As someone who works remotely, I am always traveling the world looking for my “perfect spot”. Everyone’s idea of paradise is a little bit different, but in my case, living in Taiwan comes pretty darn close!
I have been living in Taiwan for over 3 years now, and I can safely say that out of all of the countries I have lived long-term, Taiwan gets the most things right.
For anyone looking for a better quality of life, a chance to save some money, or just a fresh start, Taiwan should be on your list – and here is why.
Why You Should Live in Taiwan
Low Cost of Living
I have written in the past about super-saving, paying off my student loans, and investing for early retirement. Much of my success is possible thanks to Taiwan’s low cost of living!
Taiwan is still a growing economy and as such, cost of living is well below what you may be typically used to.
In Taiwan, the average salary is between $800-1500USD, so the typical cost of living for housing, food, and transportation is going to reflect that.
A basic studio apartment in the capital, Taipei, will start from about $300USD a month (with prices going higher depending how much you want to spend), whereas cities in the south part of the island (where I live) are half that, at only $100 to $200USD in the city center.
Things like utilities, transportation, and food are a fraction of what you would pay in other places.
All in all, you can live a very comfortable life for $1000USD a month (or less), meaning any extra money you make can go so saving, investing, or a bit of fun.
Best of all, despite its low cost, Taiwan is clean, surprisingly developed, and has a stable economy – something that is pretty hard to find in other countries at this price point.
Fast, Cheap, Reliable Internet
If you plan to work remotely, or want stay connected with friends and family, a good internet connection is a must. Internet connectivity (good or bad) can have a big impact on quality of life!
Luckily, Taiwan prides itself in a free, accessible, and affordable internet for all of its citizens, with speeds ranking along the likes of Japan and Switzerland.
Best of all, mobile carriers have all but eliminated throttles and data caps, instead opting for a speed based subscription services, much like home internet packages in the USA.
This means you can choose an unlimited 4G data plan with free, unlimited tethering, at 20, 30, or 50mbps, starting from $10USD a month!
This means many Taiwanese have ditched home internet (which is fast and affordable too).
Taiwan also has a relatively small total land mass, and high population density, meaning nearly everywhere on the island has full 4G coverage and fast wifi.
Taiwan is also aggressively pushing its 5G rollout, with 2G and 3G going offline in 2017 and 2018 respectively (that is right, 4G only now!) and the installation of 5G already underway in major cities.
Great Food
If you are a foodie like me then the food scene is a biggy! I have lived in many countries before, and one of the most difficult things can be adjusting to a country’s cuisine.
Coming to Taiwan for the first time you will be almost overwhelmed with the amount of variety to chose from.
Looking for traditional Taiwanese food? Check
Night markets with endless street food? Check
Vegetarian Restaurants? Check
All you can eat buffets? Check
International Food from all over the globe? Check
In a given week you could have Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Cantonese and much more!
Traditional Breakfast shops like this are easy to come by.
Even better, when I get my pizza and hamburger itch a good pub or pizza joint is not hard to come by (and they even have Costco!).
I will say though, I have almost entirely abandoned grocery shopping and cooking though, because if you eat like a local then eating out is often cheaper than cooking yourself!
Super markets are also super cheap and well stocked. I am always able to buy foreign ingredients, and best of all, you won’t need to pay an arm and a leg for imports like in many other places.
I manage a food budget eating 3 delicious meals out for less than $10USD a day.
Amazing Cafes
Wether you are looking for a relaxing afternoon, or a place to get work done, Taiwan has cozy Cafes on almost every corner!
Many consider Taiwan as the king of Asian Cafe culture (this is the home of bubble Milk Tea after all), with huge cafe chains like Louisa, a local challenger to (and I think better than) Starbucks.
Best of all, drinks are $1-3USD, which will give you an all-day seat with workbenches, comfy sofas, relaxing music, and super-fast internet.
Taiwanese cafes are a fun, inexpensive way to spend a few hours, or a full day (especially in the hot summer).
Not to mention the seemingly unlimited number of hidden, local, cafe gems sprinkled throughout artsy neighborhoods in Taipei, or more historical cities like Tainan.
I have been going to cafes almost daily, and have still yet to run out of new places to try.
Tropical Climate
Have you ever dreamed of living in Hawaii? That is what you can expect for the climate (and scenery) in Taiwan.
Being a long island with mountains, the climate actually varies quite a bit from north to south, with Taipei being Sub-Tropical, cooler and more rainy, whereas Kaohsiung in the south is tropical, sunny, and hot.
Having grown up in the cold Northeastern United States, I do not miss the 20 below weather and 6 months of snow.
Living in the south of Taiwan, I have gotten used to going to the beach in December, and a wardrobe of flip-flops, shorts and tank tops year round.
The tropical scenery is also something you will never get tired of – lush forests, sandy beaches, and palm trees on every street.
Oh, and if fresh, tropical fruit is your thing, you can indulge yourself in Pineapple, Bananas, Dragon Fruit, Coconuts, and Taiwanese Mangos.
Safety
It is almost hard to explain how safe life is in Taiwan.
Want to walk alone at 3am in a poor neighborhood with your headphones in?
Go ahead!
Want to leave your phone, laptop, and wallet on a cafe table for an hour while you grab lunch?
Why not?
I am not joking – this is really what life is like in Taiwan.
Turn on the daily news and the most exciting thing to happen in all of the country is high school students Jay-Walking (no joke).
Although Taiwan is often left out of official international safety statistics (due to Taiwan’s complicated country status), year-over-year it ranks as the top 10 safest places in the world!
I’m not joking when I say that Taiwan is a place where violent crime is nearly non-existent. As long as you aren’t doing anything illegal (like drugs) you will likely never see or hear about a crime your entire time here.
Great Public Transit
Getting around Taiwan in one word?
Easy.
Going back to Taiwan’s time as a Japanese colony, the island has built up an extensive national train network making intercity travel fast, cheap and efficient, with tickets starting for a little more than $1USD to go one city over.
The north to south High Speed rail network runs at an impressive 250km/hr making domestic air travel nearly obsolete. You can travel the whole island in under 2 hours for around $50USD.
Busses also run regularly for about $15USD taking about 5 hours for the same journey. These have leather, jumbo seats (3 to a row), with TVs, wifi, and USB power outlets.
Once you have arrived in your destination, you local transit options are also extensive, with the largest cities like Taipei, Kaohsiung, and soon Taichung with MRT systems which are fast, clean, and running ever 3-5 minutes.
Cities throughout the island also have robust biking infrastructure with dedicated biking lanes, and many cities have free-to-use city bikes provided by the local government (I almost exclusively ride my bike here).
Best of all, trains, subways, bikes, busses, and even boats are all covered with a single, national transit tap-card! Getting around is almost too easy here.
Cheap and Easy International Travel
Taiwan is nicknamed “The Heart of Asia” because of its central location, and gateway into Asia from the west.
This has made Taiwan into an international transit hub with numerous low-cost airline carriers with flights throughout Asia.
It is not uncommon to find tickets through AirAsia, Peach, or Tigerair for less than $100USD round trip!
So far, I have flown from Kaohsiung to:
Seoul, South Korea
Osaka, Japan
Shanghai, China
Hong Kong
Macau
Manilla, Philippines
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Singapore
Hanoi, Vietnam
Bangkok, Thailand
There are even cheap tickets to further destinations – I have a ticket from Taipei to Berlin this summer for $450USD round trip.
If you are willing for travel with just a backpack, and keep your eyes open, there are some amazing deals to be had!
World Class Healthcare
Would you believe that Taiwan has a life expectancy to match the EU and even better than the USA?
This is in large part because in Taiwan, everyone has affordable (and in many cases free) healthcare.
Thanks to a nationalized health insurance program, cost controls, digital patient records, and well funded services, Taiwanese healthcare is ranked as some of the best in the world.
It is a bit hard to describe going to a hospital without an appointment, seeing a doctor, getting blood work, X-rays, dental work, and prescriptions filled in less than 2 hours under the same roof, and all for less than $50usd (true story).
The People
There is real truth to the saying – it’s the people that make a place.
Taiwanese people are some of the most friendly, welcoming people you will come across. It doesn’t matter if my friends here are tired, or busy, somehow they always find time to help me out whenever I need it.
On the streets, it is not uncommon for someone to strike up a friendly conversation, or have a Taiwanese grandpa invite you to sit down and have a drink.
People here tend to have a positive outlook on life, and the energy and attitude of people around you really makes all the difference.
So What are You Waiting For?
I have been living in Taiwan for 3 years now, and moving here is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Not only did I cut my living expenses, but I made a significant boost to my quality of life, and have a life time of memories to show for it!
So what are you waiting for? It is time to move to Taiwan!
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Nice job, Loren! Miss seeing you and your parents all the time! And miss NH too!
The more western foreigners move to Taiwan the more crime will occur and less safe it will become.