|
Yknow, even though deodorant is super low-supply around here, stick deodorant especially, it's not completely barren. My local watsons sells a Rexona stick antiperspirant that smells pretty nice and works well, so I'm just gonna buy that for the rest of my time here. But yeah, if you have an affinity for a certain brand or you prefer non-aluminum stick, you'll want to bring a big supply. I sorta miss Old Spice classic.
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 06:51
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 17:25 |
|
|
USDA Choice posted:I'm not Canadian but I've used Taishin bank and MegaBank in Taiwan, neither has been particularly stellar nor lovely. Wire transfers to the US seem to run at least $300NT but that's hearsay as I've never done one myself. 300NT on this end. Your home bank will want a cut and if your bank isn't a big international bank, whoever handles the actually processing of the wire transfer will take a cut too.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 07:27
|
|
|
fardoche posted:Hey HappyHelmet! Thanks for your reply. How far would SOGO be from Costco approximately? I'd have preferred to live close to my school, but I assume it's gotta be a whole lot easier for a newcomer to live close to other expats. Guess buying a scooter is inevitable huh. Scooters are mandatory here in Taichung. Getting from city to city by bus is easy because you can just go to the main bus stations, but the city buses are pretty confusing. They are much slower than just jumping on your scooter and running somewhere too. Also going to grocery stores and such can be a pain without a scooter (you'd be surprised by what you can carry on a scooter). If you end up living near the SOGO that would be about 5-15 minutes from Costco depending on traffic. Finding a kitchen can be difficult, but they are around. Most cheap apartments are for younger Taiwanese, and they don't cook. It's good you have someone to help you out. The problem with going through work is that they don't want to spend all day showing you apartments so your choices will be slim. Your other questions: 1. There is a Facebook group called "Taichung English Teachers Group," but it's mostly for finding jobs. 2. No I'm not Canadian someone else might be able to help you with that in here though. 3. There are tons of places to go and buy clothes here so I wouldn't worry too much about that. If you like Adidas there is an outlet store downtown you can get cheap clothes/shoes at, if you like GAP style clothes there is a place called NET here that is basically the same except a little cheaper and lower quality. Also the largest night market in Taiwan is here in the city. You can find all manner of VERY cheap and crappy clothes that will last barely a year there. quadrophrenic posted:Yknow, even though deodorant is super low-supply around here, stick deodorant especially, it's not completely barren. My local watsons sells a Rexona stick antiperspirant that smells pretty nice and works well, so I'm just gonna buy that for the rest of my time here. My problem is that I'm slightly allergic to a lot of really perfumey things. The Taiwan brands are particularly stinky, and make me nauseous. So I had my Mom send me a poo poo load of Old Spice a while back as for whatever reason that brand doesn't bother me.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 07:31
|
|
|
quadrophrenic posted:But yeah, if you have an affinity for a certain brand or you prefer non-aluminum stick, you'll want to bring a big supply. I sorta miss Old Spice classic. Wellman's waiguoren store in Tienmu has some. Both stick and cologne bottles if I recall correctly, if you're that desperate to smell like someone's grandfather.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 07:52
|
|
|
Spanish Matlock posted:Wellman's waiguoren store in Tienmu has some. Both stick and cologne bottles if I recall correctly, if you're that desperate to smell like someone's grandfather. Like my grandfather 
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 08:48
|
|
|
When I lived in Taiwan like 5 years ago Watson's always had a lot of Old Spice, right guard, Axe/Lynx, etc... I guess it was half a decade ago but I doubt they became less-open to foreign things...
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 11:12
|
|
|
Magna Kaser posted:When I lived in Taiwan like 5 years ago Watson's always had a lot of Old Spice, right guard, Axe/Lynx, etc... I guess it was half a decade ago but I doubt they became less-open to foreign things... Actually, a lot of places have. I think over the last decade, there's been a large influx of foreign brands and products and most of them simply aren't purchased by Taiwanese people. A handful become part of their daily lives, like coke and whiskey, but the rest fall by the wayside, like Eggos, Sour Skittles, Cherry Coke, and things that make your body smell good. Edit: It's not to say they're not foreigner friendly. It's that the businesses cater to the majority. More signs and stuff are in English and there's usually at least one member on staff specifically there to assist English speakers, but the items for sell are more and more for the locals. My Carrefour has a shittier and shittier selection every year and is only distinct from Wellcome at this point because of their in-house brand and lower prices.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 11:43
|
|
|
Yeah. No doubt some right guard might appear at a watson's. The locals prefer the spray kinds of deodorant for whatever reason. It's a nice stick deodorant that you'll really be pining for. But like the man said it's likely that any cosmetic/medical store is going to have some rexona rollon or some such.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 11:50
|
|
|
Christ, I don't know which scent it was, but one of those Rexona ones was strong enough to stink up a room for an entire day. Be a pal and don't be the guy who showers himself with deodorant. You can get deodorant, but your selection will suck. If you want anti-perspirant, that's a lot more difficult I think.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 12:36
|
|
|
Thank you all for your input! I had actually planned on bringing 4-5 sticks of antiperspirant and thought that was too much but after reading your last posts, I guess I'll go ahead with my initial plan. Is there a brand of toothpaste with baking soda available there? I like Arm & Hammer so I'll bring a couple tubes if you tell me there's just the basic Crest and Colgate. Any advice on looking for a scooter? Any particular make I should look for? Thanks for taking the time to send me that link USDA  I'm still learning how to get around on that Chrome translated website.HappyHelmet: you say that you're leaving mid-August. Where do you live and is your apt. available?  Otherwise, the 2-bed apts for 10-12k you're talking about usually don't have a small kitchen?Appreciate reading your helpful feedback guys. Very different from another Taiwan forum I've been to... fardoche fucked around with this message at 13:25 on Jun 24, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 13:10
|
|
|
fardoche posted:Thank you all for your input! I don't know about baking soda ones, but toothpaste selection here is fine. If you want more natural ones, you can find those, as well as ones that are non foaming or whatever. For scooter, you want one that's not falling apart, brakes smoothly, preferably 125cc, and you'll probably need to take the test depending on your country/state's relations with Taiwan.* If you're getting a used scooter, it should be under 15-18k or so unless it's in notably good condition. Make sure you get at least a 3/4 style helmet so you don't die, full face shields are recommended to keep smoke/pollution out of your eyes and off your face. (1.5-2k on the low end?) *assuming you care about being legal
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 13:50
|
|
|
Atlas Hugged posted:Actually, a lot of places have. I think over the last decade, there's been a large influx of foreign brands and products and most of them simply aren't purchased by Taiwanese people. A handful become part of their daily lives, like coke and whiskey, but the rest fall by the wayside, like Eggos, Sour Skittles, Cherry Coke, and things that make your body smell good. Sour Skittles have recently appeared all over the mainland as a real made-for-China thing, as have cookies and creme hershey bars and those weird M&Ms with rice crispies in them. I'M WAITING FOR PEANUT BUTTER M&Ms!!!!!!
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 14:35
|
|
|
I just walked into the local 7-11 and a dude recognized me from somewhere and decided I looked overly sober. I left with a complimentary bag of tall boys. Hooray Taiwan! On that note, one of the things that has been slowly but surely improving in Taiwan is the beer selection. They don't necessarily get the imports I'd buy back home, but the fact that there is any variety at all is a huge step in the right direction.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 14:59
|
|
|
They've got good Belgians already, I've started to see some fair-to-middlin' Bohemian pilseners popping up in a few places, but I doubt they'll ever truly get on that American craft brew tip, which is more due to the fussiness of American craft brewers than the fussiness of Taiwanese consumers, I reckon.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 15:10
|
|
|
fardoche posted:HappyHelmet: you say that you're leaving mid-August. Where do you live and is your apt. available? I don't live in the city proper so you wouldn't want to live where I live. It's a nice area to live in, but it's about 40 minutes from where you would be working. Kitchens like I said are hit or miss. You just have to keep looking until you find a place that has one. Though if you find a place you really like that doesn't have a kitchen you also have the option of building your own stove top for relatively little. You can find these 1-2 burner over-sized camp stove looking things everywhere in Taiwan, and after you set that up you can have a large propane tank delivered to your house and use that (the stove in my place is like this). It's pretty hokey, but it works, and the majority of the small restaurants here use something like it. You'll see trucks filled to the brim with full/empty tanks running all over the city making deliveries constantly here. Edit: Atlas Hugged posted:Actually, a lot of places have. I think over the last decade, there's been a large influx of foreign brands and products and most of them simply aren't purchased by Taiwanese people. A handful become part of their daily lives, like coke and whiskey, but the rest fall by the wayside, like Eggos, Sour Skittles, Cherry Coke, and things that make your body smell good. This is something I've noticed as well. In recent times companies have been trying to bring in new products, but they never seem to sell very well. I always think of Costco as a good example. All of the foreign stuff that would be unfamiliar to Taiwanese never sells very well. Things like salsa, tortilla chips, non-generic cheeses, tortillas, etc etc just sit there. Atlas Hugged posted:I just walked into the local 7-11 and a dude recognized me from somewhere and decided I looked overly sober. I left with a complimentary bag of tall boys. Hooray Taiwan! I'd have to disagree here. If it's cheap beer the natives will buy it, but most imports are too much for the locals. Remember when 7-11 started carrying a few micro brew(ish) things? Yeah, never saw Taiwanese drinking that. If it costs more than ~$35NT for a 12oz nobody wants it here. HappyHelmet fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Jun 24, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2013 15:35
|
|
|
Magna Kaser posted:Sour Skittles have recently appeared all over the mainland as a real made-for-China thing, as have cookies and creme hershey bars and those weird M&Ms with rice crispies in them. I'M WAITING FOR PEANUT BUTTER M&Ms!!!!!! I was excited to try those crispy M&Ms when I first saw them, but at least the ones we get in Hong Kong are like malt-flavored. I don't remember if China or Taiwan has this problem, but Hong Kongers love malt flavor, which I find all kinds of gross.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 02:29
|
|
|
For Taichung living, If you're looking for places with kitchen in the Xitun or Xi District (which is where the Costco and SOGO are) then it could get pretty expensive. I was living in a box there for 10000 NT. Granted, it was a pink, flowery box, but now half of my bedroom was bigger than my whole apartment before. I would say that if you're planning to stay for longer than one year, just suck it up for the first year and wait. By the time that's up, you'll be able to get a Taiwanese friend to help you look for good deals and better places. Most schools will not be setting you up in the better places, unless you're really lucky or willing to live with a roommate.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 08:57
|
|
|
Ok, I've mentioned this before but I've recently moved on to playing the sequel to Neptune's Pride, Neptune's Pride 2: Triton. It's a browser (or tablet) based online board game similar to risk or a stripped down 4x game. Here's a lovely photo of the game: Here's some of the key features:  Each planet you control has three scores associated with it. Economy, Industry and Science. The more Resources your planet has, the cheaper it will be to buy these things. Economy Economy determines how much money that planet makes for you at pay time, which happens once a day in normal games, or every two turns in a turn-based game. You receive 10 dollars for every point of Economy you have in your empire. Industry Industry determines how many ships your planet makes every production period. This is determined by a complicated mathematical formula, but sufficed to say, more industry means more ships. Science  Science determines how fast you research delicious delicious techmologies. It's pretty important. More on that below.  There are seven technologies to research in Neptune's Pride. They are: Weapons Weapons is exactly what you would think it is. When two carriers meet on a planet, they engage in combat. The carrier on defense (the first one there) goes first, and does [WeaponStrength+1] damage to the attacker. The attacker retaliates for [WeaponStrength] damage. This continues until everyone on one side has died screaming in a fire. Banking Money is important! Each level of banking nets you an extra 50 bucks at paytime! That's like... 5 economy worth of bucks! Manufacturing Remember that complicated how many ships do I get formula I mentioned? It is as follows: "A star produces Y*(X+5) ships every 24 hours where X is your manufacturing tech level and Y is the amount of industry at a star." Don't worry too much about that though, your GUI will helpfully tell you how many ships are being produced at your stars! Terraforming Terraforming has to do with the planets resources. More Terraforming tech means richer planets and cheaper everything. Hyperspace The goal of Neptune's Pride is to take over the universe and smite your neighbors. If you want to do that, you're going to have to get to them, so this technology will increase the range of your ships for a single move. Experimentation Wildcard. Every hour the computer rolls the dice and maybe gives you X*48 points toward a random technology. Scanning Scanners. To see farther. So you can see the vile hosts of assholes coming to burn your women and violate your settlements. In any case, I know there are some board game playing goons here. If you've ever thought "Risk is fun, but I wish I could draw the humiliation out over several weeks of real-time play!" Then this might be a thing you could kill a couple minutes with each day. If you're interested the link is here: Taipei Goon Meat PM me for the password. Also, if you think that 12 hour turns are too short, I can reset it to the default 24 hours/turn.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 12:29
|
|
|
Does anyone know how much a taxi from Taoyuan airport to the center of Taipei will cost? Dealing with my parents so I want to make this as simple as possible.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 14:21
|
|
|
GoutPatrol posted:Does anyone know how much a taxi from Taoyuan airport to the center of Taipei will cost? Dealing with my parents so I want to make this as simple as possible.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 15:04
|
|
|
GoutPatrol posted:Does anyone know how much a taxi from Taoyuan airport to the center of Taipei will cost? Dealing with my parents so I want to make this as simple as possible. I kinda feel like it would be cheaper for you to meet them at the airport and the take the bus back together.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 15:11
|
|
|
I think my coworker has a guy that does it for 750 maybe 800, I'm not sure if that includes tolls or not. I doubt his English is good but I bet he could write down their names and make sure they're the right people. I'll ask for his number tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 16:02
|
|
|
GoutPatrol posted:Does anyone know how much a taxi from Taoyuan airport to the center of Taipei will cost? Dealing with my parents so I want to make this as simple as possible. 1200 nt into Taipei.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 16:19
|
|
|
HappyHelmet posted:I kinda feel like it would be cheaper for you to meet them at the airport and the take the bus back together. Well I'm in Hong Kong with them right now, and they are bringing a very large amount of luggage. I don't want to keep track of my elderly parents and their stuff through the bus system I don't know. Money isn't an issue when 1200 NT is still cheap for them.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 02:45
|
|
|
USDA Choice posted:I think my coworker has a guy that does it for 750 maybe 800, I'm not sure if that includes tolls or not. I doubt his English is good but I bet he could write down their names and make sure they're the right people. I'll ask for his number tomorrow. This might be best; it's generally better to hire a guy beforehand because 1) they'll probably have a van or something more suitable for the amount of luggage you're bringing, 2) it's cheaper and price can be determined up front, 3) gently caress getting a cab from one of those skeezy guys in the reception areas, period. e: also, 1200NT is about right, and hired van guys are usually pretty friendly and professional
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 03:59
|
|
|
I've had lots of cab rides from the Airport to the CKS area, which is basically the middle of Taipei. It's been from 850-1200 or so. To get to the airport, we usually call the some taxi group which gives a decent fare, and sometimes has breakfast ready for us, since we always take early flights. Getting back from the airport, we always just go out the main exit to the taxi pickup area, where the official taxi service just runs the meter, which usually goes to 1200ish.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 04:45
|
|
|
I know a guy in the next town over who has a cab and will take me to and from the airport for 500, but that's because I live in the 'burbs.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 06:06
|
|
|
Yeah, I paid 1200nt both from and too the airport to my hotel, so I assumed it was the 'go-to' fare. Going to assume his parents dont really care about the difference and just want to get to their abode.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 06:19
|
|
|
Anyone heard anything about Tree House Academy in Daan?
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 15:06
|
|
|
Just that I just saw that they were advertising pretty hard at the elementary school my school pulls students from and was thinking about applying there since my current school is a mess.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 18:13
|
|
|
kru posted:Yeah, I paid 1200nt both from and too the airport to my hotel, so I assumed it was the 'go-to' fare. Going to assume his parents dont really care about the difference and just want to get to their abode. Yeah is was 1100 even after the fee, which is less than the whole fee it costs to get them to Newark or JFK. We're at the Grand Hotel and going to do the tourist thing the next two days before they come down to Taichung and see how I live. They've spent the past month on the mainland so Taiwan is supposed to be their de-Chineseafying before they go back for another month.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2013 04:31
|
|
|
Anyone have any experience with this TESOL place specifically? I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about getting a TESOL here in Taiwan at all. I've been teaching here for two years now, and this seems like it could give me an edge when looking for a new job. I'm just not sure if it's worth the $33000 (not including travel fees to Taipei every Saturday).
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2013 04:40
|
|
|
So Much Ponies posted:Anyone have any experience with this TESOL place specifically? I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about getting a TESOL here in Taiwan at all. I've been teaching here for two years now, and this seems like it could give me an edge when looking for a new job. I'm just not sure if it's worth the $33000 (not including travel fees to Taipei every Saturday). Have you applied for cram school jobs and they've said they want to see a TESOL? More so than they want to see a good demo, recommendation, or experience? Also, like you mentioned I do have to question getting a TESOL in Taiwan at all. But I haven't heard of that place, nor am I an expert in the subject so can't help too much.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2013 05:31
|
|
|
USDA Choice posted:Have you applied for cram school jobs and they've said they want to see a TESOL? More so than they want to see a good demo, recommendation, or experience? Most schools list it as 'preferable' but not required. Couldn't hurt to have, but I don't want to waste time or money if it's completely useless. I'm just curious if anyone here has experience with this place.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2013 05:58
|
|
|
Does anybody know if the CKS memorial is still roped off from the bottom so you can't see anything good inside?
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2013 08:27
|
|
|
USDA Choice posted:Does anybody know if the CKS memorial is still roped off from the bottom so you can't see anything good inside? I saw it was open two weeks ago. I live right next to it and walk through it as a shortcut daily, but don't go around the front with the steps too often.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2013 15:45
|
|
|
Thanks again for all the information about apartments. I'm also wondering how I should proceed to use a cellphone in Taiwan. I'm looking for one of the latest phones, and currently I'm looking at the Galaxy S4, HTC One and Sony Xperia ZL. I tend to prefer the Sony and S4 because of the extra memory slot, which the One doesn't have. I want to use the phone to take pictures and videos so I need something that can replace my compact camera in both capacity and reasonable quality. I've been looking at different reviews, and while the S4 comes out on top, the other two follow close behind. I know that in order to get a new phone subsidized in Taiwan, they ask to pay for a whole year of service at once. I'm not sure if I'd rather buy the phone here in Canada or wait until I get to Taiwan. How do I proceed to get unlimited data and a couple hundred minutes of talk time in Taiwan? Do I need to already have my ARC? Do phone retailers in Taiwan carry the black 64GB version of the HTC One and 32GB-64GB versions of the S4? We only have the 32GB version of the One and 16GB version of the S4 here.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 17:27
|
|
|
You can have a Taiwanese person co-sign for you when you get a contract. You can get an unlimited data plan for about USD$30 per month in my experience, plus a bit extra for the voice stuff. Some employees might not know that this is an option, so you might have to ask a manager. I'd recommend getting the S4. HTC is awful at getting updates out and the company is in dire straits, so I don't expect them to get any less lovely. (Deeply unsatisfied HTC customer here.)
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 18:13
|
|
|
Oz_Bonus posted:You can have a Taiwanese person co-sign for you when you get a contract. You can get an unlimited data plan for about USD$30 per month in my experience, plus a bit extra for the voice stuff. Some employees might not know that this is an option, so you might have to ask a manager. On the other end of the spectrum, I've been nothing but happy with my HTC One. What is appropriate job interview attire for a buxiban teaching job? Suit and tie? Also I'm starting to stress about finding an apartment in Taipei. Tealit doesn't have anything like what I want so I'm going to sit down with a CT and go through 591.com. Unless anyone here knows of a 10-12 ping unfurnished place near an MRT station? Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 09:03 on Jul 1, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2013 08:59
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 17:25 |
|
|
Suit and tie will put you leagues ahead of the competition.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2013 11:42
|
|