+dress code again

Can't start this thread and then abandon ship man!

Check out www.tealit.com and www.forumosa.com both of these websites have a lot of infomation on Taiwan and what to expect along with a lot of links to different subjects. There are lots of good things about Taiwan that you can do. Take a look there and see if those sites can help you out.

Okay I've just spent 3 complete days dealing with hectic Visa issues. If you have any specific questions about visas here and/or teaching English illegally, ask away.

Have you been to Angeles City before? If so can you describe your observations.

I'd say my spoken Chinese is at about lower-intermediate. I have never taken official Mandarin classes and it was just after 1 year of casual language exchange and self-teaching that I got to that level. I learned probably 85% from www.chinesepod.com / www.nciku.com and 15% through extensive travel. I know next to zero characters and I would'nt suggest studying them unless you plan on investing many many years. Not to mention you won't need to use them if you can speak and ask questions fine.

My advice is to download the ChinesePod Beginners torrent and listen to 1 audio/PDF combo once a day. The things they teach (for the most part) are practical and people actually say those things. You can probably find some Taiwanese girl on Skype to practice speaking with. Once you know the beginner's vocab/pronunciation and have a general understanding of the grammar (very easy) you can get by extremely well and the locals will love you for speaking the language.

If you study 1 hour a day for 2-3 months you'll be in v. good shape.

Sub-tropical climates rarely get very cold. I'd suggest having a jacket for the months of December - March (Wikipedia) but that's it. I've had to throw on a jacket maybe 10 times so far since December. Lots of 25C blue sky sunny days this past month.

Sorry, only know about FTP. I dont think you'd experience problems with other sites though. There is no global firewall like China has.

Hey, when are you guys getting here? Will you only be in TPE? I'm traveling from 07 - 16.

I wouldn't try shorts/sandals on a night out. I can't say if security would deny you entry but most people seem to dress up here. It can get hot during the day though so I'd still suggest bringing a pair.

Expensive for Asia.

If I don't eat cheap street food I spend almost as much on food as I do in Los Angeles. Nice restaurants here expect to pay the same prices as most majors cities if not more. It's SO much cheaper in other cities.

Typical night out:

Decent/nice restaurant - $15-30
Drinks: $15 (all u can drink clubs) or a 20$ cover charge + std drink prices for upscale bars/clubs
Taxis: $3-6

Total: 40-50$ on the low end

Most clubs/bars don't get busy till 11. In most you can buy a table that seats 10 for $60-120 with a bottle and sometimes finger food. Check http://www.taiwannights.com/ for special events.

Ah bad timing. We're getting there the 7th, headed out the 11th.

yes, how? I assumed u got a visa from English teaching job, but you say teaching illegally?! Do you mean on the side of your "real" teaching gig, or do you ONLY teach illegaly, then how do you get a long term visa? do you just make visa runs on a tourist visa? get a 60 days visa and bull**** your way into getting extentions, but that only works for 180 right?

I thought Taiwan was like Japan or Korea; u can't just stay there "because you want" for more than 2 months or so, u need to be a (eg language) student or get a real job.

How easy is it to get an illegal teaching job there right now? Has the ****ty economy affected the industry?

There are still a lot of teaching jobs, though less than before. If you are interested in coming to Taiwan check out the two websites I posted to check for jobs. There are jobs sections in both and some good jobs. It is easy to teach without an ARC, I know people that have been in Taiwan for three years and just fly out all the time to get a new landed visa. They take a trip to Hong Kong or the Phiippines every month or two on cheap flight and stay a night or two and come back.

Can I teach English as a foreign language for decent money there?

Is the internet good?

Online poker legal?

Beaches nice?

Taiwan sounds promising. so the chicks are really hot you say?

I'm sure they beat Issan girls hands down

I visited Taiwan (Taipei) last September. I didn't expect much. I was surprised as hell about how hot the girls were. Always walking around in booty shorts and heels. They actually have tits/ass, unlike Japanese and Thai girls who have bodies like little boys. And being a foreigner got me a lot of attention. Had several people ask me if I was a movie star, hahah.

After we left I told my friends that at some point I want to come back for an extended stay.

2 thumbs up for Taiwan.