I remember way back 2014 when I first arrived here in Taiwan, I have no idea if I am going to like it here, what would be my future, or if I can stay longer. From the moment I stepped on the airport, Taiwan seemed to be an oriented place. The airport is neat and peaceful, the immigration officers are accommodating, WIFI is great, and taxicab drivers outside are quite honest I must say.
Taiwan has already been my home for 3 years. I pursued my MBA degree here. Living away from your home country, in my case, the Philippines, is very challenging especially that not all Taiwanese can speak English. There will always be a language barrier that makes it difficult to communicate with the people, sometimes, body language works!
Below are MY top reasons why I think that Taiwan is a great place to live:
1. Friendly Taiwanese Locals
Most locals are really friendly and approachable. Even though I can’t speak their language that much, I am not afraid to talk to them. They will actually try their best to communicate with you despite the language barrier especially if you are a foreigner. I think it is just their nature to help other people without expecting something in return. Every time I enroll in our university before, my classmates would really offer their assistance to help me with the process since I cannot communicate well with the school staffs.
2. Faster Internet Connection
According to the recently published report on global internet connection speed, Taiwan ranked 19th which has an average of 15.6 Mbps. You can watch a movie online simultaneously and you can download a full one-hour movie for less than 5 minutes (depends on the network and location you are in).
3. Cheap Cost of Living
We live in Tamsui District which is already part of the New Taipei City and is around 40 minutes away from the Main Taipei City. We rented a studio type room which has its own bathroom, kitchen, washing machine, air conditioner, mini living room, and a bedroom for only 5,500NT. Our electricity bill for a 2-month period is also less than 1,000NT considering that we use a lot of electronic gadgets at home (but it would still depend on how determined you are in finding the right place at the right location). One full meal with veggies, meat, drinks and rice would normally cost us around 80NT only.
4. Convenient Transportation System
In Taiwan, every place is accessible through MRTs, HSRs, TRAs, and Buses. If you want to wander around Taipei, you can just take the MRT. If you want to go to places outside Taipei, you can take TRAs or Buses for cost-friendly, and HSRs for fast travel. Moreover, they also have transportation services (for free) to some tourist spots during weekends or holidays. For bicycle riders, you don’t need to worry since most of the streets have bicycle lanes as well. You can even rent a bicycle (they call it Ubike) basically anywhere around Taipei City if you want to experience a more traditional way of transportation.
5. Satisfactory Salary Package
Though you don’t have any experience yet, as a foreigner, the average salary is approximately around 30,000NT to which I think is already reasonable considering that I came from a country that offers a pretty much lower salary package. Every Chinese New Year or around June, some companies even give their employees up to 14th month pay. English speakers can easily teach English here and can get around 500-1500NT per hour (sounds good right?).
You’ll be amazed on how almost all of the people here are very disciplined. People keeps the priority seats inside the MRT unoccupied until an elder/disabled/pregnant passenger sits in. In the case of the escalators, the left side is just intended for walking and the right side for standing. Not to mention, you can rarely see people pushing and elbowing out each other when it gets crowded.
It is mandatory in Taiwan to get a health care insurance which would cost around 500NT per month. Once you have it, all your medical bills will be discounted. You can have your tooth cleaned and extracted for only 200NT. A visit to a doctor (fever, cough, cold checkups etc.) will just cost you around 150-200NT and it includes medicines for a week already. In the Philippines, consultations alone can cost you around 500PHP (approximately 350NT) without medicines, and every tooth extracted is worth 300PHP (around 200NT) but it still depends on your attending physician.
In 2015, Taiwan has been considered as the 2nd safest country in the world and still remains as one of the safest countries in the world as of today. You can actually walk at night in the park and can still go back home safe and sound. Normally, every Taiwanese you see inside the MRT or any other public places uses smartphones like it is okay to show off without the fear of being robbed. I even left my phone inside a public toilet thrice but when I came back, it was still there.
Living here in Taiwan enabled me to study and work, travel and save at the same time. Though there may be rough roads on my Taiwan journey, but still, I choose to be positive in every negative situations I am in.
If you like this article, don’t forget to subscribe to know more about our Taiwan journey!
[…] Reasons Why Taiwan Is A Great Place To Live […]
I am so happy to read your blog. I just came from Taichung last new year and was so grateful to be able to go there and to meet wonderful friends there. I’ll go back to Taiwan again and again. It now has a special place in my heart because of the people living there. Cheers!
Hello! Taiwan is definitely one of those countries where the locals and even foreigners are very friendly despite the language barrier. We hope that by the time you can go back here in Taiwan, we can be able to meet you. 🙂
Not everyone else agrees to it, not all of them are friendly. Since you have communication barrier and unable to comprehend what they are saying in Taiwanese or in mandarin. I’m shocked you have a language barrier even though you have a family name in Chinese… I’m only earning 20.
Not everyone might be friendly but most of them are. That’s the reason why I like about Taiwanese because though you cannot communicate well, they really try their best to respond to you, may it be sign language or even the sinplest English word. I am from the Philippines and there are a lot of Chinese in my country and not all people with Chinese family names can speak in Mandarin. It really depends on that person if she wants to study Chinese or not.
Taiwan looks like a wonderful place to visit. The people seem really considerate of others. I hope to go someday!
Hi Stacey! Indeed, Taiwan is such a wonderful country plus the locals here are very friendly.
Yay Taiwan! Shout out to my home country! Just found your blog and loving it! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Mao! There’s no doubt that people keep coming back here in Taiwan bec this is such an amazing country with amazing people 🙂
Oh, wanna visit Taiwan. Thanks for the info, 🙂
You’re welcome Kayhdj! I hope you could really visit Taiwan to experience its greatness! 🙂
Wow !! this is the first time I’m reading something amazing about Taiwan. I like point no.5 and now its got me thinking…….hmmmmmmmmmm
Oh! Taiwan is really amazing, John! You should definitely include it in your bucket list 🙂
Such a shame I skipped Taiwan when I was in SEA last time. I know I’ll have to make a trip there soon! Thanks for the insight 🙂
Hi Alexxa! Its not too late yet 🙂
Taiwan looks beautiful and quite an interesting place to explore. I would love to visit here soon 🙂
Yes, though Taiwan is just a small country but there’s a lot of places that you can explore! 🙂
lovely article.. and your superb photos makes me wanna live in Taiwan
Hi Miguel, you should visit Taiwan soon! 🙂
Taiwan looks amazing. For some reason I thought it was an expensive place to live. I am glad to hear it is safe too
Taiwan is not an expensive country at all. Actually, you can buy a lot of cheap things and food in the night markets here 🙂
That’s good to know, but if it’s so good to live there, the the people leave the country and goes to America for example?
Maybe because they want to learn more about the English language. They could practice English more if they stay in an English speaking country.
Taiwan looks amazing! You really gave us some good insider information. We can’t wait to visit this lively place someday!
Hi Tina! It is indeed a great place that you should include in your bucket list 🙂