 2012 21:23
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USDA Choice posted:Obligatory disclaimer: Theoretically possession of a controlled drug can lead to the death penalty. Practically that never happens, but it does show how serious they are about it. Still, just like anywhere else it takes extreme stupidity or bad luck to get caught in the first place.
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May 20, 2012 17:34
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Even for smuggling its very very rare they give the death penalty. Friend of a friend is in jail for possessing and smuggling very large amounts of cocaine. He only got something like 27 years.
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May 21, 2012 01:29
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Hey, what's a ballpark salary for someone teaching 18 hours a week in Taipei? My sister is applying around and has some offers. If anyone here knows of decent jobs starting in the fall though, I could get you two in contact. She has a year of experience teaching English in the mainland and is thinking about jumping across the strait.
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May 24, 2012 14:46
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Magna Kaser posted:Hey, what's a ballpark salary for someone teaching 18 hours a week in Taipei? My sister is applying around and has some offers. Average chain buxiban starting rate: $580nt/hour. 18hours x 4ish weeks = 72hours/month. 580x72= $41,760nt/month, aka like $1,350us. Before 18% tax.
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May 24, 2012 17:46
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Ravendas posted:Average chain buxiban starting rate: $580nt/hour. 18hours x 4ish weeks = 72hours/month. 580x72= $41,760nt/month, aka like $1,350us. Before 18% tax. Wow, that's atrocious. Do they at least typically provide housing or something? Why would someone move to the other side of the world to earn so little?
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May 24, 2012 20:07
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Well 18% tax is only for the first year, then it's like 9-10% or something. Plus cost of living in Taiwan is probably lower than most other places. I mean you can really scrape even in Taipei, if you go out into the sticks you'll earn more and have to pay less. But yeah, your average teacher here is a trouble drifter with a shady past. Edit: Whoa poo poo, apparently that's also just about median income for women in the US too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States#Income_distribution Spanish Matlock fucked around with this message at 20:35 on May 24, 2012 |
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May 24, 2012 20:31
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My question would be why 18 hours a week? Why not 30?
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May 25, 2012 00:49
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thegoat posted:My question would be why 18 hours a week? Why not 30? Exactly. Is it possible to just get more hours if you want more money? The flip side is the math works out where you can live a normal life style working part-time hours, which is very attractive to many people.
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May 25, 2012 01:16
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Spanish Matlock posted:Well 18% tax is only for the first year, then it's like 9-10% or something. Plus cost of living in Taiwan is probably lower than most other places. I mean you can really scrape even in Taipei, if you go out into the sticks you'll earn more and have to pay less. But yeah, your average teacher here is a trouble drifter with a shady past.
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May 25, 2012 03:02
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There are better and worse deals depending on where you live and who you work for. I know my company covers housing and yearly airfare. I'm able to work part time and live a pretty comfortable lifestyle. My biggest goal is to save money to throw at my student loans while having enough free time to actually improve my Chinese. I wouldn't have as much time or energy to dedicate to memorizing squiggly lines if I had a real job. For most of us, the appeal is short working hours, good enough pay, and low cost vacations. We're already on this side of the planet, so flying to places like Japan, Thailand, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, or any other awesome vacation spot is pretty cheap.
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May 25, 2012 03:14
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Spanish Matlock posted:Well 18% tax is only for the first year, then it's like 9-10% or something. Plus cost of living in Taiwan is probably lower than most other places. I mean you can really scrape even in Taipei, if you go out into the sticks you'll earn more and have to pay less. But yeah, your average teacher here is a trouble drifter with a shady past. Have you left Taiwan or something? That taxes info is from like 4 years ago. Now its 18% for the first 6 months you pay every year, with the rest of the year being 6%. You get a refund the following year for the 12% difference the first 6 months. If you have dependents or other things you can actually get your tax rate lowered to almost 0% for a huge refund. So if you come late in a year, say August, you'll pay 18% for August, September, October, November, December, then the year rolls over and you have to pay 18% for the next 6 months as well. It's pretty terrible. Month and a half till the taxes lower for those of us who've been here since the beginning of the year though! It's like getting a bonus. Edit: About the 'ugh how can you live with that 18 hour a week blah blah blah!' I never said 18 hours is a good/average workweek. That's what the person was asking about, 18 hours. The starting pay at Hess is 580, I think it's less at Kojen, so I just multiplied it out. Though my first job was only 16 hours a week, but they paid 800/hour. That was a nice place. Ravendas fucked around with this message at 04:33 on May 25, 2012 |
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May 25, 2012 04:31
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I don't think anybody was actually saying ugh how can you live on 18 hours. I was just asking why someone would ask for that amount of hours and then wonder why people would move here for that amount. I know plenty of people who work the minimum 14 needed for an arc. I always wondered why someone would move across the globe and then work as little as possible, saving almost nothing for 10+ years.
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May 25, 2012 04:50
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Ravendas posted:Have you left Taiwan or something? That taxes info is from like 4 years ago.
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May 25, 2012 05:03
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On the subject of taxes, does anyone know an English speaking tax person? I'd like to get advice about how much I would expect to pay in taxes and what I can deduct as expenses.
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May 25, 2012 05:08
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thegoat posted:I always wondered why someone would move across the globe and then work as little as possible, saving almost nothing for 10+ years. This doesn't really make sense to me. If I had just wanted to make and save money, I wouldn't have come to Taiwan in the first place. I figure a lot of people wanted the experience of living in another place, or learning Chinese, or whatever. If you came to Taiwan to just buckle down and work as much as possible to make as much as possible, it seems like there almost surely are better options available (at least when talking about cram school teaching jobs), especially considering you need to have a college education to qualify for that job here. By all means, I'm looking for enough work to live comfortably and save a little, sure. And if it was a different profession, I might change my tune, but as far as Teaching English at a buxiban is concerned, I'd take 18 hours a week rather than 30 any day.
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May 25, 2012 05:35
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Bloodnose posted:Wow, that's atrocious. Do they at least typically provide housing or something? Why would someone move to the other side of the world to earn so little?
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May 25, 2012 06:00
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Ravendas posted:Have you left Taiwan or something? That taxes info is from like 4 years ago. I don't pay a lot of attention to my taxes in Taiwan obviously. As far as I'm concerned the tax people here are a kind of magical elf that give me fat refund checks every year to spend irresponsibly on something shiny and unuseful.
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May 25, 2012 08:46
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Here is a local posting for Kaohsiung. Same as Hess at about 580/hr. Benefits include: - 30 teaching hours per week, all in one place, Monday to Friday - work visa, ARC, and health insurance provided - three week summer holiday plus additional personal vacation time - generous year end bonus and tax back incentives - total annual net income over 830,000NT The ideal candidate will: - be patient, creative, hard-working, and outgoing and work well in a fast-paced environment - work well with children aged 7 to 14 - be a Native English speaker - possess a four year university degree - be able to sign a one year contract For more information on KNS visit us on the web at https://www.kns.com.tw
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May 25, 2012 13:14
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TetsuoTW posted:NT$40,000 a month will have you living reasonably well in Taipei and like a goddamned king just about anywhere else. Yeah, $40,000 may be pushing it for Taipei, but anywhere else on the island you can actually live very comfortably on that much. Well provided you don't party it all away like most of the other foreigners I meet here. POCKET CHOMP posted:This doesn't really make sense to me. If I had just wanted to make and save money, I wouldn't have come to Taiwan in the first place. This too. I have met a few people that are serious about the buxiban thing as an actual job, and they are just really sad. If your serious about staying in Taiwan long-term you should absolutely go out and try to find yourself a real job here. They do exist you just have to look a little harder for them. Or do like me, and go the insane route by trying to start your own business.
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May 27, 2012 00:54
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I live in Taipei and drank like a fish for a year on 35,000 a month. Living expenses aren't too high as long as you have roommates. 12000 for rent + bills, 9000 for food, that still leaves 14000 for coke and hookers. Lots of people come here with debt though, so paying that down can suck.
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May 27, 2012 19:12
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14k for coke and hookers is one weekend if you have a lot of fun. Two if you are reserved.
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May 28, 2012 03:35
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thegoat posted:14k for coke and hookers is one weekend if you have a lot of fun. Two if you are reserved. You guys must feel like total ballers when you tell your buddies, "shiiiit, I dropped like $5,000 *cough*NTD*cough* at the bar last night, it was EPIC!!1"
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May 28, 2012 04:02
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When I sent my application into HESS I chose only Taipei and wasn't flexible, but now I'm wondering if there's anywhere else that would be just as cool. I know it depends on what you want, but Taipei's MRT really appeals to me as well as the large foreign population. The questionnaire mentions these places have a large ex-pat community: Taichung, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung Is that true? I'm considering broadening my options on the questionnaire, but I don't want to be isolated. I do love nature and probably won't be clubbing a whole lot so that's probably good if I want to teach outside of Taipei.
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May 29, 2012 01:22
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Kaohsiung (gently caress this spelling) and Taichung are the next two biggest cities. They're both on the HSR so you'd be able to get to Taipei in a couple of hours if you needed to and the cities have tons of foreigners and poo poo to do. Taoyuan is a bit more removed. It's practically a suburb of Taipei, but you're going to be relying on buses and trains to get you back and forth. It's also far less developed than the major cities. Keelung is supposed to be the rainiest loving place in Taiwan. Supposedly, it has the highest suicide rate in the country among locals. I don't know how true that is, but given how awful the rain is in Taipei, I don't think I'd be very happy with more. I can't tell you much about Hsinchu. I think that's the city they're trying to promote as Taiwan's Silicone Valley. There are lots of young professionals, so it might be a good place to get some private lessons with adults.
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May 29, 2012 03:10
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Cool, thanks. I'll probably put Kaohsiung and Taichung on there. Having a scooter might be fun. 
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May 29, 2012 04:43
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I don't know why Keelung is on there, don't go there. A guy from my training class was actually posted to Keelung but he chose to live in Taipei and take the train to work every day, that's how exciting it is. I was in Hsinchu last year, and while it definitely has a lot of foreigners per capita, city proper is only a total population of 400k and even if you add Miaoli + Hsinchu counties, it's 1.5 million, and that's over a pretty big area. Hsinchu is frankly pretty boring. It has some clubs that try to imitate Luxy, though I'll admit its restaurants appear to be both increasing and improving dramatically. Hsinchu won't make you feel isolated, and I wouldn't say it's bucolic or anything, but there is definitely simply less to do. It has the highest wages anywhere on the island (so says Wiki) but it's got the same cheap prices as everywhere outside Taipei so there's more opportunity to save up a little.
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May 29, 2012 05:43
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I think my friend had an interview there a year or so ago and he said that basically he'd teach in the afternoon and spend all of his mornings on the beach if he took the job. That doesn't sound like an awful lifestyle.
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May 29, 2012 05:59
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I just got a job offer with KOJEN. They tell me I'd most likely be working in Taipei. I don't suppose anyone has arrived recently enough that they remember how long it took their ARC processed? I ask because the recruiter is recommending I just use a landing visa, which would only be for 30 days because I'm American. That seems like the timing could get a little tight. Should I go ahead and plan on getting a 60 day visitor visa?
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May 30, 2012 12:34
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Egadsman posted:I just got a job offer with KOJEN. They tell me I'd most likely be working in Taipei. Go for the 60 day, it would be tight with 30, and you'd have some peace of mind if Kojen turns out to be terrible and you need time to find a different school.
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May 30, 2012 13:09
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Thanks, will do. I've been poking around the boca.gov.tw site to make sure I understand Taiwan's visa regulations, but I think I remember someone in the previous thread saying that the information available online is not reliable. Is there somewhere I can go to see visa information more recent than 2005?
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May 30, 2012 14:28
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