AboutLotta Danielsson-Murphy Expertise I can answer questions about trading with and doing business with Taiwan. I can also answer questions about traveling to Taiwan, particularly about traveling to Taipei, as well as general questions about history, language, culture, etc.
Experience
Relevant Experience I am the Vice President of the US-Taiwan Business Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to US-Taiwan trade/business. I speak Mandarin Chinese, lived in Taipei for nine months, and worked in Beijing for almost a year.
Education/Credentials International MBA (a.k.a. MIBS)-Chinese Track
University of South Carolina
Ii wonder if you could help me decide which city to travel to in Taiwan.
I am living in Grand Cayman at the moment working as a Heating and Airconditioning techincian. I am planning to move to either Taiwan or Japan and work for a year or so as an ESOL english teacher. I have relevant experience and qualifications. I can speak 'travellers' Mandarin.
Im not sure which location/city would be right for me.
I would like to live in a city I think. I like nightlife and places with plenty of activities.
Whats important is that there is a good market for ESOL teaching, becasue I would like to set up my own school. If it goes well I will stay longer than a year. Initally I would probably move out there and work for another school, then after my contract has finished set up my own school.
I am looking for a place with as mild a climate as possible. I see that it gets uncomfortably hot in most places in Taiwan. Are there any places where it remains mild for most of the year?
Can you suggest any places that might be right for me?
Also, I was wondering, do I have to be married to someone from Taiwan in order to start my own school, like in China? Or can I go into it on my own?
Any other tips appreciated.
Thanks,
Dale.
Answer Hi Dale,
I have to say that ESL teaching in Taiwan is not at all my specialty, but here are some thoughts.
The largest market for ESL teachers is definitely Taipei. However, there are also growing markets for teaching ESL in Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taoyuan, and Taichung, as well as elsewhere. If you want to set up your own school, perhaps going outside Taipei would be better. From what I understand of the saturated market in Taipei, Tainan and Taichung would probably be a better fit for you. They are both cities still, albeit a bit smaller than Taipei.
The weather in Taiwan is very similar for most of the island, with only the mountains a bit cooler in summer. See the statistics at the Central Weather Bureau at www.cwb.gov.tw for more info. Unfortunately, Taiwan is in the tropical zone, so you won't get very mild weather anywhere, really.
For the question about starting your own school, I'm afraid that's way out of my depth. What I can do is to point you to some good resources online that have more info and that can steer you in the right direction:
