Michael A. Turton
A night
out at a pretentious Japanese restaurant like this will cost roughly
NT$1,000
-- $1,500 for two.|
Michael A. Turton |
A night
out at a pretentious Japanese restaurant like this will cost roughly
NT$1,000
-- $1,500 for two. |
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 Clowning around at theTransportation
Museum in Taipei. Low-cost fun for
the kids. |
It is important to grasp that you save money in Taiwan not by making more money, but by lowering your standard of living (and for many people, dodging taxation). If you go out every night and have a beer, or purchase new toys for your computer, or take expensive vacations, the same thing happens as in the US: you don't save money. The laws of economics do not change when your address changes. A teacher working 35 hours a week at $600 an hour pulls down just over US$2,400 a month at the current exchange rate before taxes. |
A
sign advertises wives from Vietnam, saying that you can check them out
for free, and get the approval of the whole family. Many ethnic Chinese
wives from China, Vietnam, and Indonesia are imported into Taiwan each
year, a trend with profound social and political implications. |
Key point: for the first six months you are here, you pay tax. That means that your 60K a month salary turns into 48K when you take it home, before other deductions. |
 A restaurant in a fish market sets up for lunch customers. |
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My
kids assemble a shelf. A small shelf like this costs $150-200. |
Foreigners can open accounts at the Post Office,
as well
as open accounts, change money, send it home, etc, at almost any
bank. Interest rates are low, but my friend Graeme has a great discussion
of how to make a little extra interest. |
One
of our chops, this one for our housing contract and related items. The
cases usually come with their own ink. |
To open a bank account you will probably have to have a chop made. A simple chop, inscribed with the characters of your Chinese name, is cheap and chop shops are everywhere (usually where keys are made). |
A
chef serves at an expensive buffet restaurant. Meals at a place like
this
go for $700-1,000 a pop. |
Remember that your chop constitutes your legal signature and may be used by anyone who finds it to pretend to be you. Once you use a particular chop with a particular account, you must always use that chop with account (the locals label their chops so they know which is which, and so should you). |
 My
son contemplates videos at a local video store. Found on every corner,
videos here rent for about $40-70. |
If you want to send money home you'll need your home bank's ABA number, so be sure to get it before you come. |
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 Market
gardening in central Taiwan. Intensive agriculture makes for expensive
fruit. |
| If your landlord is not paying the utility bills, you have several options. You can pay at the bank -- each utility bill will list the banks at which you can pay the bill in question. | 
Red signs advertize houses for sale. |
| Even more convenient, 7-11and the other convenience stores now take phone bills, water bills, parking fees and several other payments. Try them first. | 
Entering
the underground shopping mall outside the Taipei train station. |
| If you don't pay on time, you generally have to go down to the company headquarters or payment center to pay, wasting hours of time. Check with them first. |  A
branch post office in Taichung. Found everywhere, the post office bank
is a great place to open an account. |
| Your phone bill should be about the same as the
US.
Water and electricity are much cheaper. Garbage collection is free. Gas, for both stoves and cars, is much more expensive. |
Inside
the beautiful new aquarium at Kenting. Tickets were cheap, around
NT$300. |
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 My son contemplates
a storm at a beach on the east coast. With good money management, trips
around Taiwan can be cheap and fun. |
 Using
the ATM machines at the post office. A post office account offers the
convenience
of island-wide access, decent service, low charges, comparatively good
interest rates, and a high degree of security. |
Currently the NT is around 32 to the US dollar. Since Taiwan imports everything, prices may drift up if the currency goes down. I recommend keeping careful track of currency fluctuations because if the currency shows signs of nosediving you may want to send your money home at once (as well as lobby for a cost-of-living raise). |
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 Passengers
on the luxury Aloha bus fight boredom as the bus waits at an exit. The
ride from Taipei to Kaohsiung is about $350. |
| A common strategy to
avoid taxes:
many work only one job legally, and ask the others if they will pay
cash
under the table. Most will agree, since they save money that way.
Tax evasion is a way of life in Taiwan.
Note that I am not advocating that you do anything illegal. I simply observe that many people do. |
 A bus company ticket office at night. |
| Tax break: in Taiwan, you can deduct one or both of your parents if they are retired. You will need to furnish some kind of proof. Contact your local tax office for details of what is acceptable. |  Spice shops crowd the cloth and spice
district along Tihua Street in
Taipei. |
| Save those register
receipts!
On the 26th of every other month the government releases a set of
lottery
numbers published in all the newspapers, one for each of the previous
two
months. If at least three final digits of your receipt match the
lottery
numbers for that month, you can win money. The more digits which match,
the bigger your pot. You can redeem winners at major banks. We usually
score $10-20 US each time this way.
The government did this to encourage people to demand receipts, which in turn forces businesses to issue them, thus creating a record of the purchase for tax purposes. |
 A small hotel in Kenting. A spanking clean, neat, and
comfortable
two-bed
room runs around NT$1,000 a night. |
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 No,
you won't find this in Taiwan! These beautiful temples in India are
just
a cheap plane ride away. |
| Additionally, if you have a bank account in the US, you will have to pay taxes on any interest earned on that account, plus on any other assets (houses, stocks, bonds) which you buy and sell in the US that year. | 
A
temple sits along a street in a large city. It rarely costs anything to
enter a temple. |
| The US embassy here, called the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT -- Click here), has all the information/documents you will need to file federal income taxes. They make expert advice available during the tax season. State taxes will not be an issue if you are resident outside the United States. Contact the IRS for the latest info on residency requirements. Your biggest tax problem will be making sure your 1099s and so forth get to you. | 
The
library at Morrison. A private American school like this costs
US$10,000
a year. |
| You can easily pay credit cards and student loans if you stay on top of the situation. We maintain a checking account in the US from which we pay out student loans and credit cards. You should arrange with your parents or friends to forward important financial mail to you. Additionally, many banks allow automatic payment of house or credit card and other bills for a fee. Many people manage to pay off their student loans entirely from what they save in Taiwan, and there is no reason you shouldn't be able to either. |  A
sanitary noodle factory dries its products in the sun next to a
four-lane
avenue. |
| Remember not to carry much cash when you return
home to
the United States. US Customs and Immigration may simply confiscate
large
sums of cash as drug money regardless of whether you earned it legally
and followed all the rules. If that happens, you will never see it
again
no matter how just your cause. Send the bulk of your money home through
the banking system. Keep deposits low, as the Patriot Act has set the
new
limit at $5,000.
Remember to bring your bank's ABA number and address. |
 My kids visit the imposing Taipei 101,
the world's tallest office
building
for the next couple of years. In a rare achievement, the architects
managed
to make an ugly hundred story building. This monumental eyesore is the
perfect crown to the unrelenting gray hideousness of urban Taipei. |
| PATRIOT ACT -- IMPORTANT:
The idiotic, anti-American Patriot Act may have certain ramifications for living in Taiwan. In July of 2003 my USA checks ran out and my credit cards expired. So I applied to my bank in Austin, Texas, for new ones. After several exchanges of emails, I got the following clarification: |
 A scantily-clad girl sells betel nuts along a local city
street. Betel
nut girls in various states of undress are ubiquitous. A
single
stand like this can generate US$10,000 or more a month in gross
revenues.
Top girls make more than college professors. |
| Hello. I assume you got my previous cc:mail
explaining
that I can't assist you.
I have been informed that the Branch employees can't service your account now that you live outside the USA.This became effective September 1st with the enforcement of the USA Patriot Act by the US Government. I can't order checks for you and a MC logo bank card IS NOT available. I have also been made aware that Chase can only offer you a "secured" credit card instead of the one you have now. |
 A vendor surrounded by dishes ready to go, sauces, and other
accouterments
of culinary art. |
| You must work with the Worldwide Banking
Department
of Chase who will service your account. They will order checks for you
and answer any questions you may have about your options. Please call
(713)
262-3140 as they are not allowed to accept cc:mails. There isn't a toll
free number for international calls.
Chase and I must follow the restrictions of theUSA Patriot Act or be fined and I could go to jail. I hope you understand that my hands are tied. Thank you. |
 The interior of the telephone company. Everything is clean,
modern,
computerized
and service-oriented. The phone company is being privatized at a
glacial
pace, but service improvement has been rapid. Service personnel are
generally
polite and helpful, and problems can be solved in minutes. No one is
permitted
to cut in line, and the Company provides drinking water for those
waiting. |
| >sigh< So, although the Patriot Act has no
such provision,
now I can't get a US credit card or US checks. You may run into this
situation.
If you move to Taiwan, be sure not to tell your local bank and have
checks
and credit cards sent to a US address.
The bank did kindly send me an ATM card...which cannot be used in Taiwan. |
 Quick,
is it Kentucky Fried or not? At NT$199 a bucket, it's probably not! |
| One last reminder: remember, even though you live in Taiwan you are legally obligated to file your US taxes every year even if you owe nothing. It takes only a little time, and it is stupid not to. |  Playing
at a local swimming complex. The ticket is NT$150 per person, unless
you
buy in bulk, in which case it is a more reasonable $70. |
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 The
owner of the box store in Kaohsiung proudly displays his collection of
spices, from paprika to garam masala. One of those small white bottles
of garam masala costs $45, a large container of ground coriander was
$350. |
A
group of restaurants abut the harbor in the southern fishing port town
of Houbihu. Here a giant plate of sashimi may run $NT100, and a whole
meal
will set back a family of four about$500. In Taiwan, seafood is a
national
religion. |
DSL will run you $1,400 a month. Transportation will run you $1,000-5,000 depending on whether you have your own transport, take taxis, ride a bike, walk, etc. A beer in a bar costs about $100 or more, a movie $250, a pizza $150-450. In Taipei a cheap lunch will run you about $80-120, in Kaohsiung the same lunch will be $60. |
 My kids feed the locals at a private
zoo in southern Taiwan. As in the
US, it's easy to drop a ton of money on a simple outing like this, once
you figure in tickets, lunch, Cokes and so on. |
A Big Mac Meal at McDees is $109. A cheap bottle of wine, $300. A bus ride, $15. Dinner for two at a real restaurant could run you $500-$1,500 or more. A diet coke is $20 dollars at 7-11 ($13 in the supermarket), the English newspaper $15 (that's $450 a month -- almost one hour of work -- on newspapers alone!). A new sweatshirt in the night market, $150-300. A Tracy Chapman tape, $209 at Tower Records. A CCR double album CD, $468. A rental at Blockbuster, $100. Warcraft III, $1,300. A taxi ride from the city center to the suburbs, about $150-250. A round-trip ticket to Nepal on Thai Air, $14,000. A new VCR camera, $18,000. |
Skating.
Tickets for this were NT$300 for two hours, and included skate rental. |
If you are working illegally, you will have to pay for Chinese classes ($2,000-$4,000/month) to get a visa, as well as a plane ticket off the island every six months. A cheap ticket to Hong Kong is under $6,000. This system is becoming more and more expensive and troublesome, so I recommend that you get legal. |
 My kids pose at a metro station in
Taipei. Tickets cost between NT$20
and
NT$40. The system is cheap, clean, safe, fast, and has toilets and
other
amenities. Beats the Metro in Washington DC hands down. |
As a single, your total expenses could be as little as $15,000, but it is more realistic to expect $20-25,000 given the odd things that happen every month (this month you need new glasses, next month you decide to buy a CD-ROM drive). Don't pretend to yourself that those odd things aren't going to happen -- they will. |
A
small factory also sells baked goods...... |
To save US$1,000 every month, you need to tuck away more than $35,000 Taiwan dollars. Therefore, to meet your savings goals, you will probably need to bring in at least $50-$60,000 NT a month or more. That's 35-40 hours per week at $400 per hour. It may be some time before you can ramp up to that figure. |
 Another
view of the clean, efficient metro of Taipei. |
For significant purchases, the best time is August. That's ghost month, when the spirits roam the earth, bringing bad luck to people buying houses, refrigerators, cars and so forth. As a consequence of this superstition, big-ticket items will be much cheaper, or can be bargained down to lower prices. Sensible people can buy cheap. The onset of Ghost Month (marked on the lunar calendar) will vary from year to year and will appear in the newspaper. |
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 A fresh
orange juice vendor squeezes out a living on a Taichung street corner. |
| Cons Welcome to scam island. Cons are quite common here. Fortunately the inability of criminals to speak English insulates you somewhat. Somewhat.
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 Haggling
over the price of fish in a local market. |
| Credit cards are widely accepted at major eateries, shops, chain stores, etc. Take the same precautions you would in the US, theft and fraud are just as common here. |  Studying
the menu at a local Indian restaurant, the Spice Shop II. Dinner here
usually
runs us around $1,200. |
| Common con: fake ATMs. Never use ATMS except at banks, post offices and chain convenience stores. Fake ATMs that download the info off your card are not unknown. The card will be returned with an apology for having no cash. Criminals will then steal your data and empty your bank account, with the connivance of an insider at your bank. | 
Greens
are incredibly cheap. One bunch is $10, but 3 bunches are just $25. |
| A new and dangerous variation that crops up from time to time is that the ATM room door, which only opens for a magnetic card, has a reader planted by the thief who steals the data from your card, then matches it to the next use of the ATM with the aid of the confederate inside. Your account is then emptied, usually to another account, opened with a stolen or deceased person's ID. Best use two different cards, one for the door, the other for your transaction. |  Need
a shirt? They're $199 apiece here. |
| There is a black market for foreign exchange but I wouldn't bother about it, the difference isn't worth the risk of fraud, theft, expulsion or even imprisonment. |  Chowing
down at a local diner. The two plates in the middle are $20-40, the
bowls
of soup $50-70. Lunch for four runs about $250. |
| Counterfeiting of local money is now common. I suggest you shop only at large stores, and accept only coins from mom and pop places until you are used to the money. Traditional markets and family-owned stores are common sites for attempted passes of bad money. Real money has a stiff feel, and you can see the holograms flash when you tilt the bill. It also flouresces under UV light, and you can buy a UV reader of key-chain size cheap. |
 Shopping
in the overpriced gift shops in Kenting. |
| If you are the least bit suspicious about any bill you are handed, don't be shy about handing it back immediately and getting another bill. The locals do it all the time. |  Battery-powered
motorcycle costs $20 for three or four minutes of fun. |
| Taiwan also has a national lottery system similar to that of the US state lotteries. Fake tickets are seen from time to time. Be careful. | 
A
Taiwan lottery ticket. |
| Do not get involved in any of the various underground investment schemes which are common in Taiwan. They are simply not secure, which is why interest rates are so high. Pyramid schemes are dime-a-dozen and you will come into contact with many people who have been burnt in one. And stay away from the stock and currency markets unless you know what you are doing and working with people you can trust (very rare). I know many people who have been wiped out by shady investment companies. |  Snacks
for a favorite local dish, hot pot. |
| Additionally, information about firms in the media is often unreliable, since reporters routinely accept money from companies they are writing articles on, or pass off advertising as an article. Another sleazy trick: reporters frequently will call up a firm threatening to write negative things about it unless a "gift" is made (as translators we have been victims of this). |  Goodies
call out to customers. |
| Many common cons probably won't affect you, since they are done by the locals in Chinese. For example, someone calls and says "guess who?" and you answer "Chen, right?" and they say "that's right! Boy, it's been a long time? Can you loan me some money? <names a large amount> Here's the account number!" Actually, the con man just pretends to be the friend, and runs off with money as soon as it is deposited. |  A
quickie dinner of instant noodles from 7-11. |
| Another cute con that surfaced a while back was the fake wedding invitations -- the crook sends out invitations, and of course, the people who can't come send cash, as is customary. The people may not recognize the name, but they figure, hey, I must have known him in college or something...meanwhile the crook cleans up. |  A
housing development in southern Taiwan. |
| Yet another brilliant con; the con men often
steal your
data, then call pretending to be the police investigating the theft,
and
trick the mark into revealing further data.
Always be polite when rejecting these cons. Remember, the con man has your address and phone number and will not be above a little extortion or theft. Just pretend you are stupid or that the thief has the wrong data. |
 A
Beijing duck shop. |
| Whatever the twists and turns of the economy, cons and rip-offs will multiply. Be vigilant! | 
A
trinket shop. Where the rubber of globalization meets the road of local
culture. |
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A selection of goodies for roasting at
a local night market stand:
corn,
tofu,chicken necks, innards, and other delicious stuff. A meal here
might
cost less than NT$100.
At
a small tea shop like this, drinks are between $15 and $30 each.
A street vendor markets batter-filled cakes in Taipei. The
local
economy
has ground to a halt, ,forcing many former businessmen to eke out
a living as food vendors. 
A
beach vacation at Taimali in Taitung costs next to nothing. My children
and a friend's child contemplate the limitless reaches of the ocean.
Cars are cheap in Taiwan; a small van like this is around
US$10,000. It
gets around 50 mpg, but has absolutely no safety equipment. 
High rises cluster along ridges outside
of Taipei. Apartments here, not
far from the city of Keelung, will rent for around NT$15,000 a month.
In
many cases such apartment buiildings are illegal constructions on
restricted
slopeland.