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Comment by eric_khun | Hacker News Reader

On a related note, TSMC is based in Taiwan. Ben Thompson (who wrote this article) chose to live there. It's cheap/friendly/modern/safe/connected to all asia/awesome healthcare system/amazing food/surrounded by nature.

Taiwan now puts effort trying to attract new talents. The "gold card visa"[1] is quite easy to get, just earn more than usd5.5k/month at your last/current job, or work in a "trendy" field (AI/big data/energy/biotech...) and you get an "open visa" for 3 years without restrictions for ~300USD. If you're looking for change, I highly recommend her Taiwan! Happy to reply to any questions

[1] https://taiwangoldcard.com

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What does the security situation look like in Taiwan, and how might it change within the next decade or so?

Besides that I <3 Taiwan!! As a tourist I loved pineapple cakes, beef noodle soup, night markets, high-speed trains, and plenty of fresh mangoes and coconuts!

Sorry, pineapples, not coconuts. I don't remember having coconuts but the pineapples had no bitterness and the mangoes melted in your mouth!

Taiwan is safe, except the threat of Chinese invasion.

Yeah, that was what I was worried about. Given how the past four years prove you can purchase a major U.S. political party for clearance prices, the bilateral security agreement underpinning Taiwan’s freedom may be gone when it’s needed most. Beijing is much richer than Moscow is, and smarter too. I sense the opportunity is just too good to pass up.

I love Taiwan and its people, and I hope everything stays peaceful and will do my part to keep it that way like voting and writing policymakers, but if I’m an expat I wouldn’t be emotionally invested in a total war for survival.

"The Gold Card does not provide for a work permit for dependents of the card holder. Your spouse should get their own work permit."

Just like the TN visa. That's a deal breaker right there.

Same problem in a lot of countries. I looked into this for Germany as a backup option; my technical expertise and low level of German proficiency would get me and my wife easy residency, but she wouldn’t be allowed to work.

Then again, given the right mix of COL and wages, that might be tolerable, especially in a situation where something makes me willing to follow through on that plan.

Interesting that this is not the case in Canada. My partner is the main visa-holder here, and is tied to her employer in the same way a H1B would in the US, but it also provides a full 'open' visa for her spouse, which allows me to work anywhere without restrictions. It seems like a smart move, as it definitely tipped the scales in Canada's favor for us.

When I moved to Canada we both got Canadian "Green Cards" as soon as we landed. Technically possible in the US but show me an employer that will sponsor an EB-2 unless you work for them already.

A French friend of mine was recently denied a visa to Canada. His wife got a job there working in public policy, and he was going to work there in software (film industry). I figured it would be easy for him, but it's a mess!

Also don't be Indian in the US if you ever expect a EB-2/3 "Green Card"

I worked in software in Germany, almost all of the technical people are on Blue Card, which gives a spouse a work permit from day one.

Also, depending on your level, you may be eligible for an immediate Permanent Residence permit. This gives you a lot more rights in Germany than the Blue Card, but ironically fewer rights in the rest of the EU.

In Germany, if your partner doesn't work, your income tax is essentially divided by 2 for taxation purposes, which is huge given that ~45% of your income will be paid in taxes otherwise, a big part of which are income taxes.

Also, charitable donations, which includes working for charities for free, as well as voluntary work, are tax deductible for the "tax entity", which if you are married you can choose to be your marriage.

So depending on what your partner does, and likes to do, if you are in a very high paying job, it might make more economic sense for your partner to "work for free" donating their work to a charity.

This essentially would mean that you get 100% of your income, free of taxes.

Example A: your salary 200k, your partner salary 50k. Combined taxes: 250k * 0.45 = 112k. Earnings: 250 - taxes = 138k.

Example B: your salary 200k, your partner exercises a 50k job for a charity for free. Taxes: 200*0.45/2 - 50k = -10k = 0k. Earnings 200k > 138k.

I'm not suggesting that your partner shouldn't work, only mentioning that if you are moving to Germany for a high-paying job, that is just one part of the equation. IANAL, nor a tax advisor, so I'd recommend you explore the options and evaluate the package "as a whole".

For a lot of people, being able to work for a charity for free for a couple of years can be much more rewarding than a 8-5 office job at a FAANG.

low COL usually means you don't both need to work.

Is this controversial? to me that's one of the benefits of a LCOL areas, that one of the spouses doesn't need to be in the rat race.

Software engineer living on and off in Taipei for the past 20 years, if you like outdoor activities, especially road cycling, this is a mountain-climbers heaven, riding any direction for 30min will hit a gorgeous and cool mountain with spectacular views, on top of that most of the days including fall and winter it’s sunny and suitable for ride.

Drop me a line if you were ever here and longing for a joy ride ;)

How hard is it to live in Taiwan speaking only English? Is their official language Mandarin or is it some different Chinese dialect? How safe are Taiwan streets?

The main problem, when I was there, as with many places throughout Asia, is the poor air quality. You’ll definitely notice it, my eyes were burning to get through the adjustment period.

Really? I found air quality even within Taipei to be comparable to San Francisco or even better, at least according to my nose, sinuses, and tear ducts.

Perhaps you were there during a weather pattern that minimized the effects. Unless you are saying you had a long-term low pollution experience there, which I think is impossible.

> Unless you are saying you had a long-term low pollution experience there, which I think is impossible.

Over a year of anecdotal data using my own senses, which I consider extremely sensitive to allergens.

Maybe some pollution data will indicate otherwise? It's certainly no rural Kansas, and I bet industrial hot spots in Taiwan suffer (like near TPE), but yea I felt great in Taipei. Far better than most Asian cities, perhaps comparable to Tokyo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution_in_Taiwan

> based on reports by the World Health Organization, that the air quality in Taiwan is generally the worst of all of the Four Asian Tigers, in particularly drawing attention to the annual mean PM10 level of Taiwan (54 micrograms per cubic meter). The annual mean PM10 level of the country's capital Taipei (47.1 micrograms per cubic meter) made the city rank only 1,089 among 1,600 included cities around the world. Based on 2004 data by Taiwan's Department of Environmental Protection, the annual mean PM10 level for Taiwan had, for the last decade, been worse than the European Union limit value (40 micrograms per cubic meter) every year.

Taipei is actually pretty OK. Other cities in Taiwan, not so much.

Happened to me in the throat in Kaohsiung. Otherwise I approve the qualities listed by the the grand parent post. I didn’t know about the Gold Card but I’ll definitely look into it.

I always enjoy taking a break from Japan and going there. People are more spontaneous, food is more varied, it’s refreshing.

Yikes. That's a hard no from me.

Well, you can always ride a bicycle for 10 minutes and find yourself in a thick jungle on top of a mountain, far removed from any hint of smog.

Can I just live in the jungle instead?

Absolutely! Apartments (luxury and otherwise) line the roads up into the mountains.

By far the most english-speaking country in Asia (after singapore). You wouldn't have issue to communicate with people, have a normal daily life. Might have issue to communicate with the old generation, but most of the people will go out their way to help you. Mandarin is the official language, but they are now making a huge push to become a bilingual language[1]

For safety, from 0 to 10, I'd give it a 9.5. I like to joke about the daily biggest national news being a grandma who lost its cat, since not much "bad things" happens here. Most of the thing I lost were returned, for example I thought I've lost my bag with my ipad few years ago in a bar, but someone returned it the day after x)

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/06/13/2...

> By far the most english-speaking country in Asia (after singapore)

I would've thought that was India.

At least in the USA it's my experience that when people say "Asia" they mean maybe what some other people would describe as "East Asia." This has been true my whole life, despite there usually being someone there to say "but what about India?"

In my exp, an average Indian person without a university education does not really speak or understand English.

Not by a long shot. You read that in India English is sort of an official language. But in truth, a big chunk of the population still doesn't speak it, and the ones that do often have a thick accent and not a very rich vocabulary. Source: been to India ~25 times.

It's not that hard to survive on English in Taipei. The official language is Mandarin (though the typical local accent is different from the Beijing-esque prestige dialect). The streets are safe from crime, if that's what you mean, though the competency of the average vehicle driver leaves something to be desired.

> competency of the average vehicle driver

As long as you give a WIDE berth to blue trucks you should be fine.

It would probably be a little difficult. Outside of big cities / tourist attractions, I found few people that spoke decent English (thankfully I speak a passable amount of Chinese). The most widespread dialect is Mandarin, but you'll hear a lot of Hokkien and Hakka (for example, transit system announcements).

I found safety to be a non-issue the last time I was there. Taipei feels like any other big Asian city and even on smaller side streets I didn't feel unsafe. In smaller towns and such, I also wasn't nervous.

Taiwanese people are weirdly cautious for a country with absurdly low crime - there's massive, ugly (imo) bars on all the windows, to prevent burglars (and also hang your clothes off of).

Despite that, I've never felt safer at night than I have in Taiwan.

I spent a month there in 1998 working with a software development partner. Language was a complete non-issue in the office but I definitely would have liked to have some conversational Chinese for dining, shopping, taxis, etc. but I’d assume the generational shift I saw then has continued in the last 20 years, too.

Some comparative info for Canadians: Taiwan is slightly larger than Vancouver Island but has roughly 2/3 the population of all of Canada.

Also some disadvantages: rains and clouds almost 24/7, street noise, overpriced real estate.

You can rent things for pretty cheap compared to the purchase price, like the buy vs rent calculation there is so heavily skewed to rent that it's insane that people still buy property.

The 24/7 rain is exaggerated. I'd say it's getting quite rainy during the rainy season (I admit I also don't like this season much), but we have quite a bit of beautiful sunny days, especially when you head to south.

I've lived in places where people hide in their homes with the furnace for four months out of the year. I've lived in places where people hide in their homes with the A/C for three months out of the year. I've lived in places where it rains 24x7 for two months out of the year.

Each of these places has a stereotype. Each are amazing the vast majority of the year. Pick your poison for the rest of the year.

These are pretty inaccurate or exaggerated statements. Real estate in Taipei is expensive to buy, but reasonable to rent. To buy, price per square feet is comparable to a high priced US city (SF, NY). It rains a lot in winter and has typhoon season, but can be nice otherwise.

No Taiwan, the future is in America.

Taiwan needs to open branches of all production in US and plan for mass evacuation of its population, so it doesn't wind up wasting it's time like Hong Kong must do.

I feel this is representative of a lack of understanding of how a people can feel pride and attachment to a location, that is, the territory itself, and also of how insanely fortified the nation is.

A land invasion of Taiwan would quite possibly be the most painful land invasion imaginable.

Where Would you suggest I can read about it more?

Unsure why you got downvoted, it's a fair question

https://warontherocks.com/2018/10/hope-on-the-horizon-taiwan...

> The first phase is the decisive battle in the littoral, extending up to 100 kilometers from the island. Key capabilities at this phase will include sea mines, and large surface vessels equipped with Taiwan’s capable, domestically manufactured anti-ship cruise missiles, the Hsiung Feng 2 and 3. Taiwan’s surface fleet includes larger vessels from the legacy force, such as French-built Lafayette class frigates, U.S.-built Kidd-class destroyers, and U.S.-designed Perry class frigates armed with both Hsiung Feng and Harpoon missiles, as well as a new class of fast attack Tuojiang class catamarans that carry 16 missiles. Taiwan also fields anti-ship Hsiung Feng missiles mounted on trucks that will disperse in order to survive initial strikes. While evading detection in Taiwan’s urban and mountainous terrain, they will launch strikes at surface ships throughout an invasion.

> The second phase seeks to annihilate the enemy at the beach area, which extends approximately 40 kilometers outwards from anticipated invasion beaches. This phase calls for Taiwan’s navy to lay mines in deep and shallow waters off suspected landing beaches. A new fleet of automated, fast minelaying ships are being built for that mission. In the interim, mine-launching rails can be installed on several classes of surface vessels. While invading ships are slowed by mine fields, swarms of small fast attack boats and truck-launched anti-ship cruise missiles will target key ships in the invasion force, particularly amphibious landing ships carrying the initial wave of PLA assault troops as well as roll-on-roll-off vessels carrying follow-on vehicles and armor.

On top of that, hike along the west coast at any time. As you hike along mountain paths you'll stumble upon bunker after bunker.

How about the east coast?

The entire island is a mountain chain, and the navy is posted all over. If you're suggesting Admiral Shen Jinlong could outsmart the entire Taiwanese defense strategy by landing on the east coast, well, lol...

Thank you! Very educational.

What cities do you recommend to visit to get a sense of living there?

I'd say Taipei for a "big" city. Hualien or Taidung for smaller ones

I’d actually recommend Taichung as well. Much more affordable than Taipei, and more spacious.

Air quality has regressed though, because they shut down the nuclear power plant after Fukushima.

My partner and I are planning a move there and somehow were totally unaware of the gold card visa. This is super helpful, thank you!

Taiwan is happy to welcome you :)

Does anything happen to a current citizenship (I'm US) if I do this? Seems awesome!

No, getting a visa is just something that allows you to stay and work (in this case). You’d only need to worry about citizenship if you were planning on becoming a citizen of Taiwan, which is a much longer and harder process.

You will however need to continue file US taxes at a lower rate. America is one of the few countries that expects its expats to do that. Retain an accountant who specializes in this.

Looks like this could lead to PR and eventually citizenship although Taiwanese law requires you renounce any existing citizenships. Weirdly enough though once you have it you can resume your previous citizenships.

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