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Betel nuts seem a lot less popular these days, at least within the cities, where I live. Which is totally understandable as it's a disgusting habit and really, really unhealthy.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 05-28-2015 at 08:34 AM..
Reason: Deleted quote and response
Being the financial center of China, and also the busiest port. Shanghai is definitely doing better than Taipei in economy, it won't suprise me if Shanghai surpass Taipei in both price and income level in the near future. There are more economic opportunities in coastal China than Taiwan, attracting many non Chinese to come, Shanghai and Beijing are now appearing to be more international in population than Taipei.
Sometimes in the past the Taiwanese were as busy as the Japanese at work, but not as much nowadays with the economy not robust as it used to be. They like to holiday in the weekends at the many destinations around the island, mountains or beaches, or visit relatives in other cities and counties. Transport is good, there is no need to drive a car from Taipei to Kenting. Scooters are popular for going to school and work.
Taipei along has a lot of influence from Mainland Chinese who came at the end of the Chinese Civil War and Taiwanese who have lived in the US.
Well yeah, but Taiwan is still doing quite well, I believe. But I mean right now Taipei is still definitely more wealthy/equal overall. I feel there are still a lot of opportunities in Taiwan.
That's quite good. I've also met quite a few Taiwanese here, and some come on working holidays, while I rarely see Chinese doing it. For WHV's it always seems to be Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese. Never Singaporeans, oddly.
Since most others already answered the OP, I'll answer only #5: Taiwan is much, much cleaner compared to mainland China. I've experienced taking the high-speed rail in both Shanghai and Taipei. Shanghai Railway Station is filthy, so is Suzhou Railway Station. The restrooms there are horrible and there are actually people spitting inside the station. The train itself is not bad though, probably because the cost of the tickets are much higher than that of the ordinary train. Taipei, Taoyuan and Zuoying stations are much cleaner by comparison. The only thing I don't like in Taiwan that you won't find in China are people who chew betel/areca nuts, mostly in rural areas. They will spit these out after chewing, but it seems not that common nowadays.
When I visited Taiwan, and also Hong Kong, I still got pushed and shoved at times, and there were people who cut in line. But they are mostly mainland Chinese tourists! It gets worst in the mainland though.
Yes in Taiwan the rowdiest tourists tend to be from China.
Well yeah, but Taiwan is still doing quite well, I believe. But I mean right now Taipei is still definitely more wealthy/equal overall. I feel there are still a lot of opportunities in Taiwan.
That's quite good. I've also met quite a few Taiwanese here, and some come on working holidays, while I rarely see Chinese doing it. For WHV's it always seems to be Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese. Never Singaporeans, oddly.
Taipei is rich...I mean even by European standard, it's not much poorer. They say the income level is probably more or less the same as Southern European cities(Rome, Madrid etc.) but the price of pretty much everything is perhaps 2 or 3 times cheaper, and taxes are much much lower.
The city itself looks much poorer than it is though, lol.
But Taiwan overall is not doing well(maybe it is compares to say Ukraine or Syria, but that's it). Economy is growing but wage has been stagnating for like a decade. We are basically in Japan kind of stagnation before reaching their level of development. A good chunk of Taiwanese companies are still stuck in the 70s/80s, where everyone could get rich by manufacturing crap. Taiwan's industry nowadays is barely hanging there at best, uncompetitive and disposable at worst. Working conditions are horrific. Long hours, poor management, low pay, few vacations etc. You name it.
Foreigners teaching English dodges some of the aforementioned problems though.
And speaking of working holidays, I've heard some cases(on the news) where Taiwanese part-took the WHV thing then got mistreated by the job owners in Australia(sexual assaults, less pay and longer hours than what says on the contract etc.)
Been working and teaching here in China for 9 months now and curious as to how Taiwan is different from Mainland China
1) How are prices different between the two (I live in Tianjin) so let's say I were to compare it to Taipei.
2) Are both cities Chinese exclusive - is it rare to find an English speaking taxi driver for example?
3) How open friendly are people in both places to foreigners?
4) Are there more opportunities in one over the other (it seems there are many many opportunities to work in China for foreign teachers) How do salaries compare?
5) How does cleanliness compare? Is there a similar level of smoking and spitting? I know pollution levels are worse in Northern China compared to the south.
Xie xie.
Taiwan is definitely cleaner and more developed overall, though parts of China are actually more advanced than taiwan. China is just so big and many parts are still dirt poor. What I don't like is the Chinese selfish attitude that exists in both taiwan and China.
At least I don't think eating dogs is allowed in taiwan. The taiwanese I know tend to be very kind to animals, which I really appreciate. The Chinese are not nearly as evolved in that respect and they are extremely cruel to animals.
Taipei is rich...I mean even by European standard, it's not much poorer. They say the income level is probably more or less the same as Southern European cities(Rome, Madrid etc.) but the price of pretty much everything is perhaps 2 or 3 times cheaper, and taxes are much much lower.
The city itself looks much poorer than it is though, lol.
But Taiwan overall is not doing well(maybe it is compares to say Ukraine or Syria, but that's it). Economy is growing but wage has been stagnating for like a decade. We are basically in Japan kind of stagnation before reaching their level of development. A good chunk of Taiwanese companies are still stuck in the 70s/80s, where everyone could get rich by manufacturing crap. Taiwan's industry nowadays is barely hanging there at best, uncompetitive and disposable at worst. Working conditions are horrific. Long hours, poor management, low pay, few vacations etc. You name it.
Foreigners teaching English dodges some of the aforementioned problems though.
And speaking of working holidays, I've heard some cases(on the news) where Taiwanese part-took the WHV thing then got mistreated by the job owners in Australia(sexual assaults, less pay and longer hours than what says on the contract etc.)
Yes highish wages + low cost of living (except maybe real estate in Taipei) adds up for a lot of disposable income. The Taiwanese enjoy travelling and other luxuries. Much poorer? Maybe parts of it, like some of the markets and older areas, like that area with the big temple (forget the name). Most of it looks pretty first world to me, especially places like Ximending or that area heading towards Taipei 101. Parts of it remind you of places like Shinjuku or Akihabara.
That's a shame to hear...I like Taiwan, and they seem to be getting better in some areas. More appreciation for the arts, at least more of an environment awareness among the young. The news blows up everything. Those sort of things happen to everyone everywhere. It was only reported in Taiwan because it involved Taiwanese. The risk of that happening is really low, no higher here than anywhere.
Taiwan is definitely cleaner and more developed overall, though parts of China are actually more advanced than taiwan. China is just so big and many parts are still dirt poor. What I don't like is the Chinese selfish attitude that exists in both taiwan and China.
At least I don't think eating dogs is allowed in taiwan. The taiwanese I know tend to be very kind to animals, which I really appreciate. The Chinese are not nearly as evolved in that respect and they are extremely cruel to animals.
Parts of China are more advanced than just about anywhere on earth.
I feel Shanghai, Seoul and indeed Beijing are in many ways more hi-tech than say Tokyo. Same with a lot of American cities. It's because Japan and the US developed earlier so a lot of their infrastructure is older, while China is booming now.
Well a lot can, although eating dogs is a real minority in China.
Taiwan and Southern Europe are below European Union average in income level. But Taiwan's economy is still better than Southern Europe. The price level in Southern Europe cannot be as cheap because they use the Euro as in Germany and the Netherlands. They may become much cheaper if the Euro keeps falling.
Taiwan is often considered the cheaper alternative to Japan, and is slightly cheaper than South Korea.
That's discrimination and bullying by the employers in Australia. I don't think they dare to treat western working holidayers like the British the same as the Taiwanese. Similar mistreatments experienced by the Southeast Asians in Taiwan. Australians just treat Asia as a source of cheap labor.
I believe that the bullied Taiwanese WHers are the absolute minorities, while most of the SE Asian workers are mistreated here. It's so pathetic and sad.
Btw I don't think Southern Europe is below EU average, that'd be Eastern Europe, which makes up a large chunk of EU. Italy or Spain seem more or less on the level of EU average, I suppose.
Last edited by Greysholic; 05-26-2015 at 10:04 PM..
Italy and Spain are closer to EU average, still slightly lower. Spain is having big economic trouble with high unemployment. Greece, Cyprus and Portugal are much lower, big trouble in Greece as well. Taiwan is better on employment rate, main problem is just salary level not rising much.
Eastern European EU countries are rising fast, they are performing better than Southern Europe. And if they are not satisfy with their home countries, they can look for jobs in other EU countries. There is no such freedom of movement among countries in East Asia. Only within Mainland China where lots of migrant workers move around for a better income.
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