Moving to Taipei by end of October 2016 - Could use some advice!

vdcabiles2020 Member

2POSTS

9 years ago

August 25, 2016 (Thursday PM, ET in the US)

Dear Taiwan members:

Greetings from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! I hope you are all doing fine.

My name is Victoriano Cabiles. I go by Victor.

I have been in the US for more than 15 years, and I am now a naturalized US citizen. For the most part, I am a bit bored of the US. I have traveled to more than 35 States, and I have lived/worked in 8 of them. Everything is pretty much the same - fast food chains, churches, banks, gas stations, grocery stores, drug stores, and supermarkets, among other things. Somehow, I have lost the excitement of living and working in the US. Not to mention I had to drive to practically anywhere I wanted to go. Oh, and the Winters could often be harsh. I am tired of wearing thermals and heavy clothing in the Winter time.

Therefore, I am taking a leap of faith, and relocating to Taipei, Taiwan by the end of October 2016. Taiwan is an intriguing place for me. I have been to most of South East Asia: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. I am originally from the Philippines. From what I have heard, Taiwan is a beautiful and peaceful country, with a very efficient public transportation. Yes, I am tired of shoveling snow and getting the snow off my car.

I would like to connect with expats in Taipei. I am interested in meeting new people, and hopefully, making new friends. So, if you are currently living/working in Taipei, I would love to hear from you. I am also excited to learn Mandarin, and could use your advice on which school(s) to attend. Also, I could use some help in looking for a place to live. I would like to be in a lively environment; however, I would like to optimize my budget as well.

The best way to reach me is through **. I check that every day. Just put 'Taipei' on the subject line, so I know it is from Expat.Com.

Thank you very much, and I look forward to hearing from some of you!

Sincerely,

Victor Cabiles (MBA, MGM)
*

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Sophia xuan Member

1POSTS

9 years ago

Welcome to Taiwan. If you plan move to Taiwan in the end of October, it will be nice weather at the moment actually. But the winter is coming, so try to prepare yourself as well. For the accomodation, you can try to find the room through website but will be difficult for you if u don't understand chinese. Cause that is the local website so all will be in Chinese. So i will suggest you join the looking for roommates or apartment in Taipei on facebook. There you can find the room easier. There are a lots of foreigners who looking for roommates as well. So you share the apartment with other foreigners, and exchange the culture as well. If you want to study Chinese, you can find the information about National Taipei normal university, Culture university. Actually, almost the university in Taiwan have language center. So good luck for you.

Emilyishere Member

2POSTS

9 years ago

Welcome! I am from the US, but have lived in Taipei for a little over two years. Taipei is a somewhat hectic city of course- bit Taiwan itself is a beautiful country. In fact, just last week we rented a car and went on a road trip down south to Kenting and along the east coast (taitung to hualien). Beautiful weather and fairly empty beaches! And that's what I love the most about taiwan- getting out of Taipei and exploring.

A friend of mine went to TMI (Taiwan mandarin institute) to learn the language. This is ideal if you also work full time, since its 5 weeks to 2 months, fast-track, and you can opt to take it just in the evenings.

I'm happy to help you out if you need anything or have any specific questions- I also moved here without knowing anyone...! Good luck with your move, and welcome to Taiwan

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expatodilia Member

1POSTS

9 years ago

Taiwan is a great place to stay, but you may meet some difficulties due to job hunting (language barrier and racial tensions may occur as well). I would suggesting you choose other parts of Taiwan beside Taipei, since it has the highest cost of living and housing. Learning Chinese in Taiwan will be the best opportunity. First, Taiwan has a strong Chinese culture as a proxy of China. However Taiwan still using the traditional Chinese characters which tend to be prettier (in my opinion) and complex, of course. But once, you're able to use it, then Simplified Chinese would be a piece of cake for you. There are a lot of School's institutions that provide Chinese courses, and you may find more details here: http://www.studyintaiwan.org/learning_where.html.

Well, wish you enjoy the new life here, in Taiwan! Will have bunch of sophisticated things need to explore, including culinary and cultural places!
Wish this information helps you!