I have been teaching English in Taipei, Taiwan for over nine years now. I am originally from Walsall, England, and after graduating and traveling for a while, I finally settled on Taiwan as a place to live and work. I have had some amazing experiences here, and made some great friends over the years. Taiwan is a very comfortable and convenient place to live, and if you take the time to get to know the culture you will be rewarded in many ways.
Why Did You Choose Taiwan to Teach?
This is one of the most common questions people will ask you here, and I always have the same story to tell. I lived and worked in Australia for around two and a half years, and spent time travelling around Asia also. I had an interest in teaching, and decided I wanted to try teaching Engligh in an Asian country to see if I enjoyed it. There were a few options open to me at the time, so I weighed each one up before deciding on Taiwan. Japan had always seemed rich in culture, and a place I had always wanted to go to, but after doing some research I decided the cost of living seemed a little too high, and would require a substantial amount of money for me to get by whilst looking for a job there. (Which at the time I didn’t have) Another option was China, but after more researching I decided that the pay being offered at the time might not be enough to make a good living. Finaly I deided on Taiwan. I didn’t know that much about the island, but the pay seemed to be high enough, and the cost of living was quite low, so your money could go a long way. The decision was made!
In 2001 I bought a flight from England to Australia with a stopover in Taipei. The plan was to have 4 weeks in Taiwan, and figure out if I would be comfortable living here. If not, I would just jump on the plane to OZ to visit some good friends. Well,…that was over nine years ago now! After a few weeks here I got a teaching job at a chain school called Kid Castle, where I stayed for over five years. After that I changed jobs and worked for another chain school called Happy Marian. This is my current job where I have been for almost four years now. I am quite settled here for now, but who knows where this journey will take me.
Darren Booker
Creator of Taiwan Deal
